Donald Trump has said the U.S. should prioritize curbing illegal migration rather than “worrying about Putin”, days after the president’s explosive row with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform Sunday evening for his first comments on the Russia-Ukraine war since the president and Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of “gambling with World War III” in a widely criticized at the White House press conference on Friday.
“We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country - So that we don’t end up like Europe!,” he wrote.
Earlier Sunday, Trump shared a 600-word commentary from Michael McCune, an Arizona-based wedding DJ, who praised him for playing Russia and Ukraine “like a master chess player.”
“Trump played both sides like a master chess player. In the end, Zelenskyy will have no choice but to concede, because without U.S. support, Ukraine cannot win a prolonged war against Russia,” McCune wrote. “And once U.S. companies have mini g operations in Ukraine, Putin will be unable to attack without triggering massive international consequences.”
He concluded: “In this game of chess, he’s 10 moves ahead of everyone.”
Trump and Zelensky’s Oval Office talks began more cordially Friday, before they devolved into a furious shouting match, ending with the Ukrainian president leaving without signing the minerals deal to secure U.S. help in ending the war with Russia.
The meeting began with Zelensky, who had flown to Washington to seek security guarantees, emphasizing the urgency of his visit. Trump again claimed that the Russia-Ukraine war “would never have happened if I was president.”
After Vance goaded Zelensky, asking him to show more gratitude toward Trump, the U.S. commander-in-chief interjected: “You’re gambling with World War Three, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.”
After the heated exchange, a White House official said Trump was uninterested in reviving the agreement between both countries, while the president is considering axing military aid to Ukraine, according to the Washington Post.
Zelensky has refused to apologize over the Oval Office spat but said his relationship with the president is salvageable.
On Sunday evening, Zelensky doubled down on the significance of U.S. support for Ukraine after meeting with British and European leaders.
“There will be diplomacy for the sake of peace. And for the sake of us all being together – Ukraine, all of Europe and definitely, definitely America,” he said.
The evening prior, Trump boasted that immigration had fallen to historic lows during his tenure and declared that “the invasion of our country is OVER.”
The month of February, my first full month in Office, had the LOWEST number of Illegal Immigrants trying to enter our Country in History – BY FAR!,” he added, without citing the source of his claims. “Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants.”
