(19 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++BEGINS AND ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington – 19 February 2025
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dick Durbin, (D) Illinois:
“This is outrageous. It’s outrageous if not humorous that the president does these sorts of things, goes off on a wild tangents and says things that are clearly false. What is really hurtful about this the most is with the sacrifice of the Ukrainian people that we know is taking place. Thousands have died defending their country, and for the president to argue that they were somehow the aggressor in this action is disgraceful.”
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Eric Schmitt, (R) Missouri:
“I think President Trump, on behalf of the American people, is trying to negotiate a peace between Russia and Ukraine. He talked about it a lot on the campaign trail. He said he wanted to bring peace. The war’s gone on long enough. I think he’s going to deliver on that. So how we get there, I trust President Trump. He’s a master negotiator and I think he’s going to get to a lasting peace.”
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. John Kennedy, (R) Louisiana:
“Here’s where I disagree with the White House, to the extent that the White House said that Ukraine started the war, I disagree. I think Vladimir Putin started the war. I also believe, through bitter experience, that Vladimir Putin is a gangster. He’s a gangster with a black heart. I don’t…he makes Jeffrey Dahmer look like Mother Teresa. He has Stalin’s taste for blood.”
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Dick Durbin, (D) Illinois:
“I can’t tell what this administration is planning. I will tell you this: Vladimir Putin is a thug and a dictator. He invaded Ukraine. He’ll look for another target if he ends up keeping territory from this one.”
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Eric Schmitt, (R) Missouri:
“A million people have died, and thankfully, we have a president with the guts to stand up on the world stage and try to end this thing. That’s what I support.”
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. John Kennedy, (R) Louisiana:
“I don’t want to get between President Zelenskyy and President Trump. I never get between a dog and a fire hydrant, man. That’s the way I live my life. I think they’re both good men. I think they both want the same thing. And I think we will get there.”
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
President Donald Trump is lashing out after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Trump was being influenced by Russian disinformation as he moves to end the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine on terms that Kyiv says are too favorable to Moscow.
Trump said in a social media post that Zelenskyy had persuaded the United States to provide hundreds of billions of dollars for a war that Trump said “couldn’t be won, that never had to start” and couldn’t be settled without Trump’s help.
Zelenskyy accused Trump earlier Wednesday of living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”
On Capitol Hill, Senators responded to Trump’s claims over the past few days about Zelenskyy.
Sen. Dick Durbin, (D) Illinois, says that Trump’s reaction is outrageous.
“It’s outrageous if not humorous that the president does these sorts of things, goes off on a wild tangents and says things that are clearly false. What is really hurtful about this the most is with the sacrifice of the Ukrainian people that we know is taking place. Thousands have died defending their country, and for the president to argue that they were somehow the aggressor in this action is disgraceful,” Durbin said.
Of the Republicans, Sen. Eric Schmitt, (R) Missouri, says that President Trump is trying to negotiate peace.
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