The Wall Street Journal called on Senate Republicans to take action against Russian President Vladimir Putin with economic sanctions while President Donald Trump vacillates between “begging for peace” and “scolding” the Russian dictator.
In an editorial posted Monday, the Journal asserted that the “genuine realists” in the Senate Republican conference need to act against Russia and do what former President Joe Biden “refused” to do and what Trump “can’t make up his mind” to do: apply secondary sanctions on Russia’s oil and gas.
“Mr. Trump and his advisers fancy themselves steely-eyed realists on foreign policy. No ‘neocon’ idealism for them. But on Mr. Putin they are starry-eyed idealists, mouthing ‘peace’ as if they can make it happen by wishing it were so. Mr. Trump’s naivete is helping Russia continue the killing as long as Mr. Putin wants,” the Journal wrote.
The Journal cited a bipartisan bill by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that would levy 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy products.
“If Mr. Trump signaled that he supports the Graham-Tom Cotton-Richard Blumenthal sanctions bill, it would sail through the Senate,” the Journal wrote. “But GOP Senators can act whether or not Mr. Trump approves. They can vote on the sanctions bill and force the President to face the hard reality of Mr. Putin’s ambitions that Mr. Trump would rather avoid.”
Trump, too, reportedly is mulling sanctions after Russia’s massive drone and missile attacks for three straight days last weekend. He chastised Putin as “absolutely crazy” in a social media post over the weekend, adding he isn’t “happy” with the Russian president.
The Journal wrote that Putin “is the same man he’s been for two decades.”
“Mr. Trump may be the only person in the world still surprised by how Mr. Putin is behaving,” the Journal wrote. “He’s not going to modify his ambitions merely because Mr. Trump alternates between begging for peace and scolding outbursts on social media.”
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