US President Donald Trump on Wednesday once again doubled down on tariffs he imposed on India while huffing at a reporter in the Oval Office. Fuming over a Polish reporter, who accused him of lacking punitive actions against Russian President Putin, Trump said that secondary sanctions on India have cost “hundreds of billions of dollars to Russia” and “you call that no action?”
Also Read | ‘India’s got big problems’: Trump hints at ‘phase-2, phase-3’ of ‘sanctions’ over Russian oil purchase
Trump was hosting Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the White House when the reporter told him, “You’ve stressed many times your frustration and disappointment with Putin, but thereās no action since you took your office.”
“How do you know there’s no action? Really?” Trump said before asking, “Wait, wait, who are you with?”
“Ok. How do you know there’s no action?” Trump asked.”Would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser [of Russian oil] ā outside of China, they’re almost equal ā would you say there was no action? That cost hundreds of billions of dollars to Russia. You call that no action?” Trump bristled.Irked by the reporter, Trump also hinted at phase two and phase three sanctions. He further snapped at the reporter and said, “you ought to get yourself a new job.”
“And I haven’t done phase two yet or phase three. But when you say there’s no action, I think you ought to get yourself a new job. Because if you remember two weeks ago, I did, I said, ‘If India buys, India’s got big problems,’ and that’s what happened. So don’t tell me about that.”
When asked about the recent appearance of Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping together in Beijing and whether he will slap secondary sanctions on Russia, the US president said that he has moved against Moscow through its sanctions on India.
“Well, I’ve already done that with regard to India, and we’re doing it with regard to other things,” he said.
