Robert Wilkie to Newsmax: Putin Mistaken in Dismissing Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin is making the mistake of giving President Donald Trump the "back of the hand" on ceasefire negotiations, former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie said on Newsmax Saturday.

"The last person you want to do that to is Donald Trump," Wilkie, who now chairs the Center for National Security at the America First Policy Institute, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend." "Since President Trump offered that ceasefire, Russian attacks have increased by over 50%. They're launching larger, more effective drone strikes. They just launched a ballistic missile that killed, I think, 18 civilians today. So they're ramping up their attacks against the civilian infrastructure."

He added that he is sure envoys are telling Putin that he does not have much time left before stopping the attacks and coming to the negotiation table.

Meanwhile, Moscow is warning that if there are any attacks from the United States on Iran or its nuclear infrastructure, Russia might retaliate.

Wilkie said he thinks such threats are "the [former] KGB Col. Putin trying to pull out all of the propaganda stops."

"His military hasn't been able to take out the Ukrainian army in a country that is less than one-third the size of Russia," said Wilkie. "He does understand that weakening the Iranian proxy weakens the flow of arms to Russia."

Russia is also "knee-deep" in supporting the Houthis in Yemen, said Wilkie.

"They provided them with air defense, which, of course, the Israelis showed didn't work very well," he said. "This is part of this axis that exists out there that in the end, is designed to replace the American system, both economic and America's lead of the liberal world order."

Putin, he added, "has got his hand in many pots. But I think tweaking President Trump is not the smartest thing for him to do."

Meanwhile, Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are sponsoring a bipartisan bill that, if passed, would impose heavy sanctions against Russia and entities that support Putin's aggression if peace talks fall through.

Wilkie said the legislation is "another arrow in the quiver for the president that he can go to the table and say, hey, it's not just me. Our Congress has now run out of patience with you."

He added that the last time Putin "tangled with Trump," the Russian economy ended up being "broken."

"There were sanctions put on his banks. There were sanctions put on his kleptocratic friends. Russia was broken," said Wilkie. "And when he tried Trump's patience in the Middle East, 300 of his soldiers were killed without any response from Moscow, because [Putin] understands that the balance of power is tilted so heavily in favor of the United States."

Wilkie also discussed Trump's decision to fire National Security Agency chief Gen. Tim Haugh and reassign NSA civilian deputy, Wendy Noble, over their opposition to his America First policies.

"If anyone in uniform opposes the directions of the political leadership for political reasons, then that is automatic grounds for dismissal," he said. "That is the American way, going all the way back to George Washington. So if they were doing that, if they were hesitant to carry out legal orders, then they should be dismissed."

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