The White House cannot confirm "any of the calls" between former President Donald Trump and dictator Vladimir Putin, as described in Bob Woodward's new book, War. However, the information raises concerns in the context of Ukraine. This was stated by the White House spokesperson Karin Jean-Pierre during a briefing on October 9, UNN reports with reference to Voice of America.
"We are not aware of these calls, I cannot confirm any of these calls," said Karine Jean-Pierre. However, she added:
"But if this is true, do we care? Yes, we do. We have serious concerns... especially since we know that the former president lobbied against increasing assistance to Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression.
Context
The New York Times writes that the book in question "revives questions about Trump's ties to Putin". Its author, journalist Bob Woodward, says that Trump has spoken to Putin seven times since leaving the US presidency.
"Former presidents often communicate with foreign leaders, but it would be highly unusual for someone to communicate with a clear adversary of the United States on the opposite side of a war without clearing it with the White House or the State Department," the NYT article says.
Trump's campaign rejected the information from Woodward's book, using insults in a statement against the author, who was called a "complete scoundrel" who is "slow, sluggish, incompetent and generally boring person with no personality.
У кремлі заперечують телефонні контакти путіна і Трампа09.10.24, 18:44