President Trump had a simple answer for the critics of his Russia sanctions decision on Wednesday: an American is on his way home. Asked by a CNN reporter on the South Lawn about the new sanctions he waived last week, the President pointed to Stephen Hubbard, the 74-year-old retired American teacher Russia released hours earlier. “We have a gentleman coming home from Russia that they’ve been after for years,” Trump said. “He was captured or taken during the Biden administration. Wouldn’t have happened if I were president, but he was taken.”

Trump said the people demanding sanctions in the middle of the negotiation did not understand how it works. “A lot of stupid people said, and people that don’t know how life works, they said, why aren’t you putting Russia’s sanctions or all this in the midst of a negotiation to try and get a long-term hostage back from Russia?” he said. “I didn’t give Russia anything in exchange. If I would have done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back.”

“Right now you have a man that’s beautifully flying from Russia to wherever he’s landing in the United States that I got out, because I had a very good and very fast negotiation with President Putin,” Trump said. “If you would have put those sanctions on, or whatever you want to call them, you could forget about him. You’d never see him again. He’d be back in jail for 25 years.”

The President said the same logic applies to the bigger prize, ending the war in Ukraine. “We’re negotiating with Russia right now on Ukraine. We are maybe close to a deal for the first time in a long time,” he said. “When you’re close to a deal and you have very delicate negotiations, you don’t put sanctions on.” He made clear the option stays on the table: “I have the right to do them any day,” if Russia behaves badly. He added that the United States has “decimated Iran” and that Russia and China have “not been certainly much of a player” there.

Then he turned on the reporter. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re a low IQ person, you’re a dummy, and you work for CNN,” Trump said. “If I’m negotiating to get a man back, a man that we’ve wanted back for years, a man that was a prisoner in Siberia or someplace in Russia, and we’re getting him back because of me… the negotiation would obviously come immediately to an end. So use your head.” When an ABC News reporter pressed the same point moments later, the President shot back, “Are you a stupid person? Who do you work for?” and added, “Your network is the worst of all.”