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- 'If you would have put those sanctions on ... you could forget about him. You'd never see him again. He'd be back in jail for 25 years,' says US president
By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that imposing sanctions on Russia could have prevented the release of American citizen Stephen Hubbard, after earlier insisting that Washington had given “nothing in exchange” for his return.
"We were in the midst of negotiating, and a lot of stupid people said, and people that don't know how life works, they said, 'Why aren't you putting Russia's sanctions?'" Trump told reporters while departing the White House for a rally in South Carolina.
Asked by CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins about his earlier claim that the US had given nothing in exchange for Hubbard’s release, Trump replied: “If I didn’t do that, you wouldn’t have Mr. Hubbard coming back."
“So you did give something,” Collins said.
“You don’t know anything. You’re fake news CNN,” Trump responded.
The president then defended his negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he had secured Hubbard’s return through a “very good and very fast negotiation.”
“If you would have put those sanctions on, or whatever you want to call them, you could forget about him. You'd never see him again. He'd be back in jail for 25 years,” Trump said.
Trump also linked his decision not to impose sanctions to ongoing negotiations with Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
“We're negotiating with Russia right now on Ukraine. We are maybe close to a deal for the first time in a long time. When you're close to a deal and you have very delicate negotiations, you don't put sanctions on," he said.
When Collins asked whether he was saying sanctions had been lifted in exchange for Hubbard’s release, Trump rejected her characterization.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re a low IQ person. You’re a dummy,” he told the CNN correspondent.
Trump said Hubbard’s return was the result of his negotiations with Putin, describing the American as a man the United States had wanted to bring home for years.
“Let me tell you, if I'm negotiating, you get a man back, a man that we've wanted back for years, a man that was a prisoner in Siberia or someplace in Russia, and we're getting him back because of me,” he said.
Earlier, Trump said the US “gave nothing in exchange” for Hubbard’s release, adding: “We never give anything in exchange.”
He stopped short of describing Putin as a "humanitarian" when asked about US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff’s remarks praising the Russian leader for agreeing to release Hubbard.
Asked by a reporter whether he shared Witkoff’s characterization of Putin as a "humanitarian," Trump said the description could apply in the context of Hubbard’s release but declined to offer a broader assessment of the Russian president.
“Well, I guess you could say for the purpose of allowing a man who was thinking he was going to be in prison for life out,” he said.
“I wouldn't say anything one way or the other,” he added.
Diyar Güldoğan
