Trump on the war in Ukraine "Sometimes you see two kids in the park fighting like crazy"

Donald Trump spoke about the war in Ukraine in the presence of Friedrich Merz: He reveals that there is a deadline for tougher sanctions, draws an astonishing comparison and analyzes the state of mind of the two warring parties.

In addition to relations with Germany and the drama surrounding Elon Musk, the war in Ukraine is also a topic in the White House when Donald Trump receives Friedrich Merz in Washington on June 5. The US President gives a telling insight into his view of the situation.

"He got hit and he lashed out, I understand that. He's been hit hard," says Trump with regard to Vladimir Putin, who recently suffered a heavy blow to his fleet of strategic bombers, among other things.

"I don't think he's playing games," the 78-year-old continues. "I've always said: he wants the whole thing. I thought he wanted the whole ..." It seems to dawn on Trump at this moment that he is about to blurt out that Putin's goal is actually the complete conquest of Ukraine. That's why he continues: "... everything to do with Ukraine."

Trump's predecessor

Trump emphasizes that the Russian invasion would never have taken place if he had been in office and repeats the myth that there was cheating in the penultimate US election. "Four years ago, there was no war. I always talked a lot with [Putin] about Ukraine: it was the apple of his eye, but he would never have done what he did."

Putin made mistakes, but so did his predecessor in office: "[Joe] Biden should never have allowed this war to happen." The terrorist attack by Hamas from Israel on October 7, 2023 would also not have happened with him, Trump said. The same applies to inflation. The President digresses, but then remembers that it's all about the war.

"It's a disgrace," says Trump, referring to a recent report: "Millions of people have died. Many more than people thought. And I've always said it." He is presumably referring to the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Trump's deadline

The Center has just made it public that both sides suffered 1.4 million casualties in the war. However, this includes casualties: Of the Russian loss of one million, the number of dead is said to be around 250,000. So there are no millions of dead.

Kremlin responds to criticismPutin exposes Trump's "impotence" in the Ukraine case

It is true that too many people are dying in Ukraine: Will Trump increase pressure on Putin with new sanctions, asks a reporter? "We won't make a deal if it doesn't stop," says Trump. "Is there a deadline?" shouts another.

"Yes, it's in my brain, the deadline," is the answer. "If I see the moment when it won't stop, we can be very tough. And it could be with both countries. It takes two to tango. We will be very tough - whether it's Russia or anyone else. There's a bloodbath going on there."

Trump's analogy

And then Trump brings up the "analogy" that he had also talked about the day before during a phone call with Putin that lasted more than two hours. "Sometimes you see two young kids fighting like crazy in the park: they hate each other," Trump begins his story.

And if you try to separate the squabblers, it doesn't work. "Sometimes it's better to let them fight for a while and then pull them apart." He also said this to Putin: "I said: 'President, maybe you have to keep fighting and suffer a lot. Because both sides are suffering." Only then could the parties be separated.

"It's a very familiar analogy," says Trump. "They fight, fight, fight. Sometimes you have to let them fight a little bit. You see it in field hockey, you see it in sports. The referees let them have a few seconds before they pull them apart. Maybe that's a negative because we say keep going."

Trump's insight

Trump's insight with regard to Putin and Selensky: "There is a lot of bad blood between the two. It's unbelievable: there is great hatred between these two men, but also between the warring parties. Great hatred."

He would prefer immediate peace, but the fighting in Ukraine would continue - especially after Operation Spider Web. Putin had told him that he therefore had no choice but to attack. "It won't be pretty", Trump knows. He told the Kremlin chief that he had better stop.

He was very proud of the fact that he had managed to stop the confrontation in the case of the nuclear powers India and Pakistan, Trump said - a fact that both countries have denied, by the way.

And he is not Russia's friend either, says the US President. "I'm not friends with anyone." Then Trump remembers his German guest. "I am your friend," he adds. Friedrich Merz laughs.