MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” panel tried Monday to blame former President Donald Trump for the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded Sunday in an interview on ABC to Trump’s recent claim he would end the Ukraine war in 24 hours if elected.
“This desire should be based on some real-life experience. Well, it looks as if Donald Trump had already these 24 hours once in his time. We were at war. Not a full-scale war, but we were at war. And I assume he had the time at his disposal, but he must have had some other priorities,” Zelenskyy said in a recent interview, according to a translation provided by “Morning Joe.”
Scarborough doubled down on the sentiment, blaming Trump for the ongoing war. Scarborough tried to tie Trump’s impeachment inquiry to the move after the administration withheld nearly $400 million in military assistance to Ukraine. Trump, in a July 2019 call with Zelenskyy, did not threaten to withhold aid. Months later the administration then approved the $39 million sale of defensive weapons to Ukraine.
“I mean, the priority – the priority was shaking down Zelenskyy,” Scarborough said. “Again, just to speak slowly to Trumpists that still like believe in conspiracy theories about the first impeachment, Congress passed legislation to send defensive weapons to Ukraine. Donald Trump blocked those weapons to go to Ukraine because he said that he wanted Zelenskyy to get dirt on his political opponent and on his political opponent’s family. That is the guy that says, ‘oh, I could end this in a day?’ Zelenskyy said he had hundreds of days to end this ongoing conflict since 2014. He never did it. In fact he did just the opposite. He actually blocked Congress initially when they were trying to send weapons to Ukraine.” (RELATED: ‘Obviously A Threat’: ABC Anchor Pushes Back On Kirby Over Controversial Cluster Bombs)
“When Congress was trying to send weapons to Ukraine when it could have made a real difference in deterring Putin, Donald Trump was, exactly, he was just politically playing games and using U.S. military might for political leverage,” MSNBC analyst Elise Jordan said. “It would be hilarious if it wasn’t just so sad. And I doubt there is even one single Trump voter who actually believes that Donald Trump could solve this crisis in a day. They have gotten the package of his hyperbole is just built in at this point.”
“I think also when you raise it, the whole idea of in the middle of this having to deal with this pompous braggadocio, I can’t from Trump, we are in the middle of a serious war. I can’t from Trump, we are in the middle of a serious war. President Biden trying to do what he can, there’s going to be flack of course on what he’s done in terms of giving the – the latest military decision he made in terms of the materials he’s given them but in the middle of it, the cluster bombs is what I’m trying to get in my head, in the middle of it though, to have Trump with all of this is just not helpful. And I’m saying it as politely as I can,” MSNBC’s Al Sharpton said.