This story appeared within the Logoff, a day by day publication that helps you keep knowledgeable in regards to the Trump administration with out letting political information take over your life. Subscribe right here.
Welcome to The Logoff. Right this moment I’m specializing in a disastrous assembly between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The hostile dialog had rapid penalties for Ukraine’s conflict effort and revealed a lot about how Trump sees the US’s new world function.
What occurred as a substitute? What started as a well mannered assembly devolved right into a de facto ambush after Zelenskyy questioned what would occur if Russia’s Vladimir Putin have been to interrupt a ceasefire. With cameras rolling, Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy within the Oval Workplace, accusing him of ingratitude for US assist. After the assembly, Zelenskyy left the White Home with the minerals deal unsigned, and Trump launched a press release saying the Ukrainian might “come again when he’s prepared for Peace.”
What now? Trump says he’s nonetheless pursuing a peace deal, however after Friday, Ukraine appears more likely to have even much less leverage. Ukraine’s key ask is a safety assure from the US — a request Putin opposes and Trump has resisted. Zelenskyy’s prospects are certainly worse now than when he wakened this morning.
What’s the massive image? The assembly was a stunning show of Trump’s posture towards the world — and the unconventional break he represents from the US’s earlier function within the world order. In a matter of some extremely charged minutes, he flouted the delicate US-Ukraine alliance, publicly humiliated a overseas chief, sure himself much more tightly to Putin, and summed all of it up with: “That is gonna be nice tv — I’ll say that.”
And with that, it’s time to log out …
Watching that Trump-Vance-Zelenskyy video introduced me perilously near an anxiety-driven YouTube scroll session. I used to be rescued by Vox’s Right this moment, Defined podcast, which has a captivating episode in regards to the Oscars’ overseas movies class. Particularly, it’s a couple of “German” movie that was truly (and secretly) filmed in Iran with Iranian actors and an Iranian director. I hope you get an opportunity to get pleasure from it.
Lastly, due to everybody who signed up for our new Saturday “Good Information” publication. In the event you missed it yesterday, it’s a weekly dose of hope for these troubled occasions. You may enroll right here. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you again right here on Monday.
