In a recent CNN town hall event held in New Hampshire, former US President Donald Trump made a bold statement regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Trump claimed that if he were to be re-elected as President, he could put an end to the conflict in just one day.
During the town hall, Trump suggested that he would negotiate directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky in order to bring about a swift resolution to the conflict.
“I’ll meet with Putin. I’ll meet with Zelensky. They both have weaknesses and they both have strengths. And within 24 hours, that war will be settled. It’ll be over,” he stated confidently.
“I don’t think in terms of winning and losing. I think in terms of getting it settled,” Trump said.
“I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done,” Trump said, opposing the establishment Republican policy of backing Kyiv.
“I’ll have that done in 24 hours. I’ll have it done. You need the power of the presidency to do it,” Trump said.
However, Trump was less forthcoming when asked if he believed Putin to be a war criminal for alleged atrocities committed in Ukraine.
“If you say he’s a war criminal it’s going to be a lot tougher to make a deal to make this thing stopped,” he said.
“If he’s going to be a war criminal, people are going to grab him and execute him, he’s going to fight a lot harder than he’s fighting under the other circumstance. That’s something to be discussed at a later day.”
The former president also said he thinks that “Putin made a mistake” by invading Ukraine.
When asked to elaborate, Trump said, “His mistake was going in. He would have never gone in if I was president.”
Despite having been criminally indicted and remaining under multiple investigations on serious allegations, Trump has already announced his intention to run for President in 2024 and is currently considered to be a leading candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination.
