THANK YOU SO MUCH.
IT SHOULD BE ON THE TABLE.
MAYBE IN ALL OF THIS VLADIMIR
PUTIN THINKS HIS QUEST TO TAKE
BACK THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE PUTS HIM
IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS PETER
THE GREAT.
WHEN WE WATCH AS THIS RUTHLESS
BATTLE UNFOLDS, PUTIN IS LOOKING
MORE AND MORE LIKE IVAN THE
TERRIBLE.
THE RUSSIAN TYRANT WHO CONQUERED
VAST AMOUNTS OF LAND, KILLED
LOTS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTUALLY
LOST HIS MIND.
IN AN OP-ED, MY NEXT GUEST
WRITES THIS.
THE MORE OF THE COUNTRY PUTIN
TRIES TO SEIZE THE MORE
RESISTANCE HE WILL FACE.
IF HE TRIES TO SEIZE THE WHOLE
THING, THEN HE RISKS IGNITING AN
EVEN GREATER CONFLICT.
PERHAPS IN THE COMING DAYS, THE
QUESTION OF CRAZY WILL BE
ANSWERED.
ARTHUR DOUGLAS MURRAY JOINS ME
NOW.
SO, DO YOU THINK HE IS CRAZY OR
ARE WE ABOUT TO FIND OUT?
>>
>> I THINK WE BORE TO FIND OUT.
IT’S BEEN ALWAYS A DISCUSSION
FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS WITH
VLADIMIR PUTIN.
I FIND THAT ARTICLE IN THE "NEW
YORK POST" A CONVERSATION THAT
CONDOLEEZZA RICE HAD ABOUT 8
YEARS AGO WHERE SHE RECALLED ONE
OF HER LAST MEETINGS WITH PUTIN
WHO SAID TO HER YOU KNOW US.
YOU KNOW WHAT WE ALWAYS NEED A
STRONG MAN, ALEXANDER THE II,
PETER THE GREAT AND SHE SAID SHE
WONDERED WHETHER HE HAD VLAD THE
GREAT THERE SOMEWHERE IN HIS
MIND.
AND SHE SAID THEN IN I THINK
2014 SHE SAID THERE IS A 5%
CHANCE THAT HE IS NOT RATIONAL
AT ALL.
THE PROBLEM WITH PUTIN IS IN ONE
WAY WHAT IS HE IS DOING BY HIS
OWN ENTIRELY RATIONAL.
HE LAMENTS THE LOSS OF THE
SOVIET UNION.
HE BELIEVES HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO
PUT IT TOGETHER.
HE PRETENDS UKRAINE ISN’T A
COUNTRY CLEAN-UP IT IS.
HE BELIEVES HE CAN JUST ROLL
INTO IT AND MURDER THE CITIZENS
UNTIL HE GETS HIS WAY.
AND BY HIS OWN LIFE THAT’S
RATIONAL.
IN ANOTHER WAY IT ISN’T AT ALL.
BECAUSE IT’S PERFECTLY POSSIBLE
THAT WHAT VLADIMIR PUTIN IS
DOING IS A MASSIVE OVERREACH FOR
HIM, FOR THE RUSSIAN ARMED
FORCES, FOR THE RUSSIAN ECONOMY,
FOR THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE.
NONE OF THEM NEED THIS NONE OF
THEM NEED THE RUSSIAN ECONOMY
TANKING, NONE OF THEM NEED THESE
FURTHER ROUNDS OF SANCTIONS AND
THE LOCALS OF HUNDREDS, PERHAPS
THOUSANDS OF RUSSIAN TROOPS IN
THE UKRAINE.
BUT THAT ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT’S POSSIBLE AS IT IS
POSSIBLE THAT HE FAILS IN HIS
MISSION.
SO AS I SAY, THIS QUESTION OF IS
HE ACTUALLY RATIONAL OR NOT MAY
WELL BE ANSWER NTEDZ COMING
DAYS.
IT.
>> Jesse: IT WILL BE ANSWERED
WHEN WE SEE HOW THE SIEGE AT THE
CAPITAL PLAYS OUT.
IF HE DOES THIS STRATEGICALLY
SURROUNDS IT, SQUEEZES
ZELENSKYY, MAYBE FORCES HIM TO
THE NEGOTIATING TABLE SOMEWHERE,
AND THEN JUST GETS CONCESSION
AFTER CONCESSION, THAT WOULD
MAKE ME THINK IS HE RATIONAL.
BUT IF HE GOSS GOES IN
BLOODTHIRSTY AND PUTS A BULLET
IN THIS GUY’S HEAD IN FRONT OF
THE ENTIRE WORLD, THAT TELLS ME
THIS GUY IS SICK IN THE HEAD AND
WE’RE DEALING WITH A MANIAC.
DO YOU AGREE?
>> YES.
I DO.
THERE IS OTHER SIGNALS TO THAT
HIS ABSOLUTELY DERANGED SPEECH
FROM THE KREMLIN THIS WEEK.
HE GAVE A TOTALLY FANTASTIC CALL
VERSION OF HISTORY.
JUST FILLED WITH FALSEHOODS THAT
ONLY VLADIMIR PUTIN CAN BELIEVE.
HE HAS BEEN HOLD UP IN THE
KREMLIN FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS
TRYING TO DODGE COVID.
HE HAS A GREATER FEAR OF COVID THAN QUEEN ELIZABETH THE II AT
THAN QUEEN ELIZABETH THE II AT
THE AGE MUCH 95 DOESN’T ALLOW
ANYONE WITHIN 40 FEET OF THEM.
SPRAYED WITH CHEMICALS BEFORE
MEETING HIM.
I WOULDN’T TRUST THE CHEMICALS
THAT THE KREMLIN SPRAYS.
SO HE HAS BEEN IN THIS
ISOLATION.
HE GAVE THIS SPEECH FILLED WITH
JUST MAD VERSIONS OF HISTORY.
BUT HERE IS ONE OF THE WORRYING
THINGS.
IT WAS ALSO BLOOD CURDLING.
THESE THREATS HE HAS MADE ABOUT
OUTSIDE FORCES IF THEY DARED TO
STEP IN, THESE WERE BLOOD KURD
LING THREATS FROM VLADIMIR
PUTIN.
HE IS COMING UP TO THE AGE OF
70.
ALL SORTS OF RUMORS ABOUT HIS
HEALTH.
HE SEEMS TO THINK THAT THIS IS
PERHAPS HIS LEGACY.
THERE IS ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF PAIN
COMING FOR HIM AND EVERYBODY
ELSE IF HE PURSUES THIS PATH.
QUITE UNDERSTANDABLY REFERRED TO
THE BALTIC STATES AND HERE WE
GET INTO REAL TROUBLE.
IT’S TRUE THAT THE WHOLE DEBATE
ABOUT UKRAINE AND WHETHER OR NOT
THEY SHOULD BE OR SHOULD NOT BE
IN NATO HAS BEEN A VERY TRICKY
ISSUE FOR THE EUROPEAN FOR MANY
YEARS NOW.
BUT, OF COURSE, THE BALTIC
STATES ARE IN NATO.
IF THEY WERE TO BE THREATENED,
IF THEY WERE TO BE YET ALONE
INVADED BY PUTIN ARTICLE 5
NATIVITY TOE TREATY DEMANDS ALL
OF NATO COME IN AND DEFEND THE
COUNTRY.
AT THAT POINT, OF COURSE, WE GET
INTO A WHOLE DIFFERENT SCENARIO.
THAT’S THE WORLD WAR SEN IN
FAVOR OFIO.
>> Jesse: YOU DON’T KNOW HOW
UNSTABLE IS HE BECAUSE HE SEEMED
TO SUGGEST THAT HE WAS WILLING
TO USE NUCLEAR WEAPONS IF
ANYBODY INTERFERED IN THE
CONQUEST.
>> HE DID.
>> Jesse: WHICH REALLY CHANGES