GOP's Ron Johnson refuses to comment on Trump's World War III rant — insists he never heard the widely-reported remarks

WASHINGTON — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) dodged when asked about Donald Trump's recent comments that he could prevent a third world war.

Speaking Tuesday in Davenport, Iowa, Trump told a packed crowd his skills make him the "only" 2024 candidate who can "prevent World War III."

"Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III," Trump said. "Because I really believe you're going to have World War III."

Trump's comments were about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They annexed Crimea in 2014. Russia has suffered such significant losses that they have been forced to impose a military draft, raising the age from 21-30 instead of 18-27. As of last month, the U.S. charted 22,000 Russians that have tried to flee to the United States amid the draft, CNN reported.

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Johnson, who is on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, said that he hadn't heard what Trump said.

"I hadn't heard his comments, so I'm not going to comment on something I haven't heard," said Johnson.

Raw Story asked if Trump was no longer important on Capitol Hill or in the Republican Party.

"Well, he used to be president, so he mattered a lot," said Johnson. "It's kinda obvious, right? When you're president, you matter an awful lot."

He went on to say that Trump still has a "great deal of influence" in the Republican Party. Raw Story asked how that could be if Johnson hadn't even heard what Trump said about the war in Ukraine.

"Well, I was in Budget. I was trying to push back on what [Joe] Biden is trying to do to destroy this country," Johnson said.

The Budget Committee meeting he was referencing was at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Trump's speech to Iowa was scheduled Tuesday to begin at 6:15 p.m. There were no committee meetings for Johnson on Tuesday.