Former President Donald Trump was the only one among the former US presidents to praise Russian President Vladimir Putin as Russian troops are engaged in a full-scale military operation in Ukraine. A retired general ripped into the former president for praising Putin in the midst of an invasion being carried out into Ukraine.
Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Wednesday, retired General Barry McCaffrey blasted Trump, as well as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for their praises of Putin, whom McCaffrey described as a “murderous thug.” Trump and Pompeo’s praises of the Russian dictator have also been featured on Russian state television.
Both Trump and Pompeo praised Putin in their comments about the ongoing crisis while also taking a jab at US President Joe Biden.
“We’re trying to unite NATO to deter further violence. We have a visible – 60 percent of the Russian armed forces are parked around Ukraine. They’re probably a three-day attack from encircling the capital of Kyiv, which I’ve been in and out of over the years. We’re in great danger. We need to speak with one voice. Right now, we’ve got former President Trump and my fellow West Pointer Mike Pompeo being played on Russian TV as supportive of this political genius Putin, who is a murderous thug, essentially,” said McCaffrey.
In other related news, Trump has suffered another setback in the courts as the former president has attempted to return to Twitter. The former president was permanently banned from the social media platform following the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, with his Twitter posts inciting or glorifying violence.
The federal judge, US District Judge James Donato, who is overseeing the lawsuit Trump filed, questioned Trump’s attorneys about how the former president will get around a “mountain of law” against him. Trump’s attorneys argued that the platform colluded with Democratic lawmakers to ban him and accused the platform of being a “state actor.”
Donato reportedly rejected the claim. “It’s perfectly fine for a political to express dissatisfaction with conduct. I’m not looking for what a Democrat said at a committee hearing but an actual threat,” said the judge. “We’re talking express threats of government persecution, some kind of criminal sanction, a taking.”