Trump assured Putin he'd stop sanctions before telling his own ambassador

Trump’s decision not to sanction Russia over the chemical attack in Syria took another bizarre turn Thursday when it was reported that he broke the news to Russian before he told his own ambassador.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, announced a new round of sanctions against Russia on Sunday, only to have the White House contradict her less than a day later.

When a Trump adviser tried to blame Haley for the “confusion,” she hit back.

“With all due respect,” she said, “I don’t get confused.”

Now, it turns out that not only did Trump change his mind about sanctions after Haley had already been sent out to announce them, he also looped Russia in before he told Haley.

An administration official called the Russian embassy to assure them there would be no additional sanctions before Haley was told about the reversal, reports the UK Independent. CNN also reported that a State Department official called the embassy Sunday to assure Russia that Haley’s comments were “not correct.”

Haley is the latest in a succession of administration women who have been thrown under the bus, but Haley may be a special case because she is rumored to be garnering support for a 2020 ticket with Mike Pence.

Trump has been consistently sucking up to Putin since long before Putin’s sham election victory, even boasting of his “chemistry” with the dictator. And Trump has done the bare minimum possible to impose costs on Russia for its election interference and its support for Syria.

But rushing to reassure Putin before his own ambassador is servile even for Trump, and yet another indication of what even some of his supporters seem to know: special counsel Robert Mueller is on to something with the Russia investigation.