It was Trump who was soft on Putin
Republicans who are calling President Joe Biden soft on Russia apparently have forgotten that Trump’s policy on Russia was one of appeasement. To remind them, consider the following:
In a May 2017 meeting, Trump disclosed classified information to Russian government representatives, creating political and security concerns in the United States and its allies. Trump was treating the Russian officials as if they were allies of our country.
Trump was a vocal critic of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. His rhetoric weakened NATO, and, according to The New York Times, at several points during 2018, Trump discussed withdrawing the U.S. from the international organization. Thus, Trump was seriously considering a move that would threaten the future of the alliance and empower Russia.
On July 16, 2018, Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and blamed our country for the strained relations between the two nations, saying that the current situation was the result of “many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity.” He avoided mention of Russia’s annexation of Georgia and the Crimea, the poisoning of former Russian spies in the U.K., or Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
I am sure that Putin was thrilled to have a toady in the White House.
Trump’s only interest in Ukraine was to push Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to investigate the Biden family. During a phone call July 25, 2019, Trump implied that such an investigation could speed up Ukraine’s request for arms. He never expressed any concerns about the threat that Russia presented to Ukraine.
Finally, in an interview last month, Trump called Putin’s actions against Ukraine “smart” and “genius.” Trump did not simply disregard Russia’s crimes, he even praised the architect of these crimes — Vladimir Putin.