Former CIA director John Brennan has warned that if Donald Trump is re-elected in November, he will severely cut military aid funding to Ukraine, which would serve as a “green light” for Putin’s expansion plans across Europe.
These comments, made in an interview with Belgian TV, comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tells us Politics that he publicly and privately invited Trump to visit the front lines of the war.
Zelensky told the website that Trump is interested in the idea but is unsure when he will be able to make the visit. The president rejected the idea put forward by many, including Trump, that the invasion would be carried out by surrendering parts of Ukraine to Putin.
“If the agreement is that we just give up our territory, and that is the idea behind it, then that is a very primitive idea,” Zelenskiy said.
“We said that we would like Donald Trump to come to Ukraine, see everything with his own eyes and draw his own conclusions. In any case, I am willing to meet him and discuss the matter.’
Zelensky has met with US President Joe Biden several times since the Russian invasion began; the pair is seen here in February 2024
Zelensky has said Trump has expressed interest in coming to Ukraine to see the front lines, but no date has been set for a proposed visit
Meanwhile, Brennan illustrated how Trump could disable Ukraine’s war effort by instructing U.S. intelligence officials to stop helping their counterparts, in addition to cutting aid.
“And that would give Vladimir Putin the green light to try to almost swallow Ukraine. And unfortunately, I think it will encourage Vladimir Putin to look hungrily at the rest of Europe,” Brennan said.
“The future of Ukraine and Europe will be more secure if Joe Biden is elected. If Donald Trump is elected, everything will change and serious questions will arise about the United States’ will to resist Russian aggression in the future.”
Just this week, British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron appeared to fail in his mission to convince Trump to tell the pro-Putin wing of the Republican Party to support the latest Ukrainian aid package that has stalled in Congress.
In the past, Cameron has insulted Trump’s intelligence community, calling him a “misogynist” and a “xenophobe.”
Brennan, who was removed from office shortly after Trump took office in 2017, went on to say that the Republican front-runner does not understand the importance of NATO.
“Specifically, we could see that he did not understand the importance of the United States’ relations with our foreign allies and partners. He has little recognition for the transatlantic relationship, for NATO.’
At a campaign rally in February, Trump made it clear that he would not protect his fellow NATO members from Russian aggression. He even went so far as to encourage Putin to “do whatever he wanted.”
Former CIA Director John Brennan was ousted by Trump in 2017. He says the former Apprentice presenter does not understand the importance of the US-NATO relationship
Brennan says if the US pulls funding for Ukraine, it will be a “green light” for Putin to do what he wants.
In his Politico interview, Zelenskiy said he was optimistic the aid package would become a reality.
Brennan also brought up President Joe Biden’s age and recent blunders, but said the recent State of the Union address put to rest any concerns about his mental competency.
The former CIA director went on to say that Biden is “increasingly frustrated and less tolerant of Israeli military aggression in Gaza” and said the Scranton resident would put pressure on Netanyahu’s government to reach a peace deal.
“Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed or injured in this conflict,” Brennan said.
Finally, Brennan said he was “shocked” by “dishonest” Republicans who continue to support Trump despite his violent and divisive rhetoric.
“Unfortunately, Donald Trump and some of his supporters continue to use flowery language that sometimes incites violence. Donald Trump, for example, spoke of a bloodbath if Joe Biden were re-elected.’
“In the United States, the potential for violence is fueled by politicians trying to instill fear in citizens. This concerns me and others in the national security community.”
Earlier in the interview, Brennan said that Trump in 2016 refused to believe that Russian agents had influenced the results of the presidential election.
In his interview with Politico, Zelensky also addressed this issue, arguing that Russia is distorting “the world’s information field.”
‘They pump their stories through the media. These are not Russian citizens or residents of Russia, no. They are representatives of certain media groups, citizens of the United States. They are the ones in the media with the right messages, sometimes very pro-Russian,” the president said.