“I was wrong”
Trump consultant suddenly supports Ukraine aids and criticizes Putin
04/11/2025 – 5:35 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
The “spiritual consultant” Donald Trump recently visited Ukraine. Before the trip, he was the opponent of the military aid for the country. But suddenly he thinks very differently.
He was once a glowing opponent of the US aid for Ukraine. Now Pastor Mark Burns, “Spiritual Consultant” by US President Donald Trump, has fundamentally revised his attitude to support Ukraine. In an interview with the Ukrainian news portal “The Kyiv Independent”, Burns said: “I now believe that the support of Ukraine ‘America First’ is.” The “America First” slogan has been a central motto of the Republican since Trump’s first presidency.
The influential evangelical preacher is opposed to the position of many of Trump’s party colleagues – and against his own earlier conviction.
A few weeks ago, Burns supported the temporary stop of military aid for Ukraine. But a trip to the war area changed its perspective: “Obviously, my opinion has changed significantly since I was in Ukraine myself,” said Burns. “I was in Kiev, in Butsha, saw the atrocities, killing innocent people, the targeted destruction of almost 700 religious institutions by Russia.”
He was particularly shaped by a visit to Krywyj Rih, where 20 people, including nine children, were killed in a Russian rocket attack a few days earlier. Burns said: “When you hear these atrocities … that has changed my perspective considerably.” And further: “My heart as a man of God began to pour. Since then I have said again and again: I was wrong. The power of the cross teaches me to admit that.”
Burns emphasized that his trip was organized privately: “Nobody paid me to travel to Ukraine. I paid my tickets myself.” His message was aimed at everyone “, like me, subjected to brainwashing by fake news media about the Ukraine”.
In the interview, Burns does not save with criticism of Vladimir Putin: “This is pure evil.” There is no military justification for attacks on civilians, said the former national guardist. “This is beyond the military – that’s just pure evil. And that’s what Vladimir Putin did.”
At the same time, Burns emphasized his loyalty to Trump. The former president is “pissed off on Putin” and will take economic measures if Russia does not get involved in negotiations: “If Russia does not come to the negotiating table, President Trump is not the man with whom you should work.”
