Trump says his personality kept the US out of war and that, without him in office, there's no one who can 'talk to' Putin

• At a rally in South Carolina, former President Donald Trump said his personality kept the US out of war during his presidency.
• Trump said the government doesn't have anybody to communicate effectively with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At a South Carolina rally on Saturday, Former President Donald Trump said that his personality had kept the US "out of war" during his presidency.

"The fake news said my personality would get us into a war," Trump said, adding: "But actually, my personality is what kept us out of war."

The former president also told rally-goers in Florence that "no one was tougher on Russia" than he was and said that Russia would not have dared to annex "one inch" of Ukrainian territory if he was in charge.

Trump has made similar claims since the start of the Russian invasion, saying on February 24 that the attack would never have happened if he were president.

During the rally, Trump said the conflict in Ukraine "could lead to World War III" and implied that he would have been able to take a tough stance with Russian President Vladimir Putin if he was in office.

"I see what's happening. Because if you think Putin's going to stop, it's going to get worse and worse. He's not going to accept it, and we don't have anybody to talk to him," Trump said. "You had somebody to talk to him with me."

"I'm the one that he didn't attack during our administration," he added.

Trump then went on to say that the "senseless" bloodshed in Ukraine was due to "a lack of respect."

"I'll say it again and again — it should've never happened if he respected our president," he said, referring to President Joe Biden.

At the same rally, Trump took credit for sending military aid to Ukraine even though he was impeached in 2019 for withholding $400 million worth of military aid from the country.

The former President has also recently been slammed by various parties — including veteran diplomats — for praising Putin, calling him "smart," and describing the Russian leader's justification for invading Ukraine as "savvy" and "genius."