President Trump said a Russian oil deal is delivering "massive amounts of oil" into the United States — diesel in particular — and thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for it, speaking to reporters at the White House Friday afternoon before departing for a rally in Cherokee.
"I think you heard about the oil deal with Russia. That is a big deal," Trump said. "That is massive amounts of oil coming into our country, and I want to thank President Putin, to be honest with you. We have massive amounts of oil coming into our country, and it's diesel, which is what we want, so thank you."
The remarks were caught on camera in a short clip circulated by the White House rapid response account. The same account later posted full footage of the president taking questions from reporters before leaving the White House.
Trump tells Zelensky: 'He better damn well stop'
In a second set of comments, Trump said he had personally warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky not to strike Russian refineries because of the global effect on diesel supply.
"We told Zelensky, 'You can do whatever you want to Russia, but don't hit the refineries because that's a world problem.' And what does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel," Trump said. "He better damn well stop."
Trump described the conversation in his own words: "We said you could do whatever you want to Russia. You don't hit the refineries, because that's a world problem. ... And he wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel, because Russian supplies a large portion of the diesel fuel throughout the world. ... What does he do? He goes and hits the diesel fuel."
"He's not going to affect our farmers, and he's not going to affect our ranchers, and he's not going to affect the rest of the world. So he'd better damn well stop," Trump said.
'I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new President'
Asked about continued suffering in Ukraine, Trump went further, saying Ukraine's leadership should change.
"I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal, because he could have made many deals that for some reason he never does," Trump said. "Let me go a step further. If I were president, you wouldn't have ever had that war. That war would have never started."
Trump continued: "It should have never started. You wouldn't have lost 30% of your country already. You've lost 30% of your country, and you've had over a million people killed between the two of them, over two million people killed. That's a war that should have never started, and I think it's time for Ukraine to get a new president."
Trump also said Zelensky could have settled the conflict previously: "He could have settled this war many times, many, many times. And he chooses not to. ... It's a war that should have never been started."
Midterms, executions and the Houthis
On domestic politics, asked whether he would accept the results of the midterms regardless of which party wins, Trump said he would — with a condition.
"Of course I will, but we don't want cheating. We don't want cheating in the midterms. We don't want cheating. You understand me?"
On the pending execution of the Fort Hood attacker, Trump said he is weighing whether to allow it to be streamed.
"He's a vicious killer, killed 13 people in cold blood, wounded over 20. Some of those people will never have their lives back in a true sense," Trump said. "There are two thoughts: Don't show it and show it, because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won't be doing what he did. So I'll make a decision, ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but we'll make a decision."
Asked whether the United States would join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, Trump said a decision is coming quickly: "We may. We're going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we'll make a decision. We move very quickly."
