Trump says "stupid people" wanted him to impose sanctions on Russia
US President Donald Trump told reporters he considers those who urged additional sanctions on Russia to be fools. He questioned whether Moscow can be pressured with sanctions while negotiating the release of Americans.
US President Donald Trump told reporters that he regards as fools those who recently urged him to impose additional sanctions on Russia. The remarks, broadcast by the White House on 31 October 2026, come amid a debate in Washington over whether to fully apply a sanctions law already passed by Congress.
Trump said: "Stupid people wanted me to impose sanctions on Russia." In his view, Russia laughs at such sanctions. He also questioned whether it makes sense to pressure Moscow while negotiating the release of Americans. He asked those present how it would look if he asked Vladimir Putin to free an American, Hubbard, while also imposing sanctions.
The Hubbard case
Hubbard is a 74-year-old retiree and former teacher from Michigan. Russian troops captured him in Ukraine in April 2022. A Russian court later found him guilty of alleged mercenary activity on Ukraine's side. US authorities called his detention unlawful. He was freed on 21 October, during a visit to St Petersburg by Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff.
What came before
On 17 September 2026, the US Congress gave final approval to bill H.R. 5334, the "Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026". It sets 500% tariffs on Russian goods, secondary tariffs of up to 100% on the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas, and mandatory sanctions on key sectors of Russia's economy. Trump signed it on 19 September, setting a first 30-day deadline for implementing its provisions: 18 October.
On 9 October, the US Treasury, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), issued General License No. 135 permitting transactions in Russian diesel fuel. On 14 October, a bipartisan group of 12 US senators sent Trump a sharply worded letter, calling the diesel deal with Moscow a "betrayal of the Ukrainian people" and demanding the licence be revoked. Twenty-two members of Congress from both the Democratic and Republican parties also called for full and immediate application of the sanctions in Graham's law. On 17 October, Trump signed an order lifting some sanctions, restrictions and tariffs on Russia provided for under the law.
