Trump denies he was unaware of Ukraine weapons pause day after admitting it

Donald Trump has said that he “would be the first to know” if a big decision such as the Ukraine weapons pause was authorised by the government, despite earlier saying he did not know who ordered it. Responding to a question from a reporter about the decision being made without his consent on Wednesday (9 July), the US president said: “I would know, if a decision is made I would be the first to know in fact most likely i’d give the order but I haven’t done that yet.” The Pentagon announced on June 30 that it would hold back some weapons pledged to Kyiv because of concerns that American stockpiles were running short on supply. Asked by a reporter on Tuesday (8 July) on who authorised the pause, he appeared annoyed and replied: “I don’t know, you tell me.”