Trump praises Putin and denigrates US leaders at CPAC
Donald Trump has once again declined to an opportunity to criticise Vladimir Putin directly. Speaking to Fox Business’s Maria Bartiromo, the president said of the war Russia has launched in Ukraine that “This is a holocaust. This is a horrible thing that’s happening, you’re witnessing. I mean, you’re seeing it on television every night.”
However, his overriding verdict was that “the biggest problem we have is that our president and our country is no longer respected” – and that the solution to Russia’s assault on Ukraine is to “work out a deal”.
Earlier this week, former White House aide and Russia expert Fiona Hill claimed in an interview with Politico that Vladimir Putin once tried to make Trump take notice of Russia’s nuclear deterrent, but that the ex-president didn’t understand what the Russian leader was telling him.
Meanwhile, the 45th president remained mostly quiet during Joe Biden’s State of the Union last night, leaving it to Donald Trump Jr attacked transgender children shortly after president Joe Biden extended his support during the State of the Union address, saying “I’ll always have your back”.
“Joe Biden wants to help young transgender individuals achieve their utmost potential… admirable, but it seems their only focus is doing so in women’s sports,” the younger Mr Trump tweeted.
