Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Mikhail Metzel | Evelyn Hockstein | Via Reuters
President Donald Trump told campaign donors last year that he had threatened to “bomb the s–t out of Moscow” if Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, according to a new report.
Trump at the same donor meeting claimed he similarly threatened Chinese President Xi Jinping to deter China from invading Taiwan, according to audio obtained by CNN and detailed in a forthcoming book, “2024.”
“With Putin I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the sh– out of Moscow,” Trump told donors at the meeting, according to the audio, which CNN published late Tuesday.
” ‘I’m telling you I have no choice,’ ” Trump recalled saying.
“And then [Putin] goes, like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ But he believed me 10%.”
Trump said that Jinping largely dismissed Trump’s threats against China.
“He thought I was crazy,” Trump said, adding that “we never had a problem.”
NBC News and CNBC have not verified the authenticity of the audio.
Trump, who was first president from January 2017 to January 2021, did not say on the audio when he made the alleged threats.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, when Joe Biden was president.
The White House also did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on CNN’s report.
The audio underscores how Trump often spoke more candidly behind closed doors on the campaign trail as he tried to woo donors, CNN noted.
Since Trump returned to the White House, he has ramped up rhetoric criticizing Putin.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was “not happy” with the Russian leader for the war against Ukraine.
“He’s killing a lot of people …. his soldiers and their soldiers, mostly, and it’s now up to 7,000 a week,” Trump said of Putin during a Cabinet meeting.
