Record / E-2026-0039
Assessment of Russia promised within two weeks is reset three times across three months
Asked on May 28, 2025 whether Putin wanted to end the war, Trump said: I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about 2 weeks - within 2 weeks. We're going to find out very soon. We're going to find out whether or not he's tapping us along or not. He had deferred a related question on May 19, 2025 by saying I'd rather tell you in about 2 weeks from now, and on August 22, 2025 he said again: I think, in 2 weeks, we'll know which way it's going to go. No determination was announced at the close of any of the three windows.
Context
The three statements are recorded as one chain because they reset the same question rather than raising separate ones. Two qualifications belong on the face of this entry. The May 19 statement is a deferral of a reporter's question rather than a commitment to produce anything, and he widened that window to 2 weeks or 4 weeks in the same answer; deferrals and commitments are different acts and this series does not merge their counts. The White House has defended the formula on the record: at the June 19, 2025 briefing the press secretary said that the last time the President said two weeks, you saw Russia and Ukraine have direct negotiations for the first time in years.
Sources
The document identifier is the citation. The URL is a resolution mechanism, and the archived copy is what the citation resolves to when the live link dies.
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Remarks at a Swearing-in Ceremony for Jeanine Pirro as Acting United States Attorney for the District of Columbia
Remarks, May 28, 2025, American Presidency Project
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Remarks on Presenting the Medal of Sacrifice and an Exchange With Reporters
Remarks, May 19, 2025, American Presidency Project
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Remarks Announcing the 2026 FIFA World Cup Draw
Remarks, August 22, 2025, American Presidency Project
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Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
White House press briefing, June 19, 2025, American Presidency Project