A day after his conviction for sexual abuse, ex-US President Trump gave a rare interview to CNN. It was also about the role of the United States in the Ukraine war.
It was his first live appearance on CNN for several years: Former US President Donald Trump answered questions from citizens on Wednesday. It was about the Ukraine war, his conviction for sexual abuse and the storming of the US Capitol two years ago. It is unusual for Trump to appear on CNN. The broadcaster is considered to be rather liberal and is repeatedly attacked by Trump. Here is an overview of the interview:
At the beginning of a performance Trump repeated his lie that his 2020 election victory had been stolen from him. “I think if you look at the result and if you look at what happened in this election, if you’re not a very stupid person, you see what happened,” he said. According to the Republican, the presidential election that brought the Democrat Joe Biden into office was manipulated. CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins contradicted Trump. “It wasn’t a rigged election. It wasn’t a stolen election,” she said. Trump, in turn, accused Collins of pursuing a political agenda.
Trump on Europe: “They think we’re a bunch of idiots”
On the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine Trump said evasively on the show. When asked if he would continue to provide Ukraine with money and arms if he wins the 2024 presidential election, the Republican said, among other things: “I want Europe to provide more money because they are laughing at us. They think we’re a bunch of idiots.”
Trump claimed that the US government is giving away so much equipment that there is no ammunition left for its own troops. During his time in the White House, he had already accused Germany and other NATO countries of spending too little money on their own armed forces and hiding behind the protective shield of the well-armed US military.
Trump reiterated his claim that he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has been going on for more than 14 months, in 24 hours. Both parties to the conflict have strengths and weaknesses, he said. Asked by presenter Kaitlan Collins if Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, Trump said, “If you say he’s a war criminal, it’s going to be a lot harder to get a deal.”
Trump claims despite conviction: “I don’t know this woman”
The allegations after his conviction for sexual abuse against him Trump rejected again. “This is a made up story,” Trump said. The Republican railed again against the judiciary. He did not testify personally during the trial because it was a “set up,” Trump said. The judge was “terrible”. He scoffed at the US author E. Jean Carroll, who had won the lawsuit against him: “I don’t know this woman. I’ve never met her. I have no idea who she is.”
On Tuesday, Trump was sentenced to millions of dollars in compensation for sexual abuse and defamation in a civil lawsuit. A New York jury found it proven that Trump sexually assaulted writer Carroll in a New York upscale department store in 1996 (read more about the trial here).
