(NewsNation) — Bill O’Reilly said Monday that he believes President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will agree to a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine during their scheduled phone call Tuesday morning.
“I do believe, I could be wrong, that they’re going to get a ceasefire for 30 days,” O’Reilly told NewsNation’s “On Balance” after a 90-minute meeting with Trump in the Oval Office.
The former Fox News host characterized the stakes for the call as “huge” and described Putin as “an evil SOB” who “doesn’t care how many people are dead, doesn’t care what the destruction is.”
Despite his harsh assessment of Putin, O’Reilly defended Trump’s diplomatic approach, saying the president is “doing exactly what he has to do to get Putin to the table.”
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When asked about Trump’s tougher public stance toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy compared to Putin, O’Reilly responded: “Why would you do that? You need Putin’s cooperation… Zelenskyy has no power at all.”
O’Reilly said Trump told him that Europe cannot broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, making the U.S. president’s role essential. During their meeting, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reportedly called Trump to discuss the negotiation approach.
According to O’Reilly, Trump assured him he would not allow Russia to capture Kyiv, with O’Reilly agreeing that such an outcome “would ruin his legacy.”
The call with Putin follows Ukraine’s agreement to a U.S.-brokered 30-day ceasefire proposal reached in Saudi Arabia. The Trump administration has resumed military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine ahead of the Putin call.
