Former President Donald Trump described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as being “maybe the greatest salesman of any politician.”
While speaking at Turning Point Action’s “People’s Conference,” in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday, Trump criticized President Joe Biden for “wasting money at levels never seen before” and putting money into the Green New Deal.
The former president continued to add that Zelensky might be “the greatest salesman of any politician” to ever live, noting how “every time” he comes to the United States, he leaves with “$60 billion.”
US President Joe Biden (R) is greeted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) during a visit in Kyiv on February 20, 2023. – US President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Kyiv on February 20, 2023, ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, AFP journalists saw. Biden met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital on his first visit to the country since the start of the conflict. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP) (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think Zelensky is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that’s ever lived.
EVERY TIME he comes to our country, he walks away with $60 BILLION!
President Trump will END the Russia-Ukraine War! pic.twitter.com/h7qZ9XwVB4
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 15, 2024
“I’ll stop Joe Biden’s inflation-causing spending spree, and oppose an immediate moratorium on all of Crooked Joe’s hundreds of billions of dollars in waste,” Trump said. “He’s wasting money at levels never seen before. He’s putting all this money into the Green New scam. It’s a scam, one of the greatest scams in history. Although I give Zelensky, I think Zelensky is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that’s ever lived. Every time he comes to our country, he walks away with $60 billion.”
Trump’s remarks come as Biden and Zelensky signed a 10-year bilateral security deal between Ukraine and the U.S. Under the agreement, the U.S. and Ukraine would work together to build and improve Ukraine’s defense and to help support the country’s economic recovery.
Biden and other world leaders reportedly also reached an agreement to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan from frozen Russian assets, according to NBC News.
“And, I like him. You know on the impeachment hoax number one, he was very good. He said, ‘No, the President didn’t threaten me at all,’” Trump said. “He could have been a Grand Stander and said, ‘I was threatened.’”
“So, I like him,” Trump added. “But, he’s the greatest salesman of all time.”
In April, the House of Representatives voted to send a $61 billion foreign aid package to Ukraine out of a $95 billion foreign aid package. On top of the $61 billion from the U.S., United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed to provide Ukraine with an additional £500 million in foreign aid.
At the beginning of June, U.S. officials said about $225 million in military aid, including ammunition, would be sent to Ukraine.
A Pew Research poll found that 31 percent of Americans feel that the U.S. provides Ukraine with too much aid, while 25 percent of Americans feel that it is “about right,” and 24 percent of Americans feel that it is not “enough.”