Is Trump right for attacking Biden?
Talking on “Fox and Friends,” former President Donald Trump said he believed Putin had been emboldened to evade Ukraine after witnessing the U.S. botch the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
In the Saturday broadcast, Trump said of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, “First of all, it’s shocking because it should have never happened, it would not have happened.”
His remarks come as tensions along the Russia-Ukraine border intensify as many fear an imminent invasion.
Earlier on Saturday the State Department ordered non-emergency personnel at the Kyiv embassy to evacuate hours after White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan urged Americans in Ukraine to leave the country.
At a news briefing at the White House, Sullivan noted that the “window when an invasion could begin at any time” had emerged.
Trump blames the U.S.’s “incompetent” withdrawal from Afghanistan as the catalyst for the imminent invasion, saying that China and Russia had watched the event closely.
Addressing the matter, he said, the reason the situation in Ukraine and Taiwan had escalated was that “President Xi and President Putin” had “watched Afghanistan, and they watched the most incompetent withdrawal in the history of probably any army let alone just us.”
Trump hypothesized that the Presidents wondered what was going on and came to the conclusion that we didn’t know what we were doing, with the former President concluding that “all of a sudden I think they got a lot more ambitious.”
Trump continued his assertions, saying he believed “Putin really wanted to negotiate for a period of time,” but after he witnessed the “unbelievably bad withdrawal” from Afghanistan, that included the U.S. withdrawing the military first and leaving behind the “$85 billion worth of equipment behind for the Taliban to have and to use” Russia became emboldened.
The former President then asserted that had he been at the helm as President the Russia-Ukraine crisis would not be unfolding. He pointed to his relationship with Putin and the sanctions he placed on Russia, saying, “No one was ever tougher on Russia, but I got along with Putin very well, we respected each other. I think you have a whole different ball game right now.”
Trump also dismissed the call President Joe Biden would be having with Russia. The call had been announced on Saturday, with Trump saying, “This is just an exercise, he’s not going to tell him anything, and I don’t think at this point Putin’s going to be listening.”
