Trump Admits He ‘Thought’ He ‘Had It Done’ During Putin Meeting
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump said he believed he had successfully negotiated an end to the Russia-Ukraine war during his recent summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In an interview with The Daily Caller’s Reagan Reese, Trump broke down ongoing peace negotiations with Russia and Ukraine and once again vowed that no American troops will be deployed to Ukraine in the future.
The president said:
We’re talking about a lot of lives. We’re not talking about something that I started. I inherited this war. And all I’m trying to do is put out the flame, you know. And I thought I had it done. I did it seven times with other, I did it with wars that were tougher than this in terms of nobody. So three of those wars are going on for more than 30 years, and I got them all done. This war is just, it’s been very difficult. It’s been a difficult war.
The interview dropped on Saturday as Trump opponents pushed wild speculation about the president’s health, claiming he hadn’t been seen publicly in days. Trump was spotted, however, golfing on Saturday. As Reese also noted in an X post, her interview was conducted at the White House on Friday afternoon amid the speculation.
“He’s very much alive!” the reporter wrote, sharing a picture of her and the president.
Trump told Reese there needs to be a “security guarantee” to bring an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and he cast doubt on Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meeting alone.
“We’ve had a good relationship over the years, very good, actually,” he said about his summit with Putin. “That’s why I really thought we would have this done. I would have loved to have had it done. Maybe they have to fight a little longer. You know, just keep fighting. — stupidly, keep fighting.”
