 "A screen shows the presidential debate between Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris outside the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City, US. Reuters")
While discussing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war at the first US Presidential debate against US Vice President Kamala Harris, former US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that the war would have never happened if he had been in office.
“If I were president, it would have never started. If I were president, Russia would have never, ever, I know Putin very well. He would have never. There was no threat of it either,” Trump said at the ABC News debate. The business-mogul-turned politician slammed current US President Joe Biden for not holding any conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the start of the war.
He also accused the Biden administration of not asking the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to “invest more in the war”. Interestingly, Trump seemed hesitant to say if he wants Ukraine to win against Russia. It is important to note that throughout the start of the war, the US has remained a strong ally of Ukraine. Washington has also spent billions in providing humanitarian and military aid to the war-stricken nation.
Trump sidesteps question on Ukraine
The former US President sidestepped the question of whether he wanted to see Ukraine win against Russia, instead of simply ending the war. “I want the war to stop. I want to save lives,” Trump said. He even vowed to solve the war before taking office by negotiating with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
When asked again whether it was in the best interests of the US for Ukraine to win the war, Trump said that it was in the country’s interest “to get this war finished”. “What I’ll do is I’ll speak to one, I’ll speak to the other. I’ll get them together,” Trump said, adding that the conflict “would have never happened” if he had been president.
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More ShortsPutin would ’eat you for lunch’: Harris hits back
After hearing Trump’s dodgy response, the vice president slammed him, claiming that Putin would have captured Kyiv if Trump was in office. “He would eat you for lunch,” she said, attacking Trump’s timid response. Harris insisted that if Trump was the president, he would take Ukraine and threaten Poland next.
“Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favour and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator, who would eat you for lunch,” she said.
She also pointed to Turmp’s friendly relations with dictators and autocrats all over the world. “The alliances we have around the world are dependent on our ability to look out for our friends and not favour our enemies because you adore strongmen instead of caring about democracy,” she said. “And that is very much what is at stake here."
“The president of the United States is commander in chief and the American people have a right to rely on an American president who understands the significance of America’s role and responsibility in terms of ensuring there is stability and ensuring we stand up for our principles and not sell them for the benefit of personal flattery,” she added.
In the debate hosted by ABC News, Trump and Harris sparred over several issues such as the economy, immigration, abortion and the Israel-Hamas war.
This is a developing story.