Raging Trump's frustrated 7-word comment on how far US would go if Putin escalates

U.S. President Donald Trump got snippy with reporters on Monday after announcing his threat to impose 100% "secondary" tariffs on Moscow if it does not reach a ceasefire agreement with Kyiv in 50 days.

During the conference alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and other top officials, the president was asked by a reporter how far he is willing to go in response to an escalation by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.

Trump responded: "Don't ask a question like that."

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The president's frustrated response comes as he has expressed increasing anger with Putin's prolonging of the war and inability to reach a peace deal in a major U-turn on his approach to the conflict, which has entered its third year following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Doubling-down on his recent criticism's of Putin, Trump said during the Monday conference: "[I] talk to him a lot... about getting this done. My conversations with him are always very pleasant. Very lovely conversation. And then the missiles go off that night."

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The president also confirmed during the Monday conference that he struck a deal to manufacture and send weapons to NATO, which will be given to Kyiv, after revealing the week prior that an agreement had been reached.

"We made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons and they're gonna be paying for them," Trump said. "The United States will not be having any payment made. We're not buying it but we will manufacture it and they will be paying for it."

Asked to clarify why he gave a 50-day deadline, Trump told reporters: "I think it's a very short period of time. I have been involved in this not very long. This is a Biden war, a Democrat war, not a Republican or Trump war."

The conference was held after Trump met with Rutte on Monday morning as tensions escalate in Ukraine, with four killed earlier in the day in Ukraine's Sumy region by Russian airstrikes, and hope for a ceasefire dwindles to the increasing ire of Trump.

Trump alluded to a weapons deal with NATO last week after facing fierce criticism following a weapons shipment to Kyiv being halted, a move met with applause by Putin but subject to criticism by U.S. lawmakers across the aisle.

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Last week, Trump turned up the heat on Putin, saying he "talks nice but then he bombs everybody in the evening," making clear his frustration with Putin's prolonging of war, which has entered its third year following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Meanwhile, Washington officials have been working to negotiate new arms deals with Kyiv. U.S. envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and had a "productive" discussion about defense.

The meeting came after Trump hinted that he would send Patriot missile defense systems to Kyiv.

Yet, the president seemed to waver Monday morning before the announcement, venting his frustrations about the U.S. being "ripped off" on Truth Social.

"Countries should sit back and say: thank you for the many-years-long free ride, but we know you now have to do what’s right for America. We should respond by saying: thank you for understanding the situation we are in. Greatly appreciated!" he wrote.

Trump had hinted last week that he would be making a "major statement" about Ukraine on Monday after publicly criticizing Putin's handling of the war.

“I’m disappointed in Russia, but we’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks,” Trump told NBC News last week. “I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday."