Fox News host Pete Hegseth defended Trump by saying his 'genius' comment about Putin was just to troll the media

Pete Hegseth, host of Fox News, defended former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying that he was just trying to troll the media.

The day before, Trump had praised Putin for sending troops into Ukrainian territory.

Hegseth said on the Fox show "Jesse Watters Primetime" that Putin lives rent-free in the minds of the American media. No entity has done more to spread Russian propaganda than our own media.

Donald Trump was happy to troll them on it.

—Acyn (@Acyn) February 23, 2022

Hegseth, who co-hosted the show, went on to say that the Russian leader took advantage of the weakness of both Biden and Obama.

Fox News did not reply immediately.

On Monday, Putin recognized the independence of two republics in Ukraine and ordered troops into them. Western leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions on Russia due to fears of an invasion into Ukraine by the Kremlin.

Trump praised Moscow in an interview from Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday.

Putin declared a large portion of the Ukraine to be independent. Trump told the hosts that he would be a peacekeeper.