[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

ADDED:

Fuck Trump:

Vance: Have you said thank you once?

Zelenskyy: You think if you speak very loudly—

Trump: He’s not speaking loudly. You’ve done a lot of talking. You’re not winning this pic.twitter.com/32wEHc4Pk6

— Acyn (@Acyn) February 28, 2025

You can watch the Oval Office argument here.

Apparently, Baby Trump didn’t feel like Zelensky showed enough “gratitude”.

Class act:

Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit. Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people.
Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 28, 2025

It’s nice to see so many other leaders lending him their support.

Trump’s priorities:

🤵One small but not insignificant factor that irritated Trump was the fact Zelensky didn't wear a suit, two sources with direct knowledge told me
👔Trump's advisers told Zelensky's team on multiple occasions that it would be more respectful for Zelensky to ditch his… https://t.co/idyPjZhiNs

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) February 28, 2025

Trump condescends to a man who is a proven leader that has his country and people’s best interest at heart. A leader who remained in-country during a an unprovoked war, so he could lead. He’s not some cheap and petty bullshit artist like Trump, and yet what Zelensky is wearing is what concerns Baby Trump.

Tell me, what has Trump done that is on a par with Zelensky.

First news item

The U.N. reaffirms its slide to irrelevancy:

Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust Director Anne Bayefsky says she submitted a video statement to UNHRC, but was cut off after just a few seconds. President of the U.N. Human Rights Council Jürg Lauber stopped the video and declared that Bayefsky had used inappropriate language.

Bayefsky begins by saying “The world now knows Palestinian savages murdered 9-month-old baby Kfir,” and is almost immediately cut off by Lauber.

“Sorry, I have to interrupt,” Lauber abruptly said as the video of Bayefsky was paused. Lauber briefly objected to the “language” used in the video, but then allowed it to continue. After a few more seconds, the video was shut off entirely. Lauber reiterated that “the language that’s used by the speaker cannot be tolerated,” adding that it “exceeds clearly the limits of tolerance and respect.”

. . .

“It’s a total farce. There is no free speech at the U.N. for any NGO that calls out U.N. antisemitism. This is not harmless censorship. This is a war that the U.N. has declared against Jews, against Americans, and against free speech,” Bayefsky told Fox News Digital.

“The actual horrors of the extermination of the Bibas babies by Palestinians was off limits and pointing out the UN responsibility for their murder and torture was ‘inappropriate,’” Bayefsky said.

During the same hearing, Qatar was allowed to accuse Israel of being a “torturer,” using “collective punishment,” and attempting “to impose Judaism” in the West Bank and Gaza without any evidence or interruption. Multiple speakers were also allowed to accuse Israel of carrying out a genocide, also with no objection from Lauber.

Second news item

Yes to government efficiency. No to slash and burn cuts. Instead, with thoughtfulness and accuracy, make determinations that cause the least harm to the most desperate of us:

Yesterday, Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts.

Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressional mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵
1. All malaria supplies protecting 53 million people, mostly children, including bed nets, diagnostics, preventive drugs, and treatments – terminated.
2. All tuberculosis programs, including the Global TB Drug Facility – terminated.
3. All supplies of US-manufactured emergency food packets for starving children on the brink of death – terminated. . .
11. Screening program with the Mexican government to identify illicit drugs like fentanyl being smuggled at the US border.
12. A project in the Democratic Republic of Congo that operates the only source of water for camps with 250,000 displaced people in camps located in the center of current conflict.

Third news item

English only:

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Friday designating English as the official language of the United States, a White House official says.

It’s the first time in American history an official language has been designated on the national level. The objective is to promote unity within the country, people briefed on the order said.

The order would rescind a mandate signed by President Bill Clinton requiring agencies to provide non-English speakers assistance, though those agencies would still be allowed to offer services in other languages.

Fourth news item

To some of us, this is hugely problematic. But to others, no big deal. After all, embracing accused and/or adjudicated sex offenders actually seems on-brand for the modern Republican Party:

Florida Republican group has been condemned for inviting Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, to speak with them while the pair await trial for human trafficking offenses.

Andrew and Tristan Tate, who have millions of predominantly young male followers online, are accused of being involved in a criminal gang that lured women to Romania to be sexually exploited. Andrew Tate also faces an additional charge of rape.

The brothers arrived in Florida on Thursday with the case against them still open. On the same day, the Tampa Bay Young Republicans shared a post on social media welcoming the Tate brothers to Florida.

Will we find out if Trump really did pressure Romania to release the pair?

Sixth news item

Word:

Just to make things clear, there is a huge moral question at stake here. Ukraine is a young, fragile, and imperfect liberal democracy, but it is a liberal democracy nonetheless. Russia by contrast is the latest incarnation of the former Soviet Union, an entity whose demise in 1991 Putin regrets and has been trying ever since to reverse. It is a dictatorship in which a single wrong word on social media can land you in jail for years. I remember walking through Kyiv’s Maidan Square a few years ago, marveling at the fact that Ukraine was a genuinely free society in which you could criticize the government, move about freely, and vote for an opposition candidate (which is what Ukrainians did when they elected Zelensky and his Servant of the People Party in 2019). None of this happens in Russia, which has reverted to totalitarian dictatorship.

Any peace agreement “negotiated” by the Trump administration and Russia now will not bring peace. There may be a ceasefire for a while, but the Russians will rearm and reopen the war once they re-equip themselves. They have no reason to honor existing ceasefire lines, but will want to reabsorb the whole of Ukraine at the right time.

Less noticed in the current furor is the policy announced by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to cut the U.S. defense budget by 8% a year for the next five years. This is the opposite of what the United States should be doing. Down the road there will be new Russian threats to every country on its periphery—Georgia, Moldova, the Baltic states, and Poland. The United States does not have to formally pull out of the NATO alliance; Trump has already signaled clearly that he will not honor the Article 5 commitment to mutual defense. America will be weakened both in terms of intention, and in terms of capacity to meet future great power threats.

Seventh news item

Because China, like Russia, is sooo trustworthy:

Thailand deported 40 Uyghur asylum-seekers to China on Thursday, activists and Thai officials said, despite warnings from rights advocates and U.S. officials that they could face torture and imprisonment if they were returned.

The Uyghurs, who had been detained for more than a decade, were part of a group of more than 300 people who were arrested in 2014 after fleeing China to seek protection in Thailand.

. . .

The U.S. strongly condemned the move by Thailand, a longtime ally. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thailand risked “running afoul of its international obligations” under the U.N. Convention Against Torture and called on Thai officials to “fully verify continuously” that Chinese officials were not violating the Uyghurs’ human rights.

“We urge all governments in countries where Uyghurs seek protection not to forcibly return ethnic Uyghurs to China,” he said in a statement.

Eighth news item

Zelensky’s must-have:

“Guarantees of peace and security — this is the key to ensuring that Russia will no longer destroy the lives of other nations,” Zelenskyy said. “I will meet with President Trump. For me and for all of us in the world, it is crucial that America’s assistance is not stopped. Strength is essential on the path to peace.”

We’ll see what happens after today’s meeting between Trump and Zelensky.

Have a good weekend.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Welp, that settles it: Putin is trustworthy!:

President Donald Trump said Thursday that talks to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are “very well advanced” and he expressed confidence that Russian leader Vladimir Putin won’t press to restart the war if a truce can be reached.

Trump made the comments at the start of a White House meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer where Starmer was expected to make his case to the Republican president that American leadership would be critical to maintain the peace in Ukraine should the three-year war end.

“I think he’ll keep his word,” Trump said of Putin. “I’ve spoken to him, I’ve known him for a long time now, we had to go through the Russian hoax together.”

It’s almost like Russia didn’t break the Budapest Memorandum, Minsk 1 & 2, The Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty, Azov Sea & Kerch Strait Treaty, and Black Sea Fleet agreements. . . They’ve clearly proven themselves trustworthy, no??

Remember, in 2022, when Russia assured everyone there were no plans to invade Ukraine:

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov emerged from the nearly eight hours of talks and declared, “There are no plans or intentions to attack Ukraine.” He went on to say, “There is no reason to fear some kind of escalatory scenario.”

And less than a month later. . .

Additionally, in his meeting with Starmer, our president made a stunning observation:

Trump, speaking in the White House, and apparently unaware of the existence of gravity, laments Ukraine’s “very flat battlefields” because the “bullets only stop when they hit somebody”.

Makes you proud, doesn’t it?

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Sad news:

Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in New Mexico along with their dog, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told CNN. He was 95.

Their causes of death have not been confirmed, but “the circumstances surrounding the death of the two deceased individuals (are considered) to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” a sheriff’s deputy said, according to the affidavit for a search warrant obtained by CNN affiliate KOAT.

Hackman was an incredible actor. And one who could transform into a menacing character like no other. For me, however, there are two films that I really liked and believe showcased Hackman’s versatility.

First, in the 1988 film, Mississippi Burning, his role as the heroic, sharp old-school FBI agent Rupert Anderson reveals the heartache of a man who understands all too well the pervasive hatred toward Blacks at that time. It’s a very intense film that covers the disappearance and investigation of three civil rights workers in 1964 in Mississippi. At turns, tender-hearted toward Frances McDormand’s character, and then deeply angry and frustrated by circumstances of Mississippi and the Deep South, he is never not amazing to watch.

And second, his chilling role as Little Bill Daggett, the cruel and dangerous sheriff in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 film, Unforgiven. Always in tight control of a small town called Big Whisky in the 1880’s, residents live in fear of Little Bill, until one day, his character instinctively feels threatened when Eastwood’s anti-hero Will Munny rides into town. In this film, Hackman’s Little Bill is as menacing as menacing can get.

I was going to post a few clips from each film, but they’re a bit too rough.

You can read more on Gene Hackman here.

RIP.

-Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Vague on security:

This Bilateral Agreement and the Fund Agreement will constitute integral elements of the architecture of bilateral and multilateral agreements, as well as concrete steps to establish lasting peace, and to strengthen economic security resilience and reflect the objectives set forth in the preamble to this Bilateral Agreement.

The Government of the United States of America supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace. Participants will seek to identify any necessary steps to protect mutual investments, as defined in the Fund Agreement.

NATO membership for Ukraine? Border protection from Russia? Return to Ukraine of occupied territories? Full retreat of Russian troops?

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

A dangerous proposal, if accurate. Punishing Canada for their rejection of Trump’s deal, or just putting a little bit of pressure on the nation to reconsider Trump’s (ridiculous) proposal?:

A top White House official has proposed expelling Canada from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network as Donald Trump increases pressure on the country he talks about turning into the 51st US state.

Peter Navarro, one of the US president’s closest advisers, is pushing for the US to remove Canada from the Five Eyes — which also includes the UK, Australia and New Zealand — according to people familiar with his efforts inside the administration.

The people familiar with the situation said Navarro, who has easy access to the Oval Office due to his close relationship with Trump, is arguing that the US should increase pressure on Canada by evicting the country from the Five Eyes.

Why do the majority of Trump‘s decisions and deals have to do with alienating longtime allies and/or hurting Americans (excluding American billionaires)?

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

There is absolutely no defending this:

The U.S. voted against a resolution condemning Russia as the aggressor in the war in Ukraine that passed the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, marking three years since Russia’s launched its full-scale invasion of the country.

Among the 17 countries that joined the U.S. in opposition to the nonbinding measure were Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Israel and Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is a close ally to President Trump. China abstained, along with 64 other countries.

Additionally:

The U.S. delegation also abstained from voting on its own competing resolution that simply called for an end to the war, after European-sponsored amendments inserting new anti-Russian language in the resolution also passed the 193-member body by a wide margin. The amended U.S. resolution also passed.

And then there’s this:

Trump, asked about the vote in the Oval Office on Monday, said he would rather not explain the rationale behind it, but called it “self-evident.”

To refuse to say out loud that the blame for this war rests with Putin, and no one else, is a disgrace. I don’t know if Trump just doesn’t care, or is too dumb to understand “war,” or more likely, his adoration of Putin and an underlying drive to be a strong man like his corrupt pals, simply takes precedence. . . But to side with the likes of North Korea, Eritrea, Syria, Sudan Russia and Russia’s close ally Belarus, who also refused to vote against Putin, is deeply shameful and problematic. Every day, America looks less and less like the America that we’ve known our whole lives. And we’re only one month into Trump’s tenure. So as we betray Ukraine and demonstrate to the world that America can no longer be trusted or counted on, let’s see what President Zelensky has to say:

Zelensky to EU leaders in Kyiv:

The war is against Ukraine, so Ukraine must be at the negotiating table

Peace can’t be declared or announced. [it must be built]

**No one trusts Russia. This trust should be built in baby steps. The first step is to exchange all prisoners 1/

Europe should be at the table too, because it is Russian strategic assets.

So, together with the U.S., we must sit opposite of Russia 2/

Ukraine deserves not only EU membership, but also the security guarantees provided by NATO

If that’s impossible, Ukraine will built NATO in Ukraine 3/

I gave Gen. Kellogg and President Trump a document with a list of all ceasefires that Russia has broken4X

**No one except for the sitting President of the United States. And that is the saddest thing of all.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

May these sweet little ones rest in peace with the angels in the heavenly place:

BREAKING

Israeli authorities have confirmed that the two bodies of children which were handed over by Hamas this morning are indeed the bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas.

But the body of the adult which was handed over is NOT that of Shiri Bibas.

“Following the completion of… pic.twitter.com/aV0TtdSvUm

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 20, 2025

Details:

“Ariel and Kfir were not killed in an airstrike. Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered by terrorists in cold blood. The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys. They killed them with their bare hands. Afterwards, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities. This assessment is based on both forensic findings and intelligence.”

I won’t link to it, but there is video of Palestinians basically having a party and cheering while the coffins are paraded before them.

Second news item

A few Senate Republicans pushing back on Trump about his comments about Zelensky and Ukraine:

Public comments from President Trump blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion of his country are unnerving Senate Republicans, who have largely sought to avoid conflicts with the White House.

Trump’s escalating war of words with the Ukrainian leader comes as hawks in both parties plead with the president not to give Moscow a free pass in talks to end the bitter three-year conflict.

From Sen. Wicker:

“Any sort of peace talks that might get a fair result would definitely need to have the Ukrainians at the table and make sure that European interests are considered and carefully weighed,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a leading Ukraine proponent, adding that the Russian leader should not be trusted in these talks.

“Putin is a war criminal and should be in jail for the rest of his life — if not executed,” he added.

From Sen. Tillis:

“I’m concerned with anything that would ultimately allow there to be a moral equivalency between Zelensky and Putin,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who visited Ukraine alongside a pair of Senate Democrats over the weekend and toured parts of suburban Kyiv that have been ravaged by fighting.

He also pushed back on Trump’s criticism of Zelensky on Wednesday, when he took to Truth Social and called the Ukrainian president a “dictator without elections” who was doing a “terrible job.”

“Zelensky is frustrated, but he’s also been the right head of state for the time. He’s kept a nation together focused on Russian occupiers, and I think we should give them a fair amount of credit for that work,” Tillis said.

More at the link.

Third news item

America isn’t looking too good, thanks to Trump:

The U.S. is refusing to co-sponsor a draft U.N. resolution marking three years since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine that backs Ukraine’s territorial integrity and again demands Russia withdraw its troops, three diplomatic sources told Reuters, in a potential stark shift by Ukraine’s most powerful Western ally.

Washington has also objected to a phrase in a statement the Group of Seven nations was planning to issue next week that would condemn Russian aggression, two other sources told Reuters.

The U.S. refusal to agree to language that has been regularly used by the U.N. and G7 since February 2022 comes amid a widening rift between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump.

You can read the latest polling data on how Americans feel about supporting Ukraine here.

Fourth news item

Buttigieg making more sense than most Democrats:

Former Biden administration official Pete Buttigieg said that the Democratic Party’s approach to promoting diversity was too heavy-handed and led to the election of President Donald Trump.

“What do we mean when we talk about diversity? Is it caring for people’s different experiences and making sure no one is mistreated because of them, which I will always fight for? Or is it making people sit through a training that looks like something out of ‘Portlandia,’ which I have also experienced,” Buttigieg said.

“And it is how Trump Republicans are made,” Buttigieg added.

Mandatory unconscious bias trainings, and inclusivity and diversity trainings have been the rage at places of employment for a number of years. With DEI now on the outs, maybe the Democratic Party can actually start to focus on what voters of all stripes care about: the price of eggs and the economy.

More:

Buttigieg explained that the DNC event “was a caricature of everything” wrong with the Democratic Party’s “ability both to cohere as a party and to reach to those who don’t always agree” with them.

“I think — and this might sound counterintuitive — if we were more serious about the actual values and not caught up in vocabularies and trying to cater to everybody only in terms of their particular slice of combinations of identities versus the shared project.”

“It’s a problem, especially for men and White men,” Bibb said. “Both educated and non-educated college degree White men.”

Fifth news item

No one should be surprised if Trump refuses to vacate the office in four years. He has already refused to go peacefully once before. It would be foolish to think he wouldn’t do that again:

Steve Bannon: “The future of MAGA is Donald Trump. We want Trump in ‘28. That's what they can't stand. A man like Trump comes along only once or twice in the country’s history. We want Trump!”

This is what fascism looks like pic.twitter.com/Yz69Rmbjyu

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 20, 2025

Sixth news item

Smart piece:

The American demand is of an extraordinary scale. In Kyiv and again in Munich, the Americans proposed that Ukraine concede half of the profits from its mineral rights in perpetuity and from other national resources and from its ports in perpetuity with a lien on everything important — in exchange for essentially nothing. This is not really a monetary proposition, let alone a “deal,” but rather the demand that Ukraine become a permanent American colony. It amounts to blackmail enabled by ongoing Russian invasion. In effect, the United States is telling Ukraine to concede its resources to the United States, under the threat that American aid will be otherwise withdrawn, and those resources will be taken by Russia.

Seventh news item

Yep:

Today's cover: Mr. President: Putin is THE dictator and 9 other Ukraine-Russia war truths we ignore at our peril https://t.co/x4XMTe9l2g pic.twitter.com/6Jo7ubR4wo

— New York Post (@nypost) February 21, 2025

Eighth news item

He will do anything in Ukraine’s best interest to save the country and its people. They are Priority 1. No wonder Trump hates him. Zelensky is not a petty wanna-be king. He is a serious leader who seeks to save his country and not bring needless ruin to it:

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Sunday that he was willing to step down if it meant peace in Ukraine. His remark came days after President Trump questioned his legitimacy and called him a “dictator without elections,” echoing a Kremlin talking point.

At the same time, he continued to push back against Mr. Trump’s insistence that he sign a minerals deal that Ukraine says is unpalatable. And he announced a meeting on Monday of over 30 countries in person or online as a kind of coalition of support for Ukraine’s war effort.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Zelensky had seriously considered the option of stepping down or was merely responding to the latest jabs from Washington and Moscow. He added that he could trade his departure for Ukraine’s entry into NATO — a highly unlikely scenario given Mr. Trump’s opposition to allowing Ukraine into the military alliance.

“If it brings peace to Ukraine, and if you need me to step down — I am ready,” Mr. Zelensky said during a news conference on Sunday, on the eve of the third anniversary of the war. “Second, I can exchange this for NATO.”

Note, that while Trump blathered on at CPAC about the “deal” they were close to, it’s a non-starter for Ukraine because it would saddle many generations to come with an unrealistic and absurd financial burden to carry and with no security agreement.:

Under the proposed deal, those revenues would be directed to a fund in which the United States would hold 100 percent financial interest, and Ukraine should contribute to the fund until it reaches $500 billion. That sum is more than four times as much as the value of U.S. aid committed to Ukraine so far and more than twice the value of Ukraine’s economic output in 2021, before the war.

“It’s astronomical for us, and I don’t understand why would you impose such a burden” on an economy already reeling from the war, said Victoria Voytsitska, a former Ukrainian lawmaker and energy expert. “It sounds like the next couple of generations will have to pay reparations under such a scheme.”

The agreement does not commit the United States to security guarantees for Ukraine, or promise further military support for Kyiv. The word “security” was even deleted from a formulation contained in a previous version of the deal, dated Feb. 14 and reviewed by The Times, which stated that both countries aimed to achieve “lasting peace and security in Ukraine.”

Have a great weekend.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

He’ll fit right in:

Kash Patel, a longtime loyalist to President Donald Trump, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation — an agency he has talked about drastically restructuring while echoing Trump’s claims of the “weaponization” of the bureau’s powers in its Capitol riot investigations and other recent cases.

Patel was opposed by a pair of Republican senators: Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins. But he won support from every other Republican, including Sen. Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, who had opposed some of Trump’s other nominees. The final vote was 51-49, with all Senate Democrats opposing Patel.

McConnell, who earlier today announced that he would not be seeking re-election, shamed himself with his “yes” vote. How disappointing that he was unwilling to – I’ll quote Nancy Mace here – hold the line for the most qualified candidate. Warnings about Patel’s lack of integrity, lack of qualification, and his repeated claim that the 2020 election was stolen, have informed us as to what type of individual he is, and what he’ll be bringing to the position.

Moreover, there is also this. I wouldn’t trust anything coming out of her mouth, let alone a personal reference for a very powerful position in Washington:

Julie Kelly, a conservative commentator who described herself as a friend of Patel’s, predicted that Patel would “do what needs to be done” at the FBI, “which is not just dismantle this agency from the top headquarters down to 56 FBI field offices, but also hold accountable those agents who have used their unaccountable power to weaponize the most powerful law enforcement agency in the country against the political foes of the regime.”

Birds of a feather flock together, and so far the Trump administration/cabinet all look the same as they prostrate themselves before their leader. And that is not a good look.

P.S.

I predicted that all of Donald Trump’s picks would be confirmed–including Matt Gaetz. When Gaetz withdrew, people laughed at me. So be it.

Many of the same people said Kash Patel could not be confirmed.

Today, Gaetz is probably livid that he was made to withdraw.

My rationale was: senators are too cowardly to oppose these nominees in public, in numbers great enough to defeat any single nomination. That rationale has not been disproved.

My error on Gaetz was thinking that Trump would push the issue. I’m still not sure why he didn’t.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

From the President of the United States:

Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle. The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us — We have a big, beautiful Ocean as separation. On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING.” He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues…..

I just want to make a few points about this bucket full of smoldering slop that Trump has served up. You can do your own investigation into the balance of things he said above.

First, it’s hilarious that a TV reality host, who has never been tested by war, believes that he has more stature and gravitas than a comedian who has been tested by war, and after almost 3 years of it, still maintains a robust 63% approval rating, while the reality host’s approval rating slipped to 44%. [The share of Americans who disapprove of his presidency has risen more substantially, to 51% in the latest poll, compared with 41% right after he took office.]

Second, Trump, repeating Russian propaganda, continues to blame the victim. He doesn’t even mention the obvious fact that it is PUTIN who began the war with his illegal invasion of Ukraine. And it is PUTIN who continues the war. For the thousandth time, defending one’s homeland from a ruthless invader is not starting a war.

Third, to Trump’s greedy little mind, recouping monetary “losses” and then some, is the only priority. His priorities render him unable to understand that by us aiding a sovereign nation which embraces democracy and also preventing it from being subsumed by one of the world’s leading anti-democratic murderous regimes, helps keep the rest of the Western world safe. It also sends a powerful warning to other evil authoritarian leaders around the world.

Fourth, Trump’s stupidity is mind-numbing: no accusations made about Putin being a dictator, but accusations made that Zelensky, who was freely elected by the Ukrainian people, is the dictator. Additionally, Trump ignores that because Ukraine is under Martial law, elections cannot be held. Moreover, Zelensky has said that he doesn’t even know if he will run again, as it depends on the outcome of the war.

Importantly:

We looked closely at the question of elections in Ukraine when I was at the NSC. To state the obvious it is highly problematic when parts of the country are occupied, there is displacement of people from other parts, & Russia is bombing it constantly.

The main worry wasn’t that Zelenskyy would lose but that his victory would not be seen as legitimate because of the disruption of the war. The opposition had concerns. It would also likely hamper wartime decision making.

Elections are often suspended for countries at war— e.g. UK during WW II. One of Putin’s main talking points is that Zelenskyy is not legitimate. This is because he wants to undermine and ultimately remove him. It’s important we are clear eyed about what’s happening.

It should also be noted that all parties considering a run in the next presidential election agree that the next election shouldn’t take place until six months after Martial law is lifted.

Fifth, as Trump touts the ongoing negotiations to end the war, which Ukraine is not even involved in, he fails to mention that the war could end RIGHT NOW if Putin just stopped doing what he is doing. That’s all. Just call it a day, hand back occupied territories, take his troops home, and never look back. That’s the fastest way for this war to end. This unnecessary war that PUTIN alone started, could end immediately if Putin CHOSE to end it. And why doesn’t Trump ever mention this? Because that isn’t what Putin wants him to say. So, as Trump prostrates himself in submission to Putin, there is silence from his supporters and silence from Republicans in Congress because they are all too are busy prostrating themselves before Trump. [Ed. I saw a slightly different version of the “prostrating themselves” comment by someone pointing out the report in The Atlantic, but lost my bookmark to link it. Apologies.]

Our betrayal of Ukraine before the world is shameful and embarrassing. That Americans elected a president who sides with Russia and parrots their propaganda is still shocking. Everyone, except for Trump and his cronies, understand that Putin is evil and not to be trusted at any cost:

It’s a hellish thing to have one’s country be invaded by a madman. It’s an almost equally hellish thing to be abandoned by a madman of a different stripe, who leads the most powerful nation in the world, and yet deceitfully continues to blame the victim for starting the war in the first place.

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

This is just preening, posturing, and simply ridiculous:

The United States and Russia agreed on four principles following talks that lasted more than four hours in Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday, including appointing a high-level team to help “negotiate and work through the end of the conflict in Ukraine” in a way that’s “acceptable to all the parties engaged.”

The U.S. continues to shame itself before the world as Russia, the hostile invader, mass kidnapper of Ukrainian children, murderous regime, and all-around evil thug, is given the a seat at the table, while Ukraine, the only victim in this nightmare, is not offered a seat. What a gift to Putin! He must love Trump so much. He is the gift who keeps on giving. . .to the mortal enemy of the United States (as we essentially shun ann ally-state).

Per President Zelensky:

“Russia attacked Ukraine and we had no choice but to take up arms and defend ourselves. And there was no diplomacy because Russia attacked, attacked Ukraine at night and Ukrainians took up arms and started to defend their country,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Turkey’s capital Ankara.

Zelensky said Moscow gave Ukraine an “ultimatum” shortly after launching its invasion, demanding that Ukraine reduce its troop numbers and allow Moscow to install “a pro-Russian leadership” in Ukraine.

“If we didn’t go for all these ultimatums at the most difficult moment, why do we have the feeling that Ukraine will do it now?” the president said.

Additionally:

Zelensky said he wants the war to end, “but we want it to be fair and that no one decides anything behind our backs.”

“You cannot make decisions without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine, on any conditions,” he stressed.

—Dana