Trump: Putin ‘playing Biden like drum’
Former United States President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin has outsmarted President Joe Biden adding that Moscow was playing his successor like a drum.
Trump’s remarks come during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando where he defended his praise for Putin while also calling Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky “a very brave” man.
“He’s a brave man, he’s hanging in,” Trump said of Zelensky in a statement quoted by CNN.
The 45th President went on to unleash strong criticisms on the Biden administration.
“The problem is not that Putin is smart, which, of course, he’s smart. The problem is that our leaders are dumb… and so far, allowed him to get away with this travesty and assault on humanity,” he said.
“Putin is playing [President Joe] Biden like a drum and it’s not a pretty thing to watch,” he continued.
Trump, who got banned from major social media platforms for inciting the January 6th violence, unequivocally condemned the invasion of Ukraine while saying Putin was motivated by the incident in Afghanistan.
“The Russian attack on Ukraine is appalling. It’s an outrage and an atrocity that should never have been allowed to occur,” Trump told the conservative gathering.
“I have no doubt that President Putin made his decision… only after watching the pathetic withdrawal from Afghanistan,” he claimed.
But Trump credited himself for the military hardware assembled in Ukraine claiming that the “gave millions of dollars” to procure the equipment.
“I gave Ukraine the javelins that everyone is now talking about and millions of dollars of other military equipment. The Obama administration gave them blankets,” Trump said.
Mr Trump claimed that under his administration, Russia and the world had respect for the United States and viewed it more differently.
“Under Biden, Russia invaded Ukraine. I stand as the only President of the 21st century on whose watch Russia did not invade another country,” Trump said while describing the global perception of the United States during his presidency as “powerful, cunning and smart.”
