Trump lauds ‘savvy genius’ of Putin as thousands perish
AS thousands lay dead and millions still fear their fate, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has left the world on edge.
Not since 1945 and the defeat of the Nazis has the planet been so strongly brought together, united in its condemnation and disgust of the Russian leader.
Moscow’s miniature madman has become the planet’s number one enemy, while Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to cement his place in history as a wartime hero.
The once TV comedian’s courage, compassion and calmness in the face of evil has set a very high bar for all other world leaders to follow.
However, there is one man whose bar is still so low even a rattlesnake would not be able to slither beneath it – step forward, Donald Trump.
While presidents and prime ministers have come together to try to put an end to Putin’s bloodshed, the former US leader has been using the loss of innocent lives for his own sick political gain.
As far as Trump is concerned, the only person on the planet capable of stopping the Russian despot is himself.
But not content with his boasts as the streets of Kyiv continue to run red, deluded Donnie has even praised his old pal calling Putin “very savvy”.
He said it was a “genius” move he declared two regions of eastern Ukraine as independent states while dispatching Russian armed forces to seize them.
“Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful,” Trump mused, referring to invading Russian troops as “the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen”.
How wrong could he have been? But as Ukraine began putting up its unwavering resistance and the States began imposing crippling sanctions, Trump then started his rewriting of history, washing his hands of the role he played in Ukraine’s fate.
He began by claiming credit for NATO - an organisation he said he wanted to leave - saying, “I hope everyone is able to remember that it was me, as President of the United States, that got delinquent NATO members to start paying their dues, which amounted to hundreds of billions of dollars. There would be no NATO if I didn’t act strongly and swiftly.”.
He also said it was he who supplied the “very effective antitank busters (Javelins) when the previous administration was sending blankets”. (His predecessor Barack Obama pledged the money for such weapons.)
But worst of all Trump’s delusions was the claim that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if the 2020 election had not been “stolen” from him and he had held on to the White House.
What nonsense.
The only conceivable reason the Russian leader wouldn’t have invaded under a second Trump term is that it very likely wouldn’t have been necessary.
As Putin’s poodle, Trump was hellbent on undermining American democracy and its friends choosing instead to side with its foe.
Let us not forget the 2019 call when Trump asked Zelenskyy for “a favour”.
It came after the Ukrainian President said his country was ready to buy more javelins. That favour involved launching an investigation of his White House rival Joe Biden.
As part of his effort to pressure Zelenskyy, the President shamefully placed a hold on £300 million of vital aid that had already been appropriated unless he got his way.
It was a move that led to his first impeachment. If ever there was a sign of what the world would look like under the “savvy” and “genius” autocrats Trump admires, it is now.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine should serve as a lesson for those Americans who have dangerously devalued democracy while supporting deluded Donnie.
They would do well to remember the truth about their former leader’s role in this tragic war and not continue to swallow the spin Trump still spews.
MENTION in the States you work for a newspaper, and it doesn’t take long before accusations of being “fake news” are being thrown around.
Nowhere else in the world are conspiracy theories believed more than established veritable newspapers than in the States.
Often nothing more than a mere mention by some loon on Twitter, and a story is up and running.
So it came as no surprise how much traction a US gossip website garnered after declaring the Queen was dead.
What made it worse was how Jason Lee’s site then doubled down on his world exclusive – from “sources close to the Royal Kingdom” – stating “We don’t post lies”.
It was amazing, although not surprising, to see thousands of people here buy into the story believing it to be true.
Sadly for Lee, “lies” is precisely what he published.
It’s a good job the Tower of London is no longer accepting guests.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine should serve as a lesson for those Americans who have dangerously devalued democracy