'We're No Longer Losing Money On That Thing': Trump Touts Ukraine-NATO Defense Talks

Forbes Breaking News

President Donald Trump was asked about security guarantees for Ukraine in the Oval Office on Monday.

Transcript

00:00You rolled out boots on the ground in Ukraine, but how would air support as part of a security guarantee be any different?

00:08Those U.S. airmen...

00:09Well, you really went from one question to the net.

00:11You went from one...

00:13I expected it at least challenged me a little bit.

00:16Now we're talking about boots on the ground.

00:18But U.S. air assets over the skies of Ukraine as part of a security guarantee, wouldn't those U.S. airmen also be in danger?

00:24Well, you don't know what security guarantee is because we haven't even discussed the specifics of it.

00:28And we'll see.

00:30Number one, Europe is going to give them significant security guarantees, and they should because they're right there.

00:35But we'll be involved from the standpoint of backup.

00:38We're going to help them.

00:40And I think if we get a deal, and I think we will, but if we get a deal, you're not going to...

00:45I don't believe you're going to have much of a problem.

00:47But we'll back it up because I want to stop seeing people being killed.

00:51You know, when Biden was here, he gave $350 billion.

00:55You know this from covering business.

00:57$350 billion to Ukraine.

01:02I said that Zelensky is the greatest salesman I think I've ever met better than P.T. Barnum because he'd come to the country.

01:08He'd walk out with $50 billion every time.

01:10He actually came here once.

01:11He walked out with $100 billion.

01:13We're up to $350 billion.

01:15I got a trillion dollars' worth of rare earth that we have from the country because I felt badly for our taxpayer.

01:23But I did something else at the NATO meeting.

01:26They are wealthy countries, but they weren't paying.

01:30And we don't pay any money to Ukraine anymore.

01:33Do you know that?

01:33In fact, it's the opposite.

01:37They request, through NATO, we deal with NATO.

01:41We don't deal, really, with Ukraine.

01:43NATO requests missiles.

01:44They want patriots.

01:45They want missiles.

01:46We give the missiles to NATO.

01:49NATO pays us in full and does what they want.

01:52I mean, I think they give them mostly to, they can do other things with them, too, because we're dealing with NATO.

01:58We pay no money to Ukraine.

02:00We gave $350 billion to Ukraine.

02:04You know, if we didn't give that kind of money, and I was the one that gave the javelins, if you remember.

02:08I gave the javelins.

02:09They were very effective.

02:11They say Obama gave sheets and Trump gave javelins.

02:15They were very effective with those tanks right at the beginning.

02:18But you would have never had a war if I were president.

02:20You would have never had a war.

02:21Just to finish, we spend no money on Ukraine anymore.

02:28We were getting fleeced by a president that didn't know what he was doing.

02:34To be honest, I don't blame Ukraine.

02:36I mean, if they come and ask for $100 billion, then they get it.

02:39But we were in for $350 billion.

02:42Now, we make money.

02:44I don't want to make money on Ukraine.

02:46I want the war to end because I want to save all those lives.

02:48I want to just say, but just so you understand, we're no longer losing money on that thing.

02:52We were losing money hand over fist.

02:55And now we don't lose any money.

02:56Now we sell weapons to NATO.

03:00Because NATO agreed, because of me, to go to 5%, they had 2% and didn't pay.

03:06Now they have 5% and they're all paid up.

03:08So they have trillions of dollars and they give us that money.

03:11But I really want the war to end.

03:14And we're going to get it ended.

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