Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh suggested President Donald Trump could be a "Russian asset" or "plant." He made the claim during an appearance on CNN on Thursday.
During "CNN This Morning," Walsh discussed Trump's criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "The American president right now could be a plant, could be a Russian asset. I mean, think about that," he said.
"Here I am. I know it’s early in the morning to say something like that, but think about that," Walsh continued. "And if the American people don’t care about that, that Putin might have something on Trump, that he’s an asset, that he’s a plant, that he’s doing the bidding of Vladimir Putin."
His comments followed a Truth Social post from Trump. The post called Zelenskyy "a dictator without elections" and questioned where U.S. aid money had gone.
Earlier, CNN host Jim Scuitto pressed Walsh on Trump's stance. "I just wonder, for your party, what it means for the U.S. president to not just overlap with some Russian talking points on the war, but straight up repeat them," Scuitto asked. "Repeat the Russian rationale for the invasion, repeat the Russian framing, repeat the Russian description of the elected Ukrainian president. Straight up, repeat them. What does it mean?"
Walsh didn't hold back. "Straight up, he’s siding with Putin," he replied. "The President of the United States is siding with Vladimir Putin, period. We know, I know, privately, this is just pissing off Senate Republicans especially. But, Jim, Trump’s hold on this party is a thousand times stronger than it was before November."
Scuitto later switched topics to rising food prices. But Walsh wasn’t ready to move on. "Yes. And I apologize, Jim. I can’t move past what we just talked about in the last segment. Um, Donald Trump is saying everything Vladimir Putin would say. Um, and you mentioned the American people generally don’t care about what’s going on over there."
That's when Walsh made his strongest claim. He suggested Trump could be a "Russian asset." Scuitto pushed back. "We don’t have evidence of that. I mean, the point about their positions being aligned, I think one is a different one."
Walsh doubled down. "Everything he’s done, everything he’s said for 8 or 9 years is exactly what Vladimir Putin would say and want him to do," he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Meanwhile, Trump has been working to negotiate an end to the war. Since his inauguration in January, he's spoken with leaders from both Russia and Ukraine.