Six months later, when Putin sent the Russian military to invade Ukraine, Trump initially praised him as “savvy” for recognizing the opportunity before him: a land grab in exchange for paying a fine in the form of international sanctions. “He’s taken over a country for two dollars’ worth of sanctions, I’d say that’s pretty smart,” he said during an appearance at Mar-a-Lago. “He’s taking over a country—a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people—just walking right in.”
