Fox’s Maria Bartiromo joined a chorus of journalists pressing Trump administration officials and allies to acknowledge that Russia was “the aggressor” when it invaded Ukraine’s sovereign terrority three years ago.

During an interview with President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, Mike Waltz, Bartiromo asked him to commit to saying Ukraine had been fighting a defensive war.

NBC’s Kristen Welker, Fox’s Shannon Bream, and CNN’s Jake Tapper all probed conservative guests about who started the war Sunday. Their respective lines of questioning were a response to Trump blaming Ukraine for the war last week.

Trump is currently trying to broker a deal to end the conflict – and has expressed a willingness to adopt pro-Russian talking points about the war in the process. Trump administration officials have legitimized claims in Moscow that Ukraine’s flirting with NATO membership was perceived as a threat.

On Sunday Morning Futures, Bartiromo tried to pin down Waltz about who started the war.

Bartiromo noted many US allies were “unnerved by President Trump calling Zelensky a dictator” and asked Waltz, “Can you acknowledge that Russia is the aggressor here?” Waltz dodged the question, offering the following response:

Well, you know what? Who would you rather have and go toe to toe with the likes of Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong UN, XI or anyone else, Joe Biden or Donald Trump? He’s the dealmaker in chief. He’s the commander-in-chief. And it’s only because his of his strength that we’re even in this position. And President Trump’s own words have been that Russia invaded a neighbor under Bush, under Obama and under Biden, but not him.

It didn’t happen in his first term, and he’s going to bring it to an end his second term. And I just laid out the framework to do that, that we’re that we are all. He has a great team around him that everybody is moving out on simultaneously. From our Secretary of Treasury to our Secretary of State, to our Secretary of Defense, and, of course, our special envoy. And that’s what’s going on.

Watch above via Fox News.

The post Fox’s Maria Bartiromo Challenges Trump’s NatSec Advisor on Ukraine War: ‘Can You Acknowledge That Russia is the Aggressor?’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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