Donald Trump has told Republican donors the US should put the Chinese flag on its fighter planes and then "bomb the s*** out of Russia."
The former president said one way to end Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine was to distract it with a conflict with Beijing.
He said the US should put "the Chinese flag on them (F22 fighter jets) and bomb the s*** out of Russia."
"And then we say, China did it, we didn't do it, China did it, and then they start fighting with each other, and we sit back and watch," he said.
According to a recording of the speech, his suggestion was met with laughter from the crowd of wealthy Republican donors.
Trump called Putin's unprovoked attack on Ukraine a "massive crime against humanity" before attacking the west's NATO alliance describing it as a "paper tiger".
Paper tiger is used to describe something that appears threatening but is significantly weaker in reality.
During his time in the White House, Trump repeatedly criticised NATO, at times threatening to pull America out of the organisation.
Trump again boasted the Ukraine invasion would not have happened if he was in office.
The businessman claimed he was harder on Putin than any other president and reiterated his baseless claims he won the 2020 election.
"I knew Putin very well. He would not have done it. He would have never done it," he said.
Trump failed to mention how he held up military aid for Ukraine as he pushed the country to investigate Joe Biden's son Hunter.
Addressing donors while in New Orleans at the weekend, Trump also praised Kim Jong Un.
He said the North Korean despot was "seriously tough".
He said how Kim's generals and aides "cowered" when the dictator spoke to them.
"Total control," Trump said of how North Korean dictator ran the country, describing generals snapping to attention and standing up on command.
"His people were sitting at attention," he added.
"I looked at my people and said I want my people to act like that," he said to laughter.
