Trump thanks Zelensky for getting him off ‘hoax’ impeachment

Republican says Ukrainian president supported him over 2019 blackmail allegations as two met at Trump Tower

Donald Trump has praised Volodymyr Zelensky for helping him to escape an “impeachment hoax” .
Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in 2019 after he was accused of blackmailing Mr Zelensky to investigate the Biden family in exchange for weapons to fight Russia.
At the time, Mr Zelensky claimed there was “no blackmail” and Trump was subsequently acquitted.
The former US president has now thanked the Ukrainian leader for his public comments that helped put a stop to the allegations, as the two met to discuss how to end Ukraine’s war with Russia.
After welcoming the Ukrainian president to Trump Tower, the Republican candidate said: “I’ve never told you this, to be honest, but he was like a piece of steel.”
“He could have grandstanded and played cute, and he didn’t do that. He said President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong.”
It has been widely reported that he had misquoted Mr Zelensky as saying he had done nothing wrong.
The scandal centred around a 2019 phone call during which government officials claimed Trump urged Mr Zelensky to “look into” Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, who once worked for a Ukrainian gas company.
The ex-president has promised to broker a “good deal” to stop the fighting between Ukraine and Russia if he is elected for a second time.
Mr Zelensky had sought the meeting with Trump to pitch his “Victory Plan” for Ukraine ahead of the election.
“We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin. And I think if we win, we’re going to get it resolved very quickly,” Trump told reporters ahead of the talks.
Mr Zelensky interrupted, saying: “I hope we have more good relations between us.”
“Oh, I see,” Trump continued. “It takes two to tango, you know, and we will – we’re going to have a good meeting today. And I think the fact that we’re even together today is a very good sign.”
Friday’s surprise meeting was announced amid public squabbling between the pair.
Trump has regularly criticised Mr Zelensky on the campaign trail in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, Trump said that the Ukrainian leader “refuses to make a deal” with Vladimir Putin, and that the country had been “demolished” because of that refusal to negotiate.
He added: “The president of Ukraine is in our country, and he’s making little nasty aspersions toward your favourite president: me.”
During the same speech, Trump said: “Any deal – the worst deal – would’ve been better than what we have now”, adding of Ukraine “the people are dead” and “the country is in rubble”.
Mr Zelensky has tried to remain positive about Trump in public, but used an interview with the New Yorker to say that his “feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how”.
He also branded Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, “too radical”.