Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends a concert at the Hanoi Opera House in Hanoi on June 20, 2024.
Gavriil Grigorov | Afp | Getty Images
There appeared to be an additional presence on stage with Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump in Thursday night’s CNN electoral debate: Vladimir Putin
The Russian leader was invoked roughly a dozen times in the 90-minute volley of verbal blows on domestic and foreign policy between the two candidates. Both have navigated the White House relationship with the Kremlin for a mandate each and shared very different views of the Russian leader.
Trump — who has denied accusations that Moscow interfered in his favor in the 2016 election — claimed that Putin would be deterred from conflict if he respected the leadership of opposing global superpowers.
“As far as Russia and Ukraine, if we had a real president, a president that knew — that was respected by Putin, he would have never — he would have never invaded Ukraine,” Trump said, according to a CNN transcript of the debate.
Dubbing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the greatest salesman ever,” Trump again criticized the extent of U.S. financial support for Kyiv throughout the conflict. Two months ago, Washington approved a foreign aid bill that earmarked roughly $60 billion for the war-torn country.
“I will have that war settled between Putin and Zelenskyy as president-elect before I take office on January 20th. I’ll have that war settled,” Trump said, without disclosing any details.
Trump said, however, that Putin’s latest demands for peace negotiations to begin — which include the withdrawal of Kyiv’s forces from Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Russia — are “not acceptable.”
In a separate pledge, Trump vowed to ensure the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia in March 2023 and now faces trial on charges of espionage.
“I will have him out very quickly, as soon as I take office, before I take office,” Trump said, noting that Putin is “probably asking for billions of dollars for the reporter.” The Russian leader has previously signaled interest in a potential prisoner swap for Gershkovich, rather than in financial compensation.
Zelenskyy has previously called Trump’s claim that he could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours “very dangerous” and appeared apprehensive over a potential White House return of the Republican candidate.
‘He wants all of Ukraine’
In keeping with the frosty relations between the Kremlin and his administration, Biden took a more glacial tone when characterizing Putin.
“The fact is that Putin is a war criminal. He’s killed thousands and thousands of people. And he has made one thing clear, he wants to re-establish what was part of the Soviet Empire, not just a piece, he wants all of Ukraine,” Biden said. In addition to its four illegal annexations since the 2022 invasion, Russia also previously took control of the Crimean Peninsula…
Read More: Specter of Putin casts a shadow over the Trump-Biden debate