Trump Blasts Media’s Coverage Of Russia-Ukraine Negotiations

President Trump blasted the legacy media’s “great dishonesty” in their coverage of his attempts to peacefully end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The moment came on Monday during a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about a potential peace deal with Moscow.

While taking questions from reporters, Trump was asked about the press’s coverage of his negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and whether the media “even want a peace deal because … they’ve been so critical of you every step of the way as you lead the charge for peace.” The Republican president met with Putin at a summit in Alaska on Friday, in which the two parties seemingly made progress in moving toward an agreement between Moscow and Kiev.

Calling the press’s hostile coverage “amazing phenomena,” Trump said that even if he secured an unrealistic settlement in which Ukraine acquired “Moscow, St. Petersburg, and thousands of miles around them, [the media] would say I made a bad deal.”

“The level of hatred and animosity is incredible. … In solving all of these wars, they don’t even write about it. You know, I solved major wars. I solved wars that have been going on for [30-plus years],” Trump said. “No matter what I do, no matter what deal I make … they’ll say, ‘Trump was absolutely horrible.’”

The American president went on to say that he’s “lived” with that type of coverage “for a long time,” noting how he “used to get great publicity” prior to launching his 2016 presidential campaign.

“Now I get the worst publicity anyone’s ever gotten in office, but I won in a landslide, so the people understand. They’re the only ones that count, ultimately,” Trump said, adding it’s “very sad” when the press roots against him when he does “the right thing.”

Trump subsequently cited the media’s dishonest spin of his Friday summit with Putin. He specifically referenced the narrative that Putin’s arrival on U.S. soil represented a “tremendous defeat for Donald Trump.”

For example, ahead of her Sunday interview segment with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ABC News host Martha “Do You Hear Yourself” Raddatz framed the Alaska summit as a total Putin victory and a moment of weakness by Trump.

“It was a striking scene. Russia’s Vladimir Putin, responsible for invading Ukraine and the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainians, given a red carpet arrival, a warm handshake and a ride in the presidential limousine to a closed door three-hour meeting with the whole world watching and waiting,” Raddatz said.

Trump said Putin’s decision to meet him in Alaska was “a hard thing for him to do,” which he added is “the opposite of what [the media] said.” He further noted how the press would still claim “that was also bad for Trump” if Putin didn’t agree to the summit.

“There’s just a great dishonesty of the press, and I think that’s why it’s lost its credibility,” Trump said. “Its credibility is at an all-time low.”