Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) on Friday criticized President Trump for walking away from his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin without a ceasefire agreement.
The lawmaker, a vocal critic of the president, suggested that the lack of a deal shows the Trump administration may be “being soft” on Russia — especially after the threat of increased sanctions has been delayed.
“Being soft on Russia also means that we end up being soft on China, because if China was to move on Taiwan, there’s no European ally for a second [that] would consider even jumping in with us after watching us abandon Ukraine,” Swalwell said during a Friday appearance on MSNBC’s “The Weeknight.”
He added, “So today, Donald Trump masterfully demonstrated the art of no deal.”
The California Democrat’s comments come as Trump has faced pushback for welcoming Putin to Alaska after foregoing the sanctions on Russian trading partners despite continued fighting in Ukraine. Though, he did say Friday that he would walk away from the summit if the Russian leader offered a bad deal and earlier this week threatened “severe consequences” in the future if peace talks fail.
“Trump wanted to point out a couple times the business potential that could come out of this. But I don’t really understand. What can we get from Russia? What do we need from Russia, like more vodka and caviar at Mar-a-Lago?” Swalwell said.
“They’re not big trading partners, even during the best time,” he continued. “So, it just shows how easily he can be manipulated by them to believe that he’s getting something.”
The Democrat earlier Friday also roasted the president following Trump’s interview with Fox New’s Bret Baier on Air Force One en route to Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, calling him out for saying he “would return” to the U.S. if the meeting is “bad.”
“Dummy Donald still thinks he went to Russia,” the lawmaker wrote on social platform X, in response to a clip.
Trump, following the nearly three-hour closed-door meeting with Putin, said the meeting was “productive” but offered few other details on the conversation. While the duo held a news conference following the summit, they did not take questions from the press.
The president and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are slated to meet on Monday at the White House. Trump has said it will ultimately be up to Kyiv to solidify a peace deal with leaders in Moscow, including potential land swaps.
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