Trump Makes Himself Look Bad

President Donald Trump, approaching the 100-day milestone of his second term, walked back one of his most talked-about campaign promises his repeated pledge to end the war in Ukraine on his first day back in office. In a recent interview, Trump admitted that the claim was never meant to be taken literally, calling it an exaggeration meant to “make a point.”

“Well, I said that figuratively, and I said that as an exaggeration,” Trump said when asked about the pledge. “It was said in jest, but it was also said that it will be ended.” He also blamed the media for what he called mischaracterizing the statement.

The reversal is just the latest in a growing pattern of shifting positions that has left many voters and lawmakers frustrated. Trump’s tendency to make bold declarations only to later scale them back or dismiss them as jokes is fueling concerns over his credibility and it’s beginning to drag down his popularity even among some of his own supporters.

When pressed on why a ceasefire has yet to be reached between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said it hasn’t been that long, pointing out that he’s only been back in office for three months. “This war has been going on for three years. It’s a war that would have never happened if I was president,” he said. “It’s Biden’s war. It’s not my war. I have nothing to do with it.”

Trump has repeatedly claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if he had remained in office, but critics note that his administration has yet to put forward a concrete plan to bring about peace.

On the campaign trail, Trump leaned heavily into the narrative that he could immediately resolve the conflict sometimes saying it would happen within 24 hours, or even before inauguration. Those remarks played well with voters eager for an end to foreign entanglements, but now that he’s back in the White House, the lack of progress and his own rebranding of the pledge as a “jest” has started to erode that support.

With polling data showing declining confidence in his foreign policy leadership, particularly among independents, Trump’s inconsistent messaging on Ukraine is adding to the perception that his leadership style is unpredictable and driven more by soundbites than strategy.