Better than anyone · Between terms · № 43
'Nobody probably knows him better' than Trump, days before the invasion
“I think nobody probably knows him better in terms of the discussions that we have or that we're having this morning. So, I knew him very well. I got to know him.”
- Said
- , Interview on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton radio show
- Subject
- Vladimir Putin
- Topic
- Ukraine & Russia
- Era
- Between terms
What the record showed
In the same interview Trump called Putin's recognition of breakaway Ukrainian regions 'pretty savvy'; Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. In his second term Trump said on March 30, 2025, 'I've known him for a long time. We've always gotten along well,' then on May 25, 2025 wrote that Putin 'has gone absolutely CRAZY!' and on July 8, 2025 said 'We get a lot of bull--t thrown at us by Putin.' The August 15, 2025 Alaska summit ended with Trump saying 'There's no deal until there's a deal,' and on September 23, 2025 he called Russia 'a paper tiger.'