'This Week' Transcript 10-18-26: Energy Secretary Chris Wright
This is a rush transcript of "This Week" airing Sunday, October 18.
A rush transcript of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" airing on Sunday, October 18, 2026 on ABC News is below. This copy may not be in its final form, may be updated and may contain minor transcription errors. For previous show transcripts, visit the "This Week" transcript archive.
MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC “THIS WEEK” CO-ANCHOR: Our thanks to Rachel Scott.
I'm joined now in studio by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Good morning, Mr. Secretary. Good to see you.
The White House statement said that exempting Russia from new sanctions and tariffs would impede ongoing U.S. efforts to negotiate a durable peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. The president has called it good for the country.
Russia invaded Ukraine. How is essentially giving Russia an economic lifeline anything but a reward?
CHRIS WRIGHT, ENERGY SECRETARY: So it's not an economic lifeline. Russia today exports a lot of oil. That's what they want to export. We have very tight sanctions on Russian oil. The tightest ever we put on last fall, meaning they're large companies, all their Russian exporters cannot export oil. It's only sanction evasion oil that goes almost all to China.
What the president’s move has done was for diesel fuel, which is what the world is short right now, and Russia exports today zero diesel. This is an incentive to Russia, that if they can reduce the conflict with Ukraine, they can get an energy ceasefire or reduce the conflict such that they have diesel to export, we'll allow it to flow to world markets.
This is a carrot to try to end a war. It's not an economic lifeline for Russia.
RADDATZ: You don't think this helps Russia in any way?
WRIGHT: The only way Russia gets benefit from this move means they have to export diesel, which means they have to either consume less diesel internally, reduce the war effort, or have an ability to repair their refineries, which they only can get to through a peace agreement with Ukraine, an energy ceasefire, or a step towards peace.
RADDATZ: Let's talk about the reaction to this and that’s 300,000 barrels or tons going out of the diesel. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says it only fuels Russia's satisfaction and their desire to keep killing people.
A bipartisan group of senators called on President Trump to reverse course. They wrote, “This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our allies. Allowing Russian-origin diesel into global markets will offer limited to no relief to Americans. It will have a negligible impact on fuel prices, but the revenues the Kremlin will receive from this agreement will undoubtedly finance its desired war of attrition.”
Senator Ted Cruz calling it a mistake.
Are you saying they're just all wrong? This won't have --
WRIGHT: In fact, they are all wrong. They don't understand what President Trump's doing.
Energy is complicated. This is not a removal of sanctions of what Russia is currently exporting.
RADDATZ: But it's what Russia wants, and Russia invaded Ukraine.
WRIGHT: Russia did invade Ukraine. Russia started this war, and President Trump has worked relentlessly to find a road to peace and to find a road to greater energy supplies in the world. This checks both boxes.
Russia would get a benefit if they reduce their war effort and then they can export diesel.
This is a carrot for Russia to reduce the war effort and drive down energy prices for Americans and the rest of the world at the same time if they do --
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: But still something Russia wants.
Look, the administration had been berating countries for buying Russian oil.
This is what you said just over a year ago about India buying Russian oil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: India has decided to make the trade-off to buy cheaper oil and sort of look the other way, that that's giving money to a guy who's murdering thousands of people every week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RADDATZ: What has changed? Putin is still murdering thousands.
WRIGHT: And my point there stands. We haven't reduced sanctions on the export of Russian oil, which is what I was speaking about.
RADDATZ: Diesel.
WRIGHT: They're very different. Russia wants to and can export oil, as a -- as was true when I said that, and as is true today. We have not removed the sanctions on Russian oil. We are removing sanctions on a product that Russia currently does not and cannot export.
The way forward for Russia to be able to export diesel is to reduce their war effort, make progress towards peace.
RADDATZ: President Trump said that there was a deal, a ceasefire, an energy ceasefire a week ago. Russia and Ukraine said there was no such thing. Were you involved in that? Was there anything?
WRIGHT: This is President Trump encouraging Russia if they want to export diesel, if they want to get the benefits you believe that are about to be showered upon them, the only way they can do that is with an energy ceasefire or reduction of war effort.
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: Was there ever one, because Russia and Ukraine didn't?
WRIGHT: President Trump is always working to move them in the direction to have that kind of a deal. That is the only way Russia would benefit from this reduction of sanctions, only on diesel exports, not on oil exports, not on any other Russian exports.
RADDATZ: So a carrot, no pressure right now. Why give Russia a carrot?
WRIGHT: Oh, a lot of pressure with the -- there have never been sanctions nearly as strong on Russia today as there -- as there is under the Trump administration. The Biden administration --
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: But why a carrot? Why a carrot at this moment?
WRIGHT: Because four-and-a-half years into this war, a million-and-a-half casualties haven't brought an end to the war. President Trump isn't going to just throw up his arms and say, well, I guess we can never stop it. Look, the Biden administration was feckless here, had over $5 a gallon price of gasoline, and did nothing meaningful to end the war. Clearly, it's a tricky problem.
(CROSSTALK)
RADDATZ: That's about two years ago.
WRIGHT: But President Trump is working on it.
RADDATZ: President Trump has been president almost two years. I know you're making efforts to lower gas price and improve the economy, but voters don't appear to be buying that. In our poll, three-quarters of Americans rated the economy negatively and now say, they trust Democrats to handle the economy more than they trust Republicans, a flip from the poll in July and from our polls going back to 2022 where Republicans had the edge.
Voters are not happy about this. You know they are not happy about this, and how can anything possibly change before the midterms?
WRIGHT: Both gasoline and diesel prices peaked a few weeks ago. They've pulled back only slightly. We'd like them to pull back a lot more than they have. So your point is correct there, people are upset about high gasoline and diesel prices and we understand that. That's why we're working in all different avenues to address that problem.
The first refinery to be built in the United States in decades will go under construction next year. We're working with existing refineries to expand their throughput. In contrast, Martha -- in contrast, the Democrats for 15 years have done everything they can to make energy more expensive. They've closed coal plants. They've closed refineries.
Gavin Newsom has forced the closer of two refineries in the last 12 months.
RADDATZ: I just -- the Strait of Hormuz and the Iran War, you would admit, caused a lot of these problems.
WRIGHT: Absolutely. To prevent the Iranian regime from getting nuclear weapons, absolutely comes at a cost. The Iranian regime killed 30,000 to 40,000 of their own citizens in January. Since then, they've bombed every neighbor they have. Are you comfortable --
RADDATZ: I understand that.
WRIGHT: Are you comfortable with a nuclear-armed Iranian regime?
RADDATZ: I understand the point of stopping a nuclear weapon. That has not happened yet, and there's no end in sight at this point.
WRIGHT: It's a tricky problem. I appreciate tremendously the president's courage to end a long-term problem. Does it come with some short-term political pain? It does. But that's called leadership. President Trump wants to bring peace to the world and drive energy prices down. He works every single day for that.
To hear Democrats today, who for 15 years have striven to raise the price of energy, very successfully, I'll add. Gasoline and diesel are much more expensive in states governed by Democrats. Electricity is much more expensive in states governed by Democrats.
So their newfound love of low energy prices is a little politically disingenuous.
RADDATZ: I also want to go back to that poll where these voters are blaming the president for these energy costs. But we thank you for joining us this morning. Mr. Secretary, appreciate it.
WRIGHT: Thank you.
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