Trump Backs Pete Hegseth’s Ukraine NATO Talk, After Defense Sec Walks Back Statement: ‘His Comments Were Good’
President Donald Trump backed up Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s controversial statements on Ukraine not joining NATO after being asked whether he told Hegseth to “walk back” his comments.
During a White House press conference on Thursday, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins pressed Trump on blowback to Hegseth’s comments this week, which included saying that Ukraine joining NATO would not be part of negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“I want to be clear about something as it pertains to NATO membership not being realistic outcome for negotiations. That’s something that was stated as part of my remarks here, as part of the coordination with how we’re executing these ongoing negotiations,” Hegseth announced on Thursday after critics blasted him for the Ukraine talk, especially as negotiations to end the war are ongoing.
Trump said later that Hegseth’s comments were “pretty accurate” and also cast doubt on the chances of Ukraine joining NATO.
Check out the exchange below:
KAITLAN COLLINS: “Did you ask Secretary Hegseth to walk back his comments yesterday saying Ukraine won’t join NATO, it won’t go back to pre-2014 borders because those are bargaining chips you could use?”
DONALD TRUMP: “No, I didn’t. Somebody told me he did, but I thought his comments were good yesterday, and they’re probably good today. They’re a little bit softer perhaps, but I thought his comments yesterday were pretty accurate. I don’t see any way that a country in Russia’s position — just in their position — could allow them to join NATO. I don’t see that happening. And long before President Putin, Russia was very strong on the fact that — I believe that is the reason the war started, because Biden went out and said they could join NATO and he shouldn’t have said that. As soon as he said that, I said know, you know what? You are going to have a war now, and I was right about that. This is a war that would’ve never happened if I were president.”
COLLINS: “You think it’s President Biden’s fault, not President Putin. I mean, he’s the one—”
TRUMP: “I think Biden is incompetent. And I think when he said they could join NATO, I thought that was a very stupid thing to say. I thought when he said, well, it depends if it is a minor incursion.’ In other words, it’s okay if Russia does a minor incursion. I thought that was a very foolish thing to say.”
Watch above via Fox News.
