Trump Repeats Praise Of 'Smart' Putin But Calls Ukraine Invasion A 'Big Mistake'

Former President Donald Trump doubled down on his past praise of Vladimir Putin on Saturday, calling the Russian president smart but describing his invasion of Ukraine as a big mistake.

They ask me if Putin was smart. Yes, Putin was smart, Trump said at a rally in Commerce, Georgia, before adding that he was surprised by Putins decision to start a war.

I actually thought he was going to be negotiating. I said, thats a hell of a way to negotiate put 200,000 soldiers on the border, he said. I think he made a big mistake, what hes done to so many people. Boy, that was a big mistake. But it looked like a great negotiation, that didnt work out too well for him.

Trump is back to saying Putin is smart. He says he thinks Putin made a mistake but then describes it as a great negotiation that didnt go so well for him pic.twitter.com/VntTpKoCZA

Acyn (@Acyn) March 27, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Acyn","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Acyn","cache_age":86400,"description":"Trump is back to saying Putin is smart. He says he thinks Putin made a mistake but then describes it as a great negotiation that didnt go so well for him pic.twitter.com/VntTpKoCZA Acyn (@Acyn) March 27, 2022\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":454,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1507885054239801347/pu/img/A_AButGjeOMTVYNB.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":828,"title":"Acyn on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1507885113857642497","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"62405f7de4b090818b386643","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/trump-calls-putin-smart-ukraine-invasion_n_62405f7de4b090818b386643","entryTagsList":"donald-trump,russia,ukraine,vladimir-putin","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/117069cd-6e1f-47b7-b17e-b36a87accf78/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":7},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"62405f7de4b090818b386643","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/donald-trump","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/donald-trump"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/donald-trump"},{"name":"Russia","slug":"russia","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/russia","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/russia","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/russia"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"Russia","slug":"russia","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/russia"},{"name":"Ukraine","slug":"ukraine","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/ukraine","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/ukraine","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/ukraine"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"Ukraine","slug":"ukraine","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/ukraine"},{"name":"Vladimir Putin","slug":"vladimir-putin","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/vladimir-putin","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/vladimir-putin","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/vladimir-putin"},"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"Vladimir Putin","slug":"vladimir-putin","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/vladimir-putin"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Trump is back to saying Putin is smart. He says he thinks Putin made a mistake but then describes it as a great negotiation that didnt go so well for him pic.twitter.com/VntTpKoCZA
Acyn (@Acyn) March 27, 2022

Though Trump called Russias invasion a mistake, he has not condemned Putin as a leader. Earlier this month, Trump called Putin a genius for invading parts of Ukraine after declaring those regions to be independent. In a subsequent interview with Fox News , Trump declined to call Putin evil when confronted about those remarks.

An estimated 2,570 civilians have been recorded as killed or wounded since the start of Russias invasion on Feb. 24, according to a recent tally by the United Nations , which said the actual count is likely considerably higher. The U.N.s tally includes more than 80 dead children.

NATO this week also estimated that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have died from fighting.