Former U.S. President Donald Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin after the Kremlin announced it would recognize the breakaway regions of Eastern Ukraine as independent states.
During a live interview with , a syndicated conservative talk radio show, Trump called the move by Putin "genius" and "smart."
"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine … as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful," he said on the show on Tuesday.
"Putin is now saying, 'It’s independent,' a large section of Ukraine. I said, 'How smart is that?' And he’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper," Trump added.
Russia's recognition of the separatist-controlled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine have sparked widespread condemnation in the West. Putin also announced that he would be sending Russian troops into the regions for "peacekeeping purposes."
Trump also suggested the U.S. should deploy a similar "peace force" to the U.S.-Mexico border.
"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 going to keep peace, all right," he said.
The former president also said that the situation in Ukraine "never would have happened" if he had won the last election.
"Had I been in office, not even thinkable. This would never have happened," Trump said. "You know what the response was from Biden? There was no response. They didn’t have one for that. No, it’s very sad."
Trump's remarks stand in contrast to what top Republicans have said about Russia's actions in Ukraine. In a joint statement, the Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives called Putin's actions "reprehensible" and called on the U.S. and allies to "make the Putin regime pay for this aggression."
This isn't the first time Trump has praised Russia and Putin. Trump has called the Russian president a "strong leader" on numerous occasions before and during his time in the White House and even tried to re-invite Russia into the G7.
The Special Counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller also concluded that Russian entities had interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election in order to help Trump defeat rival Hillary Clinton -- but the investigation did not establish that the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia.
