The rightwing talking point is that if Trump were still in power Putin's invasion of Ukraine would never have occurred. That's what the Newsmax host offered up but it was quickly shot down by Ukraine's president. If anything, Putin badly miscalculated and should have invaded while Trump was still in power. But then again, Putin never imagined his invasion would unite the west against him, or could ever have dreamed that the United States would support Ukraine to the extent that it already has.

Source: Business Insider

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shut down a Newsmax interviewer who prompted him to say that there would be no war in Ukraine if former President Donald Trump were still the US president.

Zelenskyy was interviewed by Rob Schmitt, a Newsmax anchor, in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, on Tuesday about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Schmitt asked Zelenskyy: "Do you think that different American leadership, do you think that different Western leadership, may have prevented this aggression?

"There are many Americans that believe that if somebody like Donald Trump was still in the White House that this invasion would not have happened. What is your position?"

Zelenskyy did not take the bait, giving the right answer as usual.

Zelenskyy said: "Well, I believe what's the most important is the assistance from the people of the United States. They are paying the taxes, and the money being allocated to support Ukraine comes from the taxes, and it's all of that humanitarian, financial, military support to Ukraine. So I am grateful to the current president of the United States as well as to those in the political parties that support us."

"I am sorry if I'll be saying something that you don't like, but for us as the country in war, it doesn't matter whether it's Democrats or Republicans. It's the people of the United States that support us," he said.