‘I didn’t want to look foolish’ — Trump says US ‘gets much more’ from Ukraine minerals deal than it gave in aid
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U.S. President Donald Trump said the minerals agreement with Ukraine ensures that "we get much more… than the $350 billion" the U.S. has provided in assistance, in his first public comments on the deal during a May 1 interview with NewsNation.
"I wanted to be protected," Trump said. “We are in for $350 billion, or close to it… (Former President Joe) Biden handed them $350 billion between cash and military equipment. We got nothing."
"So I said, look, they have great rare earth… minerals, materials — they have things that a lot of places do not have… And we made a deal today — we get much more, in theory, than the $350 billion. I did not want to… look foolish."
Trump has repeatedly inflated the amount of U.S. aid to Ukraine, with independent tracking by the Kiel Institute putting the total at roughly $130 billion.
The minerals agreement, signed on April 30 and negotiated over several months, excludes provisions tying Ukraine’s debt or previously received aid to the deal.
Instead, the agreement establishes a 50-50 joint investment fund focused on new critical minerals and energy projects.
According to First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, the fund will capture revenues from newly licensed projects, while existing projects and budgeted income remain outside the agreement’s scope.
When asked if the agreement could impede Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said that "well, it could."
The deal has been under discussion for months and became a point of tension between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, who got into a heated argument in the White House on Feb. 28 when the deal was set to be signed by the two leaders.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this month that the minerals deal would underscore Washington's commitment to Ukraine as an economic partner and could be used as leverage to encourage Russia to negotiate an end to its war.
