Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said in a Sunday interview she thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin “respects” former President Trump.
“Look, there is a reason that President Putin only invaded Ukraine under Obama-Biden, and then again, under Biden-Harris,” Britt told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Shannon Bream. “The world respects President Trump. And I believe that Vladimir Putin does as well.”
Britt’s comments follow a Friday meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the former president indicating that he could help end the Russia-Ukraine war “very quickly.”
“We’re going to work very much with both parties to try and get this settled,” Trump said to reporters while with Zelensky.
“We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship — as you know — with President Putin. And I think if we win, I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly,” Trump added.
In her interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Britt noted the Trump-Zelensky meeting and said the former president “understands the importance of standing firmly with our allies.”
“And you look at what Joe Biden has done, and Kamala Harris, slow-walking resources to Ukraine, and their disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, disastrous withdrawal, has created a ripple effect across this globe where people do not respect us,” Britt added.
Britt also said that “people will respect the United States” upon Trump’s return to the presidency.
When reached for comment, the Harris campaign directed The Hill to a release from this week which noted previous comments by Trump about NATO in which he said he wouldn’t protect countries in the alliance if they were “delinquent” in payments to the security alliance and the former president calling Putin “smart” in the past.
“One of the presidents of a big country stood up, said, ‘Well, sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’” Trump said at a rally in February. “I said, ‘You didn’t pay, you’re delinquent.’ He said, ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’ No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.”
In a statement in the release, Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said “Trump won’t say he wants Ukraine to win the war because he’s rooting for Vladimir Putin.”
“He cozies up to dictators because he wants to be one,” Finkelstien continued in the statement. “Vice President Harris understands that the American people stand on the side of freedom, democracy and rule of law. She knows that if America walks away from Ukraine, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe and our NATO allies.”
The Hill has reached out to the White House, vice president’s office, and former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama’s office for comment.
Updated at 8:41 pm EDT.
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