Veteran US diplomats condemned former President Trump after he expressed admiration for Russian President Putin.

I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said that it was genius. Oh, that is wonderful, I asked how smart he was, and he is going to go in and be.

The Russian leader announced early Thursday morning that Russia would be conducting a special military action. On Tuesday, Putin officially recognized the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states.

We could use that on our southern border. That peace force is the strongest I have ever seen. There were more tanks than I have ever seen. No, but think of it. I know a guy who is very smart.

Ivo Daalder was the US ambassador to North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

There is nothing smart or genius about that. It is evil. Daalder said it was pure and simple. He called Russia's actions an unprovoked, full-scale war against an independent country that poses no threat to Russia.

I knew Putin very well. I got along well with him. He liked me. Trump said he liked him because he was a tough cookie and had a lot of pride. But the way he loves his country, you know? He loves his country.

Trump said that he and Putin used to talk about how they wanted Ukraine.

I used to talk to him about it. I told you you couldn't do it. I could see that he wanted it. I used to ask him. Trump said that they used to talk about it for a long time.

Steven Pifer, a retired Foreign Service officer, argued that if Trump were in office during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he would be blackmailing Kyiv.

Tucker Carlson, a right-wing Fox News pundit, is calling on the US not to act in Ukraine's defense because he agrees with Trump in praising Putin.

It may be worth asking yourself, since it is getting serious. Carlson asked why he hates Putin so much. Has he threatened to fire me for disagreeing with him?

Carlson took a dig at Alexander Vindman, the former director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council, who urged the US to interfere with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Vindman said that Trump and Carlson are playing on Russian state-run media on a loop.

—Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) February 24, 2022

The first European war in years was marked by the fact that Russian troops sat at the borders of Ukraine for days. Thousands of lives are at stake.

There is good and bad in this world. Michael McFaul, a former United States Ambassador to Russia, said that those who praise Putin will regret it once the war begins.