U.S. President-elect Donald Trump attends a meeting with Britain’s Prince William (not pictured) at the residence of the British ambassador to France, on the day of the reopening ceremonies of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral following the 2019 fire, in Paris, France, December 7, 2024.
Aaron Chown | Via Reuters
In an exclusive interview with Donald Trump on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, the president-elect told NBC News’ Kristen Welker that Ukraine will “possibly” receive less military aid once he takes office.
“We’re in for $350 billion, and Europe is in for $100 billion. Why isn’t Europe in for the same as us?” Trump told Welker of support that has gone to Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.
“The one thing that should happen is that Europe…should equalize,” he added.
On Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a $988 million aid package of new arms and equipment to Ukraine to help in the ongoing conflict following Russia’s invasion. All told, the U.S. has committed more than $62 billion in assistance to Ukraine since the conflict started nearly three years ago.
“I think [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy] is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that’s ever lived,” Trump previously said of the Ukrainian leader in June. The comments suggest that Zelenskyy’s diplomatic skills were to credit for the tens of billions of dollars in U.S. military aid packages, rather than the country’s actual needs.
Like his stance during his first term in the White House, Trump said that NATO needs to “pay their bills” as a condition of the U.S. remaining part of the military coalition. The incoming president has previously threatened multiple times to withdraw the country from NATO — an alliance that has been in place since World War II, with a primary mission of protecting against the growing power of Russia.
“Europe is in for a fraction, and war with Russia is more important for Europe than it is for us,” Trump told Welker. “We have a little thing called an ocean in between us.”
When asked whether he had been in touch with Putin since winning office, Trump would not deny that he had spoken to the Russian president.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron (C) walks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) after a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Dec. 7, 2024.
Julien De Rosa | Afp | Getty Images
The incoming president met with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy during a 35-minute meeting hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Saturday. The three were in Paris for a ceremony to reopen the Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been under repairs since a fire in 2019.
Following Trump’s conversation with Zelenskyy in France, the incoming president took to social media to call for an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
“There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. He added that…
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