Hillary Clinton went after former President Donald Trump this week for once again showcasing his disturbing affinity for murderous authoritarianism. In an interview, Trump remarked: “As long as Putin now is not exactly a fan of our country, let him explain… why did the mayor of Moscow’s wife give the Bidens — both of ’em — three and a half million dollars?.. So now, I would think Putin would know the answer to that. I think he should release it.” What Trump claims about a financial transfer to the Bidens from the mayor of Moscow’s wife grossly misrepresents the facts — and previous versions of the claims from Trump didn’t even directly implicate Joe, so he’s changing his own story. (Read more here.) Clinton, meanwhile, commented as follows:
‘As Putin bombs civilians in Ukraine and the world condemns him as a war criminal, Trump is… once again asking him for help besting his political opponents. What is wrong with him?’
As Putin bombs civilians in Ukraine and the world condemns him as a war criminal, Trump is… once again asking him for help besting his political opponents.
What is wrong with him?https://t.co/LcflscsBWr
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 30, 2022
As Clinton referenced, authorities including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have presented fully supported accusations regarding Russian war crimes. Blinken recently stated the Biden administration believes Russian forces to be guilty of war crimes in Ukraine, where Putin’s army recently invaded and has been inflicting devastation ever since. There’s been over a month of strikes on Ukrainian civilians, no matter the Putin regime’s characterization of the conflict as a confrontation with armed factions in Ukraine, although it’s not as though credible sources outside Russia believed false descriptions of the war from Russian leadership. The world has, in fact, been remarkably united in confronting Putin over the violence in Ukraine — as Biden recently commented, “Rather than breaking Ukrainian resolve, Russia’s brutal tactics have strengthened their resolve. Rather than driving NATO apart, the West is now stronger and more united than it has ever been… In fact, Russia has managed to cause something I’m sure [Putin] never intended: the democracies of the world are revitalized with purpose and unity found in months that would have once taken years to accomplish.”
Asked if he thought Trump asking Putin to reveal dirt on Biden was appropriate, Thune said: “We have very little control over what the former president says, obviously.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 30, 2022
And apart from all of this stands Trump, who apparently finds it difficult to connect with reality enough to stick by unequivocal condemnation of murderous authoritarians for extended periods of time. In a recent speech, which followed Putin’s regime launching its invasion of Ukraine, Trump stated that when he was president he wouldn’t have even honored the treaty obligations held by the United States under NATO to participate in the defense of a member country if that country was attacked by Russia but had unpaid “bills” associated with the globe-spanning alliance. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) isn’t some kind of country club-style entity that operates based on membership dues, as an Obama era National Security Council official noted. Putin and those allied with him in his regime’s aggression would no doubt love to hear of the prospect of a U.S. president essentially abandoning NATO allies to Russian aggression; Trump has seemed to all-but-formally state that he’s running again, and he could — theoretically — win.
I’m no lawyer but I think Trump openly conspiring with Russia is gonna hurt his lawsuit against people who accused him of conspiring with Russia.
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) March 29, 2022
