WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at a Polish reporter who questioned his record on Russia, insisting that sanctions linked to India had already dealt Moscow a heavy blow.
Trump was hosting Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the Oval Office when a reporter suggested he had shown frustration with Vladimir Putin but taken “no action” since taking office.
“How do you know there’s no action? Really?” Trump shot back, before asking which outlet the reporter represented. On learning it was Polish media, he continued: “Would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India—the largest purchaser of Russian oil outside of China—was no action? That cost Russia hundreds of billions of dollars. You call that no action?”
Clearly irked, Trump added that further sanctions could follow. “I haven’t done phase two yet or phase three. But when you say there’s no action, I think you ought to get yourself a new job,” he snapped.
Trump also pointed to his earlier warning that India would face “big problems” if it continued buying Russian oil. “That’s what happened. So don’t tell me I’ve done nothing,” he said.
When asked about the recent show of unity in Beijing between Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, Trump reiterated that his administration had already acted against Moscow “through sanctions on India” and said more measures were under consideration.
