If Trump is not a Russian asset, why does he act like one?

Trump announced that Putin has agreed to supply diesel to the United States and the world. Three hundred thousand tons right away, half a million in November, a million more after that. To make it happen, the administration is easing the sanctions on Russian energy. Scott Bessent says they’ll use every legal authority available. But here’s the problem. In 2022, Congress banned Russian energy imports and the law says the president has to consult Congress and explain himself before he changes it. As you can imagine, Trump did not follow the law. So recently, seven senators on the Foreign Relations Committee, including Republicans Collins, Murkowski, and Curtis, wrote a letter demanding that the administration reverse the decision. Tillis went on Meet the Press. Asked if the president is breaking the law, he said, “I believe that he may be.” Then he said this has deadly consequences. And here’s Mike Pence: “President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Russian fuel amidst Putin’s ongoing and brutal attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine makes no sense and is a betrayal of the legacy and leadership of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.” Lindsey Graham spent his final months pushing the toughest Russia sanctions bill the Senate had ever seen, and Trump asked the Senate to hold off on the vote. Now Trump is doing the opposite of what Graham wanted, and selling it as relief at the pump. “Between our total control of the Strait of Hormuz,” he says, and “this great announcement on Russian energy, diesel prices will be coming down in record numbers.” Then on Sunday he announced an energy ceasefire in the war. Zelensky told Axios the announcement “was news for me.” Within hours, Russia struck a power plant in eastern Ukraine. So let’s be clear about what happened. Diesel is at a record because Trump started a war with Iran. His solution is to buy fuel from the country that started the other war, hand Putin the revenue to keep it going, and announce a ceasefire that exists only in his Truth Social post. So while it’s great that a few Republicans are pushing back, there are a lot more who aren’t saying anything. And they voted for this law too. Are they really going to shrug off the president ignoring it? This is a slap in the face to our allies, who weaned themselves off Russian fuel at a real cost. And above all else, this is a slap in the face to Ukraine. Russia had its worst month of the year in September. Putin’s been managing a hole in his budget. He’s hurting. And right at that moment, the United States jumps in with a lifeline. What a disgrace.