As Russia continues its warfare against Ukraine, one outspoken Republican senator is encouraging President Donald Trump to put Russian President Vladimir Putin in his place.
“Putin has reneged on every promise that he has made to President Trump. His latest proposal is, well, nothing. He wants to keep all the territory that he’s taken,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said on the latest installment of “Fox News Sunday.”
“He wants to prohibit Ukraine from joining NATO, and he wants America and Europe to stop helping Ukraine,” he added. “I think that Putin thinks that America has taken the bullet train to Chumptown.”
A recent Fox News poll indicated that 36% of the American people do not approve of President Trump’s job performance on Russia, and 39% don’t approve of his handling of Ukraine. Voters are also split over what to do when it comes to U.S. support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
TRUMP BLASTS PUTIN, QUESTIONING IF RUSSIAN LEADER WANTS PEACE OR IS JUST ‘TAPPING ME ALONG’
More airstrikes from Moscow continued overnight in Ukraine following days of military fighting, around the same time as President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met face-to-face for the first time since their infamous Oval Office spat in February, as they were attending Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome.
“I think he thinks we’re afraid of him,” Sen. Kennedy said of Russia’s leader. “He has jacked around President Trump at every turn. He has disrespected our president. I don’t think it’s gonna get any better until we make it clear to Mr. Putin that we are willing to turn him and his country into fish food.”
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On Thursday, Trump demanded Putin “stop” strikes on Kyiv and said he was “not happy” with the Kremlin for continuing attacks on Ukraine. The day before, on Wednesday, Trump blasted Zelenskyy after he said that Ukraine would not recognize Russian control over Crimea, which Putin invaded in 2014.
Putin so far has rejected several U.S. proposals for a peace deal, but the White House remains optimistic about Trump’s ability to end the war.
“We need to get Russia down and choke them. They’re not going to come to the table otherwise,” Kennedy said Sunday. “I want a settlement in Ukraine. We also have to ask Europe to do better. Europe’s got to start paying its own bills.”
“If it wasn’t for the American taxpayer, Putin would be in Paris right now. Europe’s gotta do more. But mainly,” he emphasized, “we’ve got to make Putin understand that there is a price to be paid for his jacking our president around.”
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
