Former President Donald Trump gave his assessment of the situation between Russia and Ukraine on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. on Saturday.
Specifically, Trump indicated he is concerned that President Vladimir Putin’s invasion could trigger a global conflagration.
In an interview with , the former president also said that the Biden White House will have to “do a lot more than just sanctions” to stop Putin, while opining that the invasion should “never have happened.”
“It is a horrible thing. It would never have happened under any circumstance, and it is what it is,” Trump said. “But there’s great bravery being shown, and I think they’re doing one hell of a job—much more so than anybody would have thought possible.”
Asked if he had a “message” for Putin, Trump said he did not.
“I just think it’s a shame that this is going on. It’s something that should not be going on,” Trump said.
“Thousands of people, I mean, this can lead to much bigger than this one area,” Trump warned. “This could lead to a lot of other countries and can lead to world war. …You never know how it starts, in a world war.”
“You never think a war is going to come out of it,” he added. “All of a sudden, you end up in a world war. This is a very dangerous period for our nation, for the country.”
Trump is also obviously not impressed with the Biden/West sanctions regime against Putin.
“They’re going to have to do more than just sanctions, I suspect,” he added.
“But sanctions are not, you know, Putin—he understands how to avoid sanctions, and he goes through other countries,” Trump told Fox News. “He goes to China as an example.”
Trump, though, said the sanctions “have to be strong, and they have to be swift, OK, to use a word, because that is a very powerful sanction, as you know, SWIFT.”
“And if they’re not, I can’t imagine—it’s just going to be a question of time,” Trump said. “It’s a very ugly thing that’s taking place. Should have never happened.”
Asked for his response if the Ukraine invasion had taken place during his time in office, Trump said he couldn’t say “right now.”
“Well, I tell you what, I would do things, but the last thing I want to do is say it right now, because if somebody asks me that is in a position where they can utilize whatever it is I give them,” Trump said. “But I certainly wouldn’t want to be talking about it on television or to the media too much.”
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