A resurfaced clip of Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is going viral on social media thanks to a facial reaction from the foreign leader. The two were on stage together during the UN General Assembly in the Fall of 2019, and during the event, Trump offered some words of advice to Zelensky that is garnering a significant amount of attention following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In the clip pulled from C-SPAN by journalist Aaron Rupar, Trump tells Zelensky, “I really hope that you and President Putin can get together and solve your problem.” Despite being still for most of the clip, Zelensky’s face visibly clocks the words he just heard as he’s unable to mask the awkwardness of Trump’s advice.
trip down memory lane https://t.co/5USeOxLklI
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) April 19, 2022
Trump has always rooted for Russia. He was an American essentially working on their behalf. He was rooting for them in 2019 when he refused to give Ukraine weapons. And he’s rooting for Russia now as they slaughter women and babies. What does that make someone who supports him? https://t.co/hvuixQwP3J
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 19, 2022
I don't even have to tell you how much the Russians loved it. But I'll show you this screenshot from my archives. They were savoring every minute of Trump's despicable behavior towards Zelensky and Ukraine.https://t.co/gRv2n0Uo1v pic.twitter.com/whO976Cr7A
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) April 19, 2022
As Mediaite notes, the now-viral moment also happened on a significant day for Trump that’s been coming back to haunt him in light of Putin’s invasion:
The entire joint press conference lasted 18 minutes which you can see on C-SPAN and is a fascinating trip down memory lane as it occurred on the same day the transcript of a phone call between the two was released to the public, a phone call that led to Trump’s first impeachment on allegations that he had asked a foreign entity to dig up dirt on a domestic political rival, and even withheld congressionally-approved military aid to Ukraine until and unless that happened.
Despite efforts by conservative media figures like Sean Hannity, Trump has put the Republican Party in an awkward position thanks to his early praise for Putin’s attack on Ukraine. The resurfaced clip of the former president telling Zelensky to meet with Putin will only further add to ongoing criticism that Trump does the bidding of the Russian leader.
(Via Aaron Rupar on Twitter)
Source: https://uproxx.com/viral/trump-zelensky-putin-video-2019/