Reporter Asks Trump Point Blank, ‘What’s Stopped You From Imposing New Sanctions on Russia?’

President Donald Trump fielded questions from reporters in the White House on Wednesday, where one member of the press corps asked why he hasn’t imposed new sanctions on Russia.

The president has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days amid Trump’s ostensible effort to broker an end to the war in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022. Putin has repeatedly stated his aim is to overthrow the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky and demilitarize Ukraine. On Sunday, Trump seemed puzzled by Putin’s ongoing belligerence, stating, “I don’t know what the hell happened to Putin.”

“What’s stopped you from imposing new sanctions on Russia?” a reporter off camera asked.

“Only the fact that if I think I’m close to getting a deal, I don’t wanna screw it up by doing that,” Trump responded. “Let me tell you, I’m a lot tougher than the people you’re talking about. But you have to know when to use that.”

The president went on to refer to the conflict as “Biden’s war, Zelensky’s war, and Putin’s war. This isn’t Trump’s war.”

Trump then went on a digression about his recent trip to the Middle East, where, he claimed, he made a lot of money.

“I’m only here for one thing, to see if I can end it, to save 5,000 lives a week and a lot of money, the money being much less important because I made that money,” he continued. “I went to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and U.A.E., and we brought back $5.1 trillion. So, I made that money in about two hours, the money that we’re talking about. But it’s still three– think of it, $300 billion we’ve spent with no checks, no balances. They just send cash. You can imagine what’s happened to that money.”

Trump concluded his response by bragging about the $400 million Boeing jet he accepted from the Qatari royal family that he said he will use as the next Air Force One before taking it with him upon leaving office.

Watch above via CNN.

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