Trump refused to call Putin a dictator: “I don’t use those words lightly”

After calling Ukraine’s Zelenskyy a dictator last week, President Trump declined to use the same term for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
trump macron
The US president Donald Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron in Washington, DC, on 24 Feb. 2025. Credit: The daily Reflector
Trump refused to call Putin a dictator: “I don’t use those words lightly”

US President Donald Trump declined to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a dictator during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House on 24 February, European Pravda reported.

When journalists asked Trump if he would call Putin a dictator after using that term to describe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump responded firmly.

“I don’t use those words lightly,” the American president said.

Trump suggested waiting to see how the situation unfolds. He expressed hope for a positive resolution to the war.

“We’re talking about Europe and we’re talking about Ukraine, that part of the whole situation. The other side also has a lot of support… Let’s see how it all works out. It can all work out,” Trump said.

Last week, Trump called the Ukrainian president a dictator and said Zelenskyy needed to act quickly if Ukraine wanted to survive as a country.

Zelenskyy later remarked that he was not offended by these comments.

Read also:

Trump “hopes” Ukraine can take “some land back”

War in Ukraine could end “within weeks,” Trump claims

Zelenskyy warned of “badmouthing” Trump for debunking disinfo, while Trump calls him “dictator without elections”

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