Trump Saying He Was Apple of Putin's Eye Sparks Condemnation

Former President Donald Trump faced condemnation on social media for saying he was the apple of Russian President Vladimir Putin's eye.

Trump touted his relationship with Putin during an interview on Fox Business on Thursday. The former president has been sharply critical of President Joe Biden's handling of the Russia-Ukraine war, launched by Putin in February 2022, saying that the war would never have happened if he were president, and that he would have ended the conflict within 24 hours, though experts have cast doubt on this assertion. During his interview, he told Fox host Larry Kudlow that his personality would have prevented the Russian leader from entering Ukraine.

"Putin would have never gone into Ukraine, but that was just on my relationship with him. My personality over his. [He] would have never gone in. I used to speak to him. I was the apple of his eye, but I said 'Don't ever do it.' It was tough stuff there, but he would have never done it," the former president, who has held a steady lead over his other 2024 GOP rivals ahead of the Republican primary election, said.

Trump's comment drew scrutiny from his critics, many of whom have accused him of being too friendly with leaders like Putin during his presidential tenure while alienating more traditional allies. His critics took to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to voice their opinions about Trump's remarks.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign for comment via email.

"Imagine, just imagine, if Barack Obama in any of his 8 years in office had proudly and publicly referred to himself as 'the apple of [Putin's] eye". The right would have had an immediate and nonstop meltdown. Fox would have demanded impeachment and indictment 24/7," MSNBC host Medhi Hasan posted on Friday.

Author David Rothkopf criticized Trump for not doing more to oppose Russia's presence in Ukraine, pointing out that Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014 when it seized control of Crimea.

"Reminder: Putin invaded Ukraine in 2014. His army was fighting there every minute Trump was president. Not only did Trump never do anything to stop it, he curried favor with Putin, he spouted Kremlin propaganda & he withheld aid to Ukraine while trying to blackmail its president," he wrote.

"Lap dog is more like it," wrote journalist Victoria Brownworth.

David Frum, a Republican who served as former President George W. Bush's speechwriter, wrote that there is a perverse truth in Trump's comments.

"Helping Trump into the US presidency was Putin's supreme accomplishment as dictator. A Trump 2nd term would have wrecked NATO from within. With no one to help it, Ukraine would have been easy pickings for Putin," he posted.

The criticism comes after former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said on Friday that Putin may be waiting on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election before striking a peace deal with Ukraine. McFaul, who served under the administration of former President Barack Obama from 2012 to 2014 wrote in a Substack post that the Russian leader "has reason to believe that he could strike a much better deal on Ukraine" if Trump is elected next November.