Donald Trump suddenly seems to think Ukraine can win its war against Russia – maybe even come out ahead – and “The Daily Show” host Jordan Klepper sees the win-win in the president’s stunning pivot.
“It’s no secret Donald Trump sympathizes with Russia in its war against Ukraine,” Klepper said on Wednesday night’s Comedy Central broadcast. “He blamed Ukraine for getting invaded. He berated its president in the Oval Office. And he made the ultimate gesture of friendship to Vladimir Putin, picking him up at the airport.”
But a funny thing happened on the way to the U.N. – Trump reversed his position, saying “Ukraine would be able to take back their country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that.”
“Damn,” Klepper remarked. “Trump went from, ‘Ukraine needs to accept Russian invasion’ to, ‘They need to invade Russia.’”
Trump campaigned on ending the Ukraine-Russia conflict on “day one,” as Klepper noted, “and instead, we’ve now joined both sides. I guess you can’t lose a war if you’re on both sides.”
And if you don’t like the unexpected turn of events, maybe just wait a minute.
“Now, let’s not overreact here,” Klepper said. “Trump isn’t exactly known for his consistent positions. He could just as easily switch sides again tomorrow if he, I don’t know, gets complimented by a Russian lady or sees a photo of that dog that looks like Vladimir Putin.”
Klepper suggested that perhaps Trump changed his position “after coming to a better understanding of the geopolitical implications of the situation. Or perhaps it was something a bit more personal.”
After rolling footage of Trump greeting Putin on a red carpet in Alaska, “The Daily Show” cut to a clip of the president speaking this week:
“I thought that was going to be the easiest one because of my relationship with Putin. But unfortunately, that relationship didn’t mean anything,” Trump said offhandedly.
That got the crowd rolling.
“This season of ‘The Golden Bachelor is [bleeped] weird,” Klepper said.
Watch the entire monologue in the video clip above.
