Trump: Russia Sanctions Would Have Blocked Hubbard’s Release
(MENAFN) Donald Trump said Wednesday that imposing sanctions on Russia could have blocked the release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard, a sharp turn from his earlier insistence that Washington gave “nothing in exchange” for the return.
Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a rally in South Carolina, Trump said: “We were in the midst of negotiating, and a lot of stupid people said, and people that don’t know how life works, they said, ‘Why aren’t you putting Russia’s sanctions?’”
A correspondent for a US cable news network, Kaitlan Collins, pressed him on his earlier claim that nothing had been given. Trump replied: “If I didn’t do that, you wouldn’t have Mr. Hubbard coming back.”
“So you did give something,” Collins said.
Trump shot back: “You don’t know anything. You’re fake news CNN,”
The president then defended his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying they produced Hubbard’s release through a “very good and very fast negotiation.”
He warned of the alternative: “If you would have put those sanctions on, or whatever you want to call them, you could forget about him. You’d never see him again. He’d be back in jail for 25 years,”
Trump also tied his decision to the push for a deal on the war in Ukraine. “We’re negotiating with Russia right now on Ukraine. We are maybe close to a deal for the first time in a long time. When you’re close to a deal and you have very delicate negotiations, you don’t put sanctions on,” he said.
When Collins asked whether sanctions had effectively been lifted in exchange for Hubbard’s freedom, Trump rejected the premise and lashed out: “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re a low IQ person. You’re a dummy,”
He credited his own diplomacy for bringing the American home, calling him a man Washington had sought for years. “Let me tell you, if I’m negotiating, you get a man back, a man that we’ve wanted back for years, a man that was a prisoner in Siberia or someplace in Russia, and we’re getting him back because of me,”
Earlier, Trump said the US “gave nothing in exchange” for Hubbard, adding: “We never give anything in exchange.”
Asked about remarks by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who praised Putin for agreeing to free Hubbard, Trump stopped short of endorsing the label. A reporter asked whether he shared Witkoff’s description of the Russian leader as a “humanitarian.” Trump said the term could fit in the narrow context of the release but offered no wider verdict on Putin.
“Well, I guess you could say for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be in prison for life out,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say anything one way or the other,” he added.
Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a rally in South Carolina, Trump said: “We were in the midst of negotiating, and a lot of stupid people said, and people that don’t know how life works, they said, ‘Why aren’t you putting Russia’s sanctions?’”
A correspondent for a US cable news network, Kaitlan Collins, pressed him on his earlier claim that nothing had been given. Trump replied: “If I didn’t do that, you wouldn’t have Mr. Hubbard coming back.”
“So you did give something,” Collins said.
Trump shot back: “You don’t know anything. You’re fake news CNN,”
The president then defended his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying they produced Hubbard’s release through a “very good and very fast negotiation.”
He warned of the alternative: “If you would have put those sanctions on, or whatever you want to call them, you could forget about him. You’d never see him again. He’d be back in jail for 25 years,”
Trump also tied his decision to the push for a deal on the war in Ukraine. “We’re negotiating with Russia right now on Ukraine. We are maybe close to a deal for the first time in a long time. When you’re close to a deal and you have very delicate negotiations, you don’t put sanctions on,” he said.
When Collins asked whether sanctions had effectively been lifted in exchange for Hubbard’s freedom, Trump rejected the premise and lashed out: “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re a low IQ person. You’re a dummy,”
He credited his own diplomacy for bringing the American home, calling him a man Washington had sought for years. “Let me tell you, if I’m negotiating, you get a man back, a man that we’ve wanted back for years, a man that was a prisoner in Siberia or someplace in Russia, and we’re getting him back because of me,”
Earlier, Trump said the US “gave nothing in exchange” for Hubbard, adding: “We never give anything in exchange.”
Asked about remarks by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who praised Putin for agreeing to free Hubbard, Trump stopped short of endorsing the label. A reporter asked whether he shared Witkoff’s description of the Russian leader as a “humanitarian.” Trump said the term could fit in the narrow context of the release but offered no wider verdict on Putin.
“Well, I guess you could say for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be in prison for life out,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say anything one way or the other,” he added.
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