On Wednesday, retired United States Army lieutenant colonel and former Fox News military analyst Ralph Peters appeared on CNN to talk about President Donald Trump‘s appearance on the international stage on Wednesday to talk NATO.

And he did not hold back. After stressing to host Anderson Cooper that “virtually every” trail leads to the Kremlin, Peters said this about Trump’s unwillingness to cross Russia and Vladimir Putin:

I have my own suspicions, certainly. Trump is both enamored and fearful of Vladimir Putin. If you look at his pattern, he is afraid to say anything critical of Vladimir Putin. It’s another issue, but to me, I just think the Russians have the goods on this guy, and that’s the only explanation I can come up with. But in the meantime, we are faced with real damage, real immediate and perhaps some irreparable damage to this greatest of alliances, NATO.

Then, speaking about how world leaders dealt with Trump, he continued on: “It was like watching psychiatrists patiently deal with a disturbed child. Trump — my God, he is not only shaming our nation, he is doing real damage to our security, to our interests and to our allies. And Vladimir Putin could not be happier.”

He suggested Trump doesn’t like German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who he praised as a “brilliant chancellor” — because “she is a plain middle-aged woman who talks back.”

Peters concluded, “We have a fool for president, a malevolent fool.”

You can watch the video above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

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