TRUMP'S BASE SPLINTERS OVER UKRAINE

COMMERCE, Ga. — As former President Donald Trump tries to refine his message about Russia's war against Ukraine, his base is splintered by America's engagement in Eastern Europe.

"It's not our business," Peggy Bright, 57, said shortly before Trump spoke to an unusually restless and muted crowd here Saturday night. It makes sense to her, she said, that Russian President Vladimir Putin would want to push back against NATO expansion.

"I'm not a Putin lover, but if it was here in America, I would expect our president to take care of our people, just like I would expect him to take care of their people," said Bright, who works at a local bookbinding facility. "I understand what Putin is doing."