Trump Ignores Sean Hannity's Prompt To Call Putin 'Evil'

Fox News Sean Hannity gave Donald Trump multiple opportunities to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, and the former president repeatedly declined to do so.

Trump has faced widespread backlash for calling Putins tactics a work of genius last month as the authoritarian leader prepared to invade Ukraine. His rhetoric met resistance from some high-ranking Republicans , including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who said on Wednesday that Putin was not a genius but an evil dictator.

Hannity gave Trump an opportunity on Thursday to walk his comments back, two weeks after Putin launched a brutal war that has killed hundreds of civilians .

You came under some fire when you said that Vladimir Putin is very smart, Hannity said during an interview with Trump. I think I know you a little bit better than most people in the media, and I think you also recognize hes evil, do you not?

Trump declined to say and instead tried to argue about the semantics of his praise for the dictator.

Well, I was referring to the fact that he said this is an independent nation, talking about Ukraine, and I said that ... this was before there was any attack. Hes calling it an independent nation, Trump said, adding that this doesnt seem to be the same Putin that I was dealing with.

But I will tell you, he wouldnt have changed if I were dealing with him. He wouldnt have changed, he added.

Trump declines to call Putin \"evil\" when Hannity prompts him to pic.twitter.com/kAB2pUKjdg

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 11, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Aaron Rupar","author_url":"https://twitter.com/atrupar","cache_age":86400,"description":"Trump declines to call Putin \"evil\" when Hannity prompts him to pic.twitter.com/kAB2pUKjdg Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 11, 2022\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":540,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1502110991613579264/pu/img/qXHolmkKVDR6qEsl.jpg","thumbnail_width":960,"title":"Aaron Rupar on 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Trump declines to call Putin "evil" when Hannity prompts him to pic.twitter.com/kAB2pUKjdg
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 11, 2022

Trump then criticized President Joe Biden s nuclear posture during the crisis in Eastern Europe and described how he would have handled it if he were in charge.

Biden has declined to match Putins heightened nuclear alert status, avoiding an escalation of warnings between the two superpowers.

Look, Biden, every time he gets up he says they are a nuclear nation. He should say we are a nuclear nation, Trump said.

And, you know, I rebuilt our whole nuclear arsenal, stronger, bigger, better than ever before, he added. He should say, We are a nuclear nation and we dont want war ... and we dont want to wipe out Russia.

He condemned the violence as a crime against humanity and said it has to end now, though he also noted that if it comes to an end as things stand, its going to look like a big loss for Putin.

Hannity later circled back to the backlash against Trump for his praise of Putin, giving him another chance to retract those comments.

Youve often quoted to me Sun Tzu, The Art of War. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Is that how you viewed Vladimir? the Fox News host said. Did you view Vladimir Putin and people like President Xi and Kim Jong Un and the Iranian mullahs as enemies that you needed to keep close?

Again, Trump offered no condemnation for the authoritarian leader.

I got along with these people. I got along with them well. That doesnt mean they are good people. It doesnt mean anything other than the fact that I understood them and perhaps they understood me, Trump said. Because they knew thered be a big penalty.

LOL -- Hannity is trying so hard to get Trump to denounce authoritarians like Putin and he just refuses to do it pic.twitter.com/IdjhyGinFp

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LOL -- Hannity is trying so hard to get Trump to denounce authoritarians like Putin and he just refuses to do it pic.twitter.com/IdjhyGinFp
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 11, 2022

Hannity had already tried to explain away Trumps praise for Putin on Ukraine, arguing on Feb. 24 that it was taken out of context. Donald Trump Jr. also chimed in on the subject this week, suggesting his dads cozying up to dictators was a ploy to play these guys.

As president, Trump routinely alienated U.S. allies, including Canada and Germany, while praising autocratic leaders like Putin, North Koreas Kim Jong Un, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan.