Imposing Real Costs on Putin: Two Fast Moves Trump Can Make
As his final act, Pope Francis got Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump to meet in Vatican City on the sidelines of his funeral ceremony.
Reports from the encounter were positive, suggesting a thaw after months of estrangement.
In fact, on the very same day, Trump posted a statement on TruthSocial, condemning Russia’s continued missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and hinting that perhaps "secondary sanctions" and "banking sanctions" against Moscow were overdue.
Trump expressed frustration that perhaps Putin wasn’t interested in peace (you think?) and that he was instead “tapping” Trump “along”.
Yet the key question is whether this represents mere venting (of which Trump has done a few since January) - or a pivot to serious strategy.
If Trump is serious, two moves are both available and urgent:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Bismarck Cables to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.