Trump Gives Russia a 50-Day Deadline on Ukraine

"I use trade for a lot of things," President Trump said Monday. "But it's great for settling wars." During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump threatened to hit Russia with "very severe tariffs" if there was no deal to end the Ukraine war within 50 days, the AP reports. "We're going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. It's very simple," Trump said. "And they'll be at 100%. And that's the way it is." The Washington Post reports that with "secondary tariffs," Trump was likely referring to tariffs on countries that buy Russian energy, not to Russian exports to the US. A bipartisan group of more than 80 senators has been urging Trump to hit buyers of Russian oil and uranium with 500% tariffs, the New York Times reports.

• Trump described Vladimir Putin as a "tough guy" who has "fooled a lot of people," including previous presidents. "He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden—he didn't fool me," Trump said. "I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done. And I always hang up and say, well, that was a nice phone call. And then missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and (I say) strange," Trump said, per Reuters. "And after that happens three or four times, you say the talk doesn't mean anything."
• Trump said a deal had been reached for other NATO members to buy billions of dollars in US-made weapons to send to Ukraine. "We make the best equipment, the best missiles, the best of everything, the European nations know that, and we made a deal today," he said, per the Guardian. "We are going to be sending them weapons, and they're going to be paying for them."
• "I have to tell you, Europe has a lot of spirit for this war," Trump said, per the Times. "When I first got involved, I didn't think they did, but they do." He said he wanted to stress that "this is not Trump's war."