‘You Have to Suck Up to Putin?’ Fox News’ Bill Hemmer Grills GOP Senator About Trump’s Concessions to Russia

Fox News’ Bill Hemmer grilled Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) about President Donald Trump’s position on the war between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, asking him if it was necessary to “suck up to” Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to get him to come to the bargaining table.”

“I did not expect to see these countries in the same group. But we aligned with North Korea, and Russia, and Belarus on a resolution that does not necessarily blame Moscow for starting the war. How do you think about that?” asked Hemmer to kick off the conversation.

“Well, I think what President Trump again is he’s doing shifting the conversation completely. He’s trying to get to a deal with Russia. He’s not just continuing the Joe Biden process of sticking a stick in Russia’s eye,” replied Hagerty. “You see the European leaders that want to just continue down this path. What President Trump wants to do is bring an end to this now, and he’s trying to bring a resolution to this. I think what we’re seeing is a shifting sands. Again, you see these European leaders coming to the United States — again, I feel we’re at the precipice of the deal — President Trump is trying to make something happen here, not just go back to talking points that haven’t worked in the past.”

“One more question on that,” responded Hemmer. “Trump said, ‘I would rather not explain it now, but it’s sort of self-evident?’ Should it be self-evident that you have to suck up to Putin in order to get him to the table and keep him there?”

“I wouldn’t put it in terms of sucking up to Putin,” insisted Hagerty. “What I would say is that the president is actually trying to shift the conversation. President Trump has not lifted any sanctions on Putin. In fact, he’s talking about getting back in the energy business, putting Keystone Pipeline back in. It was Joe Biden that killed the Keystone XL pipeline and okayed Nord Stream 2, which funded Russia’s war effort. So I think what you’re seeing is still plenty of pressure on Vladimir Putin. But President Trump again is shifting the dialogue right now, trying to get to a deal.”

Watch above via Fox News.