Politics

Trump called Putin ‘as many as seven’ times since he left the White House: new book

Former President Donald Trump has supposedly called Russian President Vladimir Putin ā€œas šŸ¼many as sevenā€ times since he left the White House less than four years ago, an explosive new book claims.

Trump ā€” who was criticized during his presidency for his seemingly cozy ties to his Russian counterpart ā€” has kept in touch with Putin since he left office in January 2021, legendary journalist Bob šŸ§œWoodward

Donald Trump has supposedly called Vladimir Putin several times since he left office in January 2021. AFP via Getty Images

ā€œAccording to Trumpā€™s aide, there have been multiple phone calls between Trump and Putin, maybe as manšŸ„‚y as seven in the period sincešŸ”„ Trump left the White House in 2021,ā€ Woodward wrote, .

Woodward desšŸ’›cribed one particular moment when Trump shooed a senior aide out of a room at Mar-a-Lago so ā€œhe could have what he said was a private phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.ā€

While he was in ošŸŒ³ffice, Trump, 78, also ā€œsecretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal useā€ at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Woodward.

Russia and the US openly exchanged medical equipment ź§‚like venź§…tilators during the globšŸƒal shutdown ā€” but Putin cautioned Trump to keep the delivery of the Abbott machines a secret, the journalist said.

ā€œPlease donā€™t tell šŸ’™anybody you sent these to me,ā€ Putin said to Trump at the time, according to Woodward.

Trump dismissed Putinā€™s warning, saying, ā€œI donā€™t care. Fine.ź§‹ā€

ā€œNo, ź¦…nošŸ…·,ā€ Putin cautioned. ā€œI donā€™t want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me. They donā€™t care about me.ā€

Trump was frequently scrutšŸ»inized over his relationship with Putin during and after his presidency.

In a radio intź§’erview in 2022, Trump bragged that he knew the Russiaš“€n autocrat ā€œvery, very wellā€ and called him ā€œa very savvyā€ guy.

Putin cautioned Trump not to let the world know that he had sent him COVID tests for his personal use. via REUTERS

Trump aide Jason Miller, however, clammed up when Woodward asked him about the supposed Trump-Pā™’utin phone calls.

ā€œšŸŽ¶Um, ah, not thšŸ’œat, ah, not that Iā€™m aware of,ā€ Miller told Woodward. ā€œI have not heard that theyā€™re talking, so Iā€™d push back on that.ā€

President Bidenā€™s Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines also ā€œcarefully hedgedā€ whšŸ’›en asked about any post-presidency communication between Trumpš† and Putin, Woodward said.

ā€œI would not purportā™Ž to be aware of all contacts with Putin. I wouldnā€™t purport to speak to what President Trump may or may not have done,ā€ Haines explained, according to the writer.

A spokesperson for Trump dšŸ¦©enounced Woodwardā€™s allegatiošŸ…·ns in a scathing statement to The Post.

Donald Trump is routinely criticized for his connection with Putin. CRISTOBAL HERRERAā™‰-ULASHKEVICH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

“None of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true and are the work of a truly demented and deranged man who suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said.

“Woodward is an angry, little man and is clearly upset because President Trump is successfully suing him because of thešŸ’Æ unauthorized publishing of recordings he š’made previously

ā€œPresident Trump gave him absolutelyšŸ’¦ no accessšŸ§ø for this trash book that either belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore or used as toilet tissue.

“Woodward is a total sleazebag who has lost it mentally, and he’s slow, lethargic, incompetent and overall a boring person with no personality.ā€