By : Ya Libnan Editorial Board
President Trump’s recent shift in tone toward Vladimir Putin — calling him “absolutely crazy” following brutal Russian strikes on Ukraine during peace talks — has triggered speculation that the long-standing Trump-Putin honeymoon may finally be over. But words are cheap. What matters now is action — and Americans and the world are watching closely to see whether Trump will back his outrage with meaningful sanctions.
So far, the signs are not encouraging.
Today, Trump warned that Putin is “playing with fire,” but still held off on endorsing any major new sanctions. Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress — once cautious about crossing Trump — are now sharply diverging from his hands-off approach. The shift intensified over the weekend after Russia launched its most aggressive wave of attacks since the war began. A bipartisan sanctions bill, aimed at crippling Moscow’s war machine, now has 80 Senate cosponsors — more than enough to override a presidential veto.
Yet Trump remains hesitant, as if still calculating the political fallout. But this is no time for posturing.
A Pattern of Deference
For years, Trump’s relationship with Putin has been shrouded in mystery, discomfort, and deference. From his disturbing performance at the Helsinki summit — where he publicly sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies — to his repeated delays or rollbacks of bipartisan sanctions packages, Trump has projected weakness in the face of Russian aggression.
Even former FBI Director James Comey hinted at what many Americans feared: the possibility that Trump’s behavior might not just be strategic, but compromised. Whether that’s true or not, one fact is undeniable — Putin has never taken Trump seriously as a geopolitical adversary.
Trump’s record speaks for itself:
In 2018, he blocked the implementation of mandatory sanctions passed overwhelmingly by Congress after Russia’s interference in the U.S. election.
In 2020, he downplayed intelligence reports that Russia offered bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
In 2023, he resisted EU proposals to sanction Russian banks and oil exports, calling them “destabilizing to the market.”
And until just days ago, he continued to refer to Putin as a “strategic genius.”
That pattern doesn’t inspire confidence now that Trump is suddenly changing his tune.
Will Trump Match His Rhetoric with Action?
The latest Russian strikes on civilian areas in Ukraine — launched during ongoing peace talks in Istanbul — reportedly infuriated Trump, who has staked part of his foreign policy legacy on brokering peace. But if he truly wants to reset his approach, he needs to go beyond angry soundbites and prove his seriousness through bold, coordinated action.
The following questions now confront him:
Will Trump endorse Senate legislation that imposes sweeping sanctions on Russian energy exports — the real engine behind Putin’s war machine?
Will he freeze Russian state assets and apply Magnitsky-style sanctions to Putin’s inner circle?
Will he work with European allies to present a united front — instead of undermining them with unilateral deals or isolationist rhetoric?
Or will he again apply symbolic pressure just to create the illusion of strength, while leaving Putin’s regime largely untouched?
This Is a Test — and Trump Is on the Line
This may be Trump’s last chance to prove he is more than a bystander to history. If he fails to throw his support behind serious, bipartisan sanctions — like the Senate bill now backed by over 80 members — he won’t just be letting down Ukraine. He’ll be signaling to Putin, and to every autocrat watching, that American leadership can be bluffed, manipulated, and ultimately ignored.
Reports from Moscow suggest that Russian officials have already begun mocking Trump behind closed doors — laughing off his latest remarks as empty threats. If he doesn’t respond with resolve now, he won’t just lose the respect of allies and adversaries alike. He’ll become a mockery of leadership itself.
This is more than a test of Trump’s foreign policy. It is a test of whether he can finally shed the shadow of subservience that has defined his approach to Putin from the beginning.
The world is anxiously watching. And so are millions of Americans who want to see a president who protects their interests — not flatters their adversaries.