MS NOW anchor Lawrence O’Donnell labeled President Trump a “pathological liar” on Monday night over the president’s attempts to purchase diesel fuel from Vladimir Putin and force through an “energy cease-fire” between Russia and Ukraine.
“There is bipartisan outrage at Donald Trump’s newest attempt to help Vladimir Putin, which happens to involve violating American law,” O’Donnell noted during Monday night’s episode of “The Last Word,” adding: “Donald Trump wants the United States to buy diesel fuel from Russia, which is currently against the law in this country, thanks to sanctions laws against Russia passed by Congress.”
“The Trump deal would help Russia continue its war against Ukraine,” he explained. The deal itself has been met with criticism and pushback from Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In response, Trump told reporters on Saturday that he believes it is “time for Ukraine to get a new president,” which O’Donnell noted is something he has “never” said about Russia.
“So Donald Trump opposes the democratically elected president of Ukraine while he supports the murderous dictator of Russia,” he observed.
The MS NOW anchor went on to recap a number of negative reactions that have surfaced within the Republican Party in response to Trump’s oil deal with Russia. Retiring Nebraskan Congressman Don Bacon, retiring North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis and Pennsylvania Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick have all come out against the deal.
Trump, meanwhile, has attempted to commandeer the entire conversation on his Truth Social account.
“Yesterday, Donald Trump declared, ‘Effective immediately, there is an energy ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it! Thank you for your attention to this matter,’” O’Donnell recapped. “Vladimir Putin, of course, paid no attention to this matter and kept attacking energy sources in Ukraine.”
O’Donnell then rolled a clip of Trump telling reporters that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an energy cease-fire because he’d “said they agreed,” an admission that left O’Donnell unimpressed.
“So they didn’t say they agreed. They never said that,” the “Last Word” host concluded. “But a pathological liar just pretended that they agreed. OK.”
