As Russia continued its wide-scale invasion of Ukraine in the face of tremendous resistance, former US President Donald Trump applauded Vladimir Putin as “smart” and dubbed American leaders “dumb.”
As world leaders banded together to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin and slap sweeping sanctions on his government and oligarch cronies, Mr Trump reaffirmed his previous remarks against Mr Putin.
“Yesterday, I was asked by reporters if I thought President Putin was smart. I said, ‘of course he’s smart,'” Trump told a crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday night.
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“The problem is not that Putin is smart, which of course he is smart, but the real problem is that our leaders are dumb,” Trump said.
Trump then went on to blame the Biden administration for Russia’s invasion of its neighbour, which was justified by Mr Putin’s false assertions that Ukraine was run by “drug-addicted, neo-Nazi” officials.
British online newspaper ‘The Independent’ quoted Donald Trump as saying, “Under our leadership, the world was a peaceful place because America was strong and the perception of our country was perhaps like it had never been before: powerful, cunning, and smart. We were a smart country. Now we are a stupid country,”.
Trump has always admired Putin, and this week praised him for his “wonderful” and “genius” war strategy in Ukraine.
Democrats and military veterans have chastised the former president for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin during a horrific attack on a sovereign country.
(With inputs from agencies)
