As already posted there was no stand down. That’s just right wing bullshit. Also, you said that the example you gave was an example of Trump being tough on Russia. It’s not. It’s an example of soldiers on the ground defending their lives from Russian mercenaries. Trump did nothing. He took no action after the fact to punish Russia. And it’s widely believed the Kremlin ordered the attack.
So again, how has Trump been tough on Russia? When he was forced to issue sanctions? Spell it out.
Sure.
1) 4/2017: Trump admin denies ExxonMobil permission to bypass sanctions and drill for oil in Russia.
2) 6/2017: US Treasury freezes 2 more Russian diplomats' assets.
3) 8/2017: Trump signs new Russia sanctions into law -
Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev reacted strongly to the bill's signing, saying it showed a "fully-fledged trade war (has been) declared against Russia" and that "the Trump administration demonstrated complete impotence, in the most humiliating manner, transferring executive powers to Congress." Russia expels US diplomats in response.
4) 8/2017: Trump retaliates against the expelling of US diplomats in Russia by closing down Russia's San Fran consulate, a chancery annex in Washington DC, and a consular annex in NYC.
5) 12/2017: Trump gives the green light to sell lethal weapons to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons.
The Washington Post reported the administration approved the sale of Model M107A1 sniper systems and associated equipment worth $41.5 mil. (Obama refused to sell arms to the Ukraine)
6) 2/2018: Indicted 13 Russians and 3 entities for 2016 election meddling.
7) 2/2018: Massive counterattack in Syria using airstrikes and artillery that killed hundreds of Russian soldiers.
8) 3/2018: Expelled 60 Russian diplomats from embassy in Washington, and closed the Russian consulate in Seattle. This was in response to Russia's use of a nerve agent against a former Spy in the UK.
“I imagine [Donald will] fall out with his new friend Vladimir pretty quickly,” the Russia expert Fiona Hill told me shortly after the 2016 election, before she joined Trump’s National Security Council. -
The Atlantic
9) 4/2018: US Treasury sanctioned 7 Russian oligarchs and their 12 companies with ties to Putin, 17 senior russian gov officials, and russia's gun company.
10) 4/2018: Trump taunts Russia with tweet about incoming missiles: "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!"
76 missiles were then fired at 3 Syrian targets. Russia lies about shooting down 70 of the missiles to try and save face.
11) 7/2018:
Pentagon releases $200M in security assistance to Ukraine right after the Trump-Putin meeting. The funds are for counter-artillery radars, vehicles, night vision, comms, & medical equipment. The Defense Department announced in a press release Friday that
the decision from the Trump administration "reaffirms the long-standing defense relationship between the United States and Ukraine,"... (again, Obama refused to sell arms to the Ukraine).
"When you actually look at the substance of what this administration has done, not the rhetoric but the substance, this administration has been much tougher on Russia than any in the post-Cold War era," said Daniel Vajdich, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, according to NPR.
Trump: "...there’s been no president ever as tough as I have been on Russia.” 7/18/2018
Your turn. List Obama's. It shouldn't take you long.