Donald Trump Jr has been mocked on social media after he suggested his father should join America’s Nato allies for high-stakes talks about the war in Ukraine.
Mr Trump Jr, the eldest child of former President Donald Trump, tweeted on Tuesday night that sending President Joe Biden to talks would “embolden our enemies further” whereas his father would “get something done”.
“Sending Biden to Europe for ‘High Stakes’ NATO talks will only embolden our enemies further,” he wrote.
“If you want to get something done right send Trump.”
By Wednesday, the phrase “send Trump” was trending on Twitter, with many social media users suggesting that the former president instead be sent to Moscow - and left there.
“Send trump to Moscow. Leave him there,” tweeted one person.
“99% of actual Americans agree we should send trump to Moscow. And leave him there,” wrote another.
Some said Mr Trump and his son were both welcome to head to Ukraine to help defend the country from Russian attack, with some even offering to pay for their plane tickets.
“Nothing is stopping any Trump from flying into Kyiv and lending a hand, Tough Guy,” one person told Mr Trump Jr.
The former president’s record with Vladimir Putin and Ukraine was also pointed out by several Twitter users.
Mr Trump was impeached for the first time in December 2019 for threatening to withhold military aid from Ukraine if President Volodymyr Zelensky didn’t carry out an investigation into Hunter Biden - the son of his political rival Mr Biden.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump long spoke highly of Mr Putin and repeatedly refused to accept US intelligence that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
Just over 24 hours before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Mr Trump heaped praise on Mr Putin, calling him a “genius” and “a guy who’s very savvy” and who he knows “very, very well”.
“@DonaldJTrumpJr I missed the part where your father criticized Putin’s aggression. Send Trump to negotiate on behalf of Russia?” one person tweeted.
“Send Trump to Eastern Ukraine so he can experience Putin’s genius in person,” another tweeted.
“Send Trump to negotiate with the #RussianSoldiers to stop their ‘genius’ and ‘savvy’ bombing/attacks of buildings/homes/hospitals and killing of and injuring civilians,” said another.
Others pointed to the former president’s record with negotiating and working with other world leaders.
“Let me get this straight, Junior wants to ‘Send Trump’ the only guy that was laughed at by the United Nations and NATO,” one person tweeted.
The Twitter user shared a video clip from 2018 where members of the United Nations General Assembly laughed at the former president boasting.
“In two years, we have accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” he said, to which several world leaders cracked up laughing at the claim.
The “send Trump” trend came as the former president attempted to take credit for apparently rescuing the Nato alliance, in response to Mr Zelensky’s wartime address to Congress on Wednesday morning.
“People forget so quickly, with the help of the Fake News, that it was me that got the 20 out of 28 delinquent Nato countries to start paying the money that they owed in order to rebuild a floundering Nato,” Mr Trump claimed.
“Nobody knew things would happen so rapidly, but Nato was poor and now it is rich, and all of the Fake News commentators that said Trump was tearing down Nato should be ashamed of themselves for telling lies.”
He made the claims despite previously describing Nato as “obsolete” and after he is widely believed to have considered pulling the US out of the alliance altogether.
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
