In recent days, Americans have repeatedly been told that Donald Trump is finally sick of Russia’s Vladimir Putin. This time, we were told, is different from all of those other times. This time, by all accounts, Putin went too far, pushed his luck and earned the American president’s contempt.
In fact, the Republican spoke to NBC News just last week, expressing his “disappointment” with his counterpart in Moscow. “I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” he added, without elaborating.
Those expecting the “major statement” to be an important breakthrough probably should’ve known better. NBC News reported:
Trump said the U.S. will send weapons to Ukraine through NATO, which will pay for and distribute them, and threatened secondary tariffs targeting Russia if a ceasefire deal isn’t reached. ‘We’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,’ Trump said. ‘It’s very simple, and they’ll be at 100%.’
In other words, the “major statement” was Trump threatening Russia with sanctions — again.
Trump's "big announcement" on Ukraine is that he's going to put 100 percent tariffs on Russia if there isn't a Russia-Ukraine deal soon
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-07-14T15:47:55.070Z
If the rhetoric sounds at all familiar, there’s a good reason for that.
In late January, just two days after his second inaugural, Trump told Russia that if it failed to end its war in Ukraine quickly, the White House “would have no other choice” but to impose new economic sanctions. Putin proceeded to ignore the threat, and Trump failed to follow through.
In early March, it happened again: Trump gave Putin a choice — sanctions or a ceasefire — and the Russian leader again ignored his American counterpart. Trump again failed to follow through.
In late March, Trump once again said he was prepared to impose economic penalties on Russia. In keeping with the pattern, Putin ignored the threat, and Trump failed to follow through.
In early May, for the fourth time in four months, Trump wrote online, “If the ceasefire is not respected, the U.S. and its partners will impose further sanctions.” For the fourth time, Russia expressed indifference. For the fourth time, Trump failed to follow through.
In late May, amid countless headlines about how angry Trump was with Putin, the Republican signaled he was prepared to change course in two weeks. He did not change course in two weeks, and Putin’s military offensive intensified.
In mid June, as Russian attacks against civilian targets worsened, Trump questioned the benefits of sanctioning Russia, complaining the economic penalties cost the United States “a lot of money.”
In mid July, Trump decided to give Putin another 50 days to resolve a conflict that Trump had promised to end within 24 hours of his inauguration. Asked what he’d do if Putin ignores the threat, the American president said he didn’t want to talk about it. REPORTER: If Putin escalates further, how far are you willing to go in response?TRUMP: In what?REPORTER: How far are you willing to go if Putin send more bombs in coming daysTRUMP: Don't ask me a question like that In case that weren’t quite enough, let’s not forget that there’s a bipartisan proposal advancing in the Senate to impose harsh new sanctions on Russia, and according to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Trump signaled to him that he’s on board with the bill. But during his latest White House event, the president said of the legislation, “I’m not sure we need it.” The New York Times reported earlier this month: Since President Trump returned to office in January, the United States has issued no new sanctions against Russia related to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In some cases, the administration has eased restrictions. And without new ones, analysts say, existing measures lose their force. The result has created an opening for new dummy companies to funnel funds and critical components to Russia, including computer chips and military equipment that would otherwise be cut off to the Kremlin, trade and corporate records show. Those expecting the Republican administration to do something about this probably shouldn’t hold their breath. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
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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