Former President Trump in a new Monday night interview on Fox News declared he would "solve" the Russia-Ukraine war "in 24 hours" if he's elected president. His words came following his kickoff campaign rally for his 2024 White House bid held in Waco, TX over the weekend.
He told a crowd of many thousands: "I will prevent World War III, which we're heading into" - and was met with widespread applause. But in his Monday appearance on Sean Hannity's show, Trump explained: "If it’s not solved, I will have it solved in 24 hours with Zelensky and with Putin."
"The key is the war has to stop now because Ukraine is being obliterated," Trump said.
Recently both Ukrainian and Western officials have admitted heavy losses and that more ammo is needed on the front lines in order to match the Russians' superior artillery bombardment and supplies. For over the past month, pro-Kremlin forces have made steady gains around the strategic city of Bakhmut in Donetsk, having nearly encircled it. But the Ukrainians have kept up the fight and poured more manpower and weapons in.
China has this month tried to mediate in order to jump-start peace negotiations between the two warring sides, and Beijing has even had close contact with the Zelensky administration, but these efforts haven't appeared to go anywhere thus far, also amid Washington and NATO skepticism.
Trump tells Sean Hannity that he would solve the war between Ukraine and Russia in one day. "A peace between them" pic.twitter.com/toimU57Kwk
— 3sidedstory 🇺🇲 (@3sidedstory) March 28, 2023
As for Trump, he remains confident, having repeated lately that he can 'get along with' and talk to Putin candidly. According to more from the Monday night Hannity interview:
"So you’d prefer if you were president, you think you would have a negotiated settlement?" Hannity asked Trump.
"Within 24 hours," the former president replied.
Trump went so far as to emphasize he gets along "very well" with Putin. Recent polls have shown that a majority of Republican voters want to avoid deeper US involvement in the war.
A new IPSOS-Axios poll shows a divide on Ukraine policy among conservatives, with the debate and momentum clearly shifting in favor of those who want to avoid deeper US involvement in the war.
"Four in five Republicans want the U.S. to remain the world's leading power — but fewer than half support giving Ukraine weapons and financial support to try to save itself from Russia, according to the latest wave of the Axios-Ipsos Two Americas Index," an IPSOS-Axios poll published earlier in mid-March found.
via zerohedge