If there’s one thing Donald Trump and his allies want you to know about what’s happening in Ukraine right now, it’s that it wouldn’t be happening if he were still in charge.
If only he actually knew what was happening.
Trump opted to appear on Fox News Channel on Wednesday night shortly after Russia announced that it would attack Ukraine. And not for the first time, he seemed woefully unfamiliar with the particulars of an issue of massive import. Trump at one point seemed to think that the United States had suddenly decided to go to war with Russia.
Midway through the interview, Laura Ingraham noted that “we are just learning that U.S. officials are looking at a potential amphibious landing now in Odessa, Ukraine.” The clear implication was that this was Russia engaging in the potential amphibious landing as part of its attack, but Trump took it as the United States itself “looking at” such an action.
After Ingraham broached the topic, the interview cut away to what was happening at the United Nations. When she returned to her guest, he was ready to use the report to go after one of his favorite targets: those same “U.S. officials.”
“Well, I think the whole thing, again, would have never happened. It shouldn’t happen. And it’s a very sad thing,” Trump said. “But you know what is also very dangerous is, you told me about the amphibious attack by Americans, because you and everyone else shouldn’t know about it. They should do that secretly, not being doing that through the great Laura Ingraham. They should be doing that secretly. Nobody should know that, Laura.”
Laura Ingraham says president of Ukraine asking Putin not to invade his country was a “pathetic display.” Then has to explain to Trump that America wasn’t launching an amphibious attack on Ukraine. (Which Trump thought should be kept secret). pic.twitter.com/q9MXu09Zr4
Ingraham quickly cut in and emphasized that this wasn’t, in fact, what Fox was reporting.
“No, those are the Russian — the Russian amphibious landing,” Ingraham said.
“Oh, I thought you said we were sending people in,” Trump said.
“No, I did not. No, no. No, no, no,” Ingraham replied. “That would be news.”
And indeed it would be. While Ingraham’s initial phrasing was indeed a bit ambiguous, the Biden administration has said repeatedly that American troops would not be used even if Russia did invade Ukraine. Just hours earlier, White House press secretary Jen Psaki reinforced this, saying flatly, “We are not going to be in a war with Russia or putting military troops on the ground in Ukraine fighting Russia.”
Were the United States to have so quickly pulled a 180 on that — and, given the gravity of such a decision — it probably would have merited more than a brief reference to what U.S. officials were saying about new developments. And yet Trump seemed to believe the U.S. military was on the move and decided to criticize his own government on the basis of his incorrect assumption.
Perhaps most important, the prospect of an amphibious Russian attack in Odessa has been in the news for weeks, with Russian ships recently entering the Black Sea near Odessa’s commercial ports. “Eleven amphibious ships ring the Black Sea coast, ready to disgorge marines onto Ukraine’s southern underbelly,” Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported Feb. 13.
This is hardly the first instance of Trump’s being out of the loop on such a major issue. It cropped up repeatedly, early in the coronavirus pandemic. He repeatedly showed a lack of interest in the basics of how Congress works. Trump has even previously displayed unfamiliarity with key issues regarding Russia — for instance, when he misunderstood Vladimir Putin’s comment about Western-style liberalism being “obsolete” to refer to left-leaning politicians in the Western United States.
Earlier in the same interview with Ingraham on Wednesday night, Trump used the opportunity to suggest that President Biden was missing in action.
Ingraham said: “We understand that President Biden is monitoring the situation at the White House now and is going to talk to the G-7 tomorrow. … And he’s going to talk to the nation at some point tomorrow as well. Your reaction to that approach?”
“I don’t think he’s monitoring,” Trump said. “I think he is probably sleeping right now.”
Mere moments later, Trump made pretty clear that Biden’s predecessor, at least, isn’t exactly monitoring the situation very closely.
The latest: Russia launched attacks across Ukraine on Thursday. In response, Biden announced new sanctions on the country’ banks and elites.
The invasion: Photos, videos and maps of the region show what the situation on the ground looks like. Here’s what we know about why Russia has attacked Ukraine.
How we got here: The conflict playing out between Russia and Ukraine is one marked by land borders and shaped by strategic influence. These four maps help explain the deep roots of the conflict and where things stand right now.
The response: President Biden promised that “the world will hold Russia accountable” for what he described as an “unprovoked and unjustified attack” on Ukraine. Other global leaders were quick to condemn Russia’s actions and call for a decisive response. In some corners, responses were somewhat muted.
Markets: With the Russian incursion escalating, markets expected immediate sanctions that would disrupt the world economy.
Read our full coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
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