Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told Newsmax that world leaders need to take notice when President Donald Trump takes a "sober tone."
Meadows told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" on Monday that, "Well, I've seen this happen before in the Oval Office, and some people mistake being agreeable with apathy, and he has a concern."
He described the president as he announced giving Russia more time to work out a deal to end the conflict with Ukraine. Meadows said Trump's tone and demeanor indicate he is close to taking decisive action. "He's had a concern on what's going on in Ukraine and with our Russian counterparts," he said. "But here's the interesting thing, Greta, is when he takes that kind of sober tone, it is very different, and it's a serious tone, but it's also one that says, OK, now's the time to do business."
The former North Carolina congressman said, along with leaving an opening for Russia to come through with a deal to end the conflict, Trump got NATO countries to cover the cost of sending more missiles and weapons to Ukraine. "Selling defense armament to NATO is a key because it starts to build a coalition here in Washington, D.C. As you know, it's divided, no more Ukrainian aid, and I think the Russians depended on that division among the Republicans to their benefit."
That is now disappearing said Meadows. The other significant factor is that by adding secondary tariffs against Russia, that significantly hampers Russia's ability to sell its valuable gas and petroleum products on the world market. "The EU [European Union], they hate sanctions. The sanctions fall apart almost immediately with European leaders. By doing secondary tariffs, it puts the control with this president in this Oval Office. And so my advice to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin would be get to the negotiating table now."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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