As bombs fall on Ukraine, NC’s Budd listens to Trump call Putin ‘very smart’
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Former President Donald Trump took the stage at Magapalooza on Wednesday night and called Russian President Vladimir Putin “pretty smart” for invading Ukraine.
His comments came as the first explosions rocked the sovereign nation, and his words continued to ricochet around the world Thursday as Russia continued its invasion.
In attendance, at the fundraiser known as Magapalooza, was U.S. Rep. Ted Budd, endorsed by Trump for a U.S. Senate seat.
But Budd later issued statements that took aim at Putin while also praising Trump’s approach to foreign policy.
“We need to take stronger action against Vladimir Putin’s outrageous invasion of Ukraine, starting with cutting off Russia’s access to the global financial system,” Budd said on Twitter, as President Joe Biden announced more aggressive sanctions against both Russia and Belarus and some of the two countries’ most influential families.
Trump’s comments at Magapalooza
Less than 24 hours earlier, Trump had talked on stage about how little it was costing Putin to invade Ukraine.
“I mean, he’s taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions,” Trump said, “I would say that’s pretty smart. Just walking right in.”
Russia and Ukraine are the largest countries by landmass in Europe, located on the eastern edge of the continent. Ukraine is home to 44.1 million people, many of whom awoke Thursday morning to explosions rattling their cities. The country’s capital, Kyiv, is seven hours ahead of North Carolina.
Trump claimed that if he were president, the invasion would have never happened. “I know him very well,” Trump said of Putin. “I know him probably as well as I know anybody in this room....”
Earlier in the week, Trump drew criticism for calling Putin’s threat of an invasion “genius.”
Does Ted Budd agree with Trump?
Budd’s senior campaign adviser, Jonathan Felts, declined to say whether Budd agrees with Trump’s characterization of Putin.
In the past, Budd’s votes in Congress have been friendly toward Russia. He has voted against Russian energy sanctions and a bill that called on the G7 to ban Russia from its summits until it respects the territorial lines of Ukraine. He also voted against calling for the U.S. Treasury to turn over documents related to Trump’s financial ties to Russia and an investigation into Russia’s potential interference in the 2016 election.
Speaking to reporters on Friday morning after he filed for his U.S. Senate campaign, Budd’s opponent, Pat McCrory, criticized Budd’s voting record on Russia-related legislation, saying that Budd has been “defending Russia and defending Putin when it’s indefensible.”
But Budd also introduced a bill that targeted resources going to terrorist groups that was included in a broader bill that sanctioned Russia. Earlier this month, Budd filed legislation that if passed would order an investigation into the extent of collusion between Russia and China to invade Ukraine.
On behalf of Budd, Felts released a written statement that called Putin “pure evil” and reiterated Budd’s thoughts on Biden.
“I don’t speak for President Trump,” Felts said, “but it seems pretty clear his commentary reflects the reality that Putin is invading Ukraine because Putin doesn’t respect the weak actions demonstrated thus far by the Biden administration.”
In a different written statement, Budd said some of Biden’s first actions were to cripple American natural gas pipelines and waive Trump’s sanctions on Russian pipelines.
“Putin saw that, sensed weakness, and now Russia is invading Ukraine,” Budd wrote.
On Biden’s first day in office, he denied a permit needed to allow construction of the Keystone Pipeline. The pipeline would have quickly transported tar sands oil, which is highly corrosive and acidic and caused many people to worry about the likelihood of a leak.
Republicans believe the project would allow the United States to be energy independent, while Democrats see it as an environmental hazard. Biden and former President Barack Obama blocked the project during their presidencies, while Trump allowed it to proceed.
Budd, in his comments about Ukraine, called the situation tragic and said the United States needs to project strength, “as we did under Trump,” to make the United States and the world safer.
Republicans criticize Biden
The Republican candidates for U.S. Senate criticized the Biden administration over its handling of the crisis.
Whoever wins the Republican primary on May 17 likely will face off against former Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, a Democrat, who spoke to The News & Observer about Russia while filing to run for the elected position.
Beasley focused on the people of Ukraine and called on Biden to punish Russia for the attack, work with allies and consider the country’s national security interests.
McCrory accused Biden of “failed leadership” and said the way Biden chose to withdraw troops from Afghanistan led to dangerous implications witnessed on a world stage.
Last August, Biden pulled the remaining 2,500 troops out of Afghanistan, but faced criticism for leaving behind allies and U.S. citizens. During the previous administration, Trump had signed a deal with the Taliban to pull out the 13,000 troops in the country by May 1, 2021. Biden delayed the deadline by a few months.
“Millions of lives are at stake and American national security is at risk,” McCrory said in a statement he posted on Twitter. “We need leadership in Washington — leadership who understand the importance of support for our U.S. Military — not weakness and incompetence.”
McCrory also called on private businesses to avoid dealings with Russia.
“Corporate America needs to hold Russia accountable and leave Russia — now and for good. The whole world must hold Russia accountable,” McCrory said.
On Friday, reporters asked McCrory if he disagreed with Trump’s comments on the Russian invasion.
“Where I disagree is, as a foreign policy, we need to speak with one voice, because Putin right now is using any words from anyone in America,” McCrory said.
He added that he believes Putin should be heavily criticized, calling the Russian president a “man who is dangerous to the world right now.” He went on to say that former President Ronald Reagan had called Russia the “evil empire,” and said that Putin “is a part of that evil empire now.”
Putin also criticized
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, a third Republican candidate for Senate, made the bluntest statement about Putin, though his comments came hours before the attack.
“I’ve visited with the parliaments in multiple eastern European countries and all agree on Putin,” Walker tweeted. “The moment he begins to smell weakness, he goes on the offensive. We pray for those in harm’s way as this depraved fool moves on Ukraine.”
After the invasion began, he tweeted: ”It appears being energy independent was a good idea after all. We import 600K barrels of oil from Russia each day. The Keystone Pipeline would’ve produced over 800K barrels of oil each day. Another horrible decision by an administration that is neither admired nor feared.”
On Thursday night, as reports that Russian fighter jets took down a Ukrainian fighter pilot who has been dubbed “the ghost of Kyiv,” Walker posted his harshest criticism yet.
“May God protect the Ghost of Kyiv and bring down the evil Russian regime,” Walker tweeted. “While I’m on it, the undertones of Putin praise is insane. The demented fool would destroy America in a heartbeat if given the chance.”
Fourth candidate a combat veteran
Political newcomer Marjorie Eastman, a Republican and a former combat soldier taking on McCrory, Walker and Budd for the Senate nomination, said her years of service made her knowledgeable about the situation overseas.
“As a combat veteran who has deployed from Ft. Bragg, I know Russia’s dangerous escalation poses to Europe and the free world, and my prayers are with the people of Ukraine and all U.S. Forces forward-deployed to Europe,” Eastman said.
In the weeks leading up to the invasion, Biden sent soldiers from Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville, to areas around Ukraine.
Like McCrory, Eastman blamed the quick withdrawal from Afghanistan for proving to Putin and the rest of the world that America is “capricious,” “cowardly” and willing to leave people behind.
“Putin watched this disaster and celebrated, and I am certain Biden’s weakness emboldened Putin to press on Ukraine,” Eastman said. “Continued Russian violence in Ukraine will undoubtedly cost many innocent lives, cause energy prices to spike globally and destabilize Europe.”
She said with the world’s two largest nuclear powers involved and over 100,000 Russian troops on the border, the situation is ripe to spin “wildly out of control.”
Brian Murphy of the NC Insider and Avi Bajpai contributed to this article.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 12:44 PM.
