Trump: I’m Ready to Sanction Russia, But Only if NATO Acts
President Donald Trump says he is prepared to impose tough sanctions on Moscow, but only if all NATO member states agree to do the same and halt their purchases of Russian oil.
“I am ready to go strong on Russia with sanctions as soon as all of the NATO nations agree and act accordingly, and immediately stop buying oil from Russia,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social today, labeling the statement “A Letter to NATO and the World.”
Trump has previously expressed “shock” that NATO countries continue to buy Russian oil, arguing it weakens the alliance’s position at the negotiating table.
“I am ready to ‘act’ when you are ready. Just say when?” he wrote, calling on NATO to provide a specific timeline.
He also suggested NATO members consider imposing 50-100% tariffs on Chinese goods as a means to force an end to the Ukraine conflict. “If you do what I say, the war will end quickly. If not, you are wasting my time,” he said.
Russian and NATO officials have not yet commented on the information.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has intensified mediation efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine. He held a summit with his Russian counterpart on August 15 in Alaska, then met with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on August 18.
The events raised hopes for a direct meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky to discuss a peace deal. Both leaders initially appeared open to the possibility, but subsequent developments have shown the prospects for peace talks are slim.
On September 2, Trump expressed “great disappointment” that Putin had not yet reached a peace agreement with Ukraine. Zelensky has accused Russia of doing everything it can to obstruct a summit between the two leaders, while Moscow has stated the agenda for such a meeting is not yet ready.
Last week, President Putin warned that Russia would continue its “special military operation” to end the conflict by force if a peace agreement is not reached. The Kremlin stated on September 12 that peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were “on pause,” accusing Europe of obstructing efforts to end the war.
In an interview with Fox News on the same day, Trump said his patience with Putin was running thin on the Ukraine issue, warning that the United States “could act strongly.”
Trump news at a glance: president claims people on ‘the left’ are under investigation after Kirk shooting
Utah governor Spencer Cox says suspect Tyler Robinson not cooperating with authorities. Key Trump administration stories from Sunday 14 September
As officials continue to investigate the motives of Tyler Robinson – the 22-year-old accused of shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk – many Republicans have been quick to lash out at the political left.
Allies of Donald Trump have accused liberals of fomenting anti-conservative vitriol that would encourage violence – even as the president and his allies have often invoked violent imagery against their opponents.
“The problem is on the left,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. “A lot of people that you would traditionally say are on the left … [are] already under investigation.”
It comes after Trump declined to call for the US to come together as a way of fixing the country’s divisions, preferring to cast “vicious and horrible” radicals on the left of US politics as the sole problem.
Shooting suspect had ‘very different ideology’ than conservative family, says Cox
The Utah governor, Spencer Cox, has told national talkshows that the man suspected of killing Kirk was living with and in a relationship with a person “transitioning from male to female”.
Cox stopped short of saying that officials had determined the suspect’s partner’s alleged status was a factor in Kirk’s killing.
Cox said on Sunday that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson – Kirk’s accused killer – was not cooperating with authorities. But authorities were gathering information from family members and people around him, Cox said.
Trump officials reportedly ask Congress for $58m in security after Kirk shooting
Funding would go toward protecting members of executive and judicial branches, and potentially members of Congress
The Trump administration is asking Congress to approve an additional $58m for security services to protect the members of the executive and judicial branches after the killing of Charlie Kirk, multiple outlets report. They also supported adding more money to protect members of Congress, but they deferred to the legislative branch on further steps.
News of the request comes as House Democrats prepare to hold a virtual security briefing on Sunday evening, following Kirk’s death. The briefing will be with the House sergeant at arms and the Capitol police chief.
Last week, rightwing activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk was killed while speaking at an event at a university in Utah and a suspect was arrested. Despite the shooter’s motive still being unconfirmed, conservatives have expressed anger and concern, blaming liberals and leftwing activists for Kirk’s killing. The right has declared war on the left, leading prominent politicians to cancel events over safety concerns and threats.
As the Guardian reported on Sunday, instances of political violence have been rapidly increasing in recent years.
More than 520 plots and acts of terrorism and targeted violence occurred in nearly all US states during the first six months of 2025. At least 96 people have died and 329 injured from that violence. That number is also a nearly 40% increase over the first six months of 2024, according the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland.
Last week, House speaker Mike Johnson said congressional leaders were reviewing security for members of congress.
“We have to protect people who run for public office, or no one will and that is heavy on our hearts and minds,” Johnson said.
The Trump administration’s request for an additional $58m in security comes as the deadline for government funding is approaching at the end of the month. With the 30 September deadline, the US government is drawing nearer to a potential shutdown as congressional leaders clash on healthcare-related bills.
Trump to award Charlie Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom
During a 9/11 memorial address, the president honored the far-right activist who was fatally shot on Wednesday
Speaking at the Pentagon on Thursday morning for memorial services marking the 24th anniversary of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, Donald Trump said he would be awarding the rightwing activist and close ally Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot on Wednesday, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Kirk was a “giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people”, Trump said. “Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika and his beautiful children, fantastic people they are. We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.”
Trump said that the date of the Medal of Freedom ceremony would be announced soon. “I can only guarantee you one thing, that we will have a very big crowd,” he added.
Following his tribute to Kirk, Trump shifted his remarks to 9/11.
“That terrible morning, 24 years ago, time itself stood still,” Trump said. “The laughter of schoolchildren fell silent, the rush of our traffic came to an absolute halt, and for 2,977 innocent souls and their families, their entire world came crashing down.
“Today, as one nation, we renew our sacred vow that we will never forget September 11 2001,” Trump said, before he read aloud some of the final words exchanged by passengers onboard the hijacked airplanes to their loved ones.
“In America, we take blows, but we never buckle, we bleed, but we do not bow,” he continued. “We defy the fear, endure the flames and emerge from the crucible of every hardship stronger, prouder and greater than ever before.”
Trump also referenced his decision to rename the Department of Defense, the Department of War.
“If you attack the United States of America, we will hunt you down, and we will find you,” the president said. “We will crush you without mercy, and we will triumph without question, that’s why we named the former Department of Defense the Department of War.
“Everybody wanted it,” Trump added. “Everybody is so happy to have it back.”
Trump concluded up his remarks by vowing to “support our troops, we will protect our families, and we will preserve the American way of life for every future generation”.
“We will build taller, grow stronger, fight harder and soar higher, and together, we will go forward as one people with one heart, one faith, one flag and one glorious destiny under Almighty God,” Trump said. “May God bless the memories of those who died and the heroes who fought and the soldiers who still stand watch. May God bless the United States of America.”
Thursday’s observance ceremony at the Pentagon commemorated the 184 lives lost when the hijacked American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.
Melania Trump, the first lady; Gen Dan Caine, the chair of the joint chiefs of staff; and Pete Hegseth, US defense secretary, were also in attendance. Both Caine and Hegseth delivered brief remarks.
“Thank you for being here to gather in remembrance, to grieve our nation’s loss and draw strength from the heroism Americans demonstrated that day,” Caine said. “September 11 reminds us that even in the darkest of times, American strength endures and if attacked, we will immediately fight back.”
Hegseth recalled where he was when the 9/11 attacks occurred, telling the crowd that he was a “college junior with a fresh set of army fatigues in my dorm room closet, having just joined army ROTC”.
“From that day forward, I felt an unshakable call to action, a duty, to defend our sacred homeland with everything I had,” he said.
Hegseth added that the Trump administration was committed to “learning the correct lessons of that day and the decades of courage that followed” and said that “war must not become a mere tool for global social work.”
Hegseth also paid tribute to Kirk.
“The life, example, and even death of Christ-follower and American patriot Charlie Kirk give me hope, sheer courage, no matter the arena,” he said. “Charlie, we love you, know that you have heard the Lord’s words: well done, good and faithful servant. Full heart, clear eyes — like those on 9/11, you will never be forgotten.”
JD Vance had been scheduled to attend the 9/11 memorial in New York City on Thursday, but according to reports, he and the second lady, Usha Vance, will be instead traveling to Salt Lake City to pay respects to Kirk’s family.
Later on Thursday, Trump is scheduled to attend a Yankees baseball game in New York City, in honor of the 9/11 anniversary.
Trump adopts messenger-in-chief role after Charlie Kirk’s death
Trump was first to confirm the news to a country in shock that Kirk was dead and first to announce that the latest suspect was in custody. He shared when Kirk’s funeral would take place and said he would attend. Before a suspect was detained, Trump blamed without presenting evidence the “radical left” for Kirk’s murder, with many of his followers repeating the accusation and calling for vengeance amid a wave of right-wing anger.
“Charlie had a magic over the kids,” Trump said on Friday on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” recalling how his teenage son Barron was awe-struck by the charismatic 31-year-old activist.
Kirk was also a sharply partisan figure whose combative style and anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant rhetoric often brought him to clash with others online and in public. His far-right views on abortion, civil rights and gun control also garnered strong reactions from the groups his comments targeted.
Twenty-two-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah was arrested on Thursday night for the shooting. Motives remained unclear, with investigators closely scrutinizing messages engraved into four bullet casings. Experts have said they could reference left- or right-leaning groups.
Schlapp said Trump, a former reality television host, has come to enjoy unstructured exchanges with the press and the bully pulpit that comes with the attention lavished on him.
She noted that his approach to communication has been more aggressive in his second term in office.
“He just really wants to drive the news, and who is better to drive the news than Donald Trump? And his strategy has worked,” she said. “His administration is on offense from a media standpoint like nothing I’ve ever seen. We were getting hit all the time in the first term. It has allowed the president to define a narrative.”
Trump’s in-the-moment, off-the-cuff style comes with the risk of influencing a law enforcement process or later being contradicted by a clearer picture of the facts.
“Presidents typically don’t release breaking news like that,” said Yu Ouyang, professor of political science at Purdue University Northwest. “They know the impact that their words would have.”
Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, took Trump to task for his remarks last week ignoring that liberal and Democratic figures have also been the target of political violence in the U.S. Some commentators contrasted Trump’s repeated messaging on Kirk versus his relatively muted response to the assassination of Minnesota Democratic Representative Melissa Hortman earlier this year.
“Even though (Trump) is trying to console at times, a lot of his rhetoric has also been very much ramping up – blaming a particular group before we even know who has done this,” said Denise Bostdorff, a College of Wooster communication studies professor who has studied presidential rhetoric.
“Ronald Reagan was an orator,” said Barry Bennett, a former Trump campaign adviser, “but Donald Trump understands the speed of news and how to get a story out there.”
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Steve Holland; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Aurora Ellis
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