Donald Trump said in an interview to be aired on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that he likes that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be "happy" if the former president can resolve the war in Ukraine if he retakes the Oval Office in 2024.
New show moderator Kristen Welker asked Trump what he thought of Putin saying: "[Trump] says he will resolve all burning issues within several days, including the Ukrainian crisis. We cannot help but feel happy about it."
"I like that he said that," Trump said. "That shows that I was right."
The former president said that if he returns to the presidency, he would get Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into a room to hash out the issues to end the ongoing war.
"I would bring them together, and I would get a deal worked out," he said. "It would have been a lot easier before [the war] started."
Trump said that while he got along with Putin while he was in office, he was tough on Russia and Putin would not have "done anything" with Ukraine although the nation was the "apple of his eye."
"Ukraine was the apple of [Putin's] eye," he said. "I told him, 'Don't ever do it; don't ever do it.' He would have never done it."
Trump said that President Joe Biden's policies regarding oil drove up prices, giving Putin a stable revenue source to prosecute the war.
"The prices were so high that he had so much money, so he had all this money to prosecute the war," Trump said. "The one who drove up the prices was Biden."
Trump said that his toughness on Russia included shutting down construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a policy that Biden reversed after taking office, allowing the construction to continue.
"I had it ended; the pipeline was dead," he said. "Biden came in and approved it."
He said that it is OK for the United States to get along with Putin and Russia because of the number of nuclear missiles each country has aimed at the other.
"Getting along is OK," he said. "But I got along through strength, and the war would have never happened."
Trump said that it will be hard now to stop the conflict as long as Russia continues to make large amounts of money in oil sales.
"When [Putin] goes above $50-$60 per barrel, he makes a lot of money on the war," Trump said. "I will get that war stopped."
Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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