Former President Donald Trump has revealed details of his communications with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Speaking to Twitter chief Elon Musk during a recent two-hour interview, Trump described discussing Ukraine with the Russian President and urging him not to invade the country. Trump said he told Putin, “Don’t ever do it,” and warned him that if he did, the consequences would be severe. The former President said he warned Putin what he would do if the Russians invaded Ukraine, to which Putin replied, “No way,” and Trump answered, “Way,” and that was the end of the conversation. Mr. Trump did not reveal to Musk what exactly he warned Putin he would do.
The Republican Presidential candidate brushed off accusations that he is excessively friendly with Putin or that he admires his strongman dictatorial approach. He insisted he “shut down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline” against Putin’s wishes. He claimed the Russian told him, “If you’re my friend, I’d hate to see you as an enemy.”
The interview, broadcast on Twitter following technical glitches that delayed the start by around 40 minutes, was essentially a friendly exchange between the two men. Musk repeated his support for the Trump campaign. “America is at a fork in the road, and you are the path to prosperity, and I think Kamala is the opposite,” he said.
The discussion was marred, however, by mockery as Trump appeared to slur his words and speak with a lisp. Images of Daffy Duck swept across the internet, with some suggesting that Trump was in mental and physical decline. Others came to his defense, however, and noted that the software used to broadcast the interview frequently created an effect that made voices sound distorted.
Regarding policy, the former President said he would create an Iron Dome-like defense system for America and repeated his promise to deport millions of immigrants. The Iron Dome is an aerial missile defense system successfully used by Israel to deter bomb attacks launched by air.
Trump also stated that he would demolish the Department of Education and move educational decisions to individual states. He said this would be one of his first acts if he returned to the White House.
Left-leaning media have since declared that many of Trump’s claims were false, and “fact-checking” was carried out. For instance, Mr. Trump said crime was skyrocketing under the Biden-Harris administration, but FBI data from 2023 shows a reduction. He also said Harris wants to release prisoners, but her defenders say there is no evidence for that. The former President also briefly addressed climate change, prompting an outpouring of outrage from climate alarm quarters. Mr. Trump said sea levels would rise “about an eighth of an inch over 400 years,” but mainstream climate groups lashed back, stating that the seas are expected to increase by a foot over the next 30 years. They accused Trump of spreading dangerous fiction.
Kamala Harris’s campaign team responded to the interview by declaring it demonstrated the kind of President Donald Trump would be—one who serves “self-obsessed rich guys” like Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
