It’s been challenging to keep up with just how many times Donald Trump has threatened Vladimir 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, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, recently told Politico that Putin “is just laughing” as the White House meanders from one failure to the next.
In late May, amid countless headlines about how angry Trump was with Putin, the Republican president signaled he was prepared to change course in two weeks.
When Trump decided not to change course in two weeks, Putin’s military offensive in Ukraine only intensified.
Then the American president appeared on a conservative radio show on Aug. 21 and said, in reference to the war in Ukraine, “I would say within two weeks we’re going to know one way or the other.”
One day later, at a White House event, Trump said in reference to Russia’s war in Ukraine, “I’ll know in two weeks what I’m going to do.” At the same White House event, a reporter asked about a possible deadline for Putin. Trump responded that he’d give his counterpart in Moscow “a couple of weeks.”
In the days that followed, Russia’s military offensive has grown increasingly deadly and destructive — all of this, of course, follows Trump’s claim that there would be “severe consequences” if Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire — leading up to late last week, when the Republican’s latest two-week deadline arrived.
On Friday, however, there was no White House announcement about a new policy.
So, what happens now? The New York Times reported on Sunday afternoon: President Trump told reporters that he was prepared to move to the second phase of sanctioning Russia and punishing its president, Vladimir Putin, for failing to reach a cease-fire deal with Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Putin, including this week as he appeared with other authoritarian leaders in China, but has not taken action even as Russia escalated its attacks of Ukraine, which was hit Sunday with its largest drone assault of the war. 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?” He replied, “Yeah, I am,” though he did not elaborate. And maybe that is true. Maybe we’re just moments away from the American president announcing sweeping new penalties designed to cripple Russia’s economy. Maybe Trump, in a rare break from his usual pattern, meant what he said about punishing Putin. But in the wake of the Republican’s latest “two weeks” deadline, if he actually follows through with something, it would come as a rather dramatic surprise.
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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