Trump Defends the Hubbard Release
President Donald Trump defended the release of Stephen Hubbard as reporters questioned him while he left the White House for Clemson, South Carolina. Hubbard is a 74-year-old retired American English teacher and U.S. military veteran from Michigan who had been taken by Russia four years earlier during the Biden administration. Trump said the release came after he asked President Vladimir Putin directly during a phone conversation the previous week. He also said the United States was not required to give anything in return, rejecting the idea that it was an ordinary prisoner exchange. Trump said his administration was negotiating carefully and had temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel exports. In a Truth Social post, he argued that imposing those sanctions during the talks could have ended the effort to bring Hubbard home. That was the point Trump insisted the reporters were missing, and he was not in a mood to wrap it in a polite press-release bow.
Collins Presses the Exchange Question
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins challenged Trump on whether the United States had given Russia something for Hubbard’s release. “So, you did give something in exchange,” Collins said. Trump fired back by calling CNN “fake news” and warning that sanctions could have ended the negotiations. He said Americans might never have seen Hubbard again and that the retired teacher could have been back in prison for 25 years. Trump also described negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war as “very delicate” and said the sides might be close to a deal for the first time in a long time. When Collins pressed again about whether the sanctions waiver was an exchange for Hubbard, Trump told her, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re a dummy. You’re a low IQ person. You’re a dummy, and you work for CNN.”
ABC Reporter Asks the Same Question
ABC’s Karen Travers then asked Trump the same question about whether the sanctions waiver was connected to Hubbard’s release. Trump responded, “Are you a stupid person? Who do you work for?” After Travers identified ABC, Trump said, “You’re a stupid person, and by the way, your network is the worst of all.” The exchange was not exactly a quiet policy briefing. Trump’s argument remained that sanctions during sensitive negotiations could have stopped the effort to bring an American prisoner home.
Another White House Clash
The confrontation followed another sharp exchange during an Oval Office event on Tuesday. Trump challenged The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg by asking, “What’s wrong with you? Are you a sick person?” He then added, “I actually think there’s something wrong with you.” The latest clash again showed Trump confronting reporters directly when he believed their questions ignored the negotiating position he was defending.
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