Former President Donald Trump tried to be sly Tuesday when asked if he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office in January 2021.
“I don’t comment on that,” Trump responded to a question about possible contacts with the Kremlin tyrant in an interview with Bloomberg News at the Economic Club of Chicago.
“But if I did,” the 78-year-old went on, “it’s a smart thing.”
Journalist Bob Woodward reports in his new book “War” that Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has held “as many as seven” phone conversations with Putin, 72, as a private citizen, leading to renewed questions about their relationship and speculation about whether the 45th president is attempting on his own to negotiate an end to Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait, who conducted the interview, later said that Trump appeared to have copped to having the phone calls.
“Actually, I said I don’t comment on those things,” Trump shot back.
Woodward also reported in his book that Trump sent Putin COVID-19 tests at the outset of the global pandemic in early 2020.
The former president initially denied that claim, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed last week that the Trump administration “sent us several samples of test kits.”
Peskov also denied that any post-presidential calls between Trump and Putin took place
Trump has long boasted about his relationship with Putin and has claimed that he would make Ukraine and Russia reach a peace agreement quickly — even before he gets into office.
Neither Trump nor President Biden have met with Putin since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
During a meeting last month with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said he has a good relationship with both Russia and Ukraine, prompting Zelensky to say he hoped the Ukrainian relationship was stronger than any ties to Moscow
Trump has not revealed what his strategy would be to end the war, but has suggested that Ukraine may have to cede land taken by Russia during the 32-month-old war, telling reporters last month: “We’ll have to see.”