Trump Brags About ‘Very Good Relationship With President Putin’ In Joint Appearance With Zelensky

Topline

Former President Donald Trump boasted that his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin is “very good,” while standing beside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, prompting a strained back-and-forth that follows a week of heightened tensions between Republicans and the Ukrainian president.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former President Donald Trump meet on September 27, 2024 … [+] in New York City. The meeting coincides with Zelensky’s visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. (Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Trump, during a press conference with Zelensky after their meeting at Trump Tower, said he has a “very good relationship” with both Putin and Zelensky, repeating his claims that he would facilitate a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine war if he were elected.

Zelensky then interrupted Trump and said “I hope we have more good relations,” prompting Trump to chuckle “oh I see, yeah, but you know it takes two to tango,” apparently referring to Zelensky’s heightened criticism of Trump and his claims that he would end the conflict.

Zelensky and Trump met as the Ukrainian president is visiting New York for the United Nations General Assembly this week.

Zelensky also met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington on Thursday, a visit that coincided with the Biden administration’s announcement that the U.S. will deliver a new $375 million aid package to Ukraine.

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Surprising Fact

Friday’s meeting is their first since 2019.

Tangent

Trump reprised his claims of innocence in the 2019 impeachment investigation against him in which he was accused of withholding aid to Ukraine to pressure Zelensky to investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Trump said Friday that Zelensky defended him during the investigation and told congressional investigators: “‘President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong,’ he said it loud and clear, and the impeachment hoax died right there.” Trump was impeached by the House but later acquitted in a Senate trial.

Key Background

Republicans have amplified their criticism of Zelensky during his U.S. visit this week, accusing him of aiding Harris’ campaign by visiting an ammunition factory in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., equated the Sunday visit to “election interference” in a letter to Zelensky this week demanding he fire Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. The GOP-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday also announced it was opening a probe into the visit. Zelensky sharpened his rhetoric against Trump this week, telling The New Yorker in an interview published Monday that “Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might ‘think’ he knows,” while also calling Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, “too radical.” Trump has repeatedly bragged about how he would end the war in Ukraine, without offering details of his strategy, and repeatedly called Zelensky the “greatest salesman on Earth” this week in reference to the continued flow of U.S. aid to Ukraine. “Every time Zelensky comes to the United States he walks away with $100 billion,” Trump said Tuesday at a campaign event in Georgia (the U.S. has actually provided about $60 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war in 2022).