President Donald Trump carried prepared notes while leaving the White House on Wednesday that said "I want no quid pro quo" and misspelled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "Zellinsky," pictures showed.
A photo by Getty Images showed Trump holding a notepad the following written in black bold marker: "I want nothing I want nothing I want no quid pro quo. Tell Zellinsky to do the right thing. This is the final word from the Pres of the U.S." It is written on "Aboard Air Force One" notepad letterhead.
Trump read from the packet of notes while addressing reporters before stepping onto Air Force One to travel to Austin, Texas. He reenacted a talk he had with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who testified in his House impeachment hearings on Wednesday, and said it signaled that the inquiry should be "all over."
"What do you want from Ukraine, he asks me, screaming, What do you want from Ukraine? I keep hearing all of these ideas and theories. This is ambassador Sondland speaking to me," Trump said. "And now here is my response that he just gave. Ready? You have the cameras rolling? I want nothing. That's what I want from Ukraine. That's what I said, I want nothing. I said it twice."
President #DonaldTrump holds notes while speaking to the media before departing the White House for Texas 📷: Mark Wilson #QuidProQuo pic.twitter.com/9Ee3tqKL8Z
— Getty Images News (@GettyImagesNews) November 20, 2019
Trump said he did not know Sondland well and suggested that the "fake news" media has not covered his remarks about Ukraine properly.
"I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo. Tell Zelensky, President Zelensky, to do the right thing," Trump said, again referencing his talk with Sondland. "So here's my answer, I want nothing, I want nothing, I want no quid pro quo ... Then he says, this is the final word from the president of the United States. I want nothing."
Trump then walked off.
Trump's misspelling of Zelensky's last name is not the first time he has made a spelling error on his speaking notes.
On his typed and printed remarks in July 2018, Trump wrote "There is no colusion" with thick bold marker, misspelling "collusion." His speech at the time sought to clarify comments he made in a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he appeared to side with Putin by saying there was no reason to believe Russians interfered in the 2016 presidential election despite the U.S. intelligence conclusion there was meddling.
Trump in March 2018 received briefing materials from his administration officials that stated "DO NOT CONGRATULATE" Putin on the Russian President's re-election victory, but did so anyway in a phone call. It was not clear whether Trump read the note, but he proceeded to defend himself by tweeting that Obama previously called Putin as well and said the "Fake News Media is crazed."
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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