The president claimed he threatened Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin in audio aired on CNN.
CNN on Tuesday aired newly surfaced audio of President Donald Trump boasting to donors during his 2024 presidential campaign that he had once warned Russian President Vladimir Putin he would "bomb the shit out of Moscow" if Russia invaded Ukraine.
In the recording, Trump also claimed he issued a similar threat to Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying he would "bomb the shit out of Beijing" if China invaded Taiwan.
"With Putin, I said, 'If you go into Ukraine, I'm gonna bomb the shit out of Moscow,'" Trump said at a fundraiser in the leaked audio. "'I'm telling you, I have no choice, the public.' So he goes like, 'I don't believe you.' He said, 'No way.' And I said, 'Way.'"
Trump claimed that Putin only "believed him 10%" but that "10% is all you need. In fact, 5% would have been OK, too. And we never had a problem."
Trump described a similar reported exchange with Xi: "I said, you know, 'If you go into Taiwan, I'm gonna bomb the shit out of Beijing.' He thought I was crazy. He said, 'Beijing? You're gonna bomb...' I said, 'I have no choice. I got to bomb you.'"
Trump said Xi "didn't believe me either," but estimated his belief at around 10%.
The audio was obtained by reporters Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, the authors of the new book "2024: How Trump Retook The White House And The Democrats Lost America."
The excerpts were aired Tuesday night by CNN's Kaitlan Collins. The Washington Post reported on the comments at the time.
The remarks echo earlier claims by Trump, who has repeatedly claimed that Putin would not have dared to order the 2022 invasion of Ukraine had he remained in office.
In 2022, during a call with golf pro John Daly caught on speakerphone, Trump claimed he'd warned Putin against invading Ukraine, saying, "We're gonna hit Moscow." He told Daly that Putin "sort of believed me, like 5%, 10%," adding: "That's all you need. He didn't do this during the last four years because he knew he couldn't."
Also in 2022, Trump jokingly floated the idea of the U.S. bombing Russia with fighter jets disguised with Chinese flags.
"And then we say, 'China did it, we didn't do it, China did it,' and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch,"
he told donors.
Trump praised Putin in the immediate aftermath of his launching the war and has spoken positively of him in public, though in recent months has expressed frustration over his counterpart's refusal to end the war on Ukraine.