Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that he has not had any communication with President-elect Donald Trump in over four years, which contradicts the assertions made in a book by reporter Bob Woodward. Woodward’s book suggests that the two leaders continued to speak on several occasions after Trump left office, despite Putin’s current statement.
Putin made this remark during a detailed news conference on Thursday, where he also discussed Russia’s actions in Syria and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Responding to a question from NBC’s Keir Simmons about a potential meeting with Trump, Putin stated, “You asked what we can offer, or what I can offer to the newly elected President Trump when we meet. First of all, I don’t know when we will meet. Because he hasn’t said anything about it. I haven’t spoken to him at all in over four years. Of course, I am ready for this at any time, and I will be ready for a meeting if he wants it.”
If Putin’s claim is accurate, it would sharply contradict explosive claims made by Bob Woodward in his book. Woodward alleged that Trump had secretly sent COVID-19 test kits to Putin while the U.S. was facing a shortage, and that Trump maintained regular contact with the Russian president long after his time in office. As reported by AFP, Woodward’s book states: “Then-president Donald Trump secretly sent Covid test kits to Vladimir Putin despite a US shortage during the pandemic, and spoke multiple times with the Russian leader after leaving office.”
In addition to his reporting on Trump’s interactions with Putin, Woodward’s book also touches on some of President Joe Biden’s difficulties, including his frustrations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. In excerpts published Tuesday by The Washington Post, Woodward, an associate editor at the newspaper, discusses Trump’s ongoing personal relationship with Putin, despite the Russian leader’s involvement in a war against Ukraine, a key U.S. ally.
Woodward took his criticism a step further, arguing that Trump’s communication with Putin made him unfit for office. Woodward concluded, “Trump was the most reckless and impulsive president in American history and is demonstrating the very same character as a presidential candidate in 2024.”
In response, the Trump campaign firmly rejected the claims made in Woodward’s book, dismissing them as “made-up stories.” They attributed the content to “the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
{Matzav.com}