Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said President Trump’s recent remarks about Ukraine are intended to “shock” Europe into action.
“When are we Europeans going to stop being scandalized about Donald Trump and start helping him to end this war?” Johnson posted Wednesday on X.
European leaders were shocked when Trump took steps to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Eight major European leaders met Monday to coordinate a response as Ukraine gets sidelined by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during peace talks.
Trump slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday evening, arguing he had done a “terrible job” leading the country amid war.
Zelensky responded, saying Trump lives in a Russian “disinformation space.” He asked the Trump administration to be “more truthful” about what’s going on.
Zelensky said he knew “nothing about” the peace discussions in the Middle East until they were already publicly announced.
European officials expected not to be entirely included over the international defense spending, but did not expect to be left out of the peace talks entirely.
As European leaders express concern over Trump and Putin’s closeness, Johnson voiced support for Europe to step in.
“Trump’s statements are not intended to be historically accurate but to shock Europeans into action,” Johnson said.
“The US believes Belgium, France and other countries are blocking,” he concluded. “It’s absurd. We need to get serious and fast.”
