Trump brags he threatened to bomb Moscow and Beijing

In an audio recording captured at a private dinner between Trump and wealthy campaign donors, recently aired on CNN as part of the promotion of a new book co-authored by three journalists about the 2024 presidential race, the former president indulges in some startling confidences.

We can hear him brag, in unprecedented detail, of having threatened Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping with bombing their respective capitals during his first term in office. And that, according to him, was precisely the attitude that earned him the respect of these leaders.

“With Putin, I said,” Trump can be heard declaring in the recording, “If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the sht out of Moscow.”

He then claims that Putin replied that he didn’t believe him, while confidently adding that he still believed him “10%”.

In this trade, Trump recounts making similar remarks during a meeting with the Chinese president, in an effort to dissuade the latter from considering an invasion of Taiwan: “Then I’m with President Xi of China, but I said the same thing to them.”

He adds that Xi thought he was crazy for daring to make such a threat, before adding: “He didn’t believe me except 10%, and 10% is what you need”.

This audio recording gives an insight into the image Trump wanted to project to his donors, seeking to convince them that he was the right man for the job. He claims that it was precisely this kind of tough, threatening talk that he believed had averted conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza in the past.