Former President Trump continued his criticism of President Biden on Wednesday, saying in a statement that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is “playing” him “like a drum.”
“It is not a pretty thing to watch!” Trump said.
His comments come a day after the former commander in chief went well beyond most Republicans by not just criticizing Biden’s handling of Russia’s aggression toward an invasion of Ukraine, but also lionizing President Putin.
In a separate statement Tuesday after Biden’s
Trump claimed such events would never have occurred during his presidency.
And in
published Tuesday, Trump called it “genius” of Putin to recognize two enclaves in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region as independent breakaway republics on Monday, adding that Putin is “very savvy.”
Trump’s former secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo, tweeted Wednesday that “allowing these thugs, autocrats, and dictators to move around freely is not in America’s best interest.”
But Tuesday,
was widely circulated. Over the last month, he has called Putin “savvy,” “shrewd” and a “talented statesman” for whom he has “enormous respect.”
Republicans parroting Trump’s comments about Putin are “cowards” repeating “the nonsense that is fed to Trump by his handlers,” former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci tweeted Wednesday.
“Trump down deep laughs at all this,” Scaramucci said. “He can’t believe he has this level of sway.”
The recent rhetoric from Trump and Pompeo, his once-top diplomat, goes far beyond what most Republicans have said.
“As still ‘technically’ a member of house Republicans, let me, with all my might, condemn this damn awful tweet during this crisis,” retiring Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) wrote. “You can criticize policy but this is insane and feeds into Putins narrative.”
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who was voted out of GOP leadership for opposing Trump and whose primary opponent is backed by Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), said Trump’s “adulation” of Putin “aids our enemies.”
“Trump’s interests don’t seem to align with the interests of the United States of America,” she said.
This story originally appeared in
.