Former US President Donald Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin's move to recognize two eastern Ukrainian regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent states. He called it a genius move.
Trump made the remarks while appearing on “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show” on Tuesday Washington time.
"I walked in yesterday and there was a television screen," Trump said. "And I said, 'This is genius'," he said, as quoted from Sputniknews, Thursday (24/2/2022).
"Putin declared most of [territory] Ukraine—Ukraine. Putin declared it independent. Oh, that's incredible," Trump said.
“So, Putin is now saying, 'This is independent', mostly Ukraine. I said, 'How smart is that?' And he will come in and be a peacekeeper. It's the strongest peacekeeping force," Trump said.
"That's the strongest peacekeeper I've ever seen. There are more army tanks than I've ever seen. They'll keep the peace fine. No, but think about it. This is a very intelligent man. I know him very well. good," added President Joe Biden's predecessor.
Later in the interview, Trump voiced his belief that if he were president, the situation in Ukraine would be different because of his personal relationship with Putin and Putin's strong stance.
“This would never have happened if we had been there. But he did. Why didn't all this happen during the Trump administration? I know Putin very well. I got along with him great. He likes me. I love it. I mean, you know, she's a hard cake, has a lot of charm and a lot of pride. But the way he—and he loves his country, you know? He loves his country. He's acting a little differently I think now," Trump continued.
Trump's remarks drew a response from the White House. Jen Psaki, a White House spokeswoman, said at a news conference hours later: "As a matter of policy, we try not to take advice from anyone praising President Putin and his military strategy, which I believe is what happened there."
Psaki has also championed US President Joe Biden's tactics regarding the situation in Ukraine, at Trump's suggestion.
"So there's a bit of a different tactic, a bit of a different approach, and maybe that's why President Biden, and not his predecessor, was able to rally the world and the global community in taking steps against Russian aggression," he said.
