▲ U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns in Ohio
U.S. President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an energy truce.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on October 12 local time on his way to campaign for the midterm elections in Ohio, when asked about reports that neither Russia nor Ukraine had agreed to an energy truce, Trump replied, "They did agree. You know why? Because I said, 'You are agreeing.'"
When questioned further as to why Russia has continued attacking Ukraine despite his truce announcement the previous day, Trump responded, "We'll have to see," while adding, "There continue to be violations from both sides."
Claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a peace deal more than Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does, Trump emphasized, "President Zelenskyy and President Putin need to meet and end this foolish war."
Asked whether attacks by Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia would affect the U.S. midterm elections, he said he did not think so, but criticized, "The Houthis are misbehaving."
Visiting Youngstown, Ohio, Trump then launched a fierce attack on the Democratic Party and appealed for votes for the Republican candidate.
In his campaign speech, Trump claimed, "If the Democrats win the midterm elections, it will bring a Great Depression on par with 1929, and the United States will be ruined."
Mentioning the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Ohio, former Senator Sherrod Brown, he criticized him, saying, "Radical left Brown has abandoned the interests of Ohio residents and betrayed you."
Regarding the federal authorities' search of the home of Representative Ilhan Omar (Democrat, Minnesota), a Somali-American, earlier that day, Trump distanced himself by claiming it had nothing to do with him, while disparaging her as "a disaster."
He went on to disparage her country of origin, Somalia, calling her "someone from one of the worst countries on the planet."
Trump also claimed that Iran would not obtain nuclear weapons and that the United States has achieved great success regarding Iran, though he spent most of his speech highlighting the Trump administration's economic achievements and attacking the Democrats.
It was Trump's return to Ohio in nine days.
His swift return to Ohio despite having many other regions to campaign for appears to stem from a sense of crisis that the Senate seat could be lost to the Democrats.
In Ohio, incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted is locked in a tight race with the Democratic candidate, former Senator Sherrod Brown.
Although Ohio has voted overwhelmingly for Trump in all three presidential elections since 2016, public sentiment has been heavily shaken by high inflation, sluggish manufacturing revival, and data center controversies.
Vice President JD Vance, a former U.S. Senator from Ohio, also visited the region on October 9.
With the Republicans holding a narrow 53-47 majority in the Senate, losing Ohio to the Democrats could jeopardize the party's control of the Senate.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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