Luke Coffey
During a presidential debate in Philadelphia last September with Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump made a bold prediction about Ukraine. In response to a question from the moderator, Trump said: “That is a war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president.” He also frequently claimed that he could end the war within 24 hours of entering the Oval Office.
However, since winning the presidential election in early November, Trump has changed his tone quite a bit on the issue of Ukraine. He even acknowledged that the situation is more complex and harder than he had originally thought, suggesting it could be even more difficult than brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
While speaking to the press in the Oval Office on the evening of Jan. 20, the first day of his second term, Trump was asked if he could still meet his one-day deadline to bring the war to an end. He joked with journalists that he still had “half a day” left to achieve this.
It is clear that much of what Trump said over the past year was purely for the campaign trail. It is likely he never truly believed he could end the war quickly, and the conflict would have to be taken seriously, a point underscored by the people he has appointed to work on this issue. While in other government departments, such as the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and the FBI, Trump has selected unconventional and unorthodox leaders, he has chosen more traditional and orthodox appointees for his national security adviser, secretary of state, and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia.
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