‘That’s Vladimir Putin’s Fault, Don’t You Agree?’ Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade Repeatedly Challenges Trump During Anti-Ukraine Rant

Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade repeatedly challenged President Donald Trump over his position on the war between Ukraine and Russia during an interview on Friday, interjecting to remind the president that the death and destruction that has occurred in Ukraine is “Vladimir Putin’s fault.”

Trump has been scathing in his condemnations of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in recent days, falsely asserting that Zelensky has a 4% approval rating, “started” the conflict between his nation and Putin’s, and is a “Dictator” responsible for the deaths of “MILLIONS.”

Kilmeade pressed Trump on his position on the war Friday, interjecting several times to remind Trump of Putin’s moral responsibility for it:

KILMEADE: Mr. President, cover of every newspaper, just about, is your stance in Ukraine. I was looking up — I almost found no indications that you’ve said anything bad about Zelensky up until the last few days. And it seems as though when he didn’t take the mineral deal and was critical of you for having a delegation talk in Saudi Arabia with Russia. That was a turning point for you, correct?

TRUMP: I’ve been watching this man [Zelensky] for years now as his cities get demolished, as his people get killed, as his soldiers get decimated. Where you have old men and young men, you have men that are too old to fight, men that are too young to fight. I’ve been watching this for years, and it’s a war that shouldn’t have started. I know because I was there. I had it — it didn’t start, would have never started, if I won the election, which I did, It’s a war that never, ever would have started. So I’ve been watching for years, and I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards, and you get sick of it. You just get sick of it. And I’ve had it. And he then made a deal with us for rare earth and things. Then who knows what rare earth is worth, you know, but at least it’s something. And who knows what it’s worth? Who knows if they even have it? But we made a deal with rare earth and Secretary of Treasury — very good guy, actually went there, and they couldn’t even come close to getting a deal done. And frankly, I wish he didn’t go there, waste all of his time like that. But they couldn’t get close. They met, right, and when they wanted to get it closed, he was unable to meet them again. But, so it was just a wasted trip. A dangerous trip too. I didn’t like it that he was doing it because, you know, he’s a good man. I didn’t want him to be — put himself under danger because I had a feeling something like that would happen. But look what you have. You have a man who’s led a country that had the most beautiful cities demolished had the most beautiful domes, those domes are the most beautiful —

KILMEADE: It’s all Russia’s — but that’s Russia’s fault, though, Mr. President.

TRUMP: They’re all demolished. A thousand-year-old domes and everything’s demolished. It was like a demolition site. The whole — it’s sort of like Gaza. In fact, it’s more — at least Gaza has a couple of buildings standing. This place, you take a look at the demolition of so many of those cities, and also those people are killed, never to come back again.

KILMEADE: But Mr. President, that’s all — that’s Vladimir Putin’s fault, don’t you agree?

TRUMP: I get tired of listening to it, I’ll tell you what. I’ve seen it enough. And then he complains that he’s not at a meeting that we’re having with Saudi Arabia trying to intermediate a peace. Well, he’s been at meetings for three years with a very, with a president who didn’t know what the hell he was doing. He’s been at the meetings for three years and nothing got done. So I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings to be honest with you. He’s been there for three years. He’s — he makes it very hard to make deals. But look what’s happened to his country, it’s been demolished.

KILMEADE: But no, no, I hear you. But Mr. President, but you know who’s to blame for that. Don’t you think it’s Vladimir Putin that did the invasion unwarranted to try to take back land he had no right to? And don’t you think fundamentally that’s that? And if you could just — and now both sides want to talk it seems, so we should just get to that point.

TRUMP: They only want to talk because of me. If I wasn’t involved, they wouldn’t be talking to each other. And Russia would continue to, you know, go through Ukraine because they are going through, Brian, they’ve taken a lot of land. And Russia would continue their march through Ukraine. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be talking at all. I’m the only reason they’re talking.

Listen to the full exchange above via The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox News Radio.