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President Donald Trump campaigned for the presidency on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine on “day one,” but now appears to have backpedaled on the bold claim and said it was made “in jest.”
Trump repeatedly boasted throughout his presidential campaign and after his White House victory that he could end the war in “24 hours.”
Three months into Trump’s presidency, Russia is still bombing Ukraine. In a sit-down interview with TIME published Friday, he was quizzed about the comments.
“Well, I said that figuratively, and I said that as an exaggeration, because to make a point,” Trump told the outlet. “And you know, it gets, of course, by the fake news...Obviously, people know that when I said that, it was said in jest, but it was also said that it will be ended.”
Trump also repeated his claim that the war would “never have happened” if he were president in 2022, when Russia first invaded Ukraine, and blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden.
“It's a war that would have never happened if I was president,” Trump said when he was asked what’s taking so long to end the conflict. “It's Biden's war. It’s not my war. I have nothing to do with it. I would have never had this war. This war would have never happened. Putin would have never done it.”
The president started making the claim in March 2023, just over a year after Russia invaded Ukraine.
“I will have it solved within one day,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in March 2023.
“They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours,” Trump said in May of that year.
Last August on the campaign trail, he told a National Guard Conference that “before [he] even arrived at the Oval Office, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled.”
Russia’s bombing of Kyiv overnight Thursday, where at least 12 people were killed according to local officials, marks the worst attack on Ukraine in months.
Trump lashed out about the strikes as the White House attempts to broker a deal to end the conflict.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV,” Trump fumed on Truth Social. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!”
Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is in Moscow and has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for critical peace talks after the president claimed they were “very close” to a deal.
They discussed the U.S. proposal for peace in Ukraine, which has been billed by Washington as a ‘final offer’ to Moscow and Kyiv. The Kremlin called the talks “constructive and very useful,” according to Reuters.
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