President Joe Biden ridiculed Donald Trump’s view of Vladimir Putin in an interview released on Saturday, laughing off the way the former president said the Russian leader’s invasion of Ukraine as a move of ‘genius.’
‘I put as much stock in Trump saying that Putin’s a genius as I do when he called himself a stable genius,’ Biden said in an interview with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen.
Ukrainians are engaged in a bitter fight for their country after Moscow ordered an invasion on Wednesday night.
Republicans have been quick to blame Biden for allowing Putin to make aggressive moves, saying the Russian leader viewed him as weak.
At times they have hinted that Putin is less of a villain than Biden himself.
Trump went even further this week, talking in admiring tones about the way the former KGB officer had gone about invading Ukraine.
‘I put as much stock in Trump saying that Putin’s a genius as I do when he called himself a stable genius,’ Biden said in an interview with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen
Ukrainian servicemen take up position as they prepare to defend Kyiv on Saturday. Russian troops were closing in on the capital, with skirmishes reported on the outskirts
A fighter with pro-Russian breakaway forces in Donetsk walks away from the body of a Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile lying near a local oil terminal after shelling in Kirovsky District
Speaking with conservative podcaster Buck Sexton, the former president said: ‘I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, “This is genius.”
‘Putin declares a big portion of 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?”‘
Trump hit the theme again on Wednesday, during a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
‘I mean, he’s taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions. I’d say that’s pretty smart,’ he said.
In the interview, Biden said the invasion would backfire on Putin by strengthening the forces arrayed against him, including NATO.
‘My goal from the very beginning was to make sure that I kept all of NATO and the European on the same page. It’s the one thing I think Putin thought he could do was split NATO, creating a great aperture for him to be able to walk through and that hasn’t happened
‘If you notice it’s been complete unanimity, and Russia will pay a serious price for this short term and long term.’
On Friday he approved sending another $350 million of military assistance for Ukraine – including hardware and anti-tank Javelin missiles.
But by Saturday night Ukrainian forces were skirmishing with Russian troops on the outskirts of their capital Kyiv.
Smoke rises from a Russian tank destroyed by the Ukrainian forces on the side of a road in Lugansk region on February 26. Russia earlier ordered all its troops to advance on Kyiv
Biden is the latest senior Democrat to condemn Trump’s stance on Putin and accuse Republicans of repeating Moscow’s talking points.
On Friday, Hillary Clinton told MSNBC’s Morning Joe: ‘I want to make sure within our own country that we are calling out those people who are giving aid and comfort to Vladimir Putin about what a genius he is what a smart move it is, who are unfortunately, being broadcast by Russian media, not only inside Russia but in Europe to demonstrate the division within our own country.
‘Maybe this terrible aggression by Putin will stiffen the spines of a lot of Republicans in office who understand you cannot continue to give Trump and his enablers a blank check because they will lead us to a very bad place,’ she continued.
She added that too many Republicans were ‘naive in such a dangerous way.’
Speakers at the CPAC gathering of conservatives in Orlando, Florida, have taken turns to bash Biden for what they see as weakness.
They warned that China was watching what happened in Ukraine to see whether it might be able to move on Taiwan with US interference.
Others said Trump’s policy of energy independence had helped keep oil prices down, preventing Putin being able to fill his war chest.
