In an interview with Politico, Donald Trump described Europe as a “decaying” collection of nations led by “weak” people, criticizing the U.S.’s traditional allies for failing to control migration and end the war in Ukraine. He said he would support European political candidates who align with his vision.

“I think they are weak,” said the U.S. president about European political leaders. “But I also think they want to be so politically correct. I think they don’t know what to do,” he added. “Europe doesn’t know what to do.”

Trump’s criticism of European leaders comes at a critical moment in negotiations over the war in Ukraine, as European leaders express increasing concern that the U.S. president may abandon Ukraine and its allies to Russian aggression. In the interview, Trump offered no assurances to Europeans on this issue, stating that Russia is clearly in a stronger position than Ukraine.

“I’m friendly with everyone. I mean, I like everyone. I don’t really have enemies. I’ve had some I didn’t like over the years. Actually, I like the current group. I like them a lot. I know them very well. Some are friends. Some are okay. I know the good leaders, I know the bad leaders. I know the smart ones, I know the stupid ones. There are some really stupid ones, they don’t do a good job. Europe is not doing a good job in many ways,” he added.

Ukraine

Regarding the war in Ukraine, he claimed he had proposed a new peace plan that some Ukrainian officials liked, but which Zelensky himself had not yet reviewed. “It would be nice if he read it,” Trump said. Zelensky met on Monday with leaders from France, Germany, and the U.K. and continued to oppose ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia as part of a peace agreement.

The U.S. president stated that he does not place much importance on the role of European leaders in efforts to end the war: “They talk, but they don’t produce results, and the war continues nonstop.” In a new challenge to Zelensky, who appears politically weakened in Ukraine due to a corruption scandal, Trump reiterated his call for Ukraine to hold new elections.

“They haven’t held elections in a long time,” Trump said. “You know, they talk about democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s no longer democracy.”

“It’s a war that should never have happened. Honestly, it wouldn’t have happened if I were president, and it didn’t happen for four years. I saw this happening and said, wow, this will cause problems here. And it started, and it could have evolved into, World War III, honestly. I think it probably won’t happen now. I think if I weren’t president, you could have had World War III.”

He also emphasized that “Putin had no respect for Biden and has no respect for Zelensky, he didn’t like Zelensky. They really hate each other. And part of the problem is that they hate each other so much, you know. And it’s very hard for them to try to make a deal. I…have settled eight wars… I make deals. This one is difficult. One of the reasons is that the level of hatred between Putin and Zelensky is enormous.”

Latin America

Although he said he seeks a peaceful foreign agenda, Trump stated he may further expand military actions his administration has undertaken in Latin America against targets allegedly linked to drug trafficking. Trump has deployed a large military force in the Caribbean to target alleged drug traffickers and to pressure Venezuela’s authoritarian regime.

In the interview, he repeatedly refused to rule out sending U.S. troops to Venezuela in an effort to overthrow Maduro, whom Trump blames for exporting drugs to the United States. Some U.S. conservative leaders have warned Trump that a ground invasion of Venezuela would be a red line for conservatives who voted for him, in part to end foreign wars.

“I don’t want to rule it out or confirm it. I’m not talking about it,” Trump said regarding troop deployment, adding: “I don’t want to talk to you about military strategy.”

However, he said he would consider using force against targets in other countries where drug trafficking is particularly active, such as Mexico and Colombia. “Of course, I would,” he said.