Former President Donald Trump refused to say what he would do to broker a peace negotiation between Ukraine and Russia, telling the Daily Caller he would have to be president to do it.
Trump has maintained that he would end Russia’s war on Ukraine in “24 hours,” making him the only presidential candidate to endorse peaceful negotiations between the two countries. (RELATED: On Ukraine, Trump May Have Just Set Himself Apart From His 2024 Rivals)
“What specifically will you do to end the war in 24 hours?” Daily Caller’s White House Correspondent Diana Glebova asked Trump at Saturday’s CPAC event.
“I’m not going to tell you that because if I told you that, I probably wouldn’t be able to do it,” Trump responded.
“We’re playing a giant chess game here… It would be so easy, to settle that war. I could do it in 24 hours,” Trump said, reiterating a claim he has made repeatedly.
“Now, you need to be president. You do. You have to be president. You need that office, that power, that whatever it is,” he added.
Daily Caller
“And again, it never would have happened. It never ever would have happened. Not even thinkable. But that can be settled in 24 hours,” he said.
Another reporter asked Trump what he did to keep Russian President Vladimir Putin “in check” during his administration.
“He knew there would be retribution if he went into Ukraine. He knew that. He was told that very strongly by me. I have a very good relationship with him, but he understood that, and I said ‘just don’t do it,'” Trump said.
He also called for European countries to pay their “fair share” in supporting Ukraine.
“The United States is really taking the whole load and it’s not right,” Trump said.