Trump angrily claims the media is lying about his repeated public praise of Putin

Former President Donald Trump criticized the press and many of the party he still belongs to de facto Hezbollah leader for publishing and criticizing his decision to praise Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

In an email statement sent by his Political Action Committee because he is banned from most social media platforms, Trump accused “RINOs [Republicans in Name Only]advocates of war]the false news “of” the continuation of[ing] To “blatantly lie and misrepresent my remarks on Putin.”

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Trump received harsh criticism for his soft-spoken remarks towards the Russian leader, who last week ordered an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and has since seen the Russian economy crumble in the face of US and European sanctions.

One of those critics, Utah Senator Mitt Romney, said Sunday it was “inconceivable” and “almost treasonable” for the former president – or anyone else – to stand by Putin in any way.

While the twice impeached former president claimed his aims were to misrepresent his statements “because they know this terrible war being waged against Ukraine would never have happened under my jurisdiction,” in fact his remarks are accurately reported.

The last time he described the Russian dictator as “smart” was during a Saturday night speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, in which he called US and NATO leaders “dumb.”

The former president, whose 2016 campaign actively sought and benefited from illegitimate support from the Russian government, also attacked his successor – Joe Biden – by claiming without evidence that Mr. Putin is “playing him like a drum”.

He also referred to Mr. Putin as “smart” and “clever” in his handling of the war he launched last week in comments he made on a right-wing radio talk show.

In the same statement, Trump falsely accused US and NATO leaders of doing absolutely nothing after Putin formally recognized the Russian-backed separatist governments in two regions of eastern Ukraine, a move aimed at helping him fabricate For war a reason for to justify the invasion.

Indeed, the United States, NATO, and the European Union have responded to Mr. Putin’s acknowledgment – and the subsequent invasion – by imposing unprecedented sanctions on Putin personally, many of his Russian oligarchy allies, and the vast majority of Russia’s financial institutions, including Russia. central bank. As a result, the Russian economy has been in free fall in recent days, with the ruble depreciating to its lowest levels since the fall of the Soviet Union.

In addition, the European Union has taken the unprecedented step of allowing arms financing for Ukrainian forces fighting against Russia. Germany, a member state of the European Union and NATO, has allowed arms transfers to Ukraine and also pledged to increase defense spending above NATO’s desired 2% of GDP threshold, reflecting decades of peaceful foreign policy.

Without any sense of irony, the former president described these developments as “Putin got everything he wanted.”