US President Donald Trump ripped into Vladimir Putin on Saturday, warning Russia could face heavy sanctions after missile strikes on civilians in Ukraine.
After months of flaunting his so-called friendship with the Russian president, Trump says he’s hurt now and doesn’t think Putin had any real interest in stopping the war despite their talks, so Moscow might need to be punished through “Banking” or “Secondary Sanctions.”
In a long rant on Truth Social, Trump said, “No matter what deal I make with respect to Russia/Ukraine, no matter how good it is, even if it’s the greatest deal ever made, The Failing New York Times will speak BADLY of it.”
Trump then dragged Peter Baker, calling him “the very biased and untalented writer for The Times,” and accused him of writing that Ukraine should get back all its territory, “including, I suppose, Crimea, and other ridiculous requests.”
The US president said the violence happening now was “worse than anything since World War II.” Trump also took aim at Barack Obama for letting Russia take Crimea “without even a shot being fired.” He asked why Baker never criticized Obama’s handling of Crimea but keeps attacking Trump instead.
He reminded everyone, “I’ve had nothing to do with this stupid war, other than early on, when I gave Ukraine Javelins, and Obama gave them sheets.” He made it clear this is “Sleepy Joe Biden’s War,” not his, calling the war “a loser from day one” and saying, “It should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened if I were President at the time.”
Trump didn’t let up, saying, “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days.” He finished by saying, “Too many people are dying!!!”
Trump and Zelenskyy push for a peace deal after tense Rome meeting
The warning came just hours after Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met face-to-face in Rome, right before the funeral of Pope Francis.
It was their first meeting since a heated Oval Office clash years ago that ended in a shouting match. This time, things were calmer. The White House said the two had a “very productive discussion,” but gave no details about what was agreed.
Zelenskyy called the meeting “good” and said, “Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.” Even though he kept it vague, the meeting showed both sides were trying to move forward.
Earlier in the week, Trump had pushed a plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. His proposal reportedly included recognizing Crimea as Russian territory, something Zelenskyy has called a red line.
Talking to TIME earlier this month, Trump said, “Crimea will stay with Russia,” adding, “Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time. It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
After those comments, Zelenskyy quickly pushed back, saying again that Crimea belongs to Ukraine.
Despite the obvious tension, Trump posted Friday that Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal,” and said the two sides should meet “at very high levels, to ‘finish it off.’” He wrote on Truth Social that “most of the major points are agreed to.”
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