Trump jokingly suggests false flag operation against Russia
At an event with Republican National Committee donors on Saturday, former President Donald Trump joked about conducting a false flag operation against Russia, CBS News reported.
The U.S. military should "put the Chinese flag on" F-22 stealth fighters, "bomb the s--t," out of Russia, "say, 'China did it, we didn't do it, China did it,'" and then "sit back and watch" as Russia and China "start fighting," Trump said.
In the weeks leading up to the invasion of Ukraine, intelligence analysts warned that Russia might use a false flag operation, potentially involving a staged video showing dead civilians or an attack by Russian special forces masquerading as Ukrainians, to justify war with Ukraine. Ultimately, though, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not rely on any single incident — faked or otherwise — for his casus belli.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump's audience reportedly laughed at his remarks about framing China for American airstrikes against Russian targets, but there were those who took him seriously.
"Imagine someone is stupid enough to believe China would have access to our F-22 planes. Now imagine that person being the former President of America and former Commander in Chief," Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) wrote on Twitter.
At the event Saturday, Trump also called NATO a "paper tiger" and repeated his baseless claim that he was the true winner of the 2020 election.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
Political cartoons for November 2Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the 22nd amendment, homeless camps, and more
-
The dazzling coral gardens of Raja AmpatThe Week Recommends Region of Indonesia is home to perhaps the planet’s most photogenic archipelago.
-
‘Never more precarious’: the UN turns 80The Explainer It’s an unhappy birthday for the United Nations, which enters its ninth decade in crisis
-
Trump’s White House ballroom: a threat to the republic?Talking Point Trump be far from the first US president to leave his mark on the Executive Mansion, but to critics his remodel is yet more overreach
-
‘Not every social scourge is an act of war’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Pentagon unable to name boat strike casualtiesSpeed Read The Pentagon has so far acknowledged 14 strikes
-
41 political cartoons for October 2025Cartoons Editorial cartoonists take on Donald Trump, ICE, Stephen Miller, the government shutdown, a peace plan in the Middle East, Jeffrey Epstein, and more.
-
Trump limits refugees mostly to white South AfricansSpeed Read The administration is capping the number of refugees at 7,500
-
Judge rules US attorney ‘unlawfully serving’Speed Read Bill Essayli had been serving in the role without Senate confirmation
-
Trump ends Asia trip with Xi meeting, nuke threatSpeed Read Trump had spent the last six days in Asia
-
What does history say about Trump’s moves in Latin America?Today's Big Question ‘Bitter memories’ surface as the US targets Venezuela
