Facing much criticism after his meeting with Mr. Putin on August 15, Mr. Trump responded on social media, attacking the media, Senator Chris Murphy, Mr. Zelensky, and the Obama administration.
In an effort to find a solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, US President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15.
However, after meeting with Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump faced a wave of fierce criticism from both domestic and foreign media.
Observers said that the conference did not bring clear results, while welcoming Mr. Putin to the US was considered a controversial “red carpet” action.
According to The Hill newspaper, on August 17, Mr. Trump immediately responded bluntly to the accusation. On the social network Truth Social, the US president wrote:
“The fake news has been spreading for three days that I ‘lost big’ for allowing President Putin to attend a big conference in the US. In fact, Mr. Putin did not want this meeting to take place here – and the media knows it.”
Trump did not stop there, but took aim at Senator Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), who had previously spoken on NBC’s Meet the Press, criticizing the summit with Putin as “an unofficial victory” for Russia.
“Chris Murphy – a weak and boring senator, both inside and out – said that Putin has achieved everything he wants.
The truth is that no one has achieved anything. It’s still a work in progress, but we’re getting very close.
Does Murphy think that just inviting Putin to the United States will make him stronger? The truth is the opposite, because this invitation is something Putin will not accept easily.
This war could be over immediately, but idiots like Murphy and a few others are making things more complicated,” Trump wrote.
In another tweet, Trump also publicly criticized President Zelensky, saying that the responsibility for ending the war “lies entirely with Kiev”:
“President Zelensky could end the war with Russia almost immediately – if he wanted to – or he could choose to continue fighting.”
Trump also blamed former President Barack Obama for allowing Russia to “take Crimea in 2014”, and said that the West’s push for Ukraine to join NATO was the catalyst for Russia to launch a war in 2022.