Donald Trump savages Joe Biden for 'playing into Putin's hands' as US 'better and bigger than Russia'

Donald Trump has accused United States President Joe Biden of “playing into Putin’s hands”.

The former US President slammed his predecessor for how he's handled the Ukraine-Russia crisis and insisted the invasion wouldn’t have gone ahead under his administration.

Talking to Fox News' Sean Hannity on Thursday, Mr Trump said: “I rebuilt our whole nuclear arsenal. Stronger, bigger and better than ever before.

“It's better and bigger than Russia. He should say we are a nuclear nation, we don't want war and we don't want to wipe out Russia. This is the way he should be talking, he isn't talking about our nuclear capability.

“Instead, he keeps saying that they are a nuclear nation, we don't want war. He is playing right into Putin's hands when he does that."

In the interview, conducted over the phone, Mr Trump also touched on how his relationship with Vladimir Putin and his allies would have been advantageous in easing tensions with Russia and the West.

He said: “I got along with these people well. That doesn't mean they are good people.

“It doesn't mean anything other than the fact I understood them and perhaps they understood me. Maybe they understood me even better, that's OK, because they knew there'd be a big penalty."

Describing the Russian leader’s invasion as a “crime against humanity,” Mr Trump said he believed Putin's "very big ego" was the principal problem.

For previously describing Putin as a "genius" and calling him "smart," Mr Trump fell under under heavy criticism.

He acknowledged in the interview that post-invasion, things were different saying, "a lot has changed now, this doesn’t seem to be the same Putin I was dealing with”.

Mr Trump went on to further insist that the invasion of Ukraine would not have happened should he have been in office.

He told the interviewer: "My reaction is that it's so sad because it would have never happened if we would have had the Trump administration.

"There was no chance that this would have happened," Mr Trump reiterated.

"I know him well, and this wasn't something that was going to happen at all. Next, let's see what happens, but just watch."