After Russia freed American teacher Stephen Hubbard on Wednesday, President Donald Trump credited his waiver of Russia sanctions, then told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The exchange took place outside the White House, where Trump stopped to speak with reporters before flying to South Carolina for a rally. Collins noted that the sanctions he had waived were due to take effect under a law named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, and asked what Graham’s sister, Senate candidate Darline Graham, had told him about lifting them. Trump shot back at Collins: “You’re a dummy, and you work for CNN.”
President Trump is directly tying waiving Russian sanctions to the release of the freed American Stephen Hubbard, despite denying he gave anything to Putin. https://t.co/TUxcvodPuF
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 21, 2026
The law has a short and unusual history.
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Congress passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 after the senator’s death in July, and Trump signed it on September 18. On October 16 he issued an executive order waiving the sanctions, citing national interests. The reversal followed Trump’s announcement of a deal to import Russian diesel in an effort to bring down gas prices before the midterms.
His defense of the waiver centered on Hubbard.
Trump argued that imposing sanctions would have wrecked the effort to free him: “you don’t put sanctions on” when a deal is close. On Truth Social, he wrote that people who wanted sanctions imposed “have called to apologize to President Trump.” He has also said no prisoner was exchanged for Hubbard, though he tied the outcome to the waiver.
Hubbard, 74, is a retired teacher from Michigan. He served more than four years on charges of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine, and Russia freed him during a visit from U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. “Welcome home Stephen, it’s great to have you back,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. His family thanked Trump’s team for “opening the dialog with Russia which led to this joyful day.”
That night, Trump appeared at a rally with Darline Graham. A Getty photo caption places them at Clemson University’s T. Ed Garrison Arena in Pendleton, hand in hand. Her view on the sanctions had aired by then. On her evening show, Collins replayed a clip of Graham saying, “Personally I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia.”
Collins wasn’t the only reporter who got a rough reception. Less than two minutes later, Trump snapped at ABC’s Karen Travers when she asked whether the waiver amounted to giving Russia something in exchange for Hubbard. The day before, he had hinted that a release was coming. “Everybody has been after Hubbard for a long time,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Featured image via X screengrab
