Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.<\/p>\n
I thought he was negotiating when he sent his troops to the border, Trump told the Washington Examiner. I thought he was negotiating.<\/p>\n
The president appeared to qualify his widely condemned praise of Putin last month as pretty smart and a genius for his troop buildup before the onslaught.<\/p>\n
I thought it was a tough way to negotiate but a smart way to negotiate, Trump told the conservative outlet.<\/p>\n
Trump said he believed Putins tactics were aimed at striking some sort of deal with the United States. The U.S., he claimed, never made a good trade with the Russians until I came along.<\/p>\n
And then he went in and I think hes changed, Trump said. I think hes changed. Its a very sad thing for the world. Hes very much changed.<\/p>\n
Trumps admiration for the Russian dictator has been an issue, even for some supporters.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview with Fox News Sean Hannity as Russias attack on Ukraine intensified, Trump refused to call Putin evil, despite the Trump-supporting hosts prompts. And he stumbled to walk back his gushing over Putins strategy, dwelling on semantics instead.<\/p>\n
In his interview with the Examiner, Trump retreated to his hollow claim that hed been very, very tough on Putin.<\/p>\n
I get a bad rap on that, Trump insisted. At the same time, I got along with him very well. But I got along with most [world leaders] very well.<\/p>\n
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.<\/p>\n
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See the original post here:<\/p>\n
Donald Trump Says He's 'Surprised' That Vladimir Putin ...<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he was surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. I thought he was negotiating when he sent his troops to the border, Trump told the Washington Examiner Continue reading