As the former acting director of National Intelligence during the Trump administration and onetime U.S. ambassador to Germany, Ric Grenell is uniquely qualified to discern whether Polish President Andrzej Duda genuinely embraced President Joe Biden's public posturing this week regarding the state of the Russia-Ukraine war — but not the fallout of refugees heading for the Poland border, en masse.
During his time in Germany, Grenell explained that no other leader in Europe gave more pushback to then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel than Poland's Duda; and Grenell would expect similarly frank conversations reserved for Biden during private moments.
"The reality is that we watched as the Polish people screamed at Democrats in saying, 'What are you doing?' ... 'Why aren't you supporting tougher sanctions on the pipeline?' ... 'Why aren't you being tougher on Chancellor Merkel?'" Grenell told Newsmax on Tuesday evening, while appearing on "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
"No one was tougher on Merkel than President Duda," said Grenell, while rhetorically adding, "who knows exactly what they have with all these immigrants in Poland? It's a disaster."
Grenell's pipeline reference involved the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, before it was mysteriously destroyed in September. After that, there were follow-up accusations of the U.S. Navy — and Biden administration, by extension — being responsible for the destruction of the natural gas pipeline.
The damaged pipeline didn't start the Russia-Ukraine war, which launched in Feb. 24, 2022. But from Grenell's perspective, it might play a significant role in extending a war that involves the United States more and more each day.
"... If we had gone with [former President] Donald Trump, if we had gone with sanctions on the [Nord Stream 2] pipeline, we wouldn't have had this war," said Grenell.
"It's unexplainable when you look at what happens in Washington D.C., and what the Democrats get away with. They dropped the Trump sanctions on Putin's pipeline," explained Grenell. And yet, "they try to pretend like [American conservatives] are 'pro-Russia' because we're pointing that out.
"We're simply trying to say, 'Hey, wait a minute: You called the firemen ... but you also started the fire,'" continued Grenell. "And this behavior is going to continue ... because there's no pushback" from the media.
When asked about any possible resolutions for the Russia-Ukraine war, Grenell pointed to "diplomacy" being the key.
"There are ways to peacefully help push this solution, and the United States should be there ... instead of us just pushing war," lamented Grenell.
The above comment then prompted Newsmax to replay a Tuesday Truth Social clip from Trump, in which he criticized Biden's ineffectual members of the State Department; and that triggered a pleasant memory from Grenell, regarding his former boss.
"There's a difference between 'credible' threat of military action, and 'threat' of military action. Donald Trump was always a credible threat, so much that Angela Merkel would always tell me, 'I just don't know what your president's going to do.'"
Grenell then recounted emitting a wide smile to Merkel, before saying, "'that's my point.'"
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