DONALD Trump has demanded “anything we can get” from Ukraine in a marquee speech to his adoring fans.
The Republican also pledged to find out whether tonnes of gold bars are still inside Fort Knox with his pal Elon Musk.
United States President Donald Trump arrived at CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland on Saturday[/caption]
Zelensky is reportedly not ready to sign the ‘problematic’ minerals deal with the US[/caption]
Trump made the remarks demanding oil and rare earth minerals at a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday as his row with President Volodymyr Zelensky rumbles on.
He said: “I’m dealing with President Zelensky. I’m dealing with President Putin and I’m trying to get the money back or secured.”
The President said that the US has given $350 billion in aid to the war-torn nation while Europe has given $100 billion.
He said: “Europe gave it in the form of a loan, they get their money back.
“We gave it in the form of nothing so I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up.
“We’re asking for rare earth, oil, anything we can get.”
The president then slammed his predecessor Joe Biden for failing to “get equalisation” with Europe regarding aid as he said the war “does not affect us” like it does the continent.
“How come we went so far out front and he didn’t know that Europe gets its money back? It’s not fair.”
But the President says he believes he is “pretty close to a deal” despite a source telling Sky News that Zelensky is not ready to sign a “problematic” minerals deal with the US.
The deal proposed by Trump’s team would see Kyiv hand over billions of dollars of minerals to Washington DC in exchange for weapons.
The Ukrainian source said: “The agreement is not yet ready to be signed, there are a number of problematic issues, and in the current form of the draft, the president is not ready to accept it.
“Today, the drafts do not reflect a partnership in the agreement and contain only unilateral commitments by Ukraine.”
As the split between the US and Ukraine continues to widen after Trump branded Zelensky a “dictator”, Kyiv has held “productive” talks with US envoy General Keith Kellogg about the deal.
Kellogg has been seen as the mediator between Zelensky and the furious stance of the Trump White House.
During his CPAC speech, the President also said he and pal Elon Musk are planning a trip to Fort Knox in Kentucky to check on the country’s gold.
He said: “Under our administration there will be no tolerance for social security fraud…We’re also going to Fort Knox.
“I’m going to go with Elon,” he said as he called out the “corrupt people in the country.
“We want to see if the gold is still there,” he said as he joked about the reactions of onlookers if they opened it and found nothing there.
Trump praised Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency that he said is “waging a war on government waste, fraud, and abuse.”
“Elon is doing a great job. We love Elon don’t we?
“He’s a patriot – people said ‘What official position does he have?’ I said ‘Patriot.’”
Trump vowed to get tough on Ukraine when getting the money back America has offered in aid[/caption]
Trump praised Elon’s work and said the pair are planning a trip to Fort Knox[/caption]
