Ted Cruz calls Trump's Russian sanctions waiver "a mistake" on Sunday TODAY

Yamiche Alcindor follows the dispute from Washington to Kentucky, where voters and protesters talk about what gas costs them.

Channel: TODAY Story of October 19, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 386,118 views a day, 85 times a normal first day on this channel (4,537).

Trump Faces Bipartisan Backlash After Waiving Russia Sanctions

Two Republicans lead the objections. "I wish the President hadn't done it. I think it was a mistake," Sen. Ted Cruz says in the opening seconds of Yamiche Alcindor's report for Sunday TODAY. Rep. Mike Lawler follows with the sharper version: "We want gas prices to come down, but cutting a deal with Putin is not the way to do it."

The decision they are reacting to is President Donald Trump's move to exempt Russia from sweeping new sanctions. It came with a deal to release Russian diesel onto the global market as the war with Iran pushes fuel prices up. Alcindor sets it against the bipartisan sanctions bill led by Lindsey Graham, aimed at buyers of Russian oil and gas, and puts Trump's case that the waiver helps the world beside Volodymyr Zelenskyy's criticism of it.

Then the report leaves Washington. Trump rallies voters in Kentucky, calling this "the most important midterm in the history of our country" without addressing the order directly. The voters and "No Kings" protesters who follow talk about gas, utilities and the cost of living. Alcindor signs off from the White House lawn, 16 days before the midterms, with Hallie Jackson closing the segment.

The two-minute report passed 310,000 views within fifteen hours. Its comment section moved even faster: a TODAY Short usually collects a single comment on its first day, and this one gathered hundreds, nearly all about Trump and Russia.

The same Sunday edition carried Kristen Welker's preview of her Meet the Press interview with Zelenskyy, who calls Trump's support of Putin a "historic mistake". That clip is also running well ahead of the channel's usual Shorts.

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The numbers

A short news report, a long way past what this channel's Shorts usually draw on their first day.

the video's first day

usual first day here

4,537

this video

386,118

subscribers

5,120,000

▲ 10,000 in the last 7 days

total views

4,456,149,405

views per day

1,131,954

typical day: 1,391,255

the video

views

310,416

likes

1,023

comments

426

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

The Graham Norton Show

5,740,000

Good Morning America

5,510,000

Late Night with Seth Meye…

5,310,000

TODAY

5,120,000

CBS Mornings

3,320,000

The Onion

3,290,000

As of October 19, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.