Trump’s Russia shift must come with action, says Sen. Blumenthal : NPR

President Trump’s change of tone on Russia and its ongoing war against Ukraine is a “remarkable shift” that must be followed by action, says Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

Since returning to office, Trump has cozied up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and even gone as far as blaming Ukraine for the conflict between the two countries, which escalated into all-out war with Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

But this week, Trump’s frustration with Putin and inability to reach a ceasefire deal appears to have boiled over. The president gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to reach a deal or face steep economic penalties.

The president also outlined a plan to have U.S. manufacturers sell weapons to NATO allies that would then be provided to Ukraine. Last week, Trump announced that the U.S. would resume its own weapon deliveries to Ukraine after a brief pause.

In an interview with Morning Edition, Blumenthal said Trump can put even more pressure on Russia through the Sanctioning Russia Act 2025 — a bill he’s co-sponsoring with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina. The measure would allow Trump to impose 500% tariffs on goods from countries that trade with Russia. The same tariff rate could also be applied to Russian goods still coming into the U.S.

Blumenthal said there may be a personal element and “sense of betrayal” to Trump’s change, but that seeing Russia “continuing to bomb and attack civilians, hospitals … has moved the president to bring down this economic hammer.”

He continued: “Our legislation would provide a sledgehammer — broader, stronger, more specific. And that’s why we think we need to continue to pursue our Russia sanctions bill. But at the same time the military aid is very substantial.”

Blumenthal spoke to NPR’s Steve Inskeep about the president’s renewed approach to seeking a ceasefire in Ukraine and the opportunity Congress has for a rare showing of unity.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Interview highlights

Steve Inskeep: Could the president turn out to do some good here from your perspective? And by this, I mean he was friendly to Russia, a big part of his party was friendly to Russia, and Trump now tried that approach and has the results that he has — and that may be moving everybody back to a position that you would consider more realistic.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal: No question that I welcome, and I think others do as well, this remarkable shift in stance. But it has to be followed by action. The scale of what the Ukrainians need in military terms, the Patriot missile systems, the air to air and air to ground systems that are so important to the defense of Ukraine. I spoke to President Zelenskyy when I met with him just last week. And the brutal, murderous attack continues with loss of life, maiming and injury to women and children. And the kidnapping of children continues. But the shift in attitude has to be accompanied by real action.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) walks off the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol Building on June 30 in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America

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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America

Inskeep: And let’s talk about that, because we heard NPR’s Charles Maynes report that Russians interpreted the president’s threat not really as a threat, but as a break. He’s saying he’s going to impose sanctions on them and tariffs in 50 days. They see this, some of them, anyway, in Russia as a 50-day reprieve. Do you think that the president is making a serious threat here?

Blumenthal: I think the president is serious. Certainly I hope so. But one way or the other, our legislation will show unity and strength, our solidarity between Congress and the administration. That unity is very important as a message to Putin that 85 members of the United States Senate have co-sponsored this bone-crushing sanctions legislation. And what’s more, it provides an impetus for European sanctions. They are considering their own similar economic ideas. And to be very clear, these are secondary sanctions against India, China, Brazil, aimed at cutting the revenues that fuel Putin’s war machine. That’s his big fear. And the goal here is not to reshore American manufacturing or gain revenue — good goals. But here our purpose is to change behavior. And if these sanctions were never imposed, Russia would be deprived of revenue from China, India and Brazil and other customers. We would be very satisfied.

Inskeep: But John Thune, the Republican leader in the Senate, has said, according to Politico, that he’s not going to bring up your bill for a vote right now because President Trump is trying to make peace on his own. It seems that Trump is still trying to make friends with Russia. He hasn’t quite given up and Republicans are still behind him on that.

Blumenthal: I’m going to continue pushing for my bill. And Sen. Graham has been a very steadfast partner in this effort. I think our hope is that we will move forward at some point very, very soon. Senator Thune is a co-sponsor and a good supporter of our legislation, and he obviously is in control of the timing as to what is brought to the Senate floor. But I hope he will be persuaded that a vote at some point is a good idea.

This digital story was edited by Kelley Dickens. The radio version was edited by Alice Woelfle and produced by Milton Guevara and Nia Dumas.