People think Trump accidentally said too much as he discusses how much money he made in interview
President Donald Trump has made a bold claim that he has earned billions more dollars than what the US has sent in support to Ukraine.
People believe the 78-year-old Republican may have accidentally given too much away as he discusses how much money he has made during a sit-down with Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier, while the POTUS was visiting Abu Dhabi.
While discussing the war in Eastern Europe, Baier touched on the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been ignoring Trump's threats he's been making on Truth Social.
Citing his plea for Putin to stop bombing Ukraine on April 24, in relation to the Russian airstrike of a residential area which saw at least nine people die and 70 more injured.
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Baeir said: "I haven't seen you get personal - on True Social you said, 'Vladimir stop', he hasn't stopped. And you had once said that maybe you need to look at other things like sanctions or banking, because maybe they need to be pressured in a different way."
On May 8, Trump threatened 'further sanctions' to Putin if he declined the ceasefire.
Trump wrote on his social media platform: "Talks with Russia/Ukraine continue. The U.S. calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. Hopefully, an acceptable ceasefire will be observed, and both Countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations.
"If the ceasefire is not respected, the U.S. and its partners will impose further sanctions. Thousands of young soldiers are dying on a weekly basis, and everybody should want it to STOP.
"I do, and the United States of America does, also."
Putin declined the ceasefire and instead suggested talks take place in Turkey, which Trump backed, then ultimately pulled out of the talks and the Russian dictator sent his officials instead.
Trump also did not attend the meeting, citing that he 'would not have wanted to disappoint UAE' by pulling out of his planned visit.
Speaking in Abu Dhabi, Trump replied to Baeir: "I don't want to see 5,000 people [die each week in the war]. Outside of the money, which is a big deal, but the money is the money - the money we can make up. I can make up the money on one trip like this, OK?
"I mean, think of it. This trip, I made 12 times the money that we're talking about. I made that money in a few days. I've always been good with money."
Baeir interjected: "It's not about the money, it's about pressuring Putin, right?"
Trump replied: "I know, but I've always been good with money - I make money. I made in four days, I made 12 times what we spent in Ukraine. So the money is the money."
So how much money are we talking about?
Since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the US Department of State has claimed it has provided the equivalent of $182.8 billion in support to Ukraine, while non-profit Kiel Institute - a German-based organization that is tracking support going into Ukraine - puts that figure at $119.7 billion.
However, Trump has claimed the figure to be as large as $350 billion, although he's provided no evidence to support this.
So is Trump really claiming he made between $1.4 trillion and $4.2 trillion in four days by striking deals in the Middle East?
People over on Twitter believe Trump may have accidentally put his foot in it by reporting the figures.
"I think he’s saying the quiet part out loud," one user joked.
Another said: "He’s conflating government expenditures on Ukraine, which apparently he continues to believe was $300 billion, with POTENTIAL investments in the US by foreign governments. The US government isn’t getting $4 trillion."
"He has no answer to the actual questions, cause his Ukraine policy is s**t as Putin plays him again and again, but he’s still too scared to stand up to him," explained another.
"So he deflects to some random side note that has nothing to do with it."
While a fourth typed: "Talking in circles to avoid the obvious that Putin is playing him and he’s been weaker than Biden(a low bar) on supporting Ukraine and bringing Russia to heel."
Topics: Donald Trump, Ukraine, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Truth Social
Joe Yates