U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker restated his support for Ukraine in its war with Russia on Thursday, adding that President Vladimir Putin was “the aggressor” in Russia’s invasion three years ago.
But Smucker also backed President Donald Trump’s handling of the war, saying he can likely help end the bloodshed “pretty quickly.”
Trump has increasingly used pro-Russia rhetoric while talking about the conflict in recent weeks, and he ordered the halting of military aid until Ukraine committed to peace talks.
“One thing that President Trump is very good at is understanding these situations and how to press the levers and negotiating these situations,” Smucker told LNP | LancasterOnline. “I think he is intent on ending this war.”
Smucker pointed to Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, when Trump read a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy committing Ukraine to negotiations toward ending the war.
Though Smucker said he did not watch the full argument between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last week, Smucker said it seemed to have paid off for Trump’s hopes of brokering peace.
Smucker’s office did not respond to several requests for comment Friday afternoon after the Oval Office exchange, which was intended as a meeting for Trump and Zelenskyy to sign a deal over access to Ukraine’s mineral reserves. According to several national media outlets, that deal is back on the table for the countries’ leaders.
Address to Congress
Smucker said what stood out most during Trump’s more than 90-minute speech Wednesday night was the “complete turn” on trade policy and the southern border that the U.S. has taken under Trump’s leadership.
“Whether you agree with him or not, I think everyone probably has to recognize that the President now is one of the most consequential political figures in the modern era,” Smucker said, comparing Trump to former Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.
Asked to address some concerns about Social Security benefits being slashed by the Trump administration’s efforts to gut federal agencies, Smucker said every dollar cut for employing staff could lead to another dollar available to beneficiaries.
The Social Security Administration said in a news release last week it plans to lay off roughly 7,000 employees, raising concerns about delays to recipients claiming their benefits.
