Top GOP Senator Slams Idea of Trump Negotiating With Russia: Putin Should be ‘Jailed, Possibly Executed’

AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File

Senate Armed Services Chair Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) pulled no punches on Tuesday in his description of Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggesting the dictator should be “executed” as opposed to being negotiated with.

Wicker made the comments when asked about Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting his Russian counterpart in Saudi Arabia earlier in the day to discuss the war in Ukraine. Ukraine did not have a representative at the meeting.

CNN’s Manu Raju reported that he asked Wicker if Putin can be trusted in negotiations, to which the Republican said, “No. Putin is a war criminal who should be in jail for the rest of his life, if not executed.” Raju added:

Asked him about Trump saying he believes Putin wants peace, Wicker said: “what we can trust the Russians to do, is to do anything to their advantage, to take temporary steps.

“Vladimir Putin has violated every tenant of international law and should be indicted and prosecuted and jailed, possibly executed,” he added.

Wicker made headlines last week with harsh words for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after he told the Munich Security Conference that Ukraine should not join NATO and that returning to the pre-war boundaries was “unrealistic.”

“Hegseth is going to be a great defense secretary, although he wasn’t my choice for the job. But he made a rookie mistake in Brussels, and he’s walked back some of what he said but not that line,” Wicker told Politico.

“I don’t know who wrote the speech — it is the kind of thing Tucker Carlson could have written, and Carlson is a fool. I prefer we didn’t give away negotiating positions before we actually get started talking about the end of the Russia-Ukraine war,” Wicker concluded.