U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is facing immediate backlash for praising Russian President Vladimir Putin as a „humanitarian“ after he released 74-year-old Stephen Hubbard, an American who had been imprisoned in Russia for four years and who had been determined to be wrongfully detained.
„You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian,“ Witkoff told Putin Wednesday in response to Hubbard’s release. „You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again.“
Witkoff made the comment in St. Petersburg during a visit with the Russian president that was aimed at moving toward a resolution of the Ukraine war that Putin started four and a half years ago. Over the past month, Russia has been intensifying its strikes against civilian and energy infrastructure to try to cripple the power grid before the brutal Ukrainian winter.
Witkoff’s „humanitarian“ comment sparked immediate backlash from Republicans who have openly criticized the president and his administration.
„WTF, Steve?“ wrote North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. „Look up the definition of ‚humanitarian.‘ What an embarrassing and outrageous thing to say. You should go back to Ukraine and ask the families of the children Putin has kidnapped and murdered whether they agree your friend Putin is a ‚humanitarian.'“
Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas responded to a video of Witkoff’s comments: „No. Putin is a stone cold killer,“ he wrote on X.
„Another embarrassment,“ said Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who has been critical of the Trump administration’s handling of Russia and Ukraine.
Witkoff’s praise of Putin also comes as Mr. Trump made the surprise move last week to waive new U.S. sanctions on Russia two days before they were supposed to go into effect, defying Congress and his late friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham. The waivers came one week after Mr. Trump had eased sanctions on Russian diesel and announced a deal with Putin to import diesel to the U.S. market.
Mr. Trump has expressed increasing frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and on Tuesday, said „Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven’t been doing much.“
Before heading to Russia, Witkoff was in Oslo, Norway, where he met with and embraced Zelenskyy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described that meeting as „positive.“