New audio has been released of U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to “bomb the sh*t out of Moscow.”
The audio was recorded at a private fundraising event in 2024 while Trump was a presidential candidate.
It was aired on CNN on Tuesday night after a series of audio clips from events in Florida and New York were obtained by journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager, and Isaac Arnsdorf.
Highlights
- New audio from a 2024 private fundraiser reveals Trump threatened to 'bomb the sh*t out of Moscow' if Putin entered Ukraine.
- Trump also told donors he threatened to bomb Beijing if China invaded Taiwan.
- The Kremlin neither confirmed nor denied the audio's authenticity, citing the prevalence of fake news.
- Trump criticized Putin as giving 'meaningless bulls**t' amid the ongoing Ukraine war and confirmed approving defensive weapons to Ukraine.
- Trump expressed disappointment over a call with Putin, saying Russia shows no sign of ending attacks anytime soon.
Donald Trump threatened to ‘bomb the sh*t’ out of Moscow and Beijing
Image credits: Kremlin Press Office/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
“With Putin I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m gonna bomb the sh*t out of Moscow,’” Trump told his donors.
“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.’”
Trump then went on to say the “truth” was that Putin believed him 10%.
The audio was obtained by Dawsey, Pager, and Arnsdorf for their new book 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America.
In the clip, Trump also reveals to his wealthy donors that he threatened to bomb Beijing in a conversation with President Xi Jinping.
“I said, ‘You know, if you go into Taiwan, I’m gonna bomb the sh*t out of Beijing.’ He thought I was crazy. He said, ‘Beijing!? You’re gonna bomb…’ I said, ‘I have no choice. I got to bomb you.’”
While Xi said he didn’t believe him, Trump said there was also a 10% belief there.
Image credits: Tingshu Wang - Pool/Getty Images
The White House refused to comment on the audio when contacted by CNN, but the Kremlin has said it’s not sure if the report is real or fake.
“I cannot confirm or deny this, even if I wanted to... Whether it is fake or not, we do not know either. There is a lot of fake news these days,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Reuters.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if he were president, and while he has declined to offer specific reasons, the new clips may offer insight into his thinking and approach on foreign policy.
As the war in Ukraine continues and Russia refuses to agree to a ceasefire deal, Trump is becoming increasingly frustrated with President Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin has refused to agree to a ceasefire deal in Ukraine
Image credits: Contributor/Getty Images
At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, he told reporters Putin had been talking meaningless “bulls**t.”
“A lot of people are dying and it should end,” Trump said.
“We get a lot of bulls**t thrown at us by Putin if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
Trump also confirmed he was looking at a proposed bill that would increase sanctions on Moscow, and admitted a ceasefire deal was “tougher” to achieve than he thought.
Image credits: The White House
While the White House announced a shipment of critical weapons to Ukraine had been paused after a stockpile review last week, Trump said it had resumed.
“The Ukrainians were brave, but I will say we gave them the best equipment ever made,” he told reporters.
“Putin is not treating human beings right,” Trump later added. “He’s killing too many people, so we’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine that I have approved.”
Axios reports that 10 Patriot missiles will be sent, but this is much less than what Ukraine was expecting before the shipment was halted.
Image credits: The White House
It comes after Trump expressed his disappointment with Putin last week following a phone call that led him to believe that the Russian leader was not going to stop attacking Ukraine.
“I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had with President Putin because I don’t think he’s there,” Trump told reporters on Friday, The New York Post reported.
“I’m just saying, I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad.
“It’s Biden’s war, and I got stuck in the middle of it, just like I did with immigration and a lot of other things that they screwed up,” Trump added. “But I was not happy with the conversation.”