Just days after a Wall Street Journal poll indicated that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has an advantage over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris regarding swing state voters' confidence in managing foreign conflicts, Trump placed the blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a podcast interview released on Thursday. 

In a lengthy and confusing response on a conservative podcast, Trump criticised President Biden’s leadership when he unexpectedly expressed doubt about the administration's ongoing military support for Ukraine.

“I think Zelensky is one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen,” Trump said, repeating a familiar refrain. “Every time he comes in, we give him USD 100 billion. Who else got that kind of money in history? There’s never been. And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help him, because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start.”

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Later in the same podcast interview, the Republican shifted from blaming Zelenskyy to also criticising his own country's government, asserting that President Joe Biden played a role in ‘instigating’  the conflict.

Trump Campaign Clarifies Intent

However, the news agency AFP later reported that the Trump campaign clarified the former president was “clearly talking about Biden” and not Zelensky when he made those comments. Trump's remarks on Thursday were his first comments about Zelensky since the Ukrainian leader presented him with his “victory plan” during a meeting in September. Trump has frequently emphasised his ‘friendly relationship’ with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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As a potential president-elect, Trump has promised to resolve the conflict in Ukraine ‘before even entering the White House’, but he has not disclosed how he plans to achieve this.