MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Mika suspect Putin told Trump to defend Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski cast suspicion on President Donald Trump for pushing Russian propaganda with his misstatement of historical facts about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Trump defended the 1979 invasion, which was strongly opposed by the United States, as a defensive action against terrorism, although U.S. officials have long believed the Soviets intended to expand their sphere of communist influence there.

"Look, I just think it might be worth considering that it is time to not just call him ignorant, but to see that there (are) dots to be connected here," Brzezinski said. "It's obvious."

"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough agreed.

"I am almost utterly speechless," he said. "I will go with what the Wall Street Journal said, that this is the most ignorant statement in history by any president, it was a misstatement. and it was just insanity."

"It was more than ignorant," Brzezinski said.

Trump has consistently deviated from U.S. policy on various matters to push Russian propaganda, and Scarborough said that might not be a coincidence.

"Chances are good, again, that in those private conversations, Trump is saying, 'I want to get out of Afghanistan,' and Putin -- who knows, maybe Putin said, 'Well, boy, we had to go there because of terrorism, and look what happened to us.'"