Trump says it's a ‘great compliment’ that Putin prefers Biden
NORTH CHARLESTON — Former President Donald Trump touted Wednesday that Vladimir Putin prefers that he lose, telling supporters it shows that the Russian president knows he won’t get his way under another Trump administration.
The comments followed Trump doubling down on suggesting he would not protect NATO allies from Russian attacks if they don’t meet a military spending benchmark.
Putin “just said he’d much rather have Joe Biden as president than Trump. A lot of people said, ‘Oh gee, that’s too bad.’ No, no, that’s a good thing. That’s a compliment. Of course, he’d say that,” Trump told a crowd of over 1,000 people 10 days before South Carolina’s GOP presidential primary. Early voting is already underway.
In Moscow earlier Wednesday, Putin said in an interview he’d prefer a second term of President Joe Biden, calling him more experienced and more predictable, while adding he’d work with whoever won.
Trump alleged that’s because Biden will give Putin what he wants, even as he blasted Biden for wanting to send tens of billions more in aid to Ukraine — on top of the billions and “colossal amounts of our own weaponry and ammunition” already sent — to defend itself from Russia.
If he had won in 2020, Trump said, Russia would not have invaded Ukraine.
“He’s going to have his dream of having Ukraine because of Biden,” Trump said of Putin. “That’s a war that never would have happened. Under the Trump administration, we’ll return to peace through strength.”
That apparently involves threatening to not protect NATO allies that don’t spend 2% of their gross domestic product on their own military defense, a benchmark that members agreed to meet by 2024, though most don’t.
Trump again recalled a conversation he had with the leader of a NATO country while he was president about not protecting a “delinquent” ally.
His recollection Saturday at a rally in Conway made international headlines and caused swift condemnation from U.S. officials in both parties, including Biden and his last rival left in the GOP nominating contest, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
Biden called Trump’s comments “shameful,” “dangerous,” and “un-American.”
But in North Charleston, Trump left out the part that really caused the firestorm — that he said he’d actually encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” if the unnamed leader didn’t pay up.
Instead, Trump credited his warning with more countries increasing their defense spending.
“I came back six months later, I said, ‘Now you’ve had time,’” Trump said. “But one of the heads of the country stood up and said, ‘Does that mean if we don’t pay the bills, that you’re not going to protect us?’ I said, ‘That’s exactly what it means.’”
If he’d said he would protect NATO allies regardless, he said, they’d never cover their share.
Most members still don’t spend the “bare minimum of 2%” under Biden, he said, adding he thinks that benchmark is too low.
“I thought it should go up to 4%,” he said.
‘All you need to know about her’
Trump spent less time in his latest 95-minute speech attacking Haley, his first United Nations ambassador, though he did highlight polls that show his lead widening in her home state.
“The radical left Democrats want Nikki Haley because they know she’s easy to beat,” Trump said at the rally held in Haley’s home county. “Her numbers, by the way, are tanking.”
He did not repeat his questioning of her husband’s whereabouts. Her husband, Maj. Michael Haley, is deployed to Africa. Since Saturday, Haley has called the swipe part of Trump’s pattern of disrespect for the military and those who serve. Her campaign put a two-minute video of his insults on a mobile billboard that drove around the Charleston area.
At Wednesday’s rally, Trump alleged Haley used to praise his “tremendous love and respect” of the military.
“And on that one she was correct,” he said. “We love our military.’”
He also offered an explanation for mixing up Haley and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month — a mental blip Haley has highlighted as proof he should take a mental competency test.
“It’s very hard to be sarcastic,” he said. “I’m not a Nikki fan and I’m not a Pelosi fan. When I purposely interpose names, they say he didn’t know Pelosi from Nikki.”
In response, Haley’s campaign said Trump was simply in clean-up mode all night.
“It’s the same script every time: Donald Trump says something unhinged, faces backlash, and scrambles to clean up his mess with a dirty mop,” said Haley spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes.
Gov. Henry McMaster and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace of the coastal 1st District — who was backed by Haley against her 2022 GOP challenger — were among South Carolina Republicans who addressed the crowd before Trump took the stage. But it was a former GOP rival in the presidential contest who introduced him.
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who’s from North Charleston, dropped out in November and endorsed Trump ahead of the New Hampshire primary in January. Scott, who never attacked Trump during his run, is considered a potential running mate.
Trump told the crowd that Scott’s a better candidate for him than he was for himself.
“He did well (in the primary), but he wasn’t as forceful as he is, because he doesn’t want to talk about himself, so interesting,” Trump said.
What voters said
Sam Fuchs, 60, of Charleston, said he’s supported Trump from “the second he ran.” He wants a businessman over a politician running the country.
Wednesday was the business executive’s first time seeing the president in person.
“My wife actually canceled our Valentine’s Day dinner, said she wanted to do this instead,” Fuchs said.
It was the first time for Cynthia Middleton, 52, of North Charleston, as well.
Middleton, who supervises a cleaning company, said she appreciated Trump’s brutal honesty.
“Of course, the border is a big issue because if our borders are not protected, we’re open to anything,” she said. “So, I know he’s definitely on day one going to get that taken care of.”
Ahead of Trump’s visit, the Democratic Party of South Carolina released a tongue-in-cheek statement.
“This Valentine’s Day, I’m urging all South Carolinians to remember just how bad things were with our ex,” said state Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain. “Broken promises, ignoring us until they needed our votes, refusing to invest in our communities the way we needed — Donald Trump’s record in South Carolina is a classic tale of heartbreak and neglect.” SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. SC Daily Gazette maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seanna Adcox for questions: info@scdailygazette.com. Follow SC Daily Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.
