Featured Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Contributor/Getty Images
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News, World News
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News, World News
Asked by press this week if he'd describe Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a 'dictator', US President Donald Trump appeared to clam up.
"I don't use those words lightly," he replied following an awkward pause. "I think that we're gonna see how it all works out.
"Let's see what happens. I think that we have a chance of a really good settlement between various countries."
The 78-year-old Republican front-man continued: "And, you know, you're talking about Europe, and you're talking about Ukraine as part of that whole situation. The other side has a lot of support, also.
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"So, let's see how it all works out. It might work out.
"Look, you can never make up lives. One thing you can make up, the money, but you can't make up the lives."
Trump's latest comments have rubbed a number of Americans up the wrong way.
Thousands of social media users have since pointed out that the the controversial politician seemingly had no qualms in branding Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a 'dictator' last week.
Speaking in Florida on 19 February - as per the BBC - Trump alleged that the only thing Zelensky 'was really good at was playing Joe Biden like a fiddle'.
His comments came after the Ukrainian leader reacted to conversations between the US and Russia, from which Kyiv was excluded.
Zelensky, 47, claimed at the time that the US President was 'living in a disinformation space'.
In response, Trump initially shared a post on his own social media page Truth Social, accusing the Ukrainian of doing 'a terrible job, his country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died'.
In a speech made later that day, he branded Zelensky a 'dictator', adding: "He refuses to have elections. He's low in the real Ukrainian polls.
"How can you be high with every city being demolished?"
Trump added at the time that the US government was 'successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia'.
As we say, however, the father-of-five's hesitation to use similar language to describe 72-year-old Putin, hasn't gone a miss with thousands of Americans.
Responding to a clip - shared by Daily Mail - of Trump's latest comments on Instagram, one pointed out the contradiction.
"He used those words pretty lightly with Zelensky, what a clown," they penned.
Another questioned: "But he called Zelenskyy [sic] a dictator?"
"You do use those words, just a week ago about Zelensky. People didn’t vote for your lies," a third hit out.
"Yet he called Zelenskyy [sic] a dictator a week ago…" another added.
A fifth commented: "Doesn’t use them light. Except for last week… LOL. What a joke"
"Used it lightly about Zelensky," another continued.