Donald Trump told me he would not abandon Ukraine in its hour of need and wanted it to be in the best possible position to negotiate with Russia, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said Friday. He said President Joe Biden's poor showing in the election debate would embolden U.S. opponents.
McCaul, one of the leading advocates of aid Ukraine in the Republican Party, commented this way Thursday's debate with Biden and Trump Before elections presidential in November. War in Ukraine was one of the main topics discussed during the meeting.
Donald TrumpJIM LO SCALZO/EPA/PAP
Trump has repeatedly blamed Biden for allowing the invasion Russia to the neighboring country, claiming that Vladimir Putin he chose it because he considers the democrat a weak leader. As he said, the invasion would not have happened if there was a leader in the White House respected by Putin with whom “he cannot play games.”
At the same time, he claimed that Ukraine was losing the war and complained about the cost of supporting Ukraine, falsely claiming that USA bear a much greater financial burden of supporting Kiev than Europe. He also announced that he would end the conflict in Ukraine even before he takes over the presidency as president-elect.
“He told me so himself”
According to McCaul, Trump's words should not be seen as an announcement of the abandonment of Ukraine. – I absolutely do not think he would leave Ukraine in times of need. He told me so himself. He said he told Putin that if he invaded Ukraine, he would get hit hard for it. And what? It worked. Unfortunately, the current president does not have the same deterrence factor, said the Republican politician.
As he recalled, despite complaints about the money spent by the US to support Ukraine, Trump did not oppose the adoption by Congress of the latest aid package for that country. “He wants Ukraine to be in the best possible position and have the best bargaining chips in negotiations with Russia,” McCaul assessed. At the same time, he admitted that he does not know how Trump would bring about an end to the war before taking office.
The Republican Party politician also assessed that the weak performance Joe Biden in Thursday's debate with Trump on CNN is a “very dangerous” signal to the enemies of the United States. “I think that as America's foreign adversaries look at the president, at his deteriorating cognitive abilities … it will only make them more aggressive and emboldened as long as Biden remains in the White House,” McCaul said.
Main photo source: JIM LO SCALZO/EPA/PAP