'Jealousy of Biden': How Trump showed his insecurity during conversation with Putin
If GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump defeats incumbent President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, his return to the White House could bring about a dramatic change in U.S. foreign policy.
Biden, an aggressive supporter of military aid to Ukraine during its conflict with Russia, has been a vehement critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump, in contrast, speaks fondly of Putin and has even said he would encourage the Russian leader to invade NATO countries that don't pay enough into the alliance.
After his meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told Hungary's M1 news channel that Trump "will not give a single penny to the Ukrainian-Russian War" if he wins in November.
READ MORE: Trump, Putin and the art of the deal
But according to the Daily Beast, Trump showed his insecurity about Biden when he spoke to Putin during the 2020 election.
Trump, the Beast's Allison Quinn reports, "let his jealousy of Joe Biden get the best of him" during that that conversation — which he described during a recent interview for state-owned Russian media.
Putin, according to Quinn, remembered, "This was more than four years ago. He told me that in one conversation: 'You want him to win.' Excuse me, I'll say it like he did — it's just direct speech — 'for Sleepy Joe to win.' He told me this when he was still president."
During the interview, Putin denied that Russia has interfered in U.S. elections. But according to former special counsel Robert Mueller, the Kremlin not only interfered in the 2016 election — it will try to influence future elections as well.
READ MORE: 'He's the boss': Trump praises 'fantastic' dictatorial style of Viktor Orbán
Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).
