Hillary Clinton repeatedly suggests Donald Trump, Republicans enabling Putin aggression during MSNBC interview

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeatedly suggested during a Friday MSNBC interview that former President Donald Trump and members of the Republican Party were responsible for enabling Russian President Vladimir Putin in his aggression against Ukraine.

Appearing on "Morning Joe," Clinton accused Trump of "giving aid and comfort" to Putin amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and claimed Republicans were playing into the latter's ambitions to "undermine democracy" by viewing him as a strong leader who aligned with their values. 

"We have to also make sure that within our own country we are calling out those people who are giving aid and comfort to Vladimir Putin, who are talking about what a genius he is, what a smart move it is, who are unfortunately being broadcast by Russian media, not only inside Russia, but in Europe to demonstrate the division within our own country," Clinton told host Mika Brzezinski, referencing Trump earlier this week calling Putin a "genius" and "very savvy" for how he was handling Ukraine, while adding Putin wouldn't have invaded if Trump was president.

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"This is heartbreaking, but it’s also dangerous, and I think it’s time for what’s left of the Republican Party that has any common sense not just to say, OK, go help defend Ukraine against Putin, but to stand against those people in politics and government, in the media and elsewhere in our own country who are literally giving aid and comfort to an enemy of freedom and democracy," she later added, repeating the claim that they were giving "aid and comfort" to Putin.

"It can’t continue because it plays right into the ambitions of not just Putin, but also President Xi of China to undermine democracy, to literally divide and conquer the West without ever invading us, but by setting us against each other," she stated. 

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She added that beginning with the "ascent of Trump," too many Republicans had lost their "spine" on Putin, and also claimed the previous administration would have not worked to unite allies against Russian aggression.

The hosts avoided asking Clinton about the infamous "reset" button prop she presented to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a 2009 meeting to signify a renewed relationship between the U.S. and Russia. Over the next decade, that relationship has rapidly deteriorated. 

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Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine early Thursday morning following weeks of speculation as Russian troop numbers swelled at the border between the two countries and in neighboring Belarus.