Rubio and JD Vance are Republicans to beat (if there's a vacancy)
Yet there's no denying that Washington is bubbling with speculation about the succession in three years' time. President Trump set the hare running on Tuesday when he was asked by a Fox reporter whether he would 'clear the field' and confirm that Vance was his heir apparent. Trump didn't go all in but he did concede his deputy was the 'most likely' and 'would be probably favourite at this point'. He then brought up his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, as 'somebody that maybe would get together with JD' on a Republican ticket.
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Daily Mirror
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
'Trump summit will see Putin go from global pariah to re-legitimatised leader'
In a few hours, Donald Trump's summit meeting with Vladimir Putin will wash away years of relegation and put the Moscow despot back on the world stage, writes Defence and Security Editor Chris Hughes Within hours on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will go from being a despised, wanted war crimes suspect and international pariah, to being catapulted back on the world stage. Russians, worn down by economic woes, the death and injury of more than a million male relatives and growing resentment, will see Putin re-legitimised, welcomed by the world leader. China, Iran and North Korea, allies to varying degrees of Moscow, will also see Putin become a player again after years in exile from the world stage. He has massively played Trump. In order of importance to Putin it is Russians first, then China, North Korea and Iran. Trump has already made so many concessions to Vladimir Putin that this meeting has already become an exercise in humiliation. Putin has wrested so much from Trump over Ukraine that it is hard to predict the US leader emerging with any tangible move towards peace. Putin will feel he has to continue stringing Trump along. It comes after Putin has warned of nuclear war after unleashing another night of hell on Ukraine The meeting was supposed to be a result of Putin agreeing to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky - of course that was never going to happen. Putin has run rings around Trump. He is so completely untrustworthy that little can be gained from the meeting except to stall the inevitable - strict US secondary sanctions on Russia. The biggest problem for Putin is that he is deluded in believing he's winning in Ukraine and by definition that means he does not know it. Meanwhile the Kremlin chief has ordered a major push in east Ukraine, breaking through Ukraine's defences and achieving ground. They have done this kind of maneuver before and it will likely backfire as Ukraine forces flank them and exact huge casualties - if they can maintain the manpower. Russian forces keep blundering forward, circling around Ukrainian defences, only to be caught in a unmoving air defences are proving to be ineffective and Ukraine is every week hitting its military infrastructure and supply chain. Oil refineries, multi-million pound long-range bombers, ammunition caches- all of these have been hit in Crimea and mainland Russia. Putin's strategically useless targeting and vile targeting of civilian communities is a bullyboy tactic that can only make gains by lowering morale if you under-estimate Ukraine's spirit. It is ironic that Putin will probably believe this is not the time to stop his military push as he believes his troops are having successes. But if he could really see the chess moves so far ahead as he is reportedly able he would know that a delay, if Ukraine's military manpower can withstand the pressure, is to Kyiv's advantage. With a tanking economy and a military so desperately in need he has to take on North Korean reinforcements, Russia cannot keep this up forever. Nor can it keep suffering the kind of strategic loss of men, machinery, power and supplies without cracks starting to show back home. And the quality of Putin's troops is also suffering since they now know they are signing up for what is possibly a one-way ticket to the frontline. With such an appallingly abused, badly-trained military many of the Russian attacks are made with the threat of execution behind them if they refuse. Some Russian women are, it is said, flocking to marry soldiers possibly because they are likely to die and they will get the money. This is a sordid equation if true and one that comes from the top - where only force, falseness and manipulation is of value. This depraved war in Ukraine is likely to grind on but if Ukraine can hold the line something has to give in Russia-and that will happen very quickly. Or the war can trundle on with no end, where both sides draw up lines, heavily militarise the front and simply stop fighting except for the odd flare-up. That is what happened between the two Koreas where the war of the 1950's has never stopped but there are few exchanges now. And that is another possibility, unless Trump hurries up and the penny drops when he realises Putin is stringing him along and disrespecting him. Then Trump, taking it personally, will hopefully come up with the very hard-hitting sanctions he should have pushed the button on months ago.
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
The Latest: Federal agents will patrol Washington 24/7
The increased presence of local and federal law enforcement officers in Washington, D.C. has intensified in the days following President Donald Trump's unprecedented announcement that his administration would take over the city's police department for at least a month. Troops are expected to start more missions in Washington on Thursday. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to London on Thursday in a show of support for Ukraine as Trump prepares for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Both Zelenskyy and the Europeans have worried that the bilateral summit would leave them and their interests sidelined. Here's the Latest: There's confusion over who controls Washington police The White House says Attorney General Pam Bondi is effectively in charge of the police department in Washington, D.C. But the city's police force already has a Pam at the helm — Chief Pamela Smith — and she says she only reports to the mayor. D.C. and federal officials say they are working together, but the unusual arrangement is raising questions about who gets to make decisions about police resources, personnel and policy. Trial over California National Guard deployment concludes The judge has yet to rule after a three-day trial over whether the administration broke the law by sending Guard troops to accompany immigration agents on raids in Southern California. The state argued that the deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally prohibits military enforcement of domestic laws. Lawyers for the administration said the law does not apply because Trump called up the Guard under an authority that allows separate authority. What to know about the US-Russia summit in Alaska It's happening where East meets West, in a place familiar to both countries as a Cold War front line of missile defense, radar outposts and intelligence gathering. Whether it can lead peace in Ukraine after more than 3 1/2 years of war remains to be seen. It takes place Friday at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside Anchorage, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning. It played a key role in the Cold War in monitoring and deterring the Soviet Union. It's Putin's first U.S. trip since 2015, for the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Because the U.S. isn't a member of the International Criminal Court, which has issued a warrant for Putin on war crimes accusations, it's under no obligation to arrest him. ▶ Read more on things to know about the meeting between Trump and Putin — Dasha Litvinova and Michelle L. Price Guard troops expected to ramp up DC missions Thursday National Guard officials say they expect troops to start doing more missions as orders and plans are being developed and more troops stage at the Guard's armory. Neither Army nor District of Columbia National Guard officials have been able to describe the training backgrounds of the troops who have reported for duty so far. While some Guard members are military police, and thus better suited to a law-enforcement mission, others likely hold jobs that would have offered little training in dealing with civilians or law enforcement. Federal agents will patrol the streets 24/7 in Washington, White House says Officials said the number of National Guard troops will ramp up and federal officers will be out around the clock after the president made the unprecedented announcement that his administration would take over the police department for at least a month. Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser is walking a political tightrope. She has called the takeover an 'authoritarian push' but also framed the infusion of officers as a boost to public safety. Hundreds of federal law enforcement and city police officers who patrolled Tuesday night made 43 arrests, compared with about two dozen the night before. Councilmember Christina Henderson downplayed these as 'a bunch of traffic stops' and said the administration is seeking to disguise how unnecessary the intervention is. 'I'm looking at this list of arrests, and they sound like a normal Saturday night in any big city,' Henderson said.
STV News
24 minutes ago
- STV News
Woman, 74, first in Scotland arrested under abortion protest law faces no further action
A woman, who became the first person in Scotland to be arrested and charged under anti-abortion protest laws, is facing no further action. Police were called to respond to a group of protesters outside the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow at around 2pm on Wednesday, February 19. A 74-year-old woman was arrested and charged in connection with a breach of the exclusion zone on Hardgate Road. Channel 4 A 74-year-old woman was arrested and charged in connection with breach of the exclusion zone on Hardgate Road It was the first arrest and charge in Scotland under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024. However, on Thursday, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service confirmed no further action is to be taken. A spokesperson said: 'The Procurator Fiscal received a report relating to a 75-year-old female and an incident said to have occurred on February 19, 2025. 'Professional prosecutors from COPFS considered the report. All Scotland's prosecutors operate independently of political influence. 'After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, it was decided that there should be no further action taken at this time. Getty Images US Vice President JD Vance. 'The Crown reserves the right to take proceedings in relation to this incident in the future.' The legislation creating protected zones of 200 metres around abortion services came into force in September 2024. The safe access zones, of buffer zones, stop anti-abortion protesters gathering, leafleting, holding vigils, or showing graphic images to people near the sites. The Scottish Government said the law is designed to safeguard public health and protect the right of women to access healthcare without obstruction. Those who break the law can be fined up to £10,000, or an unlimited amount if they go to trial before a judge and jury in more serious cases. US Vice President JD Vance, who is holidaying in Scotland, has been critical of the law, accusing the Scottish Government of attacking free speech. Gillian Mackay, who introduced the law in the Scottish Parliament, criticised said what Vance said was 'total nonsense and dangerous scaremongering'. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
