Trump Admired Putins Ability to Kill Whomever He Wanted: Ex-Staffer – Vanity Fair

Zelensky personally thanks Biden for banning imports of Russian oil

In a tweet sent Tuesday, the Ukrainian president wrote: Thankful for US and @POTUS personal leadership in striking in the heart of Putins war machine and banning oil, gas and coal from US market." He reiterated his appreciation in an a video posted later in the day, saying: The United States has taken a step that will significantly weaken the invaders. It will make them pay for aggression and be responsible for the evil they have done. For all the evil...I am grateful personally to President of the United States...for this decision. For this leadership. For this most powerful signal to the whole world. It is very simple: every penny paid to Russia turns into bullets and projectiles that fly to other sovereign states.

Just last week, the Biden administration said it did not wish to sanction Russias oil and gas industry. But Biden was under major pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, as well as Zelensky particularly as Putin targets Ukrainian civilians. During remarks at the White House on Tuesday, Biden acknowledged, however, that the move will lead to a significant increase in costs for American consumers. Republicans, despite lobbying Biden to ban Russian oil imports, have obviously, already begun attacking Biden for this.

According to the Washington Post, the White House officials have launched an effort to explore what the administration can do to get other authoritarian countries to ramp up their production of oil, considered tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and revived discussions about a gas tax holiday to help alleviate Americans price pressures at the pump. (Republicans will no doubt try and use any fallout against Biden during the midterms, selectively ignoring the fact that they, too, called for this ban). The president also warned energy companies against price gouging and told them not to exploit this situation or American consumers.

Nevertheless, many have said the ban is necessary to inflict pain on Putin. Even former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who last year desperately wanted Democrats to cut down Covid-19 relief in order to avoid inflation, is on board. History is going to remember much better what we did or did not do to stand up for freedom than it is going to remember the inflation rate, or the price of gasoline, in the spring and summer of 2022, Summers told the Post.

Or as Stephen Colbert put it: A clean conscience is worth a buck or two.

In case you were worried Republicans had started to view Trumps attempt to extort Ukraine in a new light...

Worry no longer.

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Trump Admired Putins Ability to Kill Whomever He Wanted: Ex-Staffer - Vanity Fair