Trump spoke to Putin 7 times since leaving office, sent him COVID-19 test machines: Report

Former US President Donald Trump has reportedly had up to seven private phone calls with Vladimir Putin since leaving office and secretly sent COVID-19 testing machines to the Russian president during the peak of the pandemic, according to a report.

According to CNN, citing Bob Woodward’s new book War, Trump asked an aide to leave his office at Mar-a-Lago in early 2024 to have a private call with Vladimir Putin.

The unnamed aide indicated that there have been several calls between Trump and Putin since he left office, possibly as many as seven during that time, added the report.

The book also reveals that Trump sent Putin COVID-19 testing machines for his personal use as the virus began to spread in 2020.

According to the book, Putin advised Trump to keep it a secret, warning that people would be angry with him. However, Trump reportedly responded that he didn’t care if anyone found out, ultimately agreeing to keep it under wraps.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, dismissed the reporting as “made up stories” and said the book is a work of fiction that could double as toilet paper.

“None of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” The Associated Press quoted Cheung as saying in a statement.

“President Trump gave him absolutely no access for this trash book that either belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore or used as toilet tissue. Woodward is a total sleazebag who has lost it mentally, and he’s slow, lethargic, incompetent and overall a boring person with no personality,” Cheung added.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

The book is slated to be out next week.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has engaged with several foreign leaders since leaving office, most recently meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York amid escalating tensions over Ukraine’s defense against Russia.

Trump has advocated for “peace” and an end to the war, criticising US support for Ukraine.

He suggested that Ukraine should have made concessions to Putin before the 2022 invasion and previously praised his relationship with the Russian leader, calling Putin “pretty smart” for his actions.

With inputs from agencies