MSNBC host Joe Scarborough ripped Republicans on “Morning Joe” Monday for both praising and “backtracking” on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Scarborough read a quote from former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing his “enormous respect” for Putin, then quoted him as calling the Russian president “talented” and “savvy” in a recent interview. Scarborough criticized him and conservatives across the globe, including French Regional Councillor Marine Le Pen, for “backtracking” on Putin.
“You all on the right — the far-right, Trump apologists — ignore all the evidence out there. Why don’t we just use that term Russian hoax again for another five years if it helps you sleep well at night,” he said. “So many of you telling us Vladimir Putin was never going to invade Ukraine, you attacked the ‘mainstream media,’ the dominant media. ‘Oh, they’re never going to attack. This is never going to happen.’ You’re wrong. You’ve been wrong about Vladimir Putin all along, you defended [former President] Donald Trump all along for him actually running resistance.”
WATCH:
Former President Donald Trump complimented Putin’s recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, two separatist-controlled regions of Ukraine, as “genius” and “wonderful” during a Tuesday appearance on “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.” (RELATED: White House Spokesman Calls Trump A ‘Nauseating Pig’ Who Hates America After His Comments On Putin)
The former president said Tuesday that Putin would not have taken military action against Ukraine if he were in office, blaming President Joe Biden’s potentially “weak” economic response. He continued to blame the Biden administration’s leadership Saturday in an address to the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“The problem is not that Putin is smart, which, of course, he’s smart,” Trump said, according to CNN. “The problem is that our leaders are dumb… and so far, allowed him to get away with this travesty and assault on humanity.”
“Putin is playing Biden like a drum and it’s not a pretty thing to watch,” he reportedly added.
Critics including MSNBC’s Joy Reid, “The View” co-hosts and Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney all recently called out Trump and other conservatives praising Putin. Romney called the voices backing Putin “almost treasonous” during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”