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 āas š¼many 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 š§Woodward
āAccording to Trumpās aide, there have been multiple phone calls between Trump and Putin, maybe as manš„y as seven in the period sinceš„ Trump left the White House in 2021,ā Woodward wrote, .
Woodward desšcribed one particular moment when Trump shooed a senior aide out of a room at Mar-a-Lago so āhe could have what he said was a private phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.ā
While he was in oš³ffice, Trump, 78, also āsecretly 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 globšal shutdown ā but Putin cautioned Trump to keep the delivery of the Abbott machines a secret, the journalist said.
āPlease donāt tell šanybody you sent these to me,ā Putin said to Trump at the time, according to Woodward.
Trump dismissed Putinās warning, saying, āI donāt care. Fine.ź§ā
āNo, ź¦ noš ·,ā Putin cautioned. āI donāt want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me. They donāt care about me.ā
Trump was frequently scrutš»inized over his relationship with Putin during and after his presidency.
In a radio intź§erview in 2022, Trump bragged that he knew the Russiašn autocrat āvery, very wellā and called him āa very savvyā guy.
Trump aide Jason Miller, however, clammed up when Woodward asked him about the supposed Trump-Pāutin phone calls.
āš¶Um, ah, not thšat, ah, not that Iām aware of,ā Miller told Woodward. āI have not heard that theyāre talking, so Iād push back on that.ā
President Bidenās Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines also ācarefully hedgedā whšen asked about any post-presidency communication between Trumpš and Putin, Woodward said.
āI would not purportā to be aware of all contacts with Putin. I wouldnāt purport to speak to what President Trump may or may not have done,ā Haines explained, according to the writer.
A spokesperson for Trump dš¦©enounced Woodwardās allegatioš ·ns in a scathing statement to The Post.
“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 thešÆ unauthorized publishing of recordings he šmade previously.
āPresident Trump gave him absolutelyš¦ no accessš§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