The hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” discussed Wednesday the ongoing, escalating rhetoric being slung on social media between President Donald Trump and certain Russian state representatives.
On Tuesday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “playing with fire” by continuing his war with Ukraine. In response, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, tweeted there is only one thing anyone should be worried about — World War III. Russian media outlet RT, meanwhile, mocked Trump, tweeting that his Tuesday message leaves “little room for misinterpretation until he posts the opposite tomorrow morning.”
“Donald Trump is experiencing what Joe Biden and what Barack Obama and what George W. Bush have experienced before him,” said “Morning Joe” anchor Joe Scarborough. “Vladimir Putin plays by his own rules on his own timeline, and he spends as much time as he can trying to sucker American presidents. He’s done it now for the past 20 years.”
Scarborough added that Trump is “starting” to understand that pattern, noting, “It looks, at least for now, like Donald Trump is, along with Republicans in the Senate, finally pushing back hard on Vladimir Putin.” You can watch the full “Morning Joe” segment yourself in the video below.
NBC News’ Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel appeared on “Morning Joe” Wednesday to offer his perspective on the escalating tensions between Trump and Russia. Engel noted that, while most countries want to avoid being “publicly embarrassed by Trump,” that Russia has taken the opposite approach. “Vladimir Putin is now openly being rude to President Trump. The state media in Russia [is] saying, ‘Well, President Trump says this until he flip flops,’” Engel explained. “They’re trying to goad him.”
Engel said he believes Russia is purposefully trying to frustrate Trump. “It is ultimately in Russia’s interest and Vladimir Putin’s interest if President Trump, as he says he’s going to do, just lifts up his hands and walks away,” Engel observed. If Trump does end up walking away from peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Scarborough said it would have a “much more significant” global impact than President Joe Biden’s infamous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“Donald Trump allowing Russia to keep doing this to Ukraine sends a very clear and unmistakable message to China, which is, ‘Invade Taiwan. The White House won’t do anything about it.’ And it will be open season on Taiwan, open season on Ukraine, then open season on Poland,” Scarborough warned Wednesday. “This is truly a crossroads [moment].”
You can watch the full “Morning Joe” segment in the video above.
