US politics live: Bombshell audio reveals Trump threat to ‘bomb the sh*t out of Moscow and Beijing'
A bombshell audio recording of US President Donald Trump threatening to 'bomb the sh-- out of Moscow and Beijing' has been released, along with Vladimir Putin's gobsmacked reaction.
A recording of a private meeting during a fundraiser appears to expose what Mr Trump actually told Russia and China in phone calls in his first term, The Sun reports.
The audio from 2024 captures Mr Trump revealing what he claimed to have said during his 2017-2021 presidency to his Russian counterpart.
He's heard saying: 'With Putin I said, 'If you go into Ukraine, I'm going to bomb the s*** out of Moscow. I'm telling you I have no choice.''
Later in the recording, the US President can also be heard claiming he gave a similar warning to China's President Xi Jinping if he invaded Taiwan.
The release of the recordings comes after Russia pummelled Ukraine overnight with its largest missile and drone attack in more than three years of war, claiming to have targeted an airfield in a region bordering Poland.
Earlier, Mr Trump said he would ramp up arms deliveries to Ukraine and accused Mr Putin of spouting 'bulls--t' on Ukraine.
The latest strike, which regional officials said had killed one civilian in the Khmelnytsky region, beat a previous Russian record of firing 550 drones and missiles at Ukraine set last week.
The air force announced that Russia attacked with 728 drones and 13 missiles, specifying that its air defence systems intercepted 711 drones and destroyed seven missiles.
'This is a telling attack — and it comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all,' President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media.
Mr Zelensky, who was visiting Rome and met with Pope Leo XIV, called for Ukraine's allies to step up sanctions on Russia, particularly on its energy sector — an important revenue stream for the Russian war chest.
'Our partners know how to apply pressure in a way that will force Russia to think about ending the war, not launching new strikes,' Mr Zelensky said.
Follow our live updates.
Originally published as US politics live: Bombshell audio reveals Trump threat to 'bomb the sh*t out of Moscow and Beijing'
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