Trump doubles down on Putin praise: He's 'pretty smart' for taking over Ukraine for '$2 worth of sanctions'

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump doubled down on his recent remarks praising Vladimir Putin as a "genius" for his aggressive move to invade Ukraine and seize territory, according to Shane Goldmacher of The New York Times.

"They laugh at us," said Trump in a speech to a super PAC fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago country club per Goldmacher. "That's why you have Ukraine. That's why you're going to have China. Taiwan is next and you're going to see the same kind of thing." He added of Putin, "He's taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions, I'd say that's pretty smart."

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The United States and NATO allies have launched an unprecedented wave of tough sanctions as Russia has prepared to launch their assault of Ukraine, targeting their banking and energy industries.

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