Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday on Newsmax that Russian President Vladimir Putin has now reached a “three strikes and you’re out” moment with President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration has moved forward with the most punishing sanctions yet over Putin’s refusal to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
The former North Carolina Republican congressman said during an interview on “The Record With Greta Van Susteren,” that “Vladimir Putin had the opportunity to make a deal.
“The president is always about trying to bring the two sides together and make that deal, but here we are.
“This is a sign that Vladimir Putin has perhaps overvalued the relationship and friendship that he has with President Trump. And it’s not going to end well for the Russian government.
“You know, when you look at the sanctions and what the Secretary [Scott Bessent] is saying is, is coming tomorrow morning, it actually underscores the fact that President Trump has been more than patient and that he’s lost his patience.”
Van Susteren noted that Trump personally attempted direct talks, first flying to Alaska and later offering to go to Budapest, but Putin rebuffed each effort.
“Well, the writing is on the wall. But one thing that you point out is the fact that President Trump has been all in, he’s willing to go and meet not only in Alaska, but in Budapest and generally speaking, previous administrations,” Meadows said.
“What do they do? They send an envoy or a lower person, and the president has been willing, at great personal cost, to not only be engaged personally, but also in Israel, as you just reported, is sending [the] vice president and [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio there.
“Normally, you don’t do that because it is an ‘all or nothing’ kind of deal.
“Either you get a deal or you don’t. And yet the president is right to ratchet up those sanctions at this point.”
Meadows noted that the European Union is now preparing its own major energy-based sanctions, including banning Russian LNG imports.
“Well, he [Putin] will care eventually if it affects the people back home, because this is in his mind, he thinks that he can outlast [everyone]. And generally they [Russians] have outlasted a lot of their adversaries,” Meadows said.
“But in this particular time, the only person on the globe who was willing to give Vladimir Putin a second chance was President Trump, a first and second chance. And this is three strikes and you’re out,” Meadows added.
“But I think you’ll see a bigger ramp-up from the United States unless Vladimir Putin changes his mind and makes a phone call tonight to the president, I’m sure the president would be willing to take his call.”
The Treasury Department, meanwhile, confirmed that the Office of Foreign Assets Control will impose major new sanctions on Thursday, hitting Russia’s two largest oil companies, saying, “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine.”
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