Trump: Ukraine Needs New President

By Sandra Rhodes (/journals/sandra-rhodes)

President Donald Trump said Saturday Ukraine needs to get a new president.

The president suggested Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not done enough to end his country’s war with Russia. He also blames Zelenskyy for high diesel prices in the U.S.

“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does,” Trump said.

On Friday, Trump struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy diesel from Russia. This is an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Trump has been urging Zelenskyy to stop strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. He has also sought to blame record U.S. diesel prices on Ukraine rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran, which has elevated world energy prices.

“He wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel,” Trump said.

Ukrainian and European officials were not happy with Trump’s diesel deal, saying it will help pay for Russia’s war efforts.

Diesel prices have gone up due to the difficulty of getting oil out of the Middle East since the start of the Iran war, which has raised the price of all oil products.

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published Oct. 1 found that Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of Iran, and blame him for higher prices.