The president has said that his predecessor allowed the Ukraine crisis to spiral out of control
US President Donald Trump has berated his predecessor Joe Biden as “an embarrassment” to the US and accused him of mismanaging the Ukraine conflict, arguing that it led to many preventable casualties.
In an interview with the New York Post on Friday, Trump claimed to have discussed the Ukraine conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone – something the Kremlin has yet to confirm. While he did not provide any details, he said he had a concrete plan for ending the conflict, adding “I hope it’s fast. Every day people are dying.”
He went on to blame Biden for the ongoing hostilities, arguing that it “never would have happened” if he had been president in 2022. “I always had a good relationship with Putin,” he said.
According to Trump, this is not the advantage his predecessor could have enjoyed. “Biden was an embarrassment to our nation. A complete embarrassment,” he stressed.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to swiftly end the Ukraine conflict, unlike Biden, who adhered to the principle that the US must support Kiev for “as long as it takes.” The incumbent leader has also been critical of his predecessor’s approach to aiding Ukraine, arguing in particular that it was “stupid” for Washington to allow Kiev to use American long-range weapons for strikes deep into Russia.
In January, Trump also noted that he “could understand” Russia’s adamant opposition to Ukraine’s membership in NATO. The remarks drew praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who remarked that “for the first time the problem of NATO was identified as something that the United States is ready to discuss seriously.”
While Trump has declined to reveal the details of his Ukraine peace plan, media reports have indicated that it involves the freezing of the conflict along the current front line, establishing a demilitarized zone patrolled by European soldiers, and suspending Ukraine from joining NATO.
Russia has ruled out the freezing of the conflict, arguing that it would allow Ukraine to rearm itself and better prepare for continued confrontation later on. It also insists that Kiev must commit to permanent neutrality, demilitarization and denazification as well as recognize the “territorial realities on the ground.”
