Donald Trump has never been backward in coming forward to boast about the strength of his relationship with Vladimir Putin.
Having swept into the White House saying his long-standing “friendship” with the Russian president meant he would stop the war with Ukraine “within 24 hours,” it is now seven months on, and the conflict is very much still waging.
Speaking ahead of his much-vaunted meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday, Trump has finally admitted what has been clear for months—that the relationship is a sham.
Trump was asked at a Wednesday press conference if he believed he could “convince [Putin] to stop targeting civilians in Ukraine.”
In a blunt statement of his failings, Trump replied, “I guess the answer to that is ‘no,’ because I’ve had this conversation.
“I’ve had a lot of good conversations with him [Putin]. Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building and people are laying dead in the streets.”
He added, “I want to end the war. It’s Biden’s war, but I want to end it. I’ll be very proud to end this war, along with the five other wars I ended.
“But, uh, I guess the answer to that is probably ‘no.’”
Trump added that the “Russia Hoax,” investigations into Russian meddling in U.S. elections, put “a strain on the relationship.”
Two years ago, Trump even claimed the probes into his campaign’s Russia ties led Putin to launch the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Trump’s surprisingly blunt response on Wednesday is perhaps his most stark concession yet regarding his inability to negotiate with the tyrant.
It comes ahead of the latest peace effort, which Trump continues to say could finally end the war, despite his admitting to major doubts.
The White House has billed the encounter—set for Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Anchorage—as a “listening exercise,” the first in-person meeting between a U.S. president and Putin since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
It has been reported that the session will be one-on-one, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky excluded but likely briefed afterward.
Since taking office, Trump pushed back his ambitious timeline, telling advisers he hoped to force movement, first by spring and then by summer.
He has threatened tougher sanctions on Russia, which have not materialized, and curbed support for Kyiv, trying to drag both sides to the negotiating table.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
