President Donald Trump made a firm commitment that there would be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine as part of security guarantees as he attempts to orchestrate a peace deal.
The president made the vow during a call to Fox & Friends on Tuesday, after he had failed to rule it out when asked about it by reporters on Monday, as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders.
Trump taking a firm stance after appearing to waver is likely to stave off any new outrage from his MAGA base, which had been raising concerns over what security guarantees would mean for the U.S.
During the TV interview, the president was asked specifically what assurances he has that there won’t be boots on the ground defending Ukraine.
“You have my assurance, and I’m president,” Trump responded.
It was a clear shift from when he whiffled on an answer when asked about it while seated next to Zelensky on Monday.
Trump was asked directly on Monday if there wouid be security guarantees and whether that would involve U.S. troops in the future. He responded: “We’ll let you know maybe later today.”
He said he would be talking about that with European leaders.
“They are first line of defense because they’re there, they’re Europe, but we’re going to help them out also, we’ll be involved,” Trump said on Monday without specifying exactly how.
Coming out of the afternoon meetings, European leaders who gathered at the White House praised the U.S. for committing to security guarantees, but the details of what that would entail remained vague.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said they had not discussed troops on the ground at Monday’s gathering and it would be part of talks in the coming days and weeks.
But ahead of the president’s sit-down with Zelensky and European leaders, Trump’s MAGA supporters made it clear they did not want the U.S. further entangled with the war in Ukraine.
Steve Bannon delivered a sharp warning on his War Room podcast as questions swirled about what the U.S. would be willing to commit to after special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio touted security guarantees agreed to by Russia.
“I’m just lost how the United States offering an Article 5 commitment for a security guarantee to Ukraine is a win for the United States,” Bannon said. He continued to criticize U.S. involvement in Ukraine on Tuesday.
But on Fox & Friends, Trump suggested France, Germany, and the UK might put troops on the ground.
During the interview, the president also revealed more about his phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday evening after the president posted on Truth Social that he had spoken with the Russian leader. Trump clarified on Tuesday that he did not call Putin in front of European leaders.
“I didn’t do that in front of them, that would be disrespectful to President Putin,” Trump said. “President Putin wouldn’t talk to the people from Europe. That is part of the problem.”
In that same post, Trump claimed Putin and Zelensky would move forward with an in-person bilateral meeting before he would be involved in a trilateral meeting. Zelensky indicated after leaving the White House, he was ready for a meeting, though no date was set.
However, Russia has not said whether Putin was ready to meet directly with the Ukrainian president. After Trump’s meeting with Zelensky at the White House, Russia carried out a massive drone strike in Ukraine, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens.
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