President Donald Trump avoided a direct question during Tuesday night’s presidential debate about whether he would like Ukraine to win a war with Russia, instead highlighting concerns that a second Trump administration might cut off military aid to Kiev.
Asked directly by ABC’s David Muir if he wanted Ukraine to win the war, he did not answer the question, simply saying, “I want the war to stop.” He focused on the human cost of the war, saying people are being killed in “millions,” a figure that has not been confirmed by any country or international organization.
Mr Trump also said that if elected he would negotiate the agreement before taking office, suggesting the US was “playing with World War III”.
Kamala Harris quickly jumped on his remarks, saying that if Trump had been president at the time of the invasion, “Putin would have been sitting in Kiev and looking at the rest of Europe,” and that in such a scenario, the Russian president would head to Poland.
“Just tell the 800,000 Polish Americans here in Pennsylvania how readily they would give up the goodwill and friendship of a man known as a dictator who would eat you for lunch.”
Trump’s comments are likely to rekindle fears in Kiev that if he is re-elected at a critical juncture in the war, he would cut off military and economic aid to the country at a time when Kiev desperately needs soldiers, financial support and military equipment – much of it supplied by the United States and its NATO allies.
Trump’s advisers have already suggested they are working on a peace deal that Ukraine would be forced to accept before he wins the November election and takes power in January. Trump acknowledged as much on Tuesday night, calling the Russian aggression “a war that I want to resolve quickly. I intend to resolve it before I become president.”
Since the invasion began, President Trump has been skeptical of sending military weapons to Ukraine, prompting his party to block significant military funding to the country for several months earlier this year.
Polls show majorities of voters from both parties support Ukraine in the war, but Trump’s failure to back Kyiv has led many within the party to withdraw their support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Harris argued that Trump’s peace plan was simply a decision to capitulate to Moscow. “When Donald Trump says this war will be over in 24 hours, I think it’s because he’s just going to give up,” she said. “That’s not who we are as Americans.”