Al Roker Presses Obama on His Handling of Crimea Amid Ukraine Invasion: Could You Have ‘Done Something Differently?’

NBC’s Al Roker asked former President Barack Obama to reflect on the 2014 annexation of Crimea, and whether that was a prelude to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

NBC released a preview of their interview with Obama, wherein the 44th president was asked “is this the Vladimir Putin that you had to deal with [during your tenure]?” Obama answered that Putin “has always been ruthless” and nationalistic, but “what we’ve seen with the invasion of Ukraine is him being reckless in a way that you might not have anticipated 8, 10 years ago.”

From there, Roker said “hindsight’s 2020” as he brought up the annexation of Crimea, a recurring source of debate concerning Obama’s legacy and America’s Ukraine policy. The Obama administration has been frequently criticized in the past for not taking more severe action against Russia over that event, and as Russia continues its current assault on Ukraine, Roker asked the ex-president “Do you ever think ‘could I have done something differently?'”

“The situations in each of those circumstances are different,” Obama answered, “but I think what we’re seeing consistently is a reminder of why it is so important for us to not take our own democracy for granted, why it is so important for us to stand for, and align ourselves with, those who believe in freedom and independence. I think that the current administration is doing what it needs to be doing.”

Watch above, via NBC.