Trump tells Zelensky he hopes he can ‘solve his problem’ with Putin in resurfaced video

An old video of Donald Trump resurfaced online on Tuesday, in which the Republican told the Ukrainian president he hopes he can “solve” his problem with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

In the clip from September 2019 – back when he was president of the United States, if you haven’t already tried to erase that fact from your memory – Mr Trump appeared alongside Volodymyr Zelensky not long after the former was embroiled in his own scandal over Ukraine.

At the time, the former reality TV star had asked the Ukrainian president for dirt on Joe Biden and his son, Hunter – holding back military aid to the country as a way of pressuring Mr Zelensky for the information.

The incident sparked the first of president Trump’s two impeachment trials – both of which saw him impeached but acquitted of the charges placed before him.

Trump addressed Zelensky: “I hope that you and president Putin get together and can solve your problem. That would be a tremendous achievement, and I know you’re trying to do that.”

Mr Zelensky didn’t say anything in response, instead looking straight ahead with a look of concern on his face.

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He certainly wasn’t the only one to pull such a facial expression during Mr Trump’s presidency.

Patrick Hickey, a Maryland professor, reshared the video to Twitter, and social media users were quick to compare the Ukrainian president to his then-embarrassing US counterpart.

Mr Trump’s pressuring of Zelensky wasn’t the only time the ex-US president tried to dig up compromising details about his political opponents, as just last month he called on Mr Putin to release details about Hunter Biden.

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