Trump rails about impeachment as he meets Zelensky in New York

Donald Trump railed about what he called the 'impeachment hoax' during public comments before his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is trying to cultivate both major presidential candidates while fending off brutal Russian invasion.

Trump promised to end the war with Russia if he wins the November election and said he would make a deal while President Joe Biden is still in office. He directing almost all of his comments during their first appearance toward what he termed his first impeachment, where he was accused of seeking a political favor by leveraging U.S. military support.

With Russia making gains in Ukraine's eastern Donbas and sending daily drone and missile attacks at Ukrainian cities, Zelensky referenced the U.S. elections and said he decided to met with 'both candidates.' He said he hopes U.S. support will be 'very strong.'

After welcoming Zelensky at Trump Tower, Trump thanked the Ukrainian leader for his public comments about their infamous 2019 phone call. 

He said he appreciated Zelensky backing him up after the conversation came out following a whistleblower report.

‘He could have grandstanded and played cute, and he didn't do that. He said President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong,’ Trump said. He said Zelensky was ‘like a piece of steel’ during impeachment, repeating the compliment.

The Ukrainian stood with his head cocked toward Trump, showing very little expression as Trump went on about their phone call. He then turned his head straight ahead while Trump continued. 

Trump also said he had a ‘great relationship, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion, and claimed if he wins the election he can work out an end to the war before he takes office January 20th.

That posture would have him negotiating during the end of President Joe Biden’s administration.

‘I think we have common view that the war in Ukraine has to be stopped and Putin can’t win and Ukraine have to prevail,’ Zelensky said in his own comment.

Speaking about the war, Trump said: ‘It has to end. At some point it has to end. He's gone through hell. His country has gone through hell like few countries have ever … like it's happened anywhere. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. It's a terrible situation, and I will say I've had a great relationship.

After dodging a question during the debate about whether he wants Ukraine to win the war, Trump repeatedly returned to his own reelection. ‘And hopefully we'll have a good victory, because the other side wins, I don't think you're gonna have victories with anything, to be honest with you.’ He said if he wins the election, by January 20th or ‘long before that, I think that we can work out something that's good for both sides.’

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Donald Trump promises deal between Putin and Zelensky to end war

Trump announced the meeting Thursday, shortly after posting a message from Zelensky seeking a meeting and vouching for his 'great respect'. 

Speaking after their meeting, Trump said 'We both want to see this end and we both want to see a fair deal made.'

Trump said he could push 'actually a rather rapid deal. It should stop and the president wants it to stop. And I’m sure president Putin wants it to stop and that’s a good combination.'

It was Zelensky whose comments put the blame for the tragic war on Putin. 'Putin killed so many people and we need to do everything to pressure him to stop this war, and he’s on our territory,' he said. 

Trump said it was a war 'that should have never happened. And it wouldn’t have happened.

Zelensky said Trump had to come see his country, and Trump said he would. 'It's a beautiful country. Beautiful weather, beautiful, everything,' he said.