President Trump said Friday that the U.S. is positioning two nuclear submarines in “appropriate regions” near Russia, a move he blamed on threatening rhetoric from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who remains a top Kremlin adviser.
Trump cited in a Truth Social post what he called “highly provocative statements” from Medvedev, and said he made the submarines were “just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.”
In a rhetorical tit-for-tat this week, Trump told Medvedev in a Truth Social post on Thursday to “watch his words,” calling Russia and India “dead economies.”
Medvedev responded with a Telegram posting referencing the Soviet doomsday plan called the “dead hand,” in which lower-level officials could trigger a nuclear response if its leaders were taken out.
On Truth Social Friday, Trump expressed hope that the matter would not escalate further, even as he repositioned nuclear assets closer to Russia.
“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances,” he wrote.
The president has threatened to institute “severe” tariffs on Russia in recent weeks in a bid to pressure the Kremlin to halt the ongoing war in Ukraine. Earlier this week, he reduced a 50-day timeline for Russia to reach a ceasefire with Ukraine before the U.S. imposed economic sanctions, pushing the deadline to early August.
Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, knocked Trump on X for “playing the ultimatum game.”
“Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10…” he wrote. “He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!”
Trump stepped up his rhetoric against the former Russian president, telling him to “watch his words” in a post that also lashed out at India, which is yet to reach a trade deal with the U.S.
“I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” the president added.
