Donald Trump 'glitches' as he speaks in Oval Office ahead of Putin summit

Donald Trump appeared to momentarily glitch while taking questions during an Oval Office briefing today, pausing mid-sentence and repeating himself before launching into a rant about crime.

The US President claimed crime in Washington is the "worst it’s ever been," describing the situation as "tragic" and an "epidemic". Asked about his meeting with Vladimir Putin tomorrow, Trump said it will "save a lot of lives." Tonight's briefing, held to mark the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act, also saw Trump vow to protect social security before gloating about "ending Biden's inflation nightmare" and earning hundreds of billions in tarrifs on goods.

Asked if he was ready to give Putin access to rare earth minerals to end the war in Ukraine, Trump replied the "big, important meeting" is "going to save a lot of lives", but an even "more important" meeting - with Putin and Zelensky, and possibly European leaders - will be held after. "We'll see if they can get along," he says of the leaders, adding that he believes the pair can "make peace".

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The US President, who will host the Russian dictator to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, earlier said he thought Putin was ready to make a deal, but then warned there was a 25% chance that the summit may fail. "If it's a bad meeting, I'm not calling anybody. I'm going home," he told Fox News Radio. "But if it's a good meeting, I'm going to call President Zelensky and the European leaders."

Trump also said Putin would face severe consequences if he were to walk away from their Alaska summit without a stop to the fighting. When pushed on what these consequences would be, he said: "I don’t have to say." He added: "If I do not get the necessary answers during the meeting with Putin, there will be no next meeting."

His comments came just hours after Ukrainian President Zelensky told Trump the Russian leader was bluffing about his willingness to end the war. Zelensky said in a joint briefing in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: "I told the US president and all our European colleagues that Putin is bluffing. He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska along all parts of the Ukrainian front. Russia is trying to show that it can occupy all of Ukraine."