During his heated Oval Office press conference on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Donald Trump told the Ukrainian leader he should be grateful because Trump gave him effective weapons to fight back against the Russian invasion, while his “stupid” predecessor Joe Biden and Barack Obama were slow to provide lethal military assistance.
When Trump said Zelensky should take a ceasefire deal “so the bullets stop flying,” Zelensky dismissed previous ceasefire attempts as ineffective due to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s treachery, a point he had stressed earlier in his argument with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
“Of course we want to stop the war, but I said to you, where is guarantees?” Zelensky responded. “Ask our people about ceasefire, what they think.”
WATCH — Get Out! Zelensky Leaves White House After Trump, Vance Torch Him in Oval Office Meeting:
“That wasn’t with me,” Trump shot back. “That was with a guy named Biden, who was not a smart person. That was with Obama.”
“We gave you, through this stupid president, $350 billion,” Trump noted.
“That was with Obama, who gave you sheets,” Trump continued over Zelensky’s objections. “And I gave you Javelins. I gave you the Javelins to take out all those tanks. Obama gave you sheets. In fact, the statement is: ‘Obama Gave Sheets, and Trump Gave Javelins.’”
“You gotta be more thankful,” Trump said, hitting a recurring point in his and Vance’s dispute with Zelensky. “Because let me tell you, you don’t have the cards. With us, you have the cards. But without us, you don’t have any cards.”
WATCH — Trump and JD Vance Warn Zelensky About Rejecting Peace: “You Don’t Have the Cards Right Now”:
The FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile is a devastating man-portable weapon that kills tanks by launching a missile that drops vertically on top of the enemy tank, where its armor is thin. The Javelin is, by general acclaim, the most effective anti-tank weapon in the world today.
In 2018 and 2019, the first Trump administration approved large sales of lethal munitions to Ukraine that included hundreds of Javelin missiles taken from U.S. Army stocks.
As Trump recalled on Friday, the Ukrainians had been asking to buy lethal military aid ever since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, but the Obama administration refused those requests, fearing that selling such weapons to Ukraine could escalate its conflict with Russia. Instead, the Obama administration insisted on selling only training and support equipment to the Ukrainians.
Left-wing media outlets fumbling to “fact check” Trump on Friday tried to claim he was only somewhat correct to dismiss Obama’s non-lethal aid because the Obama administration did send some military equipment to Ukraine after Russia annexed Crimea. However, while it might have been useful, that equipment was all non-lethal – night vision gear, radar systems, and medical equipment.
This led to the comment Trump referenced with his “Obama sent you sheets” line. In February 2015, the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) complained, “The Ukrainians are being slaughtered, and we’re sending them blankets and meals. Blankets don’t do well against Russian tanks.”
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