Donald Trump issued a damning warning about World War 3 before Zelenskyy argument

President Donald Trump's mention of World War 3 last week has left everyone feeling a bit unnerved.

But it turns out that this isn't the first time that the 78-year-old has broached the subject, as he made a series of remarks about it way before he came to verbal blows with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The world leaders wrangled over a minerals deal, security guarantees and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last Friday (28 February), making for one of the most shocking meetings in the Oval Office in history.

If you need a reminder of what went down, take a look at this:

In the footage, Trump tells the Ukrainian President, 47, that his country is in 'a bad position' and doesn't 'have the cards right now'.

"With us, you have the cards," Trump said. "You're gambling with the lives of millions of people! You're gambling with World War III! What you're doing is very disrespectful to this country."

Russian figures rallied behind the US commander-in-chief, saying Trump 'is right' about Zelenskyy risking an international conflict.

Interestingly, footage of Trump vowing to 'prevent' a devastating global war unfolding in September last year has now resurfaced - and in the words of one viewer, it's 'aged like spoiled milk'.

Ahead of the presidential elections in November 2024, the Republican was hitting the campaign trail in the hopes of bolstering his support.

Along the way, he made a lot of bold - and controversial - promises about what he would do when he returned to office.

The US President made a series of remarks about the prospect of WW3 long before his disastrous meeting with Zelenskyy (Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

During a speech at a rally in the US state of Georgia in September last year, Trump told the crowd of his plans to play peacemaker across the world.

"I will settle the war in Ukraine and I will end the chaos in the Middle East and I will prevent something that nobody else will be able to do," he said in the clip. "I will prevent World War III. And you are very close to World War III.

"Biden and Kamala got us into this war in Ukraine and now they can't get us out. They can't get us out. I watched [Biden] - 'We will win, we will win'.

"He's been saying that for three years," Trump continued. "Every time Zelenskyy comes to the United States, he walks away with $100 billion.

"I think he's the greatest salesman on Earth. But we're stuck in that war, unless I'm President. I'll get it done, I'll get it negotiated, I'll get out. We got to get out."

Trump pictured at the rally last September (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

One person said of Trump's speech: "Aged like f***ing spoiled milk," as another added: "The king of chaos is going to do all that? Yeah right."

And a third wrote: "He's starting [World War III], not preventing it."

The evening before he took office on 20 January this year, Trump reiterated these comments at a rally in Washington DC in an almost identical speech.

"I will end the war in Ukraine," the President said. "I will stop the chaos in the Middle East and I will prevent World War III from happening. And you have no idea how close we are."

Despite these pledges, it seems that in Trump's eyes, the world is continuing to teeter even closer to a global conflict.