at the time. “There was a discrepancy in preparation, and it created an unequal footing.”
Trump slapped this down in a statement, saying he was “perfectly prepared” and he did “very well at those meetings.”
Trump was first impeached by the House of Representatives in December 2019 after it was revealed he tried to have Zelensky investigate President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, over potential impropriety by threatening to withhold military aid to the former Soviet republic.
Though the Senate acquitted him in 2020, Trump told Zelensky on a phone call in July 2019: “The other thing, there’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great.” He added: “Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … It sounds horrible to me.”
Ukraine has been front and center in the 2024 presidential campaign. When Trump met with Zelensky in New York last month, he used the opportunity to declare his support for the Ukrainian and Putin as he once again claimed that he will end the war. “We have a very good relationship,” he told reporters as he stood with Zelensky.
“And I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin,” he added. “And if we win, I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly.”
Trump had previously canceled plans to meet with the Ukrainian leader after Zelensky sparked GOP outrage by visiting the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
