President Donald Trump said the reason Russia invaded Ukraine under President Biden instead of himself is obvious.
Trump had a historic meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss the possibility of peace with Ukraine. In a press conference after their discussion, Putin confirmed Trump's long-held claim that he would not have started a war with the Ukraine if Trump was in the Oval Office at the time, in early 2022.
Speaking with Fox News' Sean Hannity soon after, Trump said he knew exactly why that invasion happened under President Biden, and not under his watch.
'He said your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting.'
Hannity brought up Putin's statement, and asked if the Russian leader gave specific reasons as to why he made the remark.
"He did," Trump began. "I know the reason, it's gross incompetence. We have a border that is totally close now and people come in, but they come in legally."
Trump revealed that not only did Putin say that if he had won the 2020 presidential election "we wouldn't have had a war," but also that Trump was cheated out of an election victory, as well.
The POTUS said that Putin pinpointed mail-in voting as the apparatus Democrats used to rig the election.
"He said your election was rigged because you have mail-in voting. He said mail-in voting, every election, he said no country has mail-in voting. It is impossible to have mail-in voting and have honest elections," Trump recalled, claiming that Putin said he won the presidency "by so much."
The 47th president explained that Putin also complimented the quick turnaround the United States has had since Biden left office, and that the U.S. is "hot as a pistol."
"A year ago he thought [the country] was dead," Trump relayed.
Trump also referred to the 2020 election as a "tragedy" because Biden taking office actually produced "something that was unthinkable."
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"He drove China and Russia together. That's not good," Trump continued. To counter this, the president said he wants to make sure America and Russia can work together.
Fox News White House correspondent Edward Lawrence reported that a significant chunk of the meeting was actually based on making business deals between Russia and the United States. This included talks about rare-Earth minerals that are in contested locations, and therefore could end up being shared by Russia and the U.S. in a future trade deal.
After rating the meeting with Putin a "10 out of 10," Trump said there were two "pretty significant items" that could be reached between the Russians and Ukrainians.
Hannity presented possible concessions that he felt Ukraine likely needed to make in order for Russia to accept peace, which included "land swaps," meaning "there will be more Russian territory than there had been," as well as "security measures" for Ukraine that will not rely on NATO.
Trump replied that those points were in fact negotiated, and were also "largely" agreed upon.
"Now it is really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done," Trump added, saying that he wanted to attend a meeting between the two foreign leaders out of necessity, not desire.
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President Donald Trump and Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin appeared in an amicable but short media briefing before reporters on Friday, where no deal was announced.
In the days leading up to the summit, Trump expressed optimism that the discussions would move toward a ceasefire and peace talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had projected just a 25% chance of failure for the meeting.
'We have a very good chance of getting there. We didn't get there, but we have a good shot of getting there.'
Trump said there had been some progress and that the meeting was a beginning for negotiations, but he did not say whether he would follow through on a threat to sanction Russia if they did not reach a deal.
Trump arrived in Alaska's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson around 3 p.m. Eastern for the scheduled meeting.
Trump greeted Putin on the tarmac, shaking his hand before walking together along a red carpet lined with four F-22 Raptor fighter jets. As they moved toward a stage with a sign that read "Alaska 2025," American military planes, including a B-2 stealth bomber, flew overhead.
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After posing for a brief photo-op, they entered the presidential limousine to head to their scheduled meeting.
Putin spoke first after the meeting and said in his comments that Trump was correct in saying there would have been no invasion of Ukraine had Trump been in office.
He said that he called Trump his "close neighbor" and talked about the historical ties between Russia and the U.S. He noted that there had been no summit between the two nations for four years and lamented that fact.
Putin also said he hoped Ukraine didn't participate in backroom dealings to undermine progress on a peace deal.
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"We had an extremely productive meeting. Many points were agreed to," Trump said, speaking second.
"There are just a very few that are left," he added. "Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant. But we have a very good chance of getting there. We didn't get there, but we have a good shot of getting there."
Trump concluded the briefing by offering that there could be a follow-up summit after this meeting.
"Next time in Moscow," Putin joked in English.
"That's an interesting one. I don't know. I think I may get a little heat on that one. But I could see it possibly happening," Trump responded.
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U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are slated to meet Friday in Alaska. Trump has referred to the upcoming summit as a "feel-out meeting" to determine the likelihood of reaching a ceasefire agreement and ultimately an end to the conflict with Ukraine.
Trump stated in the days leading up to the summit that if the talks are successful, there is a chance they will remain in Alaska longer than initially planned to host a second meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
'Trump is not likely to suffer another Putin ploy to string him along, making this meeting more consequential and high-risk for Moscow, with secondary sanctions and tariffs already placing a cost on those still supporting or doing business with Russia.'
Trump is optimistic that Putin "wants to get it done," though he noted that there is a 25% chance the meeting will be a failure.
"I believe now he's convinced that he's going to make a deal," Trump said. "I'm going to know very quickly."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made similar remarks ahead of Friday's summit, stating that the administration will know "very early" in the meeting "whether something is possible or not."
Trump has vowed to implement "very severe consequences," including sanctions, if Putin refuses to advance peace talks.
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He indicated that negotiations between Putin and Zelenskyy would likely require some "land swapping" that would be "good" and "bad" for both countries.
"Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine," Trump stated. "They've occupied some very prime territory. We're going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine."
Zelenskyy rejected Trump's land swapping idea, stating that Ukraine "will not give land to the occupier."
On Thursday, Putin said that the Trump administration was "making, in my opinion, quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities, stop the crisis and reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict."
Zelenskyy is less optimistic about the upcoming meeting, claiming that Russia has shown "no sign" that it is preparing to end the war.
"Our coordinated efforts and joint actions — of Ukraine, the United States, Europe, and all countries that seek peace — can definitely compel Russia to make peace," Zelenskyy said.
He has accused Russia of “dragging out the war,” insisting that “it deserves stronger global pressure.”
“Russia refuses to stop the killings, and therefore must not receive any rewards or benefits. And this is not just a moral position — it is a rational one. Concessions do not persuade a killer. But truly strong protection of life stops the killers,” he wrote in a post on social media.
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Regardless of the outcome of Friday's meeting with Putin, Trump intends to speak with the press afterward. However, it remains undecided whether the press conference will be addressed jointly.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously indicated that Trump and Putin would hold a press conference together, but Trump later appeared to walk back those plans.
"If it's negative, I'll have a press conference to say that the war is going to go on and these people are horribly going to continue to shoot each other and kill each other, and I think it's a disgrace, and I'll head back to Washington," Trump said. "Or I'll have a press conference that's positive."
Trump plans to call European leaders and Zelenskyy after his meeting with Putin to discuss next steps. He promised that the next meeting would involve both Putin and Zelenskyy.
"I will put the two of them in a room," he said. "I think it will get solved."
Trump is scheduled to meet with Putin at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson around 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
Brent Sadler, a national security senior research fellow with the Heritage Foundation, told Blaze News, “The best outcome is Putin beginning to talk and giving up his maximalist approach to negotiations. Trump is not likely to suffer another Putin ploy to string him along, making this meeting more consequential and high-risk for Moscow, with secondary sanctions and tariffs already placing a cost on those still supporting or doing business with Russia.”
When contacted for a comment, the White House directed Blaze News to the statements made by Trump and Leavitt ahead of the summit.
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