In a recent interview, former President Donald Trump characterized recent Russian policy moves towards Ukraine as “genius” — although those policy moves include military aggression by Russia against Ukraine, putting civilians in danger and threatening the stability of the Ukrainian government, among other gravely serious concerns. Russian authorities have recognized two regions of Ukraine as independent countries and revealed that they’d be sending troops into the regions. The Biden administration has responded with economic restrictions on the areas and shifts in the U.S. military presence in Europe (although U.S. troops aren’t planning to enter Ukraine to counter Russian aggression), and Trump has responded with… this. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) — unsurprisingly — joined those sharply criticizing Trump for essentially siding with Putin amid the dangerous stand-off in Eastern Europe. As Cheney put it:
‘Former President Trump’s adulation of Putin today – including calling him a “genius” – aids our enemies. Trump’s interests don’t seem to align with the interests of the United States of America.’
Specifically, Trump recently commented that he “went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’.. Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — 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?’ And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s strongest peace force… We could use that on our southern border.” Trump also sided with Putin in a statement released on Wednesday, describing the Russian leader as “playing Biden like a drum,” which Trump called “not a pretty thing to watch!” For Trump to implicitly pretend as though he is some kind of foreign policy mastermind is laughably ridiculous. His administration was like a clown show — sure, Trump repeatedly met with the North Korean dictator, and those meetings produced… what, exactly? That country still has nuclear capabilities. How about Trump’s torpedoing of the carefully negotiated Iran nuclear deal? And his alienation of countries around the world with tariffs?
The Republicans are setting up a "heads we win, tails you lose" dynamic on Ukraine. They want to attack Biden for being weak and attack him if sanctions lead to higher gas prices.
The only question is whether the press continue will continue to pretend the GOP is on the level
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) February 23, 2022
Trump and his allies in the GOP sound like hecklers at a sports game — although these aren’t football field sidelines with the accompanying low stakes; these are matters of life and death for some people. In contrast to whatever it is that they’re doing, the Biden administration is maintaining its commitment to the rights of the people of Ukraine, who are under threat. Recently, Biden insisted that “nations have a right to sovereignty and territorial integrity. They have the freedom to set their own course and choose with whom they will associate. But that still leaves plenty of room for diplomacy and for de-escalation… As long as there is hope of diplomatic resolution that prevents the use of force and avoids incredible human suffering that would follow, we will pursue it.” He made those comments before Russia recognized those two supposed countries in Ukrainian territory and made accompanying deployment announcements.
SCOOP: The Biden admin is expected to announce today that it will allow sanctions to move forward on the company in charge of building Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2 AG, and its CEO after blocking such sanctions last year using a national security waiver.
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) February 23, 2022
