Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin took advantage of post-Soviet turmoil under former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden, but ''didn't rattle the saber'' under former President Donald Trump because he ''projected strength.''
On ''The Chris Salcedo Show,'' Fallon implored viewers to ''look at the pattern.''
''In 2008, Putin invaded and stole two provinces from Georgia [South Ossetia and Abkhazia], and nothing really happened. In 2014, he stole the Crimea from the Ukrainians, and nothing happened. And then he had a pause — that for four years between 2017 and '21, when President Trump was in office, he didn't rattle the saber, and he didn't grab any land,'' he said.
''And then, as soon as Joe Biden gets in, what happens? He [Putin] plans and then launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and many missteps by Biden helped him and emboldened him to do so,'' Fallon added.
Fallon also criticized a Thursday press conference from Biden, saying that the White House should have kicked Russia out of the SWIFT financial institution and authorized military aid to Ukraine months ago.
''What Biden should have done ... was send lethal aid, military aid to the Ukrainians immediately, and then proactively outline the sanctions that Russia could face if they were to invade Ukraine,'' Fallon said.
''There's only two countries right now that aren't a part of SWIFT ... and they are North Korea and Iran. But you know what? If you act like a pariah, you should be treated as one. But Joe Biden didn't do that,'' he continued.
''He also canceled the [Keystone] XL pipeline upon taking office, but then greenlighted the Nord Stream 2, which doesn't make a lot of sense.''
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