Former White House chief of staff says he is in 'disbelief' over GOP support for Putin after Trump called the Russian leader a genius
- Trump and some other Republican figures have praised Putin during Russia's conflict with Ukraine.
- Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told CNN he was in "disbelief" over such GOP support.
Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told CNN he was in "disbelief" over some Republicans' support for Russian President Vladimir Putin during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
When asked about former President Donald Trump's recent praise for Putin, Kelly told CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday that he doesn't "get it."
"[Putin] is a tyrant. He's a murderer. He has attacked an innocent country whose only crime is that they want to be free and democratic and they're working in that direction and have been working in that direction," Kelly said.
"Is Putin smart?" he added. "Yes. I mean, tyrants are smart. They know what they're doing. But … I can't imagine why someone would look at what's happening there and see it [as] anything other than a criminal act."
Kelly, who served as Trump's chief of staff from 2017 to 2019, did not mention his former boss by name.
You can watch the interview below:
Russia attacked Ukraine early Thursday morning after stationing hundreds of thousands of troops at its border. Explosions pounded cities across Ukraine, including its capital Kyiv.
In the last few weeks, Trump and many other leading conservative figures, including Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, had praised Putin as he threatened the attack.
Trump told the "Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" on Tuesday that Putin's justification for invading Ukraine was "savvy" and "genius."
In an interview with the Center for the National Interest last week, Trump's former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, also expressed "enormous respect" for Putin.
Insider's live blog of the invasion is covering developments as they happen.