Trump: ‘Putin Is Throwing Bullsh*t at Us’

At a White House press conference today, US President Donald J. Trump commented on his frustration in dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine.

“We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told reporters during a televised cabinet meeting at the White House, according to the AFP.

“He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless,” said Trump.

The US President declined to commit to supporting increased sanctions on Russia when asked by reporters during a press conference whether he would support Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) sanctions bill against Russia and countries purchasing Russian fuel and minerals.

“We are looking at that,” said Trump, “[but] it’s an optional bill, it’s totally at my option [to sign the bill], and to terminate [the bill] totally at my option. And I’m looking at it very strongly.”

“Putin is not treating human beings right. He’s killing too many people. So we’re sending some defensive weapons, and I’ve approved that,” Trump said Tuesday at the press conference.

The latest comments from the US President may come as a relief after the White House announced last week that it would halt the shipment of certain crucial American-made weapons, including Patriot air defense systems and others, to Ukraine.

Other Topics of Interest

Zelensky Sanctions Judge Linked to Death of Tortured Ukrainian Journalist

President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted a new package of sanctions against Russian individuals and entities on Friday, including a Russian judge connected to the case of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity.

On July 3, Trump and Putin had their latest phone call, after which Trump expressed his frustration. “I’m not happy”,  said the US President, “I didn’t make any progress with him [Putin] today at all.”

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin conveyed to Trump during the call that Moscow’s maximalist war goals remain unchanged. 

Following his call with Putin, Trump and Zelensky held a “fruitful“ conversation on July 4, discussing the resumption of defensive weapons shipments to Ukraine and mutual procurement and investment in air defense systems.