Trump struggles to keep his story straight on prisoner release from Russia

President Donald Trump announced that Russia had freed Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old retired teacher held in Russian detention, and that he was returning to the United States. Trump credited Vladimir Putin's respect for him and said Washington gave up nothing in exchange. MS NOW's Steve Benen argues that Trump's own follow-up remarks undercut that account.

Minutes after the first post, Trump wrote that unnamed people who had urged sanctions on Russia were now apologizing, because penalties would have ended the negotiations. At a later White House event he repeated that nothing was given, then said that had he imposed sanctions, Hubbard would remain imprisoned for another 20 years. Benen notes that a recently signed U.S. law requires such sanctions, and says the apology calls almost certainly never occurred.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins pressed Trump on the inconsistency during a Q&A with reporters. He responded by calling her a "dummy" instead of resolving the point.

Russia then struck Kyiv, killing one person and wounding 22, following an attack a day earlier that killed at least four people. Only Monday, Trump had told reporters that Russia "has been fine on Ukraine."

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →