When Donald Trump was running for president a second time, he promised that he would bring an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, after all, he and Vladimir Putin were tight right? If anyone could convince the Russian president to cease the fighting it would be Donald, at least that’s what Trump was trying to convince us.
Well here we are, over eight months since he was sworn in and it looks like we’re no closer to ending that conflict than we were back in January. While Donald Trump has tried to pin the blame on his predecessor, Joe Biden, in the past, it looks like the president has finally run out of flimsy excuses.
Recently Trump has indicated that his stance may be beginning to shift with regards to his old pal Putin. Last week, during a meeting with the U.K. Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, he claimed that Putin had let him down and that he had been hoping to have brought the conflict to an end by now. This week he reiterated those comments as he spoke with the French President, Emmanuel Macron.
Trump admitted: his ties with Putin meant nothing
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) September 23, 2025
The U.S. president acknowledged that his personal contacts with the Russian dictator did not help him in resolving the war: “I thought I could end the conflict thanks to my relationship with Putin… But unfortunately, those ties… pic.twitter.com/jrtfJRtsnA
During one point in their discussion Donald Trump actually admits to being wrong (I know, shock horror). Talking about the Ukraine war he states that he “though that was going to be the easiest one because of my relationship with Putin,” he then goes on to confess that he has been ineffective and he doesn’t try to make many excuses either, “Unfortunately that relationship didn’t mean anything.” Last month he put the U.S. to shame by rolling out the red carpet for Putin, but now, it seems he’s finally realizing.
This is a shift for Donald Trump
As usual it seems Trump overestimated his skills as a politician. However, it does feel as though a page has been turned here. The president seems to have distanced himself from Putin and is now much more closely aligned with Zelenskyy, even claiming that Ukraine could claw back some of the territory occupied by Russia since 2014.
Of course, Trump’s new stance may not be permanent. The president is known for swinging wildly from one side to the other like a demented pendulum. It was only half a year ago the president and his VP were berating Zelenskyy in the White House and telling him to accept the land he had lost to Russia. “Honestly, I just wish Trump would stick to one opinion for more than a month.” Wrote one person on X, “I would like to be happy, but he will change his opinion again and again.” Added another.
Regardless, seeing Trump admit that he overestimated himself when it came to his “special” bond with Putin is a sight to behold. We all knew he wouldn’t be able to solve the Ukraine conflict in a matter of days, but at least he’s being honest about the situation now, perhaps that’s the first step to actually ending the war.
