Trump: Blir jag president drar jag in stödet till Ukraina

"When you watch it, when you see what’s going on. Now, who knows where it’s going? Very brave people, these — the way they’re fighting, it’s an amazing thing,” he said. “But this would never have happened. Already thousands of people are dead.” This has become a common theme in his responses: the unprovable insistence that there would have been no invasion if he were still president.

He again downplayed the role of sanctions — “sanctions are very expensive for our country also” — though, echoing the broader conversation of the moment, he suggested that Russia be expelled from the SWIFT banking system. (It was the next day.) Asked what advice he might give Biden, Trump would only offer an unsubtle hint.

“There are things that he should do — I would rather not tell him under this forum. I don’t think it’s appropriate to say that, but there are things he could do that are very strong, very powerful, that I think would end it pretty quickly,” Trump said. “But remember this: We are the greatest nuclear power.”

It’s important to notice how Trump, who long boasted of having not started any new conflicts as president, spoke more openly about a military response at CPAC. Here, again, he was reflecting a growing sentiment in his party.

At a gathering of top-tier Republican donors on March 5, Trump was explicit: Maybe the the United States should reflag its aircraft as Chinese and bomb Russian troops. Then, he said, “We say, China did it, we didn’t do it, China did it, and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch.” The audience laughed.