President Donald Trump has seemingly forgotten one of the biggest insults he has given to Russia as he reiterated his disappointment with Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war.
Two days ago, in a major reversal for the president, Trump declared that Ukraine was doing such a good job on the battlefield that it could potentially win back all the land Moscow had taken since Putin invaded the sovereign nation in 2022.
“This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like “a paper tiger,” Trump said on Tuesday, damning Putin with a phrase that suggests his country appears to be strong but is actually ineffectual.
The insult was swiftly rebuked by the Kremlin, whose spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared that “Russia is more associated with a bear.”
But despite the simmering diplomatic tension the comment caused, the President seemed to forget what the fuss was about on Thursday during a meeting with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Asked about the state of the Ukraine war—which Trump had promised to end on “day one” of his presidency—the president told reporters: “I’m not going to ever call anybody a paper tiger, but Russia has spent millions and millions of dollars in bombs, missiles, ammunition and lives—their lives—and they’ve gained virtually no land.”
“I think it’s time to stop, I really do.”
Trump’s meeting with Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York marked a significant shift in rhetoric for the U.S. president, whose patience with Putin has been wearing thin.
Since rolling out the red carpet for his Russian counterpart in Alaska last month, reality has intervened, with Putin refusing to negotiate in good faith, continuing to bomb Ukrainian territory, and even entering the airspace of NATO nations such as Poland and Estonia.
On Wednesday, the U.S. intercepted Russian bombers and fighter jets that flew near the state in an apparent test of America’s defense systems.
Two Russian Tu-95 long-range strategic bombers and two Su-35 fighter jets were seen flying in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone on Wednesday, which is international airspace that abuts U.S. and Canadian sovereign airspace.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) responded by sending four F-16 fighter jets, a surveillance aircraft, and KC-135 tanker planes, “to positively identify and intercept” the Russian aircraft.
While authorities say the activity was not a direct threat, many view it as the latest in a series of Russian flights that appear to be testing the preparedness of U.S. and allied NATO nations.
“NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America,” the organization said in a statement.
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