Kevin McCarthy says there's nothing 'savvy or genius about Putin' in an implicit jab at Trump

• GOP leader Kevin McCarthy said there's nothing "savvy or genius about Putin."
• Trump previously called Putin's actions against Ukraine "savvy" and "genius."

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a prominent ally to former President Donald Trump, distanced himself on Wednesday from the former president's comments that Russian President Vladimir Putin's tactics against Ukraine were "savvy" and "genius."

"I do not think anything savvy or genius about Putin," McCarthy said during a press briefing.

"I think Putin is evil. I think he's a dictator. I think he's murdering people right now," the GOP leader added.

Shortly before Putin's invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago, Trump weighed in on the Russian leader's initial actions against the country, which included declaring two Ukrainian breakaway republics, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent.

"I went in yesterday and there was a television screen and I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful," Trump said during a podcast interview. "I said, 'How smart is that?' And he's going to go in and be a peacekeeper."

"Here's a guy who's very savvy," Trump added. "I know him very well — very, very well."

Trump's praise of Putin sparked immediate backlash from some Republicans, including outspoken Trump critic Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, along with several Democrats. McCarthy, at the time, criticized Russia's aggression and accused the Biden administration of lacking "strong action" against Putin, but didn't address Trump's comments.