Later in February our former president said: “So Putin is now saying, ‘It’s independent,’ a large section of Ukraine. I said, ‘How smart is that?’ And he’s going to go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. … Here’s a guy who’s very savvy. … I know him very well. Very, very well.”

If this is a peacekeeping mission then Trump doesn’t really know the Butcher of Ukraine. Rather than a violation of international law when one country invades another (like Hitler in Poland in 1939), Trump sees this as merely a land deal when he said “it is a great piece of land with a lot of people, and just walking right in.”

It is very unnerving that a man who was once our commander in chief sees the bombing and slaughter as “just walking right in.”

Those Republicans with yellow Don’t Tread on Me stickers and “fighting for freedom” slogans on their cars should have the consistency to side with Ukraine and not Putin and Trump. You choose either democracy and sovereignty or an invading dictator cheered on by Putin’s puppy.