'Thumbing their nose': Ex-NATO official says Russia sent Trump an unambiguous message
Former NATO commander James Stavridis claimed Russia's devastating attack on Kyiv was a "message" to President Donald Trump, who claimed on Thursday he was putting pressure on Vladimir Putin.
At an Oval Office news conference with Norway's prime minister, Trump said his U.S.-brokered peace deal would give Crimea and 20 percent of Ukraine over to Russia, but said he was stopping Putin from "taking the whole country" as a concession.
At least 12 people were killed and 90 were injured early Thursday, in one of the deadliest attacks on Ukraine's capital in nearly a year, according to The New York Times. Trump put out a TruthSocial post shortly afterward saying, "Vladimir, STOP!” and calling the strikes, “Not necessary, and very bad timing."
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Admiral Stavridis told CNN's Boris Sanchez, "I hate to say it, but it looks to me like a signal to the White House that, 'You're not calling my shots for me.' And it really...feels like kind of thumbing your nose at President Trump. And I think that's why President Trump, quite correctly, indicated that he's not happy, he's angry, he's contemplating action."
Stavridis continued, "What I took away from his body language and discussion is that the administration will look at further sanctions, would look at perhaps sending more armaments to Ukraine — I certainly hope that's the case, because at the moment, Vladimir Putin is playing rope-a-dope, and this most recent volley of strikes right in the middle of the Trump team trying to get to a negotiation, looks extremely disrespectful to the president."
Trump was roundly criticized Thursday afternoon, with at least one pundit calling Trump's social media post "laughable."
Republican commentator Ana Navarro told CNN she didn't think Putin felt "threatened at all" by Trump's "mild" post, while on MSNBC, American diplomat Ned Price called Trump's Oval Office comments about the Russia-Ukraine situation, "a lot of bluster and a lot of lies."