CNN's Jake Tapper tackles Trump's 'revisionist history' about Putin. Eric Trump adds to it on Fox News.
"The war in Ukraine is entirely the fault and responsibility of one man, Vladimir Putin, though of course decades of misjudgments in Western foreign policy set the stage for him," CNN's Jake Tapper said Monday night. "Recently, however, former President Donald Trump and his allies have been engaging in quite a bit of revisionist history about this matter," claiming, among other things, that Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if Trump were still president.
In fact, "even some of Trump's former advisers wonder if his approach may have empowered the Russian president on the world stage," Tapper said. (The Week's Joel Mathis and Damon Linker wonder about that, too.) Assisting Tapper in his look back at Trump's history with Putin were journalist Julia Ioffe and also Trump and his former aides. He reached back to the 2016 presidential campaign, with a special reminder of why Trump was impeached the first time.
"Trump and his supporters today note that unlike the administrations of Bush and Obama, Putin never invaded any country during the Trump years, which is true — though Russia did significantly ramp up its military presence in Syria," Tapper said. "But former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton said there could be a good reason for that," namely that Trump was planning to withdraw the U.S. from NATO in a second term.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At about the same time as Tapper was revisiting Trump's relationship with Putin on CNN, Eric Trump was making the case to Fox News host Sean Hannity that Putin, as a former KGB agent, respected Trump and saw his strength.
Unlike Trump's great relationship with Putin, President Biden has no relationship with him, Eric Trump asserted. He also, inadvertently, alluded to his father's first impeachment and suggested, bizarrely, that Biden is just sending Ukraine "blankets," not massive amounts of weapons.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Africa's largest dam is making diplomatic waves
Under the Radar Ethiopians view using the Nile as a 'sovereign right' but the vast hydroelectric project has 'fuelled nationalist fervour' in Egypt and Sudan
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Trump's drug war is now a real shooting war
Talking Points The Venezuela boat strike was 'not a mere law enforcement action'
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
Trump threatens critics with federal charges
Feature Days after FBI agents raided John Bolton's home, Trump threatened legal action against Chris Christie
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
Why are Trump's health rumors about more than just presidential fitness?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Extended absences and unexplained bruises have raised concerns about both his well-being and his administration's transparency
-
'The McDonald's menu board is one fascinating thing'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines