Former US President Donald Trump reportedly suggested that the United States should “put the Chinese flag” on F-22 fighter jets and “bomb the s---” out of Russia, which is carrying out a military operation in Ukraine.
Trump made the remarks to top Republican National Committee donors at an event in New Orleans on Saturday, according to CBS News.
Trump suggested that Washington should blame Beijing for the attack, then watch as the two countries engage in a conflict.
“And then we say, 'China did it,' ” Trump said, which, according to an unidentified source cited by CBS News, prompted laughs in the room. “Then they start fighting with each other, and we sit back and watch.”
Putin announced last week a “special military operation” in Ukraine’s Donbas region to “defend people” subjected to "genocide" there against government forces, stressing that Moscow has “no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory.”
US President Joe Biden called the Russian action an "unprovoked and unjustified attack," and the American media described it as the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two assault by Russia.
According to reports, Trump also recently said he was friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin while in office, but claimed he threatened him with “hitting Moscow” if he attempted to cause trouble.
Trump continued to brag about Putin holding off on the Russian action in Ukraine until he was out of office.
"He never did it during my time, John, you know," Trump said. "We're all talking about it. He didn't do this during the last four years because he knew he couldn't."
Last week, Trump said American leaders are very "dumb" while Putin is “smart,” doubling down on his praise for the Russian leader last month.
Trump last month praised Putin and called his actions in Ukraine "genius" and "pretty savvy."
Trump went on to blame the Biden administration for Russia’s decision to launch military actions in Ukraine.
Days later, Trump appeared to shift his tone, calling the conflict in Ukraine “a Holocaust” during a wide-ranging interview with Fox Business and calling on Russia to stop fighting.
He said Russia had “to stop killing these people,” and suggested that a deal could be reached to end the conflict.
Trump also said he believed China would invade Taiwan sooner rather than later.
He said such an invasion would occur on a faster timeline “because they're seeing how stupid the United States is run.”
“They're seeing that our leaders are incompetent, and of course they're going to do — this is their time,” he added.