President Donald Trump was caught off guard when a journalist asked him about the assassination of Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik.
When the Republican was asked about the car bomb that blew up in Moscow on Friday while aboard Air Force One on the way to Pope Francis’ funeral, he seemed unaware the violent act had even occurred.
‘Mr. President, there was a car bomb in Moscow this morning [Friday] that killed a Russian general. Do you have any reaction to that?’ a journalist asked him.
Trump squinted his eyes and drew in his eyebrows as he leaned in closer to the group of journalists. Shocked, he asked: ‘Who killed what?’
After finding out, he leaned back surprised and admitted: ‘Wow. No, I just heard – you’re just telling me that for the first time.’
After the journalist briefed him on the subject, he said the news was ‘hitting close to home’ and that he’d ‘look at it.’
‘If I hear anything, I’ll let you know,’ he replied.
Moskalik’s death threatens to undermine upcoming peace talks that Trump has touted.
President Trump was caught off guard when a journalist asked him about the assassination of Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik. Trump squinted his eyes and drew in his eyebrows as he leaned in closer to the group of journalists. Shocked, he asked: ‘Who killed what?’
After finding out, he leaned back surprised: ‘Wow. No, I just heard– you’re just telling me that for the first time.’ After the journalist briefed him on the subject, he said the news was ‘hitting close to home’ and that he’d ‘look at it’
Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for what appeared to be a deliberate attack.
But the Kremlin accused Ukraine of being behind it, saying that if Ukrainian involvement is confirmed, it would be a sign of Kyiv’s ‘barbaric’ nature and suggesting Ukraine was ‘escalating’ in an effort to ruin ceasefire talks.
‘There are reasons to believe that Ukraine’s special services were involved in the murder,’ Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement, without providing evidence.
The 47th US president had said on his campaign trail that he would end the Russian-Ukraine conflict on his first day in office. As he nears his 100th day in the White House – April 30 – he has yet to broker a deal with the war-torn countries.
He’s now walked back on his campaign promise, saying the oath was ‘said in jest.’
‘I said that figuratively, and I said that as an exaggeration, because to make a point,’ he told Time magazine. ‘Obviously, people know that when I said that, it was said in jest, but it was also said that it will be ended.’
He appeared irritated when asked why negotiations were taking so long, adding: ‘Well, I don’t think it’s long. I mean, look, I got here three months ago.
‘This war has been going on for three years. It’s a war that would have never happened if I was president. It’s Biden’s war. It’s not my war.’
Moskalik’s death threatens to undermine upcoming peace talks – which Trump is a part of (pictured: Moskalik, left)
Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for what appeared to be a deliberate car bomb attack
But the Kremlin accused Ukraine of being behind it, saying that if Ukrainian involvement is confirmed, it would be a sign of Kyiv’s ‘barbaric’ nature and suggesting Ukraine was ‘escalating’ in an effort to ruin ceasefire talks
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said on Friday that Moscow was ‘ready to reach a deal’ with the mediating United States to end the war in Ukraine, adding that some elements of a proposed deal still need to be ‘fine-tuned.’
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko broke ranks in suggesting that Ukraine may have to ‘temporarily’ cede territory for a deal to be made.
The Kremlin will be seeking to appease the US with a show of good faith after the Trump administration threatened to walk away from its intermediary role earlier this week, unless the two sides can come to an agreement.
The MAGA leader met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the pope’s funeral, which is taking place today.
‘President Trump and President Zelenskyy met privately today and had a very productive discussion. More details about the meeting will follow,’ Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said in a statement.
The two men talked in private at the Vatican before heading out to St. Peter’s Square for the funeral mass.
Neither Trump nor Zelensky interacted before the cameras trained on them before the service started.
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said on Friday that Moscow was ‘ready to reach a deal’ with the mediating United States to end the war in Ukraine, adding that some elements of a proposed deal still need to be ‘fine-tuned’ (pictured: Vladimir Putin)
The MAGA leader met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured with his wife) ahead of the pope’s funeral. Trump assured they were ‘very close to a deal’
In a post to his Truth Social on Friday, Trump said: ‘Just landed in Rome. A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine.
‘They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to “finish it off.”‘
But efforts to secure a ceasefire were still stalled last night, with the Kremlin only remarking the meeting had been ‘constructive’.
Putin’s aide, Yuri Ushakov, said the conversation ‘made it possible to bring the parties’ positions closer together not only on the Ukrainian issue, but also on a number of other international topics.’