The rumor emerged in the wake of Trump’s public appeal to Zelenskyy to halt attacks on Russian oil facilities
WASHINGTON, DC: Social media has been buzzing with a rumor alleging that former First Lady Hillary Clinton blasted Donald Trump, claiming he prioritizes appeasing Russia after he criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for targeting Moscow’s diesel fuel production. Given the widespread attention the rumor has attracted, a closer look at the facts is necessary.
Claim: Hillary Clinton asserts that Donald Trump favors Russia
According to the viral narrative, Clinton weighed in on Trump‘s recent rebuke of Ukraine’s military strategy against Russian energy infrastructure.
The widely shared post attributes this quote to her: “If Trump gets Ukraine a good peace deal. I’ll nominate him for a Nobel. But he wants Putin’s favor even more than he wants a Nobel.”
Accumulating upwards of 200,000 views, the post convinced many social media users that the former political adversaries had engaged in a direct war of words, leading to calls for verification.
Fact Check: The statement is only partially accurate
While Clinton did previously state that she would personally nominate Trump for the Nobel Prize if he successfully brokers an end to the Ukraine conflict without forcing Kyiv to surrender territory, there is zero documentation of her claiming he desires Putin’s approval more than the accolade.
“If we could pull that off, if President Trump were the architect of that, I’d nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, because my goal here is to not allow capitulation to Putin, aided and abetted by the United States. I think that’s a terrible, terrible precedent,” Clinton remarked in August 2025.
“I’m dreaming that for whatever combination of reasons, including the elusive Nobel Peace Prize, President Trump may actually stand up to Putin on behalf of not just Ukraine and its democracy and its very brave people, but frankly, on behalf of our own security and interests,” she elaborated.
Donald Trump tells Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt attacks on Russian oil
The online rumors gained traction following comments made by Trump on Sunday, September 13, where he urged Zelenskyy to refrain from targeting Russian oil refineries and facilities responsible for diesel distribution, citing the risk of triggering a worldwide supply crunch.
“Mr Zelenskyy has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump stated. “Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel fuel.”
Trump’s directives followed a spike in domestic energy costs, with US diesel prices climbing past a record $6 per gallon.