LAS VEGAS – Former President Donald Trump told rally-goers in the swing state of Nevada Thursday that if elected, he will call Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on election night in an effort to end the war in Ukraine.
“I’m going to work on that from the day, hopefully the day that we win, which is Nov. 5th, in the evening,” Trump said.
“On the evening of Nov. 5th, I will call Putin. I will call Zelensky,” the Republican nominee for president continued. “I’ll say, ‘We got to stop it.’”
“I’m going to try and get it done as president-elect,” Trump vowed.
“That’ll give me plenty of credibility,” he added. “I don’t have to wait until Jan. 20th [Inauguration Day]. I’m going to try and get it done sooner than that.”
Trump, 78, has long claimed that he could negotiate an end to the conflict in one day.
The 45th president met with Zelensky at Trump Tower in Manhattan last month and touted his “very good relationship” with the Ukrainian leader.
Trump has also supposedly been in touch with Putin, reportedly having “as many as seven” phone calls with the Russian president since he left the White House less than four years ago, according to journalist Bob Woodward.
“Sadly, zero chance that Putin would have gone into Ukraine if I were president,” Trump said Thursday night. “Zero chance. What a shame that is.”
Thousands arrived four hours ahead of Trump’s speech at the famed Thomas & Mack Center on the University of Nevada — Las Vegas campus for the rally, which was hosted by the Turning Point political action committee.
The pre-show program featured a range of Hawaiian and Asian-American/Pacific Islander performers, representing a share of the Nevada population that both campaigns have tried to court.
Polynesian singers, Maori Hakka and Tongan and Samoan dancers drew cheers from the crowd, as did Samoan dancers.
Former race car driver Danica Patrick, mixed martial artist Jorge Masvidal, actress Gina Carano and former NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman were among among Trump’s distinguished guests.
Nevada GOP Senate candidate Sam Brown, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and former Hawaii Rep.Tulsi Gabbard, who just yesterday announced she was joining the Republican Party, were also in attendance.
“To see these candidates in person and to see that, my God, they are strong on their word and again, promises made, promises kept,” Genevieve Dew, a Las Vegas resident, opera singer and cabaret performer who attended the rally, told The Post. “It has been proven for four years, and it will be proven again now.”
Dew, a black voter, told The Post she discounted former President Barack Obama’s recent encouragement, delivered in Las Vegas Saturday night, that voters of color should back Vice President Kamala Harris.
“When Obama was running, I voted for him the first time, but not the second time,” she said. “He was the first black president, but honestly, he didn’t do a damn thing for any black people.”
Alexander Spellane, founder and CEO of Fisher Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based precious metals firm, said his company is helping to sponsor the Turning Point event. Even though he believes the firm would sell more gold if Harris wins the White House, he’s backing Trump.
“We share the same values,” Spellane said of the former president. “More importantly, though, I believe that he is going to be someone that can strongly help the economy. My concern is getting the right person in office who is going to do the best job for this country.”
Several visitors traveled hundreds of miles to attend, although for one, it was serendipity.
Raisa Tomazic, a 35-year-old civilian Navy employee in Seattle, was on a trip here with her husband. The couple found out about the event and signed up.
Tomazic said she welcomed the chance to be more open about her politics. In Seattle, she said, Trump supporters feel they are a distinct minority.
“The majority of the people there are anti-Trump. So being here is very different, because people over here, they support Trump, and we have more freedom to wear a MAGA hat here,” she said.
Montana House of Representatives member Braxton Mitchell, 24, came to the event with his grandfather, who’d just moved to Mesquite, a city 90 minutes away.
“I definitely want to see at least one or two more rallies before Election Day,” the legislator told The Post. “Obviously, things are getting down to the very end.”
Mitchell, who’s facing his own re-election campaign back home, said he’s impressed that Nevada is in play.
Recent polls have Trump up between a fraction of a point and 2 points. Early voting has been strong with Republicans taking the lead statewide in both mail-in and in-person ballots during the first six days of voting, which closes Nov. 1.
“A couple months ago, no one would consider a Nevada potentially being competitive towards the very end here,” Mitchell said. “But registrations are good and the early voting data looks good.”
