Donald Trump “had a strong relationship” with Volodymyr Zelensky when he was in office, the U.S. senator and potential vice-presidential pick Tom Cotton (R-AR) claimed on Sunday, neatly sidestepping the fact of Trump's impeachment for trying to blackmail the Ukrainian president by withholding military support for his fight against Russia.
“President Trump has said that he strongly supports Ukraine's strength and survival,” Cotton told Fox News Sunday.
“He had a strong relationship when he was in office with President Zelensky. President Trump is the one that provided Ukraine the weapons they needed to fend off this Russian invasion that happened in large part because of Joe Biden's weakness.”
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Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, a year into Biden's presidency. The war drags on, Russia threatening Kharkiv, the second-largest Ukrainian city, as the Biden administration seeks to maintain US and international military support.
In July 2019, however, Trump staged a call with Zelensky in which he pressured the Ukrainian leader to help find dirt on political rivals prominently including Biden.
“I would like you to do us a favor though,” Trump said, according to a transcript.
Democrats seized on the call as evidence of malpractice. Trump was impeached for abusing his powers by offering Zelensky a quid pro quo, seeking political dirt in return for releasing $250m in military aid for Ukraine, which was then fighting Russian-backed separatists in eastern areas.
Trump was acquitted at his Senate trial when only one member of his own party, Mitt Romney (R-UT), voted to convict.
Trump survived a second impeachment for inciting the January 6 attack on Congress after the 2020 election. Notwithstanding his historic criminal conviction last month, on 34 charges in his New York hush money case, he remains the presumptive Republican nominee to face Biden at the polls this year.
Cotton is among Republicans jockeying to be named Trump's running mate.
On Fox News Sunday, he was asked to comment on reports Trump, long alleged by opponents to be too close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, intends if re-elected to push Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, thereby “rewarding Putin in order to wrap this thing up”.
“Is that just giving [Putin] what he wanted?” host Shannon Bream asked.
Cotton said: “President Trump and his campaign has said that any reports of plans like that are not authorized and they're not coming from the president himself. Furthermore, President Trump has said that he strongly supports Ukraine's strength and survival.”
“He had a strong relationship when he was in office with President Zelensky. President Trump is the one that provided Ukraine the weapons they needed to fend off this Russian invasion that happened in large part because of Joe Biden's weakness.”
The Trump administration eventually released the $250m in support to Ukraine.
Under Biden, as itemized by the Council of Foreign Relations, the US has authorized $175bn in military aid linked to Ukraine, $107bn of that directly aiding the government in Kyiv.
“Much of the U.S. aid has gone toward providing weapons systems, training, and intelligence that Ukrainian commanders need to defend against Russia, which has one of the world’s most powerful militaries,” the CFR says.
“Most Western analysts say the military aid provided by the United States and other allies played a pivotal role in Ukraine’s defense and counteroffensive against Russia.”
Cotton said: “I don't think President Trump wants to pre-judge what the situation will be come January [after the US election]. Nor do I, in part because we have no idea how much worse Joe Biden can screw things up.”
“We have to judge the circumstances as they exist next year when he returns to office hopefully, hopefully when we have a Republican majority in Congress as well, to make decisions about what best protects America's interests and the interest of our allies and partners.”
