Lara Trump claimed former President Donald Trump was an individual "no one wanted to mess with" as she reflected on the Ukraine crisis on Fox News on Tuesday night.
Speaking to Fox News' Sean Hannity, she said it was a shame that President Joe Biden had not paid attention to her father-in-law's leadership before becoming president.
She continued to criticize Biden and suggested Russia's invasion of Ukraine had happened now because America had a "weak" person in office.
Hannity pointed to other foreign policy setbacks that had happened under Democratic President Barack Obama, including the conflict with ISIS in Iraq and Syria and Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
"Lara, you look at Crimea, that happened under Obama and Biden," Hannity said.
"You look at the rise of the Caliphate and ISIS that happened under Obama and Biden.
"We didn't have any Putin territorial ambition play out on the world stage when your father-in-law was president."
Lara Trump, who is married to Trump's son Eric, agreed and commented on the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
"Isn't it a shame that nobody took note that Joe Biden wasn't paying attention to any of that?" Lara Trump said.
"Obviously Donald Trump, he is a guy that nobody wanted to mess with. He exuded strength and you have a very different situation on your hands right now."
She continued: "We didn't have this sort of thing happening under Donald Trump.
"That is what happens when you put a weak and inept person in the office of president of the United States.
"[A person] who makes decisions based on emotion and not facts, you get this sort of situation."
She closed by condemning Russia's military invasion and dubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin a "mad man" for his actions.
Fox News host Laura Ingraham made similar statements about Trump's strength and Biden's leadership in her show on Monday. Ingraham claimed Biden had allowed Ukraine to get too close to NATO and this contributed to Russia's decision to invade.
"Biden should have insisted on a realistic assessment of the situation in Ukraine but instead, his team kept open the prospect of NATO membership for Ukraine which Putin said he was never going to accept," Ingraham said.
"In retrospect, that was likely a huge mistake. Of course, Putin did not attack Ukraine under Trump because he knew America was stronger and more practical under his leadership."
Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who served under Donald Trump, has also claimed Russia is taking advantage of the U.S. being "weak" under Biden.
While speaking with Fox News this week, he claimed Putin could use Biden's "weakness" to his advantage. "Given Biden's manifest weakness, Putin is likely to feel he's better off making no concessions at all." he said.
Despite these criticisms, Biden has won praise from some Republican figures for his handling of the crisis and for mustering a strong international sanctions response to Moscow's action.
"I think there's broad support for the president in what he's doing now," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said last week, according to a Washington Post report.
"Our biggest complaint is, what took him so long?"
Senator Mitt Romney praised his leadership on sanctions.
"The president has successfully brought together our friends and allies to coordinate a unified and powerful response to Putin's actions," Romney said after Biden's State of the Union speech.
Trump has also faced criticism for praising Putin ahead of the invasion of Ukraine when Trump referred to Putin as a "genius" and "pretty savvy" .
Newsweek has contacted Lara Trump for comment.
Follow our live blog for updates on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more
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