Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker said President Donald Trump told her during a phone call that he was “very angry, pissed off” at Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Welker said, “In an exclusive phone interview Saturday, the president told me, ‘I don’t fire people because of fake news and because of Witch hunts.’ Mr. Trump said that he still has confidence in the Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, and National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz.
She continued, Just Hours ago, president trump called me to tell me that he is, quote, pissed off with Russia’s president Putin, and threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Russia’s oil. ‘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.’ Mr. Trump said 25% tariffs on Russian oil could happen any moment and told me he plans to speak with President Putin this week.”
Welker added, “The president told me, ‘I was very angry, pissed off when Putin started getting into Zelensky’s credibility and started talking about new leadership in Ukraine.’ On Iran, the president said he’s also considering secondary tariffs if Iran doesn’t agree to a nuclear deal; quote, if they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing, and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.’ After markets tumbled Friday, with consumer confidence falling, the president also told me that he’s not backing down on his tariff plans.”
Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN
