White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had a forceful response to recent comments made by former Republican President Donald Trump praising Russian President Vladimir Putin's potential invasion of Ukraine.
Psaki was asked during yesterday's daily White House press conference for her thoughts on Trump calling Putin's plans to invade and seize a sovereign nation with military force "genius" and "savvy." As you might expect, Psaki's not a fan.
She gave a response that for all its subtlety made clear the distaste she and the Biden Administration have for Trump's dangerously ridiculous rhetoric.
See her response below.
Psaki replied:
"As a matter of policy, we try not to take advice from anyone who praises President Putin and his military strategy, which I believe is what happened there, expresses an openness to lifting sanctions about the seizing of territory in Crimea, or at any point in time told leaders of the G7 that Crimea is a part of Russia, regardless if they are a former president."
Psaki's comments reference statement Trump made at the 2018 G7 summit expressing support for Putin's 2014 illegal invasion and seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, an area of geographically strategic importance to Putin's military ambitions.
Trump told the leaders of the G7 that Crimea rightfully belonged to Russia because the majority of the people there speak Russian. Guess we should prepare to be invaded by the United Kingdom if Trump becomes President again in 2024, based on that logic.
Psaki went on to contrast the effectiveness of the Biden and Trump Administrations' approaches to Putin's illegal military odysseys.
"So there's a bit of a different tactic, a bit of a different approach, and that's probably why President Biden and not his predecessor was able to rally the world and the global community in taking steps against Russia's aggression."
When the reporter then queried whether Psaki was concerned Trump's rhetoric might turn the tide of public opinion on Putin's potential invasion, Psaki laid the proposition at the feet of the GOP, making it a question of whether or not they will be willing to stand up to Trump.
"You know, I think that is up to members of the Republican Party to make the decision."
On Twitter, people praised Psaki's handling of the issue.
Despite loving how "genius" and "savvy" Putin's invasion plan is, Trump also claims that if he were still President, Putin wouldn't be trying to invade in the first place. Psaki definitely has the right instincts when it comes to listening to this man's foreign policy ideas.
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