Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) says he thinks people need to “trust the process” with President Trump’s peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian leaders.
“Right now, people are dying every single day. We do know we have the best negotiator possible in the White House,” Mullin said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week.” “I mean, literally, President Trump wrote ‘The Art of the Deal.’ He knows how to negotiate.”
“And I believe if we will trust the process, he will be able to negotiate a peace deal for both countries,” he added.
Mullin’s comments come just days after Trump separately called Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The conversations caused concern as Trump first called Putin, later telling reporters they had a “lengthy and highly productive” call about “working together.”
Trump also notably would not say whether he considers Ukraine to be an “equal member” of efforts to end the war. He later called Zelensky, who said it was “not pleasant” that Trump first called Putin.
A Russian spokesperson noted that no decisions have been made in terms of negotiating, but said the U.S. is its “main counterpart” in the forthcoming ceasefire talks.
On Sunday, Mullin said he thinks what Trump is doing is “really smart” talking with both leaders and having his administration navigate the chats. He defended Trump’s actions and the hesitancy about moving forward too quickly.
“A lot of times if you bring people to the table too fast … it’ll blow up, they’ll walk away, and you’ll set back the talks for maybe six months,” Mullin said.
