Trump suggests air support but no troops for Ukraine's security
Aug. 19 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump said the United States would provide air support for Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression, but not U.S. troops on the ground.
If the war in Ukraine ends soon, U.S. air support would be available to help ensure its security instead of making Ukraine a NATO member, Trump said on Monday evening.
"When it comes to security, they are willing to put people on the ground," Trump said of Ukraine's European neighbors in a Fox News interview, as reported by The Hill.
"We're willing to help them with things, especially ... by air because nobody has [the] stuff we have," Trump said.
White House press secretary Karolin Leavitt on Tuesday confirmed Trump "definitively" opposes deploying U.S. troops to Ukraine, The Hill reported.
Instead, Ukraine's European neighbors and others might support peace by deploying troops there, Axios reported on Tuesday.
If so, the United States would be willing to provide air support to help maintain the peace, Trump suggested.
Potential U.S. involvement in Ukraine's security is important for enabling a potential peace agreement to end the war that Russia started by invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday.
Potential air support could be in the form of U.S. pilots engaging Russian aircraft in defensive operations over Ukraine, intercepting missiles or just providing air-to-air refueling.
Trump and former President Joe Biden each have said they don't want the United States involved in direct combat with Russian forces.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the Trump administration's lead negotiator for Ukraine security plans, which Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed during their White House meeting on Monday.
Whatever peace agreement Ukraine and Russia might make, Trump wants Russia to return tens of thousands of Ukrainian children whom it has abducted from Ukraine, according to CNN.
Meanwhile, officials in Switzerland have offered to host peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
"We are ready for such a meeting," Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis told CNN's broadcast partner SRF on Tuesday.
"We have always signaled our willingness," Cassis said, "but it, of course, hinges on the willingness of the major powers."
The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Putin's arrest for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, including abducting children.
Cassis said the Swiss government would not arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"We can do this despite the arrest warrant against Putin because of our special role and Geneva's role as the European headquarters of the [United Nations]," Cassis explained.
Trump talked with Putin following his meeting with Zelensky on Monday and after hosting the Russian president in Alaska on Friday.
Trump said he is working to arrange a meeting between Zelensky and Putin within the next two weeks.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tiffany Haddish Just Ruthlessly Roasted Trump Without Even Saying His Name
Jimmy Kimmel Live guest host Tiffany Haddish didn't mention President Donald Trump during Monday night's monologue, but she seemed to have him in mind as she jokingly announced she was running for president herself. 'I've got all the qualifications to be president,' she said, then listed three things she has in common with Trump. 'I'm rich, I've been arrested a few times, and I always say crazy shit.' Related: She has one other important qualification as well. 'We've had an actor as president, a reality host president, but now it's time to elect a comedian,' she said. 'Finally, a president who's funny on purpose, most of the time.' Harry Langdon / Getty Images, Andrew Harnik / Getty Images Haddish delivered a campaign-style speech unveiling a platform that includes paying taxes with old gift cards. Related: 'We're gonna run this country, this government, like a company,' the comic and actor said. 'And that company is Sizzler.' Her platform includes requiring credit scores on dating site profiles, providing pastrami at all Subway locations, and retooling delivery robots to become sex toys. 'No more STDs, y'all,' she vowed. Related: But her biggest promise was something more profound. 'My campaign is built around a very simple idea: America, mind your own damn business,' she said. 'Doesn't that sound nice?' That promise called to mind something Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said as he ran for vice president on last year's Democratic ticket. Related: 'In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices that they make,' he said on the campaign trail. 'And even if we wouldn't make the same choices for ourselves, we've got a golden rule: Mind your own damn business.' Check out Haddish's take on that 'golden rule' in her Monday night monologue: This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Also in In the News: Also in In the News: Also in In the News:
Buzz Feed
28 minutes ago
- Buzz Feed
Jack White-Trump Feud Erupts Over Gold Oval Office
Jack White and the Trump administration are beefing — again. Donald Trump recently remodeled the Oval Office, covering everything in those gold medallion-thingys, little gold cherub babies, basically gold everything, and people are not happy about it. Jack, a 12-time Grammy award-winning musician, is one of those people. He can't stand Trump's "vulgar" transformation of the Oval Office. "Look at how disgusting trump has transformed the historic White House. It's now a vulgar, gold leafed and gaudy, professional wrestler's dressing room," Jack wrote in an Aug. 19 Instagram post. "Can't wait for the UFC match on the front lawn too, he's almost fully achieved the movie 'Idiocracy.'" The guitarist, who released six studio albums as a solo artist after The White Stripes disbanded, pointed out the president's "disgusting taste," suggesting he's a "conman" who shouldn't be trusted with nuclear codes. "Also pictured in this photograph, a REAL leader of a nation in a black suit," he finished, referencing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sitting beside Trump. The White House caught wind of Jack's viral insult and responded. Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, reportedly told The Daily Beast that Jack is "a washed up, has-been loser posting drivel on social media because he clearly has ample time on his hands due to his stalled career." Defending the president's "guady" gold room, Steven apparently said, "It's apparent he's been masquerading as a real artist, because he fails to appreciate, and quite frankly disrespects, the splendor and significance of the Oval Office inside of 'The People's House.'"' Jack, set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year with Meg White (the other half of the White Stripes), had a lengthy response to the White House's rather brutal rebuttal in an Aug. 20 Instagram post. "Funny that it wasn't me calling out trump's blatant facist manipulation of government, his gestapo ICE tactics, his ractist remarks about Latinos, Native Americans, etc.," he wrote before listing a laundry list of allegations against Trump and his administration including "ignorance of dying children in Sudan, Gaza, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and "constant lying to the American people." "No, it wasn't me calling out any of that, it was the fucking DECOR OF THE OVAL OFFICE remarks I made that got them to respond with insults. How petty and pathetic and thin-skinned could this administration get?" Jack said. In response to the claim Jack is "masquerading as a real artist" he said, "trump is masquerading as a human being." "He's masquerading as a christian, as a leader, as a person with actual empathy. He's been masquerading as a businessman for decades as nothing he's involved in has propsered except by using other people's money to find a loophole after loophole and grift after grift," Jack continued before criticizing Trump's supporters. In the caption of the Instagram post alongside several jarring photos of recent Trump-related news, Jack wrote, "I was raised to believe that we defeated fascism in World War II and that we would never allow it again in the world." Jack's response received praise from some celebrities. Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt wrote, "You hit a fuckin' nerve 'cuz they don't put out statements this length for earthquakes and shootings. Keep going." Actor Beverly D'Angelo wrote, "Thank you Jack. As you always have done, you've given a voice to those who for whatever reason ( including current culturally endemic oppression ) really need it. I needed this. I'm with you. PREACH" Actor Adam Goldberg told Jack to "Keep it up!! 👍 👏" Jack's been a longtime critic of Trump and his administration. Meg and Jack had filed a lawsuit against Trump's 2024 re-election campaign for the use of their hit song "Seven Nation Army." While the lawsuit was dropped, Jack's been rather vocal about his dislike of Trump on social media. Following Trump's 2024 victory over vice president Kamala Harris, Jack was part of several celebrities, including Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, and Cardi B, who spoke out against the Republican victory. Jack wrote in a Nov. 6, 2024, Instagram post, "Trump won the popular vote. End of story. Americans chose a known, obvious fascist and now America will get whatever this wannabe dictator wants to enact from here on in. We all know what he is capable of: Project 2025, deportations, nationwide abortion ban, ending his own 2 term limit, backing Putin and his war, shutting down the Board of Education, adding to climate change, limiting LGBTQ rights, controlling the DOJ, keeping the minimum wage down, etc. etc. etc.." Jack went on to criticize the "rich pricks riding in their Cybertrucks listening to their Rogan and Bannon and Alex jones podcasts laughing all the way to the bank looking foraward to their tax cuts that don't apply to the middle class." What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.
Chicago Tribune
28 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Illegal immigration hit a record-high of 14 million in the US in 2023, Pew report finds
The number of people in the United States illegally surged to an all-time high of 14 million in 2023, a research group said Thursday, a major increase that still falls well short of estimates from President Donald Trump and some critics of immigration. The Pew Research Center's closely watched gauge rose from 11.8 million a year earlier and surpassed the previous high of 12.2 million in 2007. The increase was driven by some 6 million who were in the country with some form of legal protection. Trump has stripped many of those protections since taking office in January. Pew, whose estimates date back to 1990, said that, while 2023 is its latest full analysis, preliminary findings show the number rose in 2024, though at a slower rate after then-President Joe Biden severely restricted asylum at the border in June of that year. The number dropped this year under Trump, but is still likely above 14 million. The overall U.S. immigrant population, regardless of legal status, reached an all-time high of more than 53 million in January 2025, accounting for a record 15.8% of the U.S. population. The number has since dropped, which Pew said would be the first time it has shrunk since the 1960s. While the findings are unlikely to settle debate, Pew's report is one of the most complete attempts to measure illegal immigration. Nearly all the increase came from countries other than Mexico. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and India accounted for the largest numbers after Mexico. Totals from Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Ukraine and Peru each more than doubled in two years. Trump said in an address to Congress in March that 21 million people 'poured into the United States' during the previous four years, far exceeding estimates from Pew and what figures on border arrests suggest. The Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group largely aligned with his policies, estimated 18.6 million in March. The Center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors immigration restrictions, reported that there were 14.2 million people in the U.S. illegally last month, down from a peak of 15.8 million in January. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem touted the reported drop of 1.6 million in six months. 'This is massive,' she said in a press release last week. Noem's own department, through its Office of Homeland Security Statistics, estimates there were 11 million people in the U.S. illegally in 2022, its most recent count. The Center for Migration Studies, author of another closely watched survey, most recently pegged the number at 12.2 million in 2022, topping its previous high of 12 million in 2008. Pew's findings, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau survey and Department of Homeland Security, reflect an increase in people crossing the border illegally to exercise rights to seek asylum and Biden-era policies to grant temporary legal status. Those policies included a border appointment system called CBP One and permits for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. Trump has ended those policies and also sought to reverse Biden's expansion of Temporary Protected Status for people already in the United States whose countries are deemed unsafe to return to. Mexicans were the largest nationality among people in the country illegally, a number that grew slightly to 4.3 million in 2023. The increase came almost entirely from other countries, totaling 9.7 million, up from 6.4 million two years earlier. States with the largest numbers of people in the country illegally were, in order, California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Illinois, though Texas sharply narrowed its gap with California. Even with the increases in recent years, six states had smaller numbers in 2023 than in the previous peak in 2007: Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Oregon. Pew estimated that a record 9.7 million people without legal status were in the workforce, or about 5.6% of the U.S. labor force in 2023, with Nevada, Florida, New Jersey and Texas having the largest shares.
