Trump Campaign Says DeSantis Super PAC Misrepresented Approach to Ukraine

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign fired back at Never Back Down super PAC aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), asserting it misrepresented his approach to the war in Ukraine.

During his interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, she asked the 45th president how he plans to end the war within 24 hours, as he has insisted he would if elected.

Only dumb idiots on flailing campaigns would be so desperate to make up words that weren’t even spoken.

Would expect nothing less from Team DeSanctus consisting of people who tried to be Ukrainian arms dealers. https://t.co/hx4FIXiIYP

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) July 16, 2023

“I know Zelensky very well,” Trump said. “I felt he was very honorable because when they asked him about the perfect phone call that I made, he said … he didn’t even know what they were talking about. He could have grandstanded, ‘Oh, I felt threatened.'”

“Well, that’s not going to be enough for Putin to stop bombing Ukraine,” Bartiromo interjected. 

Trump responded: 

No, no, no, no, I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is that I know Zelensky very well, and I know Putin very well — even better. And I had a good relationship — very good — with both of them. I would tell Zelensky, “No more, you got to make a deal.” I would tell Putin, “If you don’t make a deal, we’re gonna give them a lot. We’re gonna give more than they ever got if we have to.” I will have the deal done in one day, one day.

The Never Back Down PAC shared the clip, which cuts out Trump’s pledge to attain a deal “in one day,” on its Twitter page. The PAC wrote that “Trump says he will threaten Russia by telling Putin that America will give Ukraine’s ‘honorable’ President Zelenskyy ‘a lot’ of weapons and money.” 

“Trump says ‘we’re going to give them more than they ever got’ from Biden ‘if we have to,’” the account added. 

The Trump War Room Twitter account fired back soon after. 

“Only dumb idiots on flailing campaigns would be so desperate to make up words that weren’t even spoken,” the tweet reads. “Would expect nothing less from Team DeSanctus consisting of people who tried to be Ukrainian arms dealers.”