'Putin is playing them': Senator 'heartsick' over ignorance of Trump and Vance on Russia
Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) said he is “heart sick” to know Vice President J.D. Vance and President Donald Trump still have no idea “Putin is playing them.”
The comments came on MSNBC’s Morning Joe in reaction to comments made by Vance and Trump.
Anchor Mika Brzezinski first played Vance’s candid assessment of where negotiations stand between Russia and Ukraine from Wednesday morning.
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The Vice President, in part, said, “I wouldn't say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution. What I would say is right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions, in order to end the conflict. We think they're asking for too much. There's a big gulf, predictably, between where the Russians and the Ukrainians are, and we think the next step in the negotiation is to try to close that gulf. We think it's probably impossible for us to mediate this entirely without at least some direct negotiation between the two, and so that's what we focus on."
Brzezinski said, “Hours later, President Trump was asked about Vance's comments.”
“When did he say that?” Trump asked a reporter.
“Earlier this morning,” the reporter replied.
“Well, it's possible that he's right,” Trump said.
“He may know some things because I've been dealing with this and some other things, but we are getting to a point where some decisions are going to have to be made. I'm not happy about it. I'm not happy about it.”
“All right, senator, I don't even know what to make of that answer, actually,” Brzezinski said. “I am so worried. My guess is the US is turning its back on Ukraine.”
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“Well, Mika. If Vice President Vance is waking up to the idea that Russia under Putin is an aggressor, that's a good thing,” Coons said.
“But it is just– it makes me heartsick on the 80th anniversary of our victory in Europe over aggression and fascism that it's so hard for President Trump and Vice President Pence to see clearly that Putin has been playing them for months. That [Putin] has no intention of coming to the table in good faith and negotiating a peace agreement.”
He added, “Only by standing up to Putin, only by doubling down on our support for Ukraine, is there any hope of a just peace in the ongoing war.”
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