Biden laughs off Trump praise of Putin and mocks his own ‘stable genius’ claims

President responds to erratic statements from his predecessor praising the Russian leader

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in 2018 (AFP)

Joe Biden finally responded in an interview on Saturday after his predecessor made a handful of remarks praising Russia’s Vladimir Putin for his strategy regarding the invasion of Ukraine.

In the interview, recorded following Russia’s invasion late Wednesday night, the US president was asked to respond to Donald Trump’s statement referring to Mr Putin’s plan to send so-called “peacekeeping” forces into the Donbas a “genius” move. The troop deployment immediately preceded the full-scale invasion of the rest of Ukraine’s territory.

"I put as much stock in Trump saying that Putin's a genius as I do when he called himself a stable genius,” Mr Biden responded.

His remarks came after Mr Trump finally commented on the issue of Ukraine this week following days of silence. In an interview with two right-leaning interviewers, the former president heaped praise on the Russian president and claimed that the Biden administration had no response to Russian aggression in the region.

The former president stuck to the strange, effusive praise of Mr Putin that defined his presidency, and called the Russian leader’s moves “genius”.

“I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine – of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful,” said Mr Trump, responding to the recognition by Moscow of two separatist nations that have formed in occupied Ukranian Donbas.

.@POTUS on Donald Trump calling Putin "savvy" and "genius" amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine: "I put as much stock in Trump saying that Putin's a genius as I do when he called himself a stable genius." pic.twitter.com/H1Q1UVK8r9

— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) February 26, 2022

In one interview with Fox’s Laura Ingraham, the former president also appeared confused by the basic facts of the situation. He erroneously criticised public knowledge of a supposed US-led amphibious attack, only for Ingraham to remind him that the US was not fighting and the attack she had referred to involved Russian troops against Ukrainian forces.

Mr Biden has largely ignored the remarks of his predecessor up until now and has focused on generating support for aiding Ukraine while refusing to draw the US into war with Russia.