Trump: Put China flags on US planes to bomb Russia

Donald Trump has suggested the US sends fighter planes adorned with Chinese flags in hope that Russia would then attack China.

Former US President Donald Trump gestures during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP

Donald Trump suggested that the United States send fighter planes adorned with Chinese flags to “bomb the shit out of Russia” in the hope that Russia would then attack China, in a speech made to Republican donors.

This false-flag operation would create a conflict between Russia and China while “we sit back and watch,” Trump told more than 250 top Republican Party donors in New Orleans.

His suggestion, seemingly made seriously, was met with laughter, and came as he faced broad criticism from fellow Republicans for describing President Putin in glowing terms on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“He’s taking over a country for two dollars’ worth of sanctions,” he said in a speech at his club, Mar-a-Lago. “I’d say that’s pretty smart. He’s taking over a country – really a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people – and just walking right in.”

In a subsequent speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, he complained at the criticism he had faced for the remark, adding: “Yes, he’s smart.”

On Friday night in New Orleans, Trump’s former vice-president, Mike Pence, told party donors there was “no room in this party for apologists for Putin”. On Saturday night, Trump said those who accused him of being an apologist for Putin could not be considered “serious leaders of our country”, according to The Washington Post, which obtained a recording of his speech. “Nobody has ever been tougher on Russia than me,” Trump said, in a speech which was also said to be laden with hints that he would run for the presidency again in 2024.

The idea that American F-22 fighter planes be disguised with Chinese flags was offered in a musing tone, according to the newspaper. “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,” Trump said.

The Times