'Stop being Putin's ho' — US congresswoman lambasts Trump speech

U.S. President Donald Trump needs to stop appeasing Russian President Vladimir Putin, Representative Jasmine Crockett said in response to Trump's congressional address on March 4.

Crockett, a Democrat, was asked by the digital media organization Call to Activism to share  what she would like to say to Trump following his speech.

"I would tell him to grow a spine and stop being Putin's ho," she said.

Crockett's remarks come amid a series of disastrous upheavals in U.S.-Ukraine relations, beginning with Trump kicking President Volodymyr Zelensky out of the White House on Feb. 28 and culminating in Washington's freeze on military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

The Kremlin has hailed these developments, saying they align with Moscow's interests.

Trump "is out here really doing the bidding of Russia in a way we've never seen an American president do," Crockett said. She went on to denounce Trump's treatment of Zelensky, calling their White House meeting a "disgrace."

"We need a president that understands what diplomacy looks like, and it doesn't look like the disgrace that we saw that took place in the Oval Office."

Ahead of Trump's address, other leading Democrats in the House and Senate issued a statement warning that the administration's ties with Russia were a threat to U.S. security interests.

"Trump has shown more alignment with Vladimir Putin, who threatens the international rules-based order, than with our long-standing partners and allies," congressmembers serving on military, intelligence, and foreign policy committees wrote.

During his speech, Trump was vague about the decision to halt all military aid to Ukraine. He read out a recent statement from Zelensky expressing Ukraine's readiness for a peace agreement, framing it as a diplomacy win for his administration. He also claimed Russia had sent "strong signals" that they were ready to make a deal.

The freeze on military support to Ukraine remains in place despite Zelensky's statement. U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said on March 5 that Trump may resume aid deliveries once Ukraine makes further steps towards peace talks.