After months of public assurances about Vladimir Putin’s alleged interest in “peace,” Donald Trump was asked in late May about whether he still believed this about his Russian counterpart. The Republican pointed to a deadline of sorts.
“I can’t tell you that, but I’ll let you know in about two weeks,” the American president said. “Within two weeks, we’re going to find out very soon.”
That was exactly three weeks ago. Since Trump made those comments at an Oval Office event, the Russian offensive in Ukraine has managed to get vastly worse, including an assault in Kyiv this week that included dozens of civilian targets. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the latest destruction in his country’s capital as among the “most horrific” since Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago.
It was as if Putin were effectively daring Trump to follow through on his sanctions threats. Evidently, the Republican prefers to ignore the dare. Politico reported this week:
Donald Trump suggested he will not hit Russia with more sanctions at the G7 summit, saying Europeans should ‘do it first’ and that ‘sanctions cost us a lot of money.’ The EU and U.K. are both pushing for more coordinated sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime at the Canada-hosted gathering of leaders, but the U.S. president has so far refused to sign up to fresh action.
Asked specifically whether he was prepared to stand with Europe on new economic sanctions against Moscow, Trump demurred. At a joint press appearance with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump said he was prepared to see Europe, not the United States, impose sanctions.
“Don’t forget, sanctions cost us a lot of money,” the American president added. “When I sanction a country, that costs the U.S. a lot of money, a tremendous amount of money.”
So, let’s review recent developments.
In late January, just two days after his second inaugural, Trump told Russia that if it failed to end its war in Ukraine quickly, the White House “would have no other choice” but to impose new economic sanctions. Putin proceeded to ignore the threat, and Trump failed to follow through.
In early March, it happened again: Trump gave Putin a choice — sanctions or a ceasefire — and the Russian leader again ignored his American counterpart. Trump again failed to follow through.
In late March, Trump once again said he was prepared to impose economic penalties on Russia. In keeping with the pattern, Putin ignored the threat and Trump failed to follow through.
In early May, for the fourth time in four months, Trump wrote online, “If the ceasefire is not respected, the U.S. and its partners will impose further sanctions.” For the fourth time, Russia expressed indifference. For the fourth time, Trump failed to follow through.
In late May, amid countless headlines about how angry Trump was with Putin, the Republican signaled he was prepared to change course in two weeks.
In mid June, Trump did change course, in a way: As Russian attacks against civilian targets worsened, the American president went from making hollow threats to abandoning the underlying idea behind the threats — because he believes sanctions cost the United States “a lot of money.”
To be sure, the White House’s agenda is filled with reversals, and this posture might yet change. But at least for now, those looking for evidence in support of the “TACO” thesis — “Trump Always Chickens Out” — should look no further than his truly pitiful approach to Russian sanctions.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.