Trump Praises Putin's Decision: "Oh, Genius? How Smart Is He?"

On November 11, 2017, Vladimir Putin, President of Russia (left), and Donald Trump, former President of the United States, are seen meeting and conversing at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Da Nang, Vietnam. / Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Former U.S. President Donald Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, who approved the independence of the eastern region of Ukraine, calling him a "genius."

According to The Washington Post (WP) and The New York Times (NYT), on the 23rd, former President Trump appeared on the conservative radio show "Clay Travis and Buck Sexton" and praised President Putin's decision regarding Ukraine. He said that while watching the situation between Russia and Ukraine on TV the previous day, he thought, "This is genius."

Trump said, "Putin declared 'independence' over a fairly large area of Ukraine. It's brilliant," adding, "How smart is that? Then he says he will enter as peacekeepers."

This referred to President Putin's approval of the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, and the deployment of Russian troops under the pretext of "peacekeeping" in those regions.

Trump praised, "That is the most powerful peacekeeping force I have ever seen. There were more army tanks than I have ever seen before," and said, "They say they will keep the peace. No, think about it. This guy is very savvy."

Additionally, Trump referred to the so-called "peacekeeping forces" and said, "We could use that on our southern border too." This is an idea to deploy troops to the U.S. southern border, which is struggling with illegal immigration issues.

He said that when he was in the White House, he discussed the possibility of Putin invading Ukraine, stating, "I told him, 'You can't do that. You won't do it,' but I could tell he wanted to," and added, "I used to ask him, and we talked about it for a long time."

Furthermore, Trump criticized U.S. President Joe Biden's response to the Ukraine situation as "weak," claiming that if he had been president, "this would never have happened."

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