WASHINGTON: White House candidate Donald Trump on Thursday blamed US ally Ukraine for Russia’s invasion, arguing that President Volodymyr Zelensky had failed in his duty to halt hostilities before they started.

The comments — made in an interview with a podcast supportive of him — sparked an immediate backlash as critics accused the 78-year-old Republican former president of being a “traitor” and an “idiot.”

“Zelensky is one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen. Every time he comes in, we give him $100 billion. Who else got that kind of money in history? There’s never been (anyone),” Trump told the two-million-subscriber PBD Podcast.

“And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help him, because I feel very badly for those people. He should never have let that war start.” Trump immediately pivoted to criticising President Joe Biden, accusing him of having “instigated” the Ukraine war.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2024