As Donald Trump aligns the White House with Russia on the war in Ukraine, the Republican president has been going to breathtaking lengths to deliver the kinds of outcomes that Vladimir Putin wants to see. It was against this backdrop that Reuters reported that the administration was even exploring sanctions relief for Moscow.
A few days later, however, the president seemed to send the opposite signal. NBC News reported:
After weeks of distancing the U.S. from Ukraine, President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to impose expanded “large scale” sanctions and tariffs on Russia until it reaches a peace agreement with Ukraine.
“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Trump wrote in a message published via his social media platform. “To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”
If readers are feeling a sense of déjà vu, that’s understandable. Roughly 48 hours into his second term, the Republican issued a very similar statement, threatening to impose “high levels” of sanctions on Russia and tariffs on imports if the country did not reach a settlement in the war in Ukraine.
As online missives go, this was an odd one, which began by Trump expressing his “love” for the Russian people and included inflated claims about Russian fatalities during World War II. Eventually, however, he got around to writing, “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”
More than six weeks later, nothing came of the threat — which the president is apparently now reviving.
There is, however, one rather serious flaw with the plan: The United States has already imposed a series of sanctions on Russia and effectively cut off trade with the country years ago. A country cannot impose tariffs on a rival when there is no trade between the nations. In other words, Trump’s threat — for lack of a better word — is that he’s once again “strongly considering” taking a step that Joe Biden already took. To be fair, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Economic Club of New York this week that he believes the Biden administration imposed “weak sanctions” on Russia’s energy sector, and it’s possible the Trump administration is prepared to find new ways to go further. But it’s also possible that Trump, who has a habit of backing down from threats in exchange for nothing, wants to give the impression that he’s getting tough with the Kremlin, without having to worry about actually doing anything meaningful to punish Putin or his government.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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