Former US President Donald Trump told The Washington Examiner in an interview on Tuesday that he is “surprised” Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine and further cracked down on freedom inside Russia.
“I’m surprised — I’m surprised. I thought he was negotiating when he sent his troops to the border. I thought he was negotiating,” Trump told the Washington Examiner during a wide-ranging telephone interview from Mar-a-Lago, his private social club and political headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida. “I thought it was a tough way to negotiate but a smart way to negotiate.”
“I figured he was going to make a good deal like everybody else does with the United States and the other people they tend to deal with — you know, like every trade deal. We’ve never made a good trade deal until I came along,” Trump added. “And then he went in — and I think he’s changed. I think he’s changed. It’s a very sad thing for the world. He’s very much changed.”
Trump categorically rejected suggestions that he has a soft spot for Putin and seemed almost offended by the accusation.
“I’ve been very, very tough on Putin. I get a bad rap on that,” Trump said, reiterating his claim that Russia never would have invaded Ukraine had he been president for fear of how he would respond. “At the same time, I got along with him very well. But I got along with most [world leaders] very well.”
“I’ve been very critical of Putin from the standpoint of the pipeline, from the standpoint of raising billions and billions of dollars in NATO to protect, primarily, Europe against Russia," Trump said. "Nobody else did that.”
Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine got underway, Trump described Putin's actions in Ukraine as "genius" and "pretty savvy."
After coming under fire for the remarks, Trump clarified his comments at CPAC 2022 and said, "The Russian attack on Ukraine is appalling. We are praying for the proud people of Ukraine. God bless them all."
Trump did say he thinks that Putin is “smart” but also that American and NATO leaders are dumb. He opined that President Joe Biden’s weakness and the failures in the Afghanistan withdrawal are what prompted Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
“Nobody could ever believe how bad and weak and grossly incompetent he has been. And when you have a weak president who is not respected by other nations, you have a very chaotic world,” said Trump. “And the world hasn’t been this chaotic since World War II.”