Ad trolls Trump over January 6 committee developments
As Vladimir Putin attacks Ukraine with ground forces and airstrikes, a State Department spokesperson said he had “no words” in response to praise for the Russian autocrat from Donald Trump.
Twice in two days, the former president has hailed Mr Putin as “smart” and blamed Joe Biden for what is happening.
“He [Mr Putin] was going to be satisfied with a piece and now he sees the weakness and the incompetence and the stupidity of this administration, ”Mr Trump said while speaking with Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham. “As an American I am angry about it and I am saddened by it. And it all happened because of a rigged election. ”
In another video clip from Wednesday night that was circulated on social media, Mr Trump can be heard saying: “Trump said Putin is smart. He’s taken over a country for $ 2 worth of sanctions. I’d say that’s pretty smart. ”
Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Trump hailed Mr Putin as “savvy” and called his move on Ukraine “genius”.
CPAC chairman: conference will go ahead as planned
Matt Schlapp, head of the American Conservative Union, says that the annual CPAC conference beginning in Florida today will be going ahead without changing its agenda despite the Russian attack on Ukraine.
As Andrew Feinberg reports from Orlando:
[Mr Schlapp] said the programming for the group’s yearly confab, which is organized around the theme “Awake not Woke,” already has a strong foreign policy focus, with a number of “very prominent” speakers such as former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grinnell, ex- Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeoand other former Trump administration officials.
“That doesn’t even get into the elected officials who are here,” he said, adding later that he expects “every one” of the panels featuring ex-Trump national security officials to address “what’s going on with Putin and Ukraine”.
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 16:01
Biden to speak on Ukraine
The White House has confirmed Joe Biden will address the nation on Ukraine in just over two hours’ time.
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 15:13
Biden to speak on Ukraine
The White House has confirmed Joe Biden will address the nation on Ukraine in just over two hours’ time.
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 15:13
ICYMI: Ivanka Trump talking to Jan 6 committee
Reports say that rather than flat-out refusing to cooperate as some of her father’s allies have done, Ivanka Trump is engaging with the select committee investigating the 6 January attack. Depending on what information she chose to share and under what conditions, her participation would be a major breakthrough for the committee as various Trump allies essentially try to freeze it out.
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 14:35
Analyst: GOP reaction to Ukraine invasion has roots in 2016
As much of the pro-Trump right either minimizes or almost approves of the Ukrainian invasion, journalist and historian Garrett M. Graff writes that the realignment of the GOP away from orthodox US internationalism began several years ago …
Here’s an AP deep dive into how the Republican Party’s new generation took their movement in a different direction.
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 14:05
Trump’s GOP processor takes a different line on Ukraine
George W. Bush, the last Republican to serve as president before Donald Trump, has put out a statement on what Russia is doing to its neighboring country. It’s very different to the line the 45th president is taking, to put it mildly:
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 13:36
State Department “speechless” after Trump’s Ukraine remarks
Speaking yesterday on the former president’s praise for Vladimir Putin as he ordered an invasion of Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Ned Price succinctly conveyed the mood in Foggy Bottom …
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 12:55
Trump and Putin’s connection resonated round the world
Donald Trump’s affinity for Vladimir Putin was so self-evident that other world leaders explicitly referenced it as they went about their own domestic business. Here’s an example from Israel:
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 12:20
ICYMI: Prosecutors resign from New York Trump investigation
Donald Trump got a rare piece of good news on the legal front yesterday when two prosecutors resigned from a long-running probe into his business dealings by the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
It is reported that there are doubts about the viability of a case against Mr Trump himself. The investigation (which is distinct from the probe being led by New York Attorney General Letitia James) has facilitated a grand jury to evaluate evidence, but has not presented any evidence to them for some time. The probe has apparently been stymied by the failure to “flip” senior Trump Organization employees against their boss.
Nathan Place has the story:
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 11:50
Flashback: How Trump sided with Putin
As commentators, politicians and the State Department express their shock at Donald Trump’s praise for Vladimir Putin even as the Russian president attacks Ukraine, John Bowden has this rundown of key moments where the former president took Mr Putin’s side.
Andrew Naughtie24 February 2022 11:11