Trump says ‘shame’ people in Ukraine dead because of ‘rigged’ US election

Former President Donald Trump blamed the Russian invasion of Ukraine on a “rigged” presidential election in 2020.

During an interview with Piers Morgan that aired on Monday, he mentioned the election as a possible motive for Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine. He said that if he had been president, the invasion would not have occurred.

“It’s a tragedy that all of those individuals died because of a crooked election,” he remarked. “Because you wouldn’t have had anyone killed if our election hadn’t been rigged.”

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Trump and his supporters have long maintained that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him caused by major voter fraud, although no proof has been offered to support the assertion.

During the interview, he slammed the Biden administration’s response to the invasion, claiming that if he were still president, he would respond “very strongly.”

When Obama informed Russian President Vladimir Putin what the US would do if he attacked Ukraine, he added, “his response was ‘really.'” Trump asserted that if Putin had trusted him “even five percent,” he would not have invaded.

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When asked what he told Putin about his reaction, Trump said he “is not going to say that,” only described it as “a very strong response.”

He refused to specify whether he threatened to use nuclear weapons, but later in the interview stated that he “threatened him as he has never been threatened before.” He also slammed President Joe Biden for “kowtowing” to Putin on nuclear weapons.

“I would say, ‘We have far more than we do. Far more powerful than you do, and you cannot use that word ever again. You cannot use the nuclear word ever again,’ ” he stated. “And if you do, we’re going to have problems.”

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He also continued to condemn Russia’s incursion, calling it a “horrible waste” and a “shame,” and urging Putin to “make a deal, and make it fast” with Ukraine to halt the war. He has long sided with US authorities in their opposition to the war.

Trump is hardly the first Republican to claim that the war would not have occurred under his presidency. In reality, Trump said in January, months before the invasion, that the tensions would not have arisen under his leadership. Some experts, however, have questioned that allegation.

The interview gained notice after Trump accused Morgan of uploading an unfair promotional tape that purported to show Trump storming out of the conversation—the second portion of which was advertised for Tuesday.