Former President Donald Trump said before a meeting in New York City with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday that it is time for the Ukraine War to end, and thanked Zelensky for defending him during the Democrat Ukraine impeachment hoax.
Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Trump reiterated his pledge to end the war in Ukraine if he wins a second term.
WATCH — Trump: Kamala and Joe Got Us into Ukraine, I’m the Only One Who Can Get Us Out:
“It has to end. At some point, it has to end. He’s gone through hell,” Trump said, referring to Zelensky. “This country has gone through hell… . Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. It’s a terrible situation.”
Trump also thanked Zelensky for saying that Trump did nothing wrong during the phone call they had that Democrats used to launch the impeachment of Trump in 2019.
Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was at the time detailed from the Pentagon to work at the National Security Council during the Trump administration, worked with then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) to launch an impeachment of Trump, claiming that Trump tried to withhold military aid from Ukraine until Zelensky handed over information on Hunter Biden’s shady business dealings with a Ukrainian energy company whose CEO was under investigation.
At the time, Zelensky said Trump did not pressure him during that phone call.
Trump said on Friday, “When they did the impeachment hoax, it was a hoax, just a Democrat hoax, which we won. But one of the reasons we won it so easily is that when [President Zelensky] was asked — it was over a phone call with the president — and he said he could have grandstanded and played cute, but he didn’t do that.
WATCH — Dodge Expert Kamala Harris Avoids Questions from the Media at Press Conference with Zelensky:
“He said President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong. He said it loud and clear, and the impeachment hoax died right there. He could have said, ‘Well, I don’t know. I don’t know.’ And I never even talked to you about this, to be honest. But he was, he was like a piece of steel. He said, ‘President Trump did nothing wrong. We had a very nice call.'”
However, Trump did tell Zelensky that their relationship needed to be reciprocal.
After Zelensky told him, “I really think we’re going to get more good relations,” Trump responded, “But, you know, it takes two to tango.”
Trump said he hoped to work something out with the Ukraine War “that’s good for both sides.”
“It’s time,” Trump said. “And by the way, the president knows that too. He wants to get something done. He doesn’t want to do this. And so we look forward to having them made. I look forward to being with him.”
He thanked Zelensky again, saying, “But what I said is true, he was a piece of steel. He gave a very honest, straight answer, and then it really ended. Essentially ended the impeachment hoax, and I appreciated that.”
Follow Breitbart News’s Kristina Wong on “X”, Truth Social, or on Facebook.