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    Trump Says He Rejected Putin’s Offer to Help Negotiate Israel-Iran Conflict

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    Trump is not quite ready to get his hands dirty…

    On Wednesday, President Trump said he had declined an offer from Russian leader Vladimir Putin to help with negotiations with Iran and Israel.

    President Donald Trump spoke about the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict during an impromptu press conference on the White House lawn on Wednesday after he visited with some construction workers putting up new flag poles on the ground.

    At one point in the exchange, Trump boasted about the U.S. achieving dominance over Iran’s skies before pivoting to discuss a recent phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    “I mean, they’re totally defenseless. They have no air defense whatsoever. They’re totally captured. You know, we’ve totally captured the air,” Trump said of Iran’s airspace.

    Trump then called on a reporter for another question, who asked, “Mr. President, you’ve been fairly compassionate towards the Iranian people—”

    “I know a lot of people from Iran, from New York, from Washington, mostly from New York. They are incredible people. They’re smart, they’re energetic, they can be difficult, but so can you. You know, they are great people, smart people. And those people are getting the hell beat out of them now. And it’s really a shame. It’s so stupid. It’s stupid. This is another one. You know, Russia-Ukraine is so stupid, would have never happened if I was president,” Trump replied.

    “You guys agree with that, right?” added the president, turning to the construction workers for reassurance.

    “Would have never happened if I were president. Putin wouldn’t have done it. And I spoke to him yesterday, and I said, you know, he actually offered to help mediate. I said, ‘Do me a favor. Mediate your own. Let’s mediate Russia first, OK?’ I said, ‘Vladimir. Let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later.’ But I think that’s going to work out, too, but so many people have been killed. The big thing with that one is far more people are dead than have been reported in the Ukraine-Russia. Many, many more people. A building falls down, they say nobody was hurt, you know. So, it’s ridiculous,” Trump concluded.

    A different reporter then asked, “What does ‘unconditional surrender’ mean?”

    “Well, you know what it means, ‘unconditional surrender.’ Two very simple words. A very simple, ‘unconditional surrender.’ That means I’ve had it. Okay, I’ve had it, I give up, no more. Then we go blow up all the nuclear stuff that’s all over the place there. No, they had bad intentions. You know, for 40 years they’ve been saying, ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’ death to anybody else that they didn’t like,” Trump replied

    Watch:

    The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected President Donald Trump’s calls for unconditional surrender on Wednesday.

    “It isn’t wise to tell the Iranian nation to surrender,” he posted to X. “What should the Iranian nation surrender to? We will never surrender in response to the attacks of anyone. This is the logic of the Iranian nation. This is the spirit of the Iranian nation.”

    In another tweet, he criticized Trump for his “absurd rhetoric” and “demands that the Iranian people surrender to him,” adding that he should “make threats against those who are afraid of being threatened. The Iranian nation isn’t frightened by such threats.”

    So far, Israel has killed at least 20 of Iran’s top military leaders, damaged key nuclear facilities, destroyed more than a third of Iran’s missile launchers, and hit over 1,100 targets around Iran.

    Trump Will Stop At NOTHING To Save America — Show Your Support HERE!

    Trump Touts ‘Major’ Prisoner Swap Between Ukraine And Russia

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    President Trump is on the verge of a huge accomplishment…

    President Donald Trump announced on Friday morning that Ukraine and Russia were completing a “major” prisoner exchange as the United States continues its push for peace between the two warring countries.

    The deal, which was agreed to last week, swaps 1,000 prisoners each between Ukraine and Russia, making it the largest prisoner exchange of the war, The New York Times reported. Trump congratulated the countries on the agreement and hinted that it “could lead to something big.”

    “A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Friday morning. “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”

    Earlier this week, Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine, adding that the talks could be held at the Vatican. Trump made the announcement after a two-hour phone call with the Russian despot.

    “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump said on Monday. “The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.”

    During recent talks in Turkey, Ukraine and Russia agreed to the prisoner swap, but Russian officials reportedly said they would not agree to a ceasefire unless Ukraine withdraws from four regions in eastern Ukraine that Russian forces took over in 2022.

    “The agreement to release 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity became perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Turkey,” Zelensky said following the meeting. “We are working to ensure this result is delivered.”

    Peace talks between the countries, however, have hit multiple roadblocks, and the Trump administration has suggested that it is willing to walk away from further negotiations if Ukraine and Russia don’t make progress soon.

    Trump Confirms Direct Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks To ‘Begin Immediately’

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    President Trump on Monday said that Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire, following phone calls with the leaders of each country. He also noted the Vatican has offered to host the talks.

    The White House said Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about two hours, after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day. 

    Trump has been pushing for a 30-day ceasefire in the war, and the White House said before Monday’s calls that he was frustrated with both sides.

    The president called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine before entering office, and more than two months of direct diplomacy has failed to get Putin to agree to even basic terms. 

    The announcement of direct negotiations comes after Putin last week skipped appearing at direct talks in Turkey that he proposed. 

    On Monday, Trump described the tone and spirit of his conversation with Putin as “excellent.”  

    “If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later,” he wrote in a post on his social media site, Truth Social.

    Trump said he agreed with Putin that “largescale TRADE” can happen between Russia and the U.S. “when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is ove

    This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

    Report: Melania Trump Statue In Slovenia Sawed Off, Stolen

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    By The White House - https://www.flickr.com/photos/202101414@N05/54426560683/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=163105965

    Police in Slovenia are investigating the disappearance of a bronze statue of U.S. first lady Melania Trump.

    The life-size sculpture was unveiled in 2020 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office near Sevnica in central Slovenia, where Melania Knavs was born in 1970. It replaced a wooden statue that had been set on fire earlier that year.

    According to Slovenian media reports, the bronze replica was sawed off at the ankles and removed.

    The original wooden statue was torched in July 2020. The rustic figure was cut from the trunk of a linden tree, showing her in a pale blue dress like the one she wore at Trump’s presidential inauguration in 2017.

    The replica bronze statue has no obvious resemblance to the first lady.

    Fox News Host Mark Levin Skewers Trump Middle East Visit

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    Fox News host Mark Levin had a lot to say about President Trump’s current visit to the Middle East…

    Without mentioning President Trump by name, Levin was remarkably critical of the commander-in-chief, taking to social media to blast Saudi Arabia for playing a “significant role on the 9/11 slaughter of our people.” He also condemned Qatar for having “protected the leader of the 9/11 attack from the FBI, before he was able to launch his war on America that killed our people.”

    Levin posted on X:

    Saudi Arabia played a significant role on the 9/11 slaughter of our people. I didn’t hear their Crown Prince even apologize once yesterday for what they did to us. And I know the 9/11 families are reeling from this.

    And Qatar protected the leader of the 9/11 attack from the FBI, before he was able to launch his war on America that killed our people. The debate about whether the plane is a legal gift is beside the point. Qatar is a terrorist regime that has murdered Americans.

    I cannot let bygones be bygones and those Americans who suffered the consequences of what these monarchies did cannot either. I can’t stop thinking about all the innocent people who went to work that day, and were on those planes, and all the firefighters and police officers who died horrible deaths.

    As for Iran, if they get a nuclear weapon that’s on our generation. And our country will suffer the horrible consequences. These are terrorists. They don’t think like us and they don’t love life like us. We must have the guts and wisdom to protect ourselves.

    In a separate post, Levin praised Trump, but not without dinging him for using “lines used by the Soros-Koch isolationist crowd about neocons and interventionists” in his speech to the Saudis. Levin linked to a Jewish Insider article about the speech and noted via X:

    Isolationism or globalism? Or both?

    Actually, POTUS’s speech included some of the lines used by the Soros-Koch isolationist crowd about neocons and interventionists, but the irony is that it was given in the context of a globalist outreach effort to make economic and military deals with and between Middle East monarchies/dictatorships and the biggest of America’s globalists/internationalists/corporatists. We don’t know the details but if they’re great deals for we, the people, that’s wonderful. I truly believe the President is THE best at making GREAT deals. Nonetheless, this looks like globalism wrapped in isolationist language.

    Levin’s comments come as President Trump faces scrutiny over his decision to accept Qatar’s gift of a luxurious $400 million “flying palace” to serve as Air Force One. (RELATED: Trump Announces Plan To Drop Sanctions On Syria)

    The prospect has drawn bipartisan pushback, which Trump has met with indifference. 

    “[The Qataris] said to me, ‘we would like to, in effect, we would like to make a gift. You’ve done so many things. and we’d like to make you a gift to the Defense Department,’ which is where it’s going. and I said, ‘Well, that’s nice.’ Now, some people say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t accept gifts for the country.’ My attitude is, why wouldn’t I accept the gift? We’re giving to everybody else, why wouldn’t I accept a gift?” Trump explained to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesdsay. 

    U.S. relations with Doha have come a long way since 2017, when Trump accused Qatar of harboring terrorism: “The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level,” Trump said at the time. 

    From there, Qatar became a major non-NATO ally to the U.S. in 2022 under President Biden and is home to Al Udeid Air Base, one of the U.S.’ largest Middle East bases and a key hub for U.S. Central Command operations. 

    “Qatar is not, in my opinion, a great ally. I mean, they support Hamas. So what I’m worried about is the safety of the president,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told reporters on Tuesday.

    The Constitution states that accepting a gift from an overseas power requires congressional approval. However, Trump has not requested permission to receive the plane, an offering made months after his family business agreed to develop a multi-billion dollar golf course in the Middle Eastern country. 

    Trump Announces Plan To Drop Sanctions On Syria

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    By The White House from Washington, DC - President Trump and The First Lady Participate in an Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony, Public Domain,

    President Donald Trump announced the United States will soon drop sanctions against Syria.

    During lengthy remarks on Tuesday, Trump laid out his vision for the Middle East, sharing a major announcement: He intends to drop sanctions against Syria.

    “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said in a speech in Saudi Arabia, his first stop on the first international tour of his second term in office. 

    “In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there is a new government that we must all hope will succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” he said. “So I say good luck, Syria.”

    The nation was cut off from the global financial system under ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s government, imposed during 14 years of civil war. 

    Trump called the sanctions “brutal and crippling” but “important” at the time.

    Trump said both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Erdoğan had encouraged him to lift the sanctions. 

    “Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump quipped. 

    U.S. sanctions had slapped financial penalties on any foreign individual or company that provided material support to the Syrian government and prohibited anyone in the U.S. from dealing in any Syrian entity, including oil and gas, and Syrian banks were effectively cut off from global financial systems. 

    Trump also revealed he has invited Saudi Arabia to join his historic Abraham Accords.

    “It has been an amazing thing, the Abraham Accords,” Trump said at a Saudi Arabia investment conference. “And it’s my fervent hope, wish, and even my dream that Saudi Arabia, a place I have so much respect for … will soon be joining the Abraham Accords. I think it will be a tremendous tribute to your country.”

    Trump negotiated the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, at the end of his first term in office. Now, he is hoping to see Saudi Arabia join it as well.

    During lengthy remarks, Trump laid out his vision for the Middle East. Minutes later, he made a second major announcement: He intends to drop sanctions against Syria.

    Zelensky Asks Trump To Join Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Middle East Visit

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    By President Of Ukraine - https://www.flickr.com/photos/165930373@N06/54169325552/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156221279

    A big step forward…

    Officials from Ukraine and Russia are expected to meet in Turkey on Thursday to begin peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Ahead of the summit, Zelensky posted on social media that Russian President Vladimir Putin had rejected offers of a ceasefire.

    “Ukraine has always supported diplomacy. I am ready to come to Türkiye. Unfortunately, the world still has not received a clear response from Russia to the numerous proposals for a ceasefire,” Zelensky wrote in a post on X. “[Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] has expressed full readiness to host the meeting. It is important that President Trump fully supports the meeting, and we would like him to find an opportunity to come to Türkiye.”

    Asked earlier on Monday about whether he would attend the peace talks, Trump said he might attend if his presence is needed to move the negotiations forward.

    “I think you may have a good result out of the Thursday meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said. “I was thinking about flying over. I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday – I’ve got so many meetings. But I was actually thinking about flying over there. There’s a possibility if I think things can happen. But we got to get it done.”

    Putin and Zelensky agreed to meet in Turkey for peace talks after Putin rejected another offer from Ukraine for a 30-day ceasefire over the weekend. Putin countered the offer with a restart to peace talks, with Turkey’s Erdoğan as host. 

    Trump took to Truth Social to push Zelensky to accept the offer.

    “Ukraine should agree to this, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump posted. “At least they will be able to determine whether or not a deal is possible, and if it is not, European leaders, and the U.S., will know where everything stands, and can proceed accordingly!”

    Trump appeared to warn Putin in the message, as well.

    “I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin, who’s too busy celebrating the Victory of World War II, which could not have been won (not even close!) without the United States of America,” Trump said. The president has previously expressed frustration at Moscow for appearing recalcitrant in making progress toward peace.

    Former NATO Commander Goes On CNN To Mock Trump’s Plea To Putin

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

    Retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, took a swipe at President Donald Trump’s Truth Social message to Vladimir Putin, calling the public plea unlikely to influence Russian military behavior.

    Clark’s comments came during a Thursday appearance on CNN’s “Situation Room,” shortly after Trump had posted:

    “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”

    “Do you think a post from President Trump on social media will actually wind up stopping Putin from launching more attacks on civilians, like in Kyiv, for example, where civilian men, women and children were just killed in big numbers?” asked CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

    Clark replied bluntly: “Well, I think it would be very surprising if President Trump’s tweet would have any real impact on President Putin.”

    The retired Army officer argued that Putin sees a strategic opening, particularly as the U.S. appears to be retreating from some of its longstanding commitments in Europe.

    Mediaite further reports:

    “So this is a moment for Putin, really. It’s what he’s been waiting for,” he continued. “This gives him a clear field to bring pressure to bear against Ukrainian population like this missile strike, and also to go to his allies, China, North Korea, and Iran, and say, ‘Give me more, give me more. This is the moment we can go.”

    “We know there are exercises being prepared for this summer in Belarus. Rumors of brigades being ready to attack from Belarus into Kaliningrad to open that gate. This is a really perilous time for Europe. And it’s the opposite time to be pulling back,” he said.

    “What President Trump should be saying is, ‘Since you did this, I’m reinforcing U.S. Military assistance to Kyiv, and you can forget about it. We’re going to stay with it until you realize you’re not going to win militarily,’” Clark advised Trump. That’s what it’s going to take to bring peace to Ukraine.”

    Trump had pledged to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours of being elected, but he and his diplomatic team have thus far found it difficult to broker a peace agreement with Russia and Ukraine, going so far as to suggest they will give up any efforts recently.

    READ NEXT: Trump Pushes To Revive Sweeping Ban – Supreme Court Now Involved

    ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ – Trump Blasts Putin Over Deadly Strikes On Kyiv

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    In a dramatic public rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday morning to condemn Russia’s latest missile and drone assault on Kyiv, which killed at least nine people and injured more than 70.

    “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV,” Trump wrote. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”

    The Hill has more:

    The Trump administration has been pushing for a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, but top officials have in recent days signaled they are prepared to walk away from negotiations if the two sides don’t reach a deal soon.

    Fighting has been ongoing in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded in February 2022 after amassing troops near the border.

    Trump has vacillated between criticizing Russia for its continued assault on Ukraine and lashing out at Zelensky.

    Trump’s comments came just hours after he slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for vowing that Ukraine would never recognize Russia’s occupation of Crimea — a strategic peninsula that was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014 and is home to more than 2 million people.

    By President Of Ukraine – https://www.flickr.com/photos/165930373@N06/54169325552/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156221279

    “Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian territory,” Trump posted Wednesday. He added that such declarations from Kyiv “make it so difficult to settle this war.”

    The White House recently announced that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will soon visit Moscow for a fourth round of negotiations with Putin, underlining ongoing diplomatic efforts.

    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    Meanwhile, European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have squarely blamed Putin for prolonging the war, stating that Russia alone prevents peace. Macron emphasized that only Putin’s agreement could stop the violence, underscoring the international community’s call for a resolution.

    READ NEXT: Legal Firestorm Erupts: US States Sue Trump Over Emergency Powers

    Trump’s Patience With Zelensky Evaporates As White House Issues Dire Warning

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    5
    By President Of Ukraine - https://www.flickr.com/photos/165930373@N06/54169325552/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156221279

    President Trump’s growing frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to a head on Wednesday. At the center of the tension: a statement from Zelensky demanding full Russian withdrawal — including from Crimea — before even sitting down for peace talks.

    While the Ukrainian leader remains steadfast in his refusal to negotiate without a complete rollback of Russian control, critics argue that this kind of rigid posture may be stalling real progress and prolonging the war’s human cost.

    The Trump team has been exploring more pragmatic solutions to break the deadlock — one of which includes floating the idea of formally recognizing Crimea as Russian territory. It’s a bold play meant to strip away one of the biggest barriers to getting both sides to the table.

    As the New York Post explains, Trump’s dire warning to the Ukrainian president included a particularly ominous comment: settle for a negotiated peace or risk “losing the entire country.”

    Trump, 78, was responding to Zelensky telling reporters Tuesday that “Ukraine will not legally recognize the [Russian] occupation of Crimea” — a key part of a US-proposed peace plan under discussion in London Wednesday, and a condition that has long been a red line for Kyiv.

    “This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion,” the president seethed on Truth Social. 

    “Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”

    Trump a decade ago criticized Obama for not intervening when Russia annexed Crimea. Kyiv has been working since 2014 to get its territory back and expel Russians from eastern Ukraine.

    In a bid to end the grinding, trench-style war in Ukraine, the Trump administration is preparing to upend more than eight decades of U.S. foreign policy.

    “There’s a doctrine out there called the Welles Declaration, that goes back to 1940, that says the United States will not acknowledge the occupation of a foreign land by another nation,” a senior administration official told the Post. “That’s on the table.”

    The Welles Doctrine, first invoked to condemn the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, has long guided America’s refusal to recognize territorial seizures. Reversing or softening that position would mark a historic shift — one aimed at pressuring Ukraine and Russia toward a negotiated ceasefire.

    The move, while politically explosive, is rooted in realpolitik. Crimea has been effectively under Russian control since 2014, and there’s an argument to be made that clinging to pre-2014 maps may be standing in the way of saving lives today.

    Predictably, the proposal sparked outrage in Kyiv. For Ukrainians, Crimea isn’t just land — it’s a Maryland size chunk of heritage, identity and pride.

    But an important question remains: At what point does principled resistance become strategic blindness?

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