President Donald Trump said he is “very angry” and “p---ed off” at Russian President Vladimir Putin over peace negotiations in Ukraine.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault–which it might not be–but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump told NBC in an early-morning phone interview on Sunday.
The Republican president was incensed after Putin demanded on Friday that a transitional government be established in Ukraine—a move that would depose Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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“I was very angry, p---ed off, when Putin started getting into Zelensky’s credibility and started talking about new leadership in Ukraine,” Trump said during his call with NBC.
Senior GOP officials have repeatedly called for Zelensky to step down in the interest of peace, with Trump’s own aides suggesting the Ukrainian president would lose an election, which the country has not held since martial law was declared at the beginning of the conflict.
The president himself has said Zelensky is “refusing to have elections” and referred to the leader as a “dictator” who has done “a terrible job.”
Noting that he plans to speak with his Russian counterpart later this week, Trump assured NBC that Putin is aware that he opposes a transitional government but added the pair have “a very good relationship” and that “the anger dissipates quickly … if he does the right thing.”
Trump has consistently criticized the Biden administration for its response to Russia’s invasion, with Trump boasting throughout his presidential campaign that he would broker a peace deal in as little as 24 hours.
A month after Trump took office, the White House held a disastrous meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance repeatedly berated Zelensky for failing to express sufficient gratitude for the United States’ wartime help.
Meanwhile, Russia has only increased its attacks as the parties seek to broker a peace agreement. On Saturday, Russian forces targeted a military hospital in the northeast city of Kharkiv during a series of overnight strikes.
