"Putin couldn't be happier" over Trump-Zelenskyy meeting, Trump's former national security adviser says
An Oval Office showdown between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would have been cheered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who served as Mr. Trump's national security adviser during his first administration.
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia and provided aid to Ukraine after the war began but last month, Mr. Trump flipped U.S. policy on its head. He opened peace talks with Russia, which occupies 20% of Ukraine while bombing the rest, and did not invite Ukraine. Then on Friday, he berated Zelenskyy during an explosive Oval Office meeting.
"Vladimir Putin couldn't be happier," McMaster, who is a CBS News contributor and author of "At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House," said. "Because what he sees is all of the pressure on Zelenskyy, all of the pressure on Ukraine and no pressure on him."
Trump and Russia
During his Friday Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy, Mr. Trump revealed something of a common cause with the Russian president. Mr. Trump complained that he and Putin had both been slandered for years by allegations that Russia helped Mr. Trump's campaigns, allegations the U.S. president ties to his Democratic opponents.
"Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia," Mr. Trump said.
McMaster, who was ousted by Mr. Trump in 2018, said Putin has manipulated many world leaders, including the U.S. commander in chief.
#CBSNews #News
#Putin #Russia #Trump #Zelensky
Read More...
4 weeks ago
As measles outbreak grows, HHS secretary says vaccination is a personal decision that can protect individuals and communities
As a measles outbreak in Texas has grown to nearly 150 cases, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an opinion piece on Fox News on Sunday that parents should consult with health-care providers “to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine” for their children.
Kennedy did not explicitly recommend the vaccine, but said the outbreak was a “call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health.”
#News #Texas #CNN #FoxNews
Read More...
4 weeks ago
European leaders ‘doubling down’ on backing Zelensky after Trump blowup
LONDON — Rattled European leaders said Sunday they were “doubling down” on supporting Ukraine and boosting military aid following the televised Oval Office blowup between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The embattled Zelensky was greeted with cheers outside 10 Downing Street and a warm hug from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he arrived late Saturday for an emergency summit of European leaders. The pair embraced again at the start of the session Sunday, which Starmer described as a “once-in-a-generation moment” for European security, and they sat side-by-side during the talks.
The display of support stood in stark contrast with comments Sunday from Trump administration officials, who heaped blame on Zelensky for the White House uproar. National security adviser Michael Waltz described Zelensky’s behavior as “incredibly disrespectful,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused him of disrupting U.S. efforts to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war.
#WashingtonPost
#Europe #News #Zelensky
Read More...
4 weeks ago
US pauses military aid to Ukraine, media reports
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - The United States is pausing military aid to Ukraine days after U.S. President Donald Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the Oval Office, a White House official confirmed on Monday.
The official said the U.S. is pausing and reviewing aid to ensure it is contributing to a solution.
The pause will last until Trump determines the country's leaders demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace, according to Bloomberg and Fox News reports.
#Ukraine #Reuters #News
Read More...
4 weeks ago
Dow tumbles 800 points as Trump confirms tariffs on Mexico and Canada will start Tuesday
US stocks slid Monday as investors braced for President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico to go into effect by the midnight deadline.
The Dow tumbled 650 points, or 1.48%, to close at 43,191. The Dow fell almost 900 points in afternoon trading before pulling back slightly. The broader S&P 500 fell 1.76% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.64%.
The S&P 500 posted its biggest one-day decline of the year. The Nasdaq is down about 6.5% since since Trump took office on January 20.
“Tomorrow, tariffs — 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House. “And that’ll start. … What they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”
Trump said the two trading partners had “no room” left to negotiate to avoid the levies and that he was using tariffs to “punish” countries that, as he put it, were taking from the US economy without giving enough in return.
“They’re all set. They go into effect tomorrow,” he said.
Trump also signed an executive order on Monday raising tariffs on imports from China to 20%, up from 10%. Trump said the tariffs, aimed at bringing China to the table on curtailing fentanyl entering the United States, will be raised because the communist country has not done enough to stem the flow of illegal drugs.
The VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, surged to its highest point this year after Trump’s comments.
“Due to the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs, the stock market has erased the gains from the ‘Trump bump’ following the presidential election and the expected upward pressure on prices is giving investors pause,” said Gustavo Flores-Macias, a professor of government and public policy at Cornell University.
“For investors, 2025 can still be a positive year for stocks, but it may take all year to realize gains. And they may be modest,” said Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group.
“I’m still a bull,” Bolvin said.
The import taxes Trump imposed are significant — the largest in US-China history. The initial tariffs, which went into effect February 4, set in motion tariffs on $1.4 trillion of imported goods. That’s more than triple the $380 billion worth of foreign goods that were hit with tariffs during Trump’s first term, according to estimates from the Tax Foundation.
Before he became president, Trump pledged a 60% tariff on all Chinese goods, so the tariff level could rise still.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said at the press conference about tariffs on Canada and Mexico that global companies can avoid tariffs if they invest into production in the United States, like TSMC, the Taiwanese chipmaker at the White House on Monday to announce a $100 billion US investment.
Trump’s tariffs will raise prices of imported goods, which could boost demand for goods produced in the US, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. But they also noted that tariffs will have negative effects on some American businesses.
“Tariff increases will also raise production costs for some domestic producers and will likely prompt foreign retaliation against some US exports, both of which could hurt domestic production,” they wrote in a note.
#CNN
#Mexico #Canada #China #US #News
Read More...
4 weeks ago
Trump warns Zelensky he 'won't be around very long' if he refuses peace deal with Russia
Donald Trump stepped up the pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky Monday with a stark warning: Sign up to a peace deal or risk annihilation.
The U.S. president spoke to reporters at the White House after an investment announcement, and used the occasion to further ratchet up pressure on the Ukrainian leader.
He said Zelensky should be 'more appreciative' of American aid if he wants Washington's help and made clear his frustration after their Oval Office summit on Friday descended into a slanging match.
#Trump #Zelensky #DailyMail #News
Read More...
4 weeks ago