Trump: “I’m not a big fan of Ukraine. Except their women”

US President Donald Trump has reportedly made a controversial remark about Ukraine, saying he does not sympathise with the country except for Ukrainian women who win beauty pageants, according to The New York Times (NYT).

The claim is cited in a new book by The New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, titled “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump.”

“I’m not a big fan of Ukraine. Except their women. They keep winning Miss Universe,” Trump is quoted as saying, according to the NYT.

The book states that the comment was made during a meeting in the Oval Office, although it does not specify the exact date of the conversation.

It also alleges that Trump described his public exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as an episode of “great television.”