President Donald Trump said that he had separately warned both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping that he would bomb their respective capitals if either of them invaded their neighbors, newly released audio broadcast by CNN shows.
Trump was recorded speaking at a private fundraiser in 2024 about his conversations with Putin and Xi.
“With Putin I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m gonna bomb the s*** out of Moscow,” Trump is heard saying, recounting his version of their conversation.
“‘I’m telling you, I have no choice.’ So, he goes like, I don’t believe you. He said, ‘No way.’ And I said ‘way’. And then he goes like ‘I don’t believe you’. But the truth is he believed me 10 percent. And I told you this, he believed me 10 percent.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
“Then I’m with President Xi of China. I said the same thing to them, I said, ‘You know, if you go into Taiwan, I’m gonna bomb the s*** out of Beijing.’ He thought I was crazy.
“He said, ‘Beijing? You’re gonna bomb Beij—’ I said, ‘I have no choice. I got to bomb you. We’re gonna bomb Bei—’ And he didn’t believe me either, he said 10 percent.
“And 10 percent is all you need. In fact, five percent would have been OK too.”
Why It Matters
Trump has repeatedly said that if he had been president, Putin would not have invaded Ukraine.
After months of what many saw as him promoting closer ties between Washington and Moscow, Trump is becoming increasingly critical of Putin’s intransigence to U.S. proposals for a ceasefire in Ukraine which faces continuing drone strikes.
The release of the audio from 2024 suggesting he had threatened bomb strikes on Moscow— as well as Beijing—will be assessed closely in those capitals who might see it as a signal that the U.S. president is prepared to back his foreign policy with military force.
This is a developing article. Updates to follow.
