Susan Rice: ‘Trump Melted Like Ice in the Alaska Sun’

TRANSCRIPT:

RICE: "This is very concerning, if not surprising. President Trump has said for weeks, if not longer, that a ceasefire is absolutely necessary, the killing has to stop. He put the onus on both parties to agree. The Ukrainians agreed immediately. The Russians never did. He gets to Alaska, having said as recently as, you know, the plane ride to Alaska that he would be very upset if there were no ceasefire and that there would be severe consequences, as you said. And he melted like ice in the Alaska sun as soon as he met with Putin. Putin obviously is wants to keep fighting. He wants to press his military advantage and he wants to kill as many Ukrainians as possible. And by Trump agreeing that a ceasefire is not a necessary first step and precondition, he‘s allowing the killing to continue and Putin to have his way. So this is not surprising, as I said, given the strange nature of the spell that Putin seems to have over Trump. But it‘s very dangerous for Ukraine and for the Western alliance, and it means we‘re in a much different situation than we should be, where we should be stepping up the pressure on Russia, imposing the kinds of sanctions that the president has long threatened on Russia, on its major trading partners. And yet, that‘s not happening."