Psaki Throws Shade at Trump For Calling Putin ‘Savvy’: ‘We Try Not To Take Advice From Anyone Who Praises President Putin’
On Tuesday, Jen Psaki addressed glowing comments Donald Trump made about Vladimir Putin earlier in the day during a radio interview.
Calling Putin “savvy,” Trump discussed the Russian president’s decision to send “peacekeeping” forces into the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin recognized the regions as independent on Monday, and is using this as a pretext to deploy Russian forces.
Appearing on The Buck Sexton Show, Trump said,
I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said this is genius. Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine–of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. So Putin is now saying it’s independent – a large section of Ukraine. I said how smart is that? And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force. We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right.
A reporter asked Psaki about the comments a few hours later during the daily briefing.
“Does the White House have any reaction to former President Troop calling Putin’s move yesterday ‘genius’ and ‘smart’?” she asked.
“Well, as a matter of policy we try not to take advice from anyone who praises President Putin and his military strategy, which I believe is what happened there.” She then dinged Trump for having expressed “an openness to lifting sanctions about the seizing of territory in Crimea,” and for his 2018 remark saying that Crimea – which Russia took from Ukraine by force in 2014 – is part of Russia.
“So, there’s a bit of a different tactic, there’s a bit of a different approach, and that’s probably why President Biden and not his predecessor was able to rally the world and global community in taking steps against Russia’s aggression,” said Psaki.
The reporter followed up by asking, “Is there any fear that statements like that could turn support for Ukraine into a more partisan issue among the U.S. public?”
“By the former president?” Psaki asked.
“Yeah.”
“I think that is up to members of the Republican Party to make the decision and make the determination,” she replied.
