Ex-Trump advisor: “Putin knows how to play him off”

Donald Trump has claimed that with him as US President, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine would never have happened. And he would end it immediately after taking office, he promised during the US election campaign. The question arises as to what will happen to Ukraine next year when Trump is president of the USA again.

This was discussed by the guests on the ZDF program Maybritt Illner under the motto “Trump and Putin – world in upheaval?” John Bolton, who worked as national security advisor for then US President Donald Trump between April 2018 and September 2019, was involved as an expert.

From Washington DC, Bolton gave his assessment of the issue: “Trump said that this war would never have happened if he had been president. That is wrong,” he emphasized on the show. He believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Trump’s re-election – it is exactly what he wanted.

According to Bolton, all of this is not a good sign for Ukraine. “I think Putin sees Trump as an easy target. He knows how to outplay him,” said the 76-year-old. Ukraine is not at the top of Trump’s agenda. First he will dedicate himself to expelling illegal immigrants and imposing tariffs. But Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could talk to each other about Ukraine very soon, Bolton speculated on the show.

“I think this is a script that Putin himself could have written,” Bolton said. A conversation with Trump is Putin’s chance to get out of a war that has cost the Russians a lot – money, but also soldiers’ lives. “If this ceasefire had existed along the existing front line, then he would have annexed 20 percent of Ukrainian territory,” Bolton continued.

Trump would then look like a winner who persuaded Putin to take this step. “This is the most important thing for Trump,” Bolton said. He is also concerned about the soon-to-be US president’s plans to leave NATO: “Trump really believes in it. The question is whether he can be distracted from it for four years.”