During a debate with former President Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris made the claim that Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin he could “do whatever the hell he wants and go into Ukraine.” However, this claim is false, as Trump never told Putin he could do “whatever the hell he wants,” nor did he tell him he could invade Ukraine.
This falsehood has been repeatedly propagated by Democrats, with its origins tracing back to a hypothetical conversation that Trump recounted during a campaign rally in South Carolina on February 10th. As reported by Breitbart News, Trump was speaking at an event where he recalled having a hypothetical discussion with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had asked him if the U.S. would defend Germany from a potential Russian invasion if they failed to meet their NATO obligations. Trump responded by saying that he would not protect Germany in such a scenario and would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want.” This statement was purely hypothetical, meant as an example of the pressure Trump placed on NATO members to fulfill their defense spending commitments during his time in office.
However, President Joe Biden, Democrats, and the media have continuously misrepresented Trump’s remarks. In a blatant example of this pattern, both Biden and Harris repeated the false claim in their respective speeches – State of the Union address in March for Biden and the Democratic National Convention in August for Harris. This continued misrepresentation of Trump’s words has led to widespread confusion and a perpetuation of the false narrative that he allowed Putin free rein in Ukraine, despite there being no evidence to support this claim.