It was one of the most important phone calls in the modern history of the American presidency. On July 25, 2019, Donald Trump had telephone meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to the White House’s own call summary, the Ukrainian leader, struggling with Russian aggression, brought up the possibility of purchasing additional U.S. military equipment. The Republican responded with a memorable 10-word reply: “I would like you to do us a favor, though.”
The comment came against a backdrop of Trump holding up congressionally approved military assistance to Ukraine. It was part of an unsubtle extortion scheme: Trump wanted Kyiv to help him cheat in the 2020 presidential election, and he hoped to leverage military aid to coerce Ukraine’s compliance.
The call was consequential, both in terms of national security — the Republican scheme undermined a U.S. ally at a key moment — and in terms of domestic politics. The scandal did, after all, lead to Trump’s first impeachment.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine later said that she was confident that Trump had “learned from this case” and that he “will be much more cautious in the future.”
As the president’s second term gets underway, “caution” does not appear to be his top priority. The Hill reported:
President Trump indicated Monday he wants a deal for rare earth elements and other items from Ukraine in exchange for continued military aid in the nation’s war against Russia. “We’re handing them money hand over fist. We’re giving them equipment,” Trump said Monday.
The American president suggested that he’s “looking to do a deal,” in which the United States continues to assist Ukraine. As for what Trump wants in return, he specifically referenced Ukraine’s “rare earth,” adding, “They have great rare earth.”
REPORTER: What you said about Ukraine earlier — the rare earth. Do you want them to give the rare earth to the United States?TRUMP: Yeah This led to some speculation as to what, specifically, the president was referring to. As The Hill’s report added, Trump might’ve meant rare earth elements, or he could’ve been talking about Ukraine’s significant supply of lithium and titanium. Either way, of course, the Republican appeared to endorse a transactional approach to U.S. security aid — again. The comments came just 10 days after Trump suggested during a Fox News interview that Ukraine should not have fought back in response to Russia’s invasion. A few weeks before Election Day, Trump also blamed the Ukrainian president for the war, saying that Zelenskyy “should never have let that war start.”
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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