Former US President Donald Trump praises Vladimir Putin as Russia invades Ukraine

Former US President Donald Trump has been videoed again, praising Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while the latter was launching the invasion of Ukraine. 

The clip has been obtained by Democratic super PAC American Bridge 21st Century. It shows Trump hailing Putin as extremely smart for the steps he’s taken during the time leading up to the invasion of Ukraine. 

This video was taken during a fundraiser in Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida resort, on Wednesday, Newsweek reported. Trump can be heard doubling down in his praise for Putin and defending his decision to praise the Russian president’s handling of the situation. 

Also Read | Donald Trump took classified information from White House to Florida: US National Archives

Trump noted, “I mean, he’s taken over a country for $2 worth of sanctions. I’d say that’s pretty smart. He’s taking over a country, really a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people and just walking right in.”

Trump had initially praised Putin during a podcast called The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, where he recognized that Moscow’s pretext for the invasion was ‘very savvy’ and ‘genius’. He used the event as a chance to defend these statements saying that Putin’s recognition of the two separatist regions as independent allowed him the chance to send in troops as ‘peacekeeping operations.’

While praising the Russian head of state, Trump also boasted about how well he knew Putin. 

Also Read | How the Russia-Ukraine crisis is expected to affect the global economy

Notably, the White House responded to Trump’s statements saying that the Joe Biden administration did not seek advice from those heaping praises on Putin. This was Trump’s first statement on the Ukraine crisis, and he took the opportunity to assert that Putin’s invasion would have never happened during the Trump presidency. 

Earlier, Biden’s handling of the Ukraine crisis had been criticized by Republicans as well. Further, the president’s choice to send troops to eastern Europe was not welcomed either.