Sen. John Kennedy criticized the Trump administration's approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin during peace talks. Key points include Kennedy's assertion that the administration should show Putin they mean business and his criticism of the failed passage of a Russian sanctions bill in the House. The senator also expressed doubts about the effectiveness of diplomatic efforts, stating "I won't faint with surprise if our guys don't come out of there without a deal." Kennedy spoke on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday as U.S. envoys met with leaders on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine and Russia.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., criticized Republican leadership on a number of issues including the Trump administration’s handling of the Ukraine peace process and Senate leaders’ response to inflation woes.
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Kennedy → criticize → woes
Kennedy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday he believes the Trump administration should take a different approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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administration → tell → Putin
“This guy’s a pirate.
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guy → ’ → ?
He’s got blood under his fingernails.
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He → get → fingernails
He doesn’t care about a bunch of pretty talk,” Kennedy said Sunday, as U.S. envoys meet with leaders on both sides of the conflict.
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envoys → care → conflict
“You don’t get any credit for kissing his ass.
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You → get → ass
You’ve got to show him you mean business.”
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you → get → business
Last week, the House failed to pass a Russian sanctions bill that the Senate approved in August.
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Senate → fail → August
“We should have passed that Russian sanctions bill, and we’ve got another chance to do it,” the Louisiana senator said.
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senator → pass → it
“Then we ought to help Ukraine and help Europe.
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we → help → Europe
They’re doing OK on their own, but we can provide them intelligence.”
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we → do → intelligence
Kennedy’s comments come as President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Russia and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv this weekend.
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son → come → Kyiv
“We got Putin down.
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We → got → Putin
We’re choking him to death.
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We → choke → death
We’re choking him.
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We → choke → him
We’ve got to choke him to death.
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We → get → death
That’s what he understands,” the senator added.
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senator → ’ → what
“I’m not putting down any of the talk, and I think talk is good and it can be helpful.
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it → put → talk
But I won’t faint with surprise if our guys don’t come out of there without a deal.”
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guys → faint → deal
Kennedy also weighed in on the ongoing military conflict with Iran, telling “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker that the war will “probably not” end before the upcoming midterm elections.
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war → weigh → elections
Still, he praised the Trump administration’s decision to launch the military conflict, telling Welker: “We have accomplished all of our objectives in Iran. ...
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We → praise → Iran
There’s just one problem: the Strait [of Hormuz] is semi-closed.”
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Strait → ’ → Hormuz
The senator said that with the strait still blockaded by the U.S. military, gas prices in the U.S. likely won’t drop soon.
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prices → say → U.S.
It’s hurting the Iranians badly.
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It → hurt → Iranians
It’s hurting the government,” Kennedy said.
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Kennedy → hurt → government
“I think we ought to leave it on for a few more months if we can stand the pain at the pump.”
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we → think → pump
Kennedy on Sunday also expressed doubt that Republicans in Congress would be able to do anything to lower costs or tackle inflation before November’s midterm elections, lightly criticizing his own leadership for not dealing with the issue sooner.
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Republicans → express → issue
He described the economy as “solid” and pointed to “low” unemployment numbers but said inflation is “a big if.”
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inflation → describe → numbers
“It’s gutting people like a fish.
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It → gutte → fish
And we’ve had it for a few years now.
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we → have → years
It’s been up and down since President Biden’s administration,” Kennedy said.
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Kennedy → say → administration
“What we ought to do is something about it.
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ought → do → it
I’m not blaming it on the president or the House.
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I → blame → president
The Senate Republicans, about five months ago, for a reconciliation bill, we should have addressed it.
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we → address → it
Number one, I couldn’t convince the majority leader to put a bill like that on the floor.
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I → convince → floor
And number two, we’re probably three or four votes short.”
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we → ’re → ?
Asked whether Republicans have enough time to address inflation before the midterm elections, Kennedy said, “We can do anything we want to in reconciliation and ask the House to come back and do it.”
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we → ask → it
Kennedy highlighted a procedural move Senate Republicans could use to pass some legislation without support from Senate Democrats but cast doubt on whether they would.
uncertain
they → highlight → doubt
“I’m not saying we will do that, certainly based on our record the last five or six months.
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we → say → record
It’s not likely.”
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It → ’ → ?
