‘I Do Believe We Are Closer With One Party’ – Trump Says, With a Wink and a Nod

US President Donald Trump cagily confirmed to a TV news broadcast that the balance of scales in his effort to deliver a resolution to the three-plus-year Russian invasion of Ukraine is now tipping in Kyiv’s favor.

When asked by NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday night if the recent signing of the White House’s minerals deal with Ukraine was a sign that “the United Sates was invested in Ukraine’s future”, and asked if he was “any closer to reaching an agreement between Ukraine and Russia,” Trump responded: “I hope so. I do believe we are closer with one party and maybe not as close with the other.”

“I’d like to not say which one we are closer to, but we did do a deal for the American people, which was good, to get rare earth, you know,” he added, referring to a months-awaited deal with Kyiv.

Trump then insisted on a long-since debunked myth that “the Europeans” haven’t contributed money to Kyiv’s defense other than loans.

“The Europeans are getting paid back, they have a loan,” Trump continued, in a very fact-checkable moment.

“[Former US President] Biden just gave them $350 billion, he has no idea where the money went,” Trump added, putting out another fictitious number. Indeed, nobody would think of where that dollar figure came from. Last year, Congress approved $61 billion, mostly to pay US arms makers to replace older US Department of Defense (DoD) military stocks that was sent to Ukraine.

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The 78-year-old, officially 243-pound president with a public penchant for fast food, later went on to discuss the speculation that he may seek a third term in 2028, something that would be disallowed under the US Constitution. But as Trump, who has famously displayed an affinity for dictators such as Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, and has openly belittled such American democratic institutions, framed his decision as “not something I’m looking to do.”

Trump said in March he was “not joking” about seeking a third term, adding there are “methods” that would allow it to happen, despite the clear passages in the US Constitution’s 22nd Amendment.

Changing the Constitution to allow a third term would be difficult, requiring a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and ratification by at least 38 of the 50 states, “is not something I’m looking to do,” Trump told “Meet the Press,” while acknowledging that the Trump Organization’s official store is selling red “Trump 2028” hats.

“I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward,” he said.