After Ukraine Aid Fight, Trump Says Biden Will 'Give' Ukraine to Putin

For months, President Biden has called on world leaders to provide more military aid to Ukraine and urged Congress to pass a multibillion-dollar aid package to help the country fend off Russian aggression. Former President Donald J. Trump undermined that effort and pressured Republicans to thwart it.

But on Wednesday, Mr. Trump tried to flip the script, suggesting he would do more to protect Ukraine than Mr. Biden, who he said would essentially cede Ukraine as a gift to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

At a campaign event in North Charleston, S.C., Mr. Trump said that under a Biden presidency, Mr. Putin “will get everything he wants, including Ukraine. That's a gift. He has a gift.”

Then Mr. Trump — who often positively invokes Mr. Putin as an authoritarian strongman, and who acknowledged in his speech that they got along — doubled down and said Mr. Biden is “going to give” Ukraine to Mr. Putin.

Mr. Biden has repeatedly vowed to help Ukraine defend itself “for as long as it takes,” pledging that “our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken.” Mr. Trump, on the other hand has said before that he would consider letting Russia “take over” parts of Ukraine in a negotiated deal to end the war.

A day earlier, the Senate in a bipartisan vote approved an additional $60.1 billion in aid to Kiev to help the country fight Russia's invasion, as part of a long-discussed package of foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel.

After the Senate vote, Mr. Biden accused Mr. Trump of bowing to Russia. Mr. Biden has previously argued that aid to Ukraine is necessary to prevent Mr. Putin from gaining ground in the war, and that the lack of aid could ultimately embolden Mr. Putin to attack NATO allies, which the United States could engage in direct combat. conflict with Russia.

But that effort faces significant resistance from Republicans in the House of Representatives, many of whom have been emboldened by Trump's “America First” foreign policy views and his criticism of legislation on the campaign trail.

Earlier this week, Trump said on social media that it was “stupid” for the United States to offer foreign aid to countries instead of loans. And he has repeatedly criticized the United States' involvement in the war in Ukraine, arguing that Europeans concerned about Russian aggression should spend more to combat it.

Mr. Trump often argues that the mere fact of his presidency, had he won in 2020, would have been enough to keep Russia at bay. In his speeches, he routinely promises that he will settle the war quickly if elected, and has often said he could resolve the conflict “within 24 hours.”

But European leaders and security experts have expressed concern that a second Trump presidency could embolden Russia, especially given Trump's frequent threats to withdraw the United States from NATO.

Further fueling their fears, Mr. Trump on Saturday raised the possibility that he could “encourage” Russia “to do whatever they want” against NATO members that are not spending enough on their own defense. His comments sparked a firestorm of criticism from Mr. Biden and Nikki Haley, his only major rival in the Republican primaries.

After days of headlines, Trump did not repeat that claim on Wednesday. But he walked back his frequent claim that he had told NATO members that the United States would not defend them if he deemed their spending inadequate.

NATO has a non-binding target for its member states to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on their militaries. Last year, only 11 of NATO's 31 members had reached that level. Trump said Wednesday he thought the target should be doubled to 4 percent.