Former NATO commander: ‘No balance’ to Trump decision ‘to give in to Russia’

Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark on Monday said there was “no balance” in President Trump’s decision “to give in to Russia” after waiving sanctions and agreeing to permit Russian diesel into the U.S. while supporting Ukraine’s war against the Kremlin.

“The most important thing is to maintain the rights of nations to be free of invasion,” Clark told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” host Elizabeth Vargas on NewsNation, The Hill’s broadcast partner. “Why would he trust [Russian President Vladimir Putin] anyway? Why would he trust Putin anyway? He shouldn’t trust Putin. I mean, why would he?”

Clark later added, “I’ve always tried to present a balanced view, but there’s no balance to this decision of the president to give in to Russia. We’ve seen it for a long time.”

The former NATO leader recounted his trip last week to Warsaw, Poland, for a security forum when he learned of Elon Musk’s Starlink services being cut off to Ukraine , leading to dozens of Russian missiles striking around the capital of Kyiv.

“They know that President Trump is not the leader of the free world,” Clark continued. “They think he’s in a corrupt bargain with Vladimir Putin. And it really works me as an American to have people say that about our president.”

Clark later added that he hopes Congress intervenes and warned that Trump’s policy toward Ukraine and Russia was “bad.”

“I hope President Trump is listening to this,” he said. “I hope President Trump will appreciate the fact that this is something he should back away from. He needs [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky] there.”

Trump’s diesel deal and the waived sanctions stirred backlash from bipartisan lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Lawmakers sent a letter to Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging them to reconsider the diesel deal and explain how the president can “reconcile” the Treasury Department’s license with an existing ban on Russian energy imports to the U.S.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Sunday said his team and the White House “need to talk about” the waiver and “carefully consider the unintended consequences that may ensue from that.” He added that he knows the “president’s evaluating this as he does everything else.”

Zelensky slammed Trump over the deal, calling it a “ birthday gift ” to Putin, and advised the U.S. not to make a “ historic mistake ” by offering Putin support. He has advocated for negotiating an end to the conflict, with the support of the U.S. and European allies, a goal that administration officials agree with. Trump has said a settlement must be reached first.

The Ukrainian president also resumed strikes on Russian refineries following a brief energy ceasefire announced by Trump earlier this month. He said he felt betrayed by the U.S. as Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine despite the ceasefire’s implementation.

Trump blasted Zelensky in an interview with Newsmax last week as “not a good guy for us to deal with” and said he was “not a big fan” of the Ukrainian leader.