President Trump Furious About the New Sanctions on Russia

According to an administration official, Trump got angry at his staffers for misleading him on the number of Russian diplomats about to be expelled from the United States following the assassination of a British spy by Russian counterintelligence.

The U.S. leader was reportedly upset that the U.S. has expelled more diplomats than he was informed although he had been assured that the United States wouldn’t oust more diplomats than Europe.

Trump was furious that its European allies, Germany and France, have expelled only eight diplomats in total, while the U.S. decided to send home 60. The president became furious that his country ended up as the country with the toughest stance on Moscow.

Even when his staffers told him that the total number of Russian diplomats expelled by the EU would match the U.S. number, he got angrier. “I don’t care about the total!,” the president reportedly yelled at his briefers.

Cabinet and Trump Not on the Same Page about Russia

The incident shows that the Trump administration is divided over the Russia issue. While his Cabinet is trying to stop him from getting closer to the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump is opposing the Cabinet’s penalties on Russia.

In March, Russian diplomats were expelled in droves, while Russian billionaires lost billions of dollars weakening the Russian economy even more. Recently, Trump criticized Putin for the first time for supporting Syria’s leader Bashar Assad.

Over the weekend, the U.S. and two of its European allies launched 100 missiles onto Syria’s chemical weapon facilities in retaliation for a chemical attack on civilians. On Sunday, the U.S. ambassador threatened Russia with more sanctions for protecting Syria.

According to the White House, President Trump supports the latest military actions and incoming sanctions. People familiar with the matter, on the other hand, claim that Trump is being pressurized into taking a tougher stance on Russia.
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