“We’ve heard a lot of prominent Republicans – both in politics and in conservative media – praising Vladimir Putin, even calling him a genius,” said Tapper, clearly alluding to Trump. “What’s your response when you hear that?”

“Disbelief,” Kelly responded. “He’s a tyrant. He’s a murderer. He has attacked an innocent country whose only crime is that they want to be free and democratic and they’re working in that direction and have been working in that direction.”

Kelly called Ukraine a “cooperative country,” citing the country ceding its nuclear weapons stockpile in the 1990s, and its previous deployment of peacekeeping forces in Afghanistan and Africa.

“Is Putin smart?” Kelly said. “Yes. I mean, tyrants are smart. They know what they’re doing. But that’s–I can’t imagine why someone would look at what’s happening there and see it [as] anything other than a criminal act. I don’t get it, Jake.”