Donald Trump, the ex-President of the United States of America calls the Russian President a ‘genius’ for stringing the West along and then annexing more territory form the Ukraine….
And he knocks President Biden for his response to the Russian land grab…
Oh, and Trump former Sec of State Mike Pompeo also thinks the same thing …
No other past American Sec of State goes along with the two….
Trump Calls Putin a ‘Genius’ and ‘Very Savvy’
Former President Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin a “genius” on Buck Sexton’s podcast for moving Russian troops into parts of Ukraine.
Said Trump: “I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force… We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right. No, but think of it. Here’s a guy who’s very savvy.”
He added: “But here’s a guy that says, you know, ‘I’m gonna declare a big portion of Ukraine independent,’ he used the word ‘independent’ and ‘we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna help keep peace.’ You gotta say that’s pretty savvy. And you know what the response was from Biden? There was no response. They didn’t have one for that. No, it’s very sad. Very sad.”
Mike Pompeo Praises Putin While Trashing Biden
“Of all the former secretaries of state under Democratic and Republican presidents, only one is taking to cable news and social media during a moment of peril in Europe to praise Russian President Vladimir Putin and chastise the Biden administration,” the Kansas City Star reports.
“Mike Pompeo has lauded the Russian strongman over the past month as a ‘talented,’ ‘savvy,’ ‘capable statesman,’ offering his praise during a slew of interviews after his political action committee spent $30,000 on improving his performance in media appearances.”
“Pompeo has targeted Biden as exemplifying ‘enormous weakness,’ leading ‘an America on its back, an America that apologizes.’”
GOPer Reality check….
Nate Silver
@NateSilver538
While this is a funny headline, it’s worth noting that Putin’s approval rating among Republicans was still only 18%, so sympathy toward Putin expressed by Trump or Tucker Carlson or whomever else has real potential to split the Republican coalition.
…
Bill Kristol
@BillKristol
General thought for this moment: Many, many Republicans have been far too pro-Trump, or far too Trump-acquiescent. But if for some of those Republicans being pro-Putin is a bridge too far, if they break with Trump over Putin–that’s a good thing, one worth noting and encouraging.
Trump’s prises for Putin has landed with silence among a lot of Republican lawmakers….
….“Putin ain’t woke,” Bannon said. Fox News host Tucker Carlson told viewers they should ask themselves, “Why do I hate Putin so much?”
Most elected Republicans did not echo those comments, but few pushed back directly. When asked at a news conference about Trump’s praise for Putin’s strategy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declined to address the former president’s comments, even as he called Putin a “bad guy” and an “authoritarian.”
“We need to do everything we can to stop him,” McConnell said.
Some Republican senators, such as Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, a former ambassador to Japan, were explicit in blaming Biden. In a statement, he said, “Despite Ukrainian President Zelensky’s persistent call for pre-invasion sanctions, the Biden administration chose to do nothing until it was too late and must now change course.” Others, even close allies of Trump, took a different view. “Ultimately, there is only one group of people responsible for the tragedies unfolding — Vladimir Putin and his cronies,” Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said.
Of several dozen congressional offices contacted by The Washington Post, almost all either did not respond to questions about the former president’s remarks or pointed to statements that did not address the issue. One exception was Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), a frequent Trump critic, who said in a statement that there is not a ” thing praiseworthy about Putin. He’s a tyrant; he’s got the blood of innocent civilians on his hands; he’s a serial liar; he wants to undo the fact that the Soviet Union lost the Cold War; he’s a murderer with absolutely no regard for human life. Whether you vote red or blue, every American should understand Putin is evil.”….
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