Trump calls the Russian invasion ‘a holocaust,’ urges Russia to stop fighting

Former President Trump called the Russian invasion into Ukraine “a holocaust” and urged Russia to stop fighting, a large shift in tone since last week when the former president praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump’s remarks came during a Wednesday interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, widely seen as a Trump ally.

The former president said Russia has “to stop killing these people” and suggested a deal could be worked out to end the conflict.

His remarks were a part of a wide-ranging interview, which included criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which served as the opening note to President Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

After Trump said that “something could be done with [Russia] right now,” Bartiromo asked him “what’s the solution.”

“Well, you have to work out a deal. They have to stop killing these people,” Trump answered. “They’re killing all of these people, and they have to stop it, and they have to stop it now.

“But they don’t respect the United States and the United States is like, I don’t know, they’re not doing anything about it. This is a — this is a holocaust. This is a horrible thing that’s happening. You’re witnessing and you’re seeing it on television every night.”

Trump has repeatedly put out statements saying the conflict would never have happened if he was still president. 

The former president has often complimented Putin, and held a widely criticized summit with the Russian leader in Helsinki during his presidency where he said he believed Russia had not interfered in U.S. elections.

Just last week, Trump praised Putin as “smart” and “pretty savvy” for recognizing two breakaway regions in Ukraine as independent, a precursor to the invasion.

Trump also won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll for president last weekend amid the Russian invasion, underscoring his status as the favorite to win his party’s presidential nomination for 2024. 

This story was updated at 9:35 a.m.