In Response to Donald Trump’s Claim About Moscow: Russia’s Reaction
The way Donald Trump views Russia has shifted over time. Although he initially appeared to be soft on Russian President Vladimir Putin, a recently leaked audio clip obtained by CNN paints a different picture. Russia has now responded to Trump’s alleged claim that he threatened to bomb Moscow.
The relationship between Russia and the United States has always been complex. Three years ago, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine altered the global landscape, significantly impacting the relationship between Russia, the United States, and other nations around the world.
Before becoming president in January, Donald Trump claimed he maintained a good connection with Vladimir Putin and pledged to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours. While this did not come to pass, Trump and the Russian president did engage in multiple conversations over the phone during this time.
Regarding Vladimir Putin at the time, Trump remarked, “I mean, I know him very well, and I think he wants peace.” He added that Putin seemed to desire peace, indicating that if it weren’t the case, Putin would have told him otherwise. Trump expressed confidence in Putin on this matter.
Today, however, circumstances have changed significantly. The peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have fallen through.
Donald Trump recently stated that Putin had been “throwing a lot of bullsh*t at the US” concerning his rejection of a peace agreement. At a Cabinet meeting, he openly expressed his dissatisfaction with Putin, stating, “I’m not happy with Putin. I’m not happy with them at all.”
While Trump hasn’t frequently criticized Putin in the media, it appears he had different intentions last year. CNN reported recently that they acquired recordings from Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, where he allegedly warned his funders of his intent to “bomb the sh*t out of Moscow” if Putin attempted to attack Ukraine.
According to CNN, Trump remarked at a 2024 fundraiser, “I told Putin that I would blow the living daylights out of Moscow if he invaded Ukraine. I’m telling you I have no choice.” Trump claimed that Putin didn’t entirely believe him but noted, “. . . [Putin] said, ‘I don’t believe you.’
Shortly after, Trump claimed he issued a similar warning to Chinese President Xi Jinping concerning a potential invasion of Taiwan, at one point mentioning “bombing Beijing.”
About Xi, Trump stated, “we never had a problem” and suggested Xi “thought I was crazy.” Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf also gained access to the audio recordings and described portions of the discussions in their book, 2024.
Neither Donald Trump nor anyone from his administration has publicly addressed the contents of the audio tapes described by CNN. Furthermore, the exact time and place of the alleged conversation between Trump and Putin remain unclear, although CNN notes the recording dates back to 2024.
The Kremlin swiftly rebuffed Trump’s claims featured in the audio tape. A report published by Newsweek on Wednesday cited the Russian state news agency TASS, where Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied if Trump warned Putin about Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Peskov emphasized that Trump and Putin had not spoken on the phone while Trump was not serving as the US president. Peskov commented, “The truth is that there were no telephone conversations back then.” After all, we are referring to the period before Trump took over as president.
“We also don’t know if this is real or not. Fakes are common these days. Fakes frequently overshadow accurate information. We always proceed with caution when we evaluate specific news,” Peskov added.
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