President Donald Trump seemed optimistic on Monday that the war between Russia and Ukraine could be brought to a quick end — provided all parties involved in the negotiations were “smart” about it.
Trump made the remarks from the Oval Office alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited the White House to discuss both trade and the war. Macron and Trump have taken differing positions on the war of late: Trump referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” and several in the administration have said Ukraine should not be admitted to NATO; and Macron has pushed for “strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians.”
WATCH:
President Trump says he thinks the war in Ukraine “could end soon — within weeks.”
“If we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it’ll keep going, and we’ll keep losing young, beautiful people that shouldn’t be dying — and we don’t want that.” pic.twitter.com/MdvjZFAqP3
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 24, 2025
“I think the war could end soon,” Trump said, prompting a reporter in the room to ask him “how soon” he thought that might be.
“Within weeks. Yeah, I think so,” he continued, turning to Macron. “Don’t you think so? I’d like to ask … I think we could end it within weeks if we’re smart. If we’re not smart, it’ll keep going, and we’ll keep losing young, beautiful people that shouldn’t be dying — and we don’t want that.”
“And remember what I said,” he concluded. “This could escalate into a third world war, and we don’t want that either.”
Trump drew sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle when he referred to Zelensky as “a dictator,” but Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained during a recent interview why he believed that Trump was angry with the Ukrainian leader.
Rubio mentioned a meeting between himself, Zelensky, and Vice President JD Vance, saying that Zelensky had said one thing to them in private and then had presented a very different message in public.
“President Trump’s not the kind of person that’s going to sit there and take that, he was very transparent. He’s going to tell you exactly how he feels, and he sent a message that he’s not going to get gamed here,” Rubio said.
