Just when it seemed Donald Trump’s penchant for weakness toward Russia couldn’t become any less pitiful, the president managed to make matters worse last week. On Thursday, for example, when asked about Russia’s drone incursion into Poland, the Republican told reporters, “It could’ve been a mistake.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wasted little time in pushing back against the American president’s comments, but that didn’t stop Trump from downplaying the significance of the developments a day later. “I’m not going to defend anybody, but the Poland, [the Russian drones] were actually knocked down and they fell into an area,” he told Fox News.
One day later, a Russian drone allegedly flew through Romania’s airspace — and Romania, like Poland, is a NATO member.
On Friday, when a Fox News co-host asked whether his patience is running out with Vladimir Putin, Trump replied that it’s “sort of” running out. A day later, the American president made an announcement of sorts. NBC News reported:
President Donald Trump said Saturday he is ‘ready to do major Sanctions on Russia’ once all NATO countries have started ‘to do the same thing’ and pause their purchases of oil from Moscow.
In an odd missive published to his social media platform, Trump delivered a message that he said was addressed “to all NATO nations and the world.” It began, “I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia. Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when?”
He went on to call on NATO members to place “50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended.”
As regular readers know, it’s been challenging to keep up with just how many times Trump has threatened Putin with consequences, giving the Russian dictator new deadlines and ultimatums only to back down in every instance, but the list is not short. Indeed, following his failed summit in Alaska last month, Trump said he was giving his counterpart in Moscow yet another two-week deadline.
That was nearly four weeks ago.
On Sept. 7, during a brief Q&A on the White House South Lawn, a reporter specifically asked, “Are you ready to enter the second phase of sanctions against Russia?” Trump replied, “Yeah, I am,” though he did not elaborate.
Now, however, the Republican’s vision is coming into focus. He’s prepared to follow through finally on months of threats, but only if every other country in NATO’s 32-member coalition meet his preconditions, which is unlikely to happen.
Trump sometimes feigns ignorance about people marveling at his degrading weakness toward Russia, but it’s really not that complicated.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
