Tensions once again escalated between Russia and Ukraine this week after Russian President Vladimir Putin, by the powers vested in him by himself, declared two pro-Russia separatist regions in Ukraine as sovereign and began sending Russian troops there.
President Joe Biden, along with European allies, responded with a first round of sanctions cutting off Russia's access to western financing and halting development of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany.
Former President Donald Trump, of course, sounded off with a statement declaring the Russia-Ukraine conflict never would've escalated if he hadn't lost the 2020 election, which he still falsely claims was stolen from him.
Shortly after, Trump spoke on the radio show of right-wing pundit Buck Sexton, where he proceeded to praise Putin's efforts to invade Ukraine, a fledgling democratic nation that broke from the U.S.S.R. in 1991.
Listen below.
Trump praises Putin's 'genius' plan to invade Ukrainewww.youtube.com
Trump said:
"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine—of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful. So Putin is now saying, 'It's independent,' a large section of Ukraine. I said, 'How smart is that?' and You know he's gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. We could use that on our southern border. That's the strongest peacekeeping force I've ever seen. There were more army tanks than I've ever seen. They're gonna keep peace all right."
Trump went on to say he knows Putin "very well" and that he is a "guy who's very savvy."
Putin has no legitimate jurisdiction over the two separatist regions—Donetsk and Luhansk—whose sovereignty he acknowledged; just as Vice President Mike Pence had no jurisdiction to unilaterally toss out electoral votes of swing states Trump lost, as the former President claimed Pence did.
It's easy to see why this level of delusion appeals to Trump, who repeatedly defended Putin and even sided with him over U.S. intelligence officials during his presidency, all while weakening Ukraine by pressuring its President to open an investigation into Biden in order to receive aid that Congress had already approved.
So people weren't exactly surprised to see this response, though they were still disgusted.
Right-wing media: Trump WOULD NEVER have allowed Putin to do this, he would have been so strong, and so tough on Putin
Trump: Wow, what a guy! Putin's a genius, love him, love that thinking, very savvy https://t.co/aGpAD6rHiF
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) February 22, 2022
Notable but not surprising that Trump is praising Putin. Recall that his first impeachment stemmed from him trying to use military aide to blackmail Zelensky's government. Trump has also never tried to hide his disdain for NATO. And of course Russia helped him get elected in 2016 https://t.co/2X4tGwDuVX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 22, 2022
While Biden sanctions Putin, Trump praises him. There is, and always has been, a strand of consistency in Trump's erratic foreign policy: He admires violence, he admires dictators, he hates American allies, he hates democracies. https://t.co/6y2CcCb2yd
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) February 22, 2022
No surprise from the criminal ex-president, effective head of the GQP. https://t.co/aKv815GKhw
— Douglas M. Charles (@DouglasMCharles) February 22, 2022
What a surprise, Trump thinks it's genius to pretend something that is obviously not true, is actually true, fooling only very credulous regime loyalists. https://t.co/Oi7ityLKOf
— daeveningglow (@InlandCaGuy) February 22, 2022
People were especially disturbed at Trump's claim that so-called "peacekeeper" tanks should be similarly deployed to the United States' southern border.
Trump not only calls Putin a genius but also wants to use the same Russian strategy to invade Mexico if he was in power today. I'd love to see how Congressional GOP leaders answer when asked do they agree with Trump that Putin is a genius & savvy. https://t.co/airwYMxkaI
— Russell Foster A New Texas (@RussellFosterTX) February 22, 2022
Extraordinarily vile:
Trump calls Putin's troops a "peace force," and says: "We could use that on our southern border."https://t.co/VGDlsVICVQ
Keep an eye on this ongoing linkage of Ukraine's border with our southern border, it's a big propaganda trope on the right: https://t.co/0xWRCjxvQh
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) February 22, 2022
Putin is not looking to go be a peacekeeper. And this isn’t the southern border. https://t.co/C03WmBs7JV
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) February 22, 2022
The Republican split on Russia, such as it is, is turning out to be:
- Biden is weak, we should sanction them harder; or
- Putin is awesome, we should do this to Mexico https://t.co/MG3qA1yAaX
— Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) February 22, 2022
And yet, Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
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