Donald Trump refuses to say if he wants Ukraine to win war against Russia

Donald Trump on Wednesday night repeatedly declined to say if he wants Ukraine to win in its war against Russia.

Mr Trump's extraordinary comments will send shockwaves through Kyiv and allied capitals.

It came during a 70-minute CNN town hall, which was the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign.

As he took questions from Republican voters in New Hampshire, Mr Trump also declined to say if he believed Vladimir Putin was a war criminal.

The former president, who is the clear favourite for the Republican nomination, was asked by moderator Kaitlan Collins: "Do you want Ukraine to win this war?"

Mr Trump responded: "I don't think in terms of winning and losing. I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people and breaking..."

Ms Collins interjected: "That's a really important statement...can you say if you want Ukraine or Russia to win this war?"

Mr Trump said: "I want everybody to stop dying, they're dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying.

"And I'll have that done in 24 hours, I'll have it done, you need the power of the presidency to do it."

Ms Collins, who Mr Trump at one point called a "nasty person," pressed him again, telling him: "You won't say you want Ukraine to win..."

The former president responded: "You know what I'll say? I'll say this. I want Europe to put up more money because they're in for $20 billion, we're in for 170. And they should equalise. They have plenty of money.

"I want Europe to put up more money. Because they're laughing at us. They think we're a bunch of jerks. We're spending $170 billion for faraway land, and they are right next door to that land and they're in for 20. I don't think so."

Trump: I won't say Putin is a war criminal

Mr Trump went on to say that Mr Putin was a "smart guy" who made a "tremendous mistake".

The former president said: "He would have never done it if I was president. We used to talk about it."

He added: "Right now we want to get that settled. If I'm president I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours."

Mr Trump said he would do that by speaking to Mr Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

He said: "They both have weaknesses and they both have strengths. And within 24 hours, that will be settled. It'll be over."

Asked if he believed Mr Putin was a war criminal, he did not give a definitive answer, saying it should be "discussed later".

He said: "If you say he's a war criminal it's going to be a lot tougher to make a deal to get this thing settled.

"Because if he's going to be a war criminal, where people are going to go and grab him and execute him, he's going to fight a lot harder than he's fighting."

Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor, who is considering running for the Republican 2024 nomination, said he believed Mr Trump, if re-elected, would hand Ukraine to Mr Putin.

Mr Christie said: "Donald Trump says he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours tonight on CNN.

"Despite how ridiculous that is to say, I suspect he would try to do it by turning Ukraine over to Putin and Russia."

He added: "Donald Trump refused to say tonight that he wanted Ukraine to win the war with Russia. More proof that he continues to be Putin’s puppet."

Asa Hutchinson, the former Arkansas governor who is running against Mr Trump for the Republican nomination, condemned Mr Trump's comments on Ukraine.

Mr Hutchinson said: "He tells Putin 'You're going to win'.

"That bothered me a great deal. It's a terrible position not supporting Ukraine."

'Millions of votes' were fraudulent, says ex-president

Mr Trump's comments on Ukraine were applauded by the audience, which comprised voters who plan to take part in the New Hampshire Republican primary.

New Hampshire will be the second state to vote in the Republican nomination contest.

During the town hall Mr Trump repeatedly claimed that the 2020 election was "rigged" and said anyone who didn't believe that was "stupid".

He talked about "millions of votes, on camera, where they were stuffing ballot boxes," and "people going to 28 different ballot boxes to put in seven votes each."

Mr Trump also said, if re-elected, he would pardon a "large portion" of people convicted over the riot at the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.

Following the recent court ruling, in which he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, he called his accuser a "whack job". The audience applauded.

Mr Trump declined to say whether he would sign a federal abortion ban, saying only that he would “negotiate” so “people are happy.”

He also refused to give a week limit which he would support.

Mr Trump went on to address the current fight between Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress over raising the debt ceiling.

He suggested Republicans should trigger a default if Democrats don't agree to spending cuts.

He said: "I say that the Republicans out there, congressmen, senators, if they don't give you massive cuts, you're gonna have to do a default.

"I think the Democrats will absolutely cave because you don't want to have that happen.

"But it's better than what we're doing right now. Because we're spending money like drunken sailors."

Classic, 2015-vintage Trump

Mr Biden responded to the town hall on Twitter, writing: “It’s simple, folks. Do you want four more years of that? If you don’t, pitch in to our campaign."

It was Mr Trump's first appearance on CNN since before the 2016 election.

Stu Rothenberg, an independent political analyst, said: "It was classic Trump. It was Donald Trump from 2015 right up until now. He hasn't changed, nor will he. It was a glimpse into the next year and a half."

Mr Trump also took a swipe at his closest rival Ron DeSantis.

He said: "I think he [Mr DeSantis] ought to just relax and take it easy and think about the future, because right now his future is not looking so good."

Erin Perrine, spokeswoman for the pro-DeSantis group Never Back Down, said: "The CNN town hall was, as expected, over an hour of nonsense that proved Trump is stuck in the past."

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