Trump Says He Warned Putin US Would ‘Hit Moscow’
Former US President Donald Trump in a video appears to be saying he was friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin while in office, but claimed he threatened him with “hitting Moscow” if he attempted to cause trouble.
“They’re all saying, ‘Oh he’s a nuclear power,'” Trump said of Putin during a phone call with golfer John Daly on Thursday. “It’s like they’re afraid of him.”
Daly put the call on speaker phone at the at the Hoag Classic tournament in California, and a bystander filmed Daly, who took the call while enjoying food and drinks inside the Newport Beach Country Club in California.
“You know, he was a friend of mine,” Trump continued. “I got along great with him. I say, ‘Vladimir, if you do it, we’re hitting Moscow. I said, ‘We’re gonna hit Moscow.'”
While Trump and Daly spoke about the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine, it’s unclear what Trump exactly meant by “it,” referring to actions by Putin while he was in office.
Trump continued to brag about Putin holding off on the Russian action in Ukraine until he was out of office.
“He never did it during my time, John, you know,” Trump said. “We’re all talking about it. He didn’t do this during the last four years because he knew he couldn’t.”
Last week, Trump said American leaders are very “dumb” while Putin is “smart,” doubling down on his praise for the Russian leader last month.
Trump last month praised Putin and called his actions in Ukraine “genius” and “pretty savvy.”
Trump went on to blame the Biden administration for Russia’s decision to launch military actions in Ukraine.
Speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida on February 26, Trump said that Putin took advantage of Biden’s being “weak” to attack Ukraine.
“The real problem is that our leaders are dumb,” Trump said, adding that the Russian leader “is playing Biden like a drum, and it’s not a pretty thing to watch.”
He also linked Russia’s military operation in Ukraine to the disputed US 2020 presidential election, saying that fraud and rigging were to blame for Biden’s victory.
Trump said he was right that Putin was smart because he outfoxed world leaders and NATO. “The real problem is that our leaders are dumb, dumb. So dumb,” he said.
Source: Press TV