President Donald Trump vented his anger at the leaders of Ukraine and Russia on Sunday as what Trump hoped would be a lightning dash for peace has turned into a long difficult slog.
Trump warned Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that his patience was starting to fray.
“You could say that I was very angry, pissed off, when Putin said yesterday that — you know, when Putin started getting into Zelenskyy’s credibility, because that’s not going in the right location, you understand?” Trump told NBC, according to The Washington Post.
Trump said if Russia sabotages any hope for peace, it will pay a price.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump told NBC.
“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” Trump said. “There will be a 25 percent tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
“There will be a 25 percent tariff on oil and other products sold in the United States, secondary tariffs,” Trump said, saying he would act within a month if no ceasefire is reached.
Trump said he has “a very good relationship” with Putin and added that “the anger dissipates quickly … if he does the right thing.”
Trump later lashed out at Zelenskyy, who he said was trying to walk back a previously agreed-upon deal for U.S. rights to rare earth minerals in Ukraine.
BACKING OUT?: President Trump warns Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that he will face “big problems” if he tries to renegotiate the rare earth mineral deal. pic.twitter.com/IZGtf70ArB
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 31, 2025
Are you satisfied with the way Trump has handled the war in Ukraine so far?
“I think Zelenskyy, by the way, he’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal,” Trump said in a video posted to X.
“We made a deal on rare earth, and now he’s saying, ‘Well, you know, I want to renegotiate the deal.’ He wants to be a member of NATO. Well, he was never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that, so if he’s looking to renegotiate the deal, he’s got big problems,” Trump said.
Trump said that “we’re making a lot of progress,” while noting “there’s tremendous hatred” between the two leaders, according to CBS.
Trump said he believes Putin will come around in the end.
“I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word,” he said. “I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve always gotten along well.”
However, Trump said there was a “psychological deadline.”
“If I think they’re tapping us along, I will not be happy about it,” he said.
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