Trump calls Putin 'smart', Biden 'stupid'. Trump Calls Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine Smart, Blames Biden for Not Doing Enough excerpt: "Former President Donald Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin smart and criticized the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I mean, he’s taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions. I’d say that’s pretty smart,” Mr. Trump said during a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Wednesday night, according to a recording of the event posted online, contending that Mr. Putin wouldn’t have invaded if he were still president. In a telephone interview with Fox News late Wednesday night, as Russia launched its invasion, Mr. Trump called the unfolding events a “very sad thing for the world and the country.” He said Mr. Biden hadn't done enough to dissuade Mr. Putin from invading. “He was going to be satisfied with a piece and now he sees the weakness and the incompetence and the stupidity of this administration,” Mr. Trump said on Fox News on Wednesday night. It is the second time Mr. Trump called Mr. Putin smart in recent days. He made similar comments during a radio interview earlier this week."
Trump's response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine reveals divisions among Republicans excerpt: "Earlier this week, Pompeo took a less laudatory approach tweeting, "Vladimir Putin is the aggressor. The Ukrainians are the victims." But in television interviews and on Twitter, Pompeo has argued that Trump's approach to Russia was successful. "Vladimir Putin is the same person he was during our administration. The only thing that has changed is American leadership," he said."
What changed is that Putin was no longer able to take advantage of Trump as much after he left office. Putin garnered as much usefulness as possible from Trump, such as Trump helping him to destabilize the EU and NATO before invading Ukraine.
Putin's approach sounds similar to that of Hitler who appealed to a supposed long-lost fatherland that needed to be recovered by force. Why Putin’s War Is the West’s Biggest Test Since World War II excerpt: "Another analogy to Hitler in the 1930s is that Putin has based his actions on a delusional blending of myth and fact. The Nazi dictator justified his early moves, such as the occupation of the demilitarized Rhineland and the Austrian Anschluss, on the idea that he was reuniting the German-speaking peoples and unwinding the injustices of the Treaty of Versailles. Similarly, Putin likes to speechify about the long history of Russian-speaking peoples in Ukraine and other former Soviet bloc nations such as Georgia (which he also invaded), as well as NATO’s eastward expansion into the former Soviet bloc. “Ukraine is not just a neighboring country for us. It is an inalienable part of our own history, culture, and spiritual space,” Putin said in an angry speech on Monday that must now be viewed as the justification for his invasion."
Why Putin’s War Is the West’s Biggest Test Since World War II excerpt: "Putin also appears to have made the calculation that the moment was ripe to realize his career-long ambition to restore Russia to its past imperial greatness, on the level of the Soviet Union at its height. He has appraised the effect of the sanctions on his country since his initial incursion in 2014, when he annexed Crimea and partly took over Ukraine’s Donbass region, and decided they were endurable. And he apparently decided that if he did not act now, then Ukraine might realize its ambition of joining NATO, which under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty might obligate a military response by the West. The Russian president would be aware, too, that his country is less integrated into the global economy than other major nations such as China, with the exception of its energy exports. U.S. Sen. John McCain once derided Russia as “a gas station masquerading as a country.”"
Trump's usual black-white, zero-sum perception of complex events in the world, as if they are a Manhattan real estate transaction.
What do they mean "if Russia strikes back" seems to me the US has always been under cyber attack from Russia and China.
I want to know what happened to the Deutsche Bank money investigation and all the campaign money investigations and why Michael Cohen went to prison but not Trump himself?
Trump (Putin’s lapdog) would do absolutely nothing with the Russia/ Ukraine crisis, if he was in office. Nothing…..
Trump and his kids were ordered by a court to testify on March 10th. Now his lawyer is saying that they are asking for a delay. The skirmish between the DA and the two lower prosecutors has apparently caused the situation. I'm thinking AG Marick Garland needs to shit or get off the pot now.
Russia invades Ukraine on many fronts in 'brutal act of war' excerpt: "Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored global condemnation and cascading new sanctions as he unleashed the largest ground war in Europe since World War II and chillingly referred to his country’s nuclear arsenal. He threatened any country trying to interfere with “consequences you have never seen,” as a once-hoped for diplomatic resolution now appeared impossible. Ukrainian forces sought to fend off a Russian barrage of land- and sea-based missiles, an attack that one senior U.S. defense official described as the first salvo in a likely multi-phase invasion aimed at seizing key population centers, “decapitating” Ukraine’s government and installing a new one. Already, Ukraine officials said they had lost control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster."
As Russia attacked Ukraine, Trump again praised Putin and ridiculed Biden. excerpt: "Mr. Trump called Ukraine a “great piece of land with a lot of people,” as if describing a potential investment property."
Article from 2018 about Trump defending Putin. 'Disgraceful,' 'Pushover,' 'Deeply Troubled': Reaction To The Trump-Putin Summit excerpt: "House Speaker Paul Ryan responded with a statement echoed by many senior Republican officials: "There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world." "The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals," Ryan, R-Wis., continued. "The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke to reporters as he entered the Capitol on Monday. "As I've said repeatedly, the Russians are not our friends and I entirely agree with the assessment of our intelligence community." Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was even more blunt, telling reporters on Capitol Hill that Trump's performance "made us look, as a nation, like a pushover. ... I did not think this was a good moment for our country." The retiring Corker, who has been a frequent critic of the president, went on to say that Putin "gained a tremendous amount" from the Helsinki summit and Trump's kowtowing and that "I would guess [Putin's] having caviar right now" to celebrate."
John McCain - Wikipedia excerpt: "Prisoner of war McCain was taken prisoner of war on October 26, 1967. He was flying his 23rd bombing mission over North Vietnam when his A-4E Skyhawk was shot down by a missile over Hanoi.[41][42] McCain fractured both arms and a leg when he ejected from the aircraft,[43] and nearly drowned after he parachuted into Trúc Bạch Lake. Some North Vietnamese pulled him ashore, then others crushed his shoulder with a rifle butt and bayoneted him.[41] McCain was then transported to Hanoi's main Hỏa Lò Prison, nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton".[42] Although McCain was seriously wounded and injured, his captors refused to treat him. They beat and interrogated him to get information, and he was given medical care only when the North Vietnamese discovered that his father was an admiral.[44] His status as a prisoner of war (POW) made the front pages of major American newspapers.[45][46] McCain spent six weeks in the hospital, where he received marginal care. He had lost 50 pounds (23 kg), he was in a chest cast, and his gray hair had turned white.[41] McCain was sent to a different camp on the outskirts of Hanoi.[47] In December 1967, McCain was placed in a cell with two other Americans, who did not expect him to live more than a week.[48] In March 1968, McCain was placed into solitary confinement, where he remained for two years.[49]"
John McCain - Wikipedia excerpt: "Beginning in August 1968, McCain was subjected to a program of severe torture.[53] He was bound and beaten every two hours; this punishment occurred at the same time that he was suffering from heat exhaustion and dysentery.[41][53] Further injuries brought McCain to "the point of suicide," but his preparations were interrupted by guards. Eventually, McCain made an anti-U.S. propaganda "confession."[41] He had always felt that his statement was dishonorable, but as he later wrote, "I had learned what we all learned over there: every man has his breaking point. I had reached mine."[54][55] Many U.S. POWs were tortured and maltreated in order to extract "confessions" and propaganda statements;[56] virtually all of them eventually yielded something to their captors.[57] McCain received two to three beatings weekly because of his continued refusal to sign additional statements.[58] ""