Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (right) condemned Donald Trump’s praise of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, saying the story was witnessed despite repeated comments from the former president that Vladimir Putin was a “genius” who was “smart.” ruthless assault.
“How can someone with an understanding of the world call Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine” genius “and” very reasonable “while watching him unite the rest of the world against Russia for almost a moment?” Christie asked on Twitter on Monday. He went on to say that Putin now has two choices: “an unconquered occupation of Ukraine” or a “humiliating retreat”.
“Yes, that’s ‘brilliant’ and ‘very reasonable’,” Christie wrote.
His comments, a direct attack on Trump, came after the former president called Putin’s initial description of his invading Russian forces as peacekeepers a “genius” move. Meanwhile, most of the rest of the world condemned the Kremlin’s actions.
“So Putin is now saying, ‘This is independent.’ Much of Ukraine. I said, “How smart is that?” And he would come in and be a peacemaker. This is the strongest peaceful force, “Trump said in a radio program on the right wing. “We can use this on our southern border.”
“This is the strongest peacekeeping force I have ever seen. There were more army tanks than I saw, “Trump added on the radio show. “They will keep the peace well. No, but think about it. Here is a man who is very sensible. “
Trump defended the remarks at the Conference on Conservative Political Action this weekend, saying that while the attack was “horrific”, Putin was “smart” and “the real problem is that our leaders are dumb.”
“So sad,” Trump told the CPAC on Saturday. “Putin plays Biden on drums and it’s not good to be seen as someone who loves our country.
His statements about an invading world leader are remarkable even for Trump, who was known for his attachment to Putin during his four years in the White House, going so far as to ask Russia to hack his Democratic rival in 2016, Hillary Clinton, in order to get access to her emails.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.