Trump downplays ‘worrying’ over Russia rapprochement: ‘We should spend less time worrying about Putin’

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left), in Moscow, February 17, 2025, and US President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, February 18, 2025. (Composite image: Pool via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left), in Moscow, February 17, 2025, and US President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, February 18, 2025. (Composite image: Pool via AP)

US President Donald Trump responds to criticism over his increasing closeness to Russia on Ukraine, saying the United States should worry “less” about Vladimir Putin.

“We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country – So that we don’t end up like Europe!” Trump posts to his Truth Social platform.

Trump’s stunning shift in approach to the war and Russia was on full display days earlier when he berated Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of reporters at the White House.

The unprecedented public spat — with Trump calling the Ukrainian leader “disrespectful” — resulted in Zelensky leaving the White House without the anticipated signing of a pact on sharing mineral rights.

Trump’s growing closeness with Putin has rung alarm bells across Europe as well as among the US Democratic Party, who have raised national security concerns.

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