News Reporter: Fact Checker: Step by step, how Trump flip-flopped on his pledge to end the Russia-Ukraine war

Friday, 23 May 2025

Fact Checker: Step by step, how Trump flip-flopped on his pledge to end the Russia-Ukraine war

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The truth behind the rhetoric.

By Glenn Kessler

Over and over during the presidential campaign, Trump pledged to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine — which began when Russia invaded its neighbor. He made it seem easy — "within 24 hours" — and repeated that claim in many campaign rallies. He sometimes suggested he could cut a deal before he even took the oath of office, citing the relations he forged with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin during his first term.

For instance, he told a campaign rally in 2023: "Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after we all together win the presidency, we will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled. It will be settled. The war is going to be settled. I'll get them both. I know Zelensky, I know Putin. It'll be done within 24 hours, you watch."

Then, in March, Trump claimed he was being "a little bit sarcastic" when he said he could end the war in only 24 hours. It's hard to take seriously that a line repeated in many campaign rallies was sarcastic. It sounded more like a promise — or certainly an objective.

It certainly hasn't been as easy as Trump predicted. We conducted a review of his statements on negotiations since he became president. While he sometimes expressed frustration with Russia, the president put much more pressure on Ukraine to make concessions while dangling the possibility of sanctions relief on Russia. Now he appears to have washed his hands of the issue, leaving it to the parties to settle it themselves.

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How to produce a statistic for a White House news release

Every presidential administration hypes the numbers in economic deals. Bill Clinton, for instance, claimed the North American Free Trade Agreement would create 1 million jobs. Well, that was a mistake, a placeholder figure that was accidentally left in his prepared remarks, but it's emblematic of the phony math behind the figures that often dominate the headlines.

During President Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East, the White House issued a news release titled "President Donald J. Trump Secures Historic $1.2 Trillion Economic Commitment in Qatar." The text said that he "signed an agreement with Qatar to generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion."

Economic commitment? Economic exchange? Those are meaningless buzzwords. No matter. The $1.2 trillion figure ended up in headlines across the world.

Our tongue firmly in our cheek, we provide a guide to how you can create your own amazing statistic for a White House news release.

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PLUS: The New York Post editorial board blasted The Fact Checker last week, calling us a "propaganda mill" and suggesting it was time to "close up shop." The sharp tone of the editorial inspired us to look back and assess three columns. Click the link below to read our response.

Read the response

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About the cats: It's a Friday and sometimes our fact checks deal with heavy or depressing subjects. So we hope to bring a smile to your face.

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