In a wide-ranging interview with Piers Morgan, former US President Donald Trump made a series of explosive claims, including that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was the result of a 'rigged election'. Trump, who earlier called Vladimir Putin a 'genius', clarified to Morgan that his comment referred only to the troop buildup as a negotiating strategy. He agreed with Morgan's description of Putin as an 'evil, genocidal monster' but argued that Ukrainian deaths were caused by election fraud, not Russian aggression.
Trump also displayed a worrying misunderstanding of nuclear deterrence. He suggested that the US should threaten Russia with nuclear weapons, claiming 'we have more powerful than them and there would be no Russia'. This ignores the catastrophic consequences of a nuclear exchange. He criticised President Biden for not escalating tensions, saying Biden should be more aggressive with Putin.
On the 2020 election, Trump refused to accept defeat, blaming Republicans like Mitch McConnell for not helping him overturn the result. He called the US press 'communist' for not amplifying conspiracy theories about Hunter Biden. When Morgan insisted the election was 'free and fair', Trump called him a 'fool'. Trump claimed he 'won it big' and that a New York Post story could have given him a 17-point advantage if properly covered.
Trump also claimed he had threatened Putin not to invade Ukraine but provided no details of the threat or the Russian leader's response. The interview, aired on TalkTV, covered topics including the war in Ukraine, Trump's relationship with Angela Merkel, and why Boris Johnson blocked a previously scheduled conversation between the two men.
