Rooting out Hamas, getting aid to Gaza remain key White House goals, Vance says
Anger at the humanitarian situation in Gaza has surged amid Netanyahu's plans for a full-scale occupation and the increasingly dire reports of starvation throughout Gaza, which is approximately the size of the city of Philadelphia. Several key MAGA influencers who have long supported Trump are ramping up their attacks on Israel. Even the president has acknowledged 'real starvation' in Gaza, while singling out Hamas for stalling an end to the humanitarian crisis by refusing to surrender.
Also on Sunday, Netanyahu panned plans by the United Kingdom and France to recognize the state of Palestine, calling the discussion 'disappointing' and 'shameful.'
Vance also promoted White House efforts to negotiate a diplomatic end to Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. Trump's planned Aug. 15 meeting with Putin — the Russian leader's first trip to the U.S. since 2015 — should be applauded even if it doesn't result in peace, Vance told Bartiromo.
'The president said this to me today, privately, said look, maybe this work works out, maybe it doesn't, but it's worth the effort, it's worth trying, and we're going to keep on using the diplomatic influence of the president of the United States to accomplish an end to this conflict,' he said.
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New York Post
20 minutes ago
- New York Post
Lithuania wants to teach kids as young as 8 years old how to fly drones to counter Russian threats
The Lithuanian government plans to open nine drone training centers across the nation to teach more than 22,000 people — including children as young as eight years old — how to build and fly drones to counter any future threats from Russia. Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė touted the plan as a way to bolster the NATO member nation's security in the face of Russian aggression against Eastern Europe, where drone warfare has become the standout method of attack and defense in the modern era. 'We plan that 15,500 adults and 7,000 children will acquire drone control skills by 2028,' Šakalienė said in a statement. 4 Lithuanian Minister for National Defense Dovilė Šakalienė announced a plan to teach 22,000 people, including children, how to build and fly drones to counter Russia. AP 4 Drones have proven to be among the most effective tools for Ukraine's defense against Russia's full-scale invasion. AP Government officials noted that the program will be adapted to different age groups, which begins at the third- and fourth-grade level where students will learn to build and pilot simple drones. High school students will be tasked with learning the full design and manufacturing process of the drone parts as they learn how to fly the FPV drones, the same type as the ones used along the frontlines in Ukraine. The plan to 'expand civil resistance training' is estimated to cost nearly $4 million as Lithuania invests in advanced 'first-person view' (FPV) drones and a mobile app to oversee the training. Šakalienė said that by September, three drone training centers will open in Jonava, Tauragė and Kėdainiai, with six other facilities set to be rolled out in the next three years. 4 Russia has used its own mass drone system to launch ever-escalating bombardments against Ukraine. REUTERS Drones have proven themselves to be the most critical tool for both Ukraine and Russia during the war, which has raged on for more than three years. Moscow has used the UAVs to mount escalating assaults on Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky touting the same technology for allowing Kyiv to strike deep within Russia. Last month, Russian media celebrated the rollout of what Moscow dubbed the 'world's biggest drone factory,' which saw teens as young as 14 working on an assembly line to construct the Kremlin's killer drones. 4 Russian soldiers prep an attack drone to fly into Ukraine. AP Like the other Baltic nations, Lithuania has become increasingly worried about Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with many NATO member states preparing for the worst. Both Finland and Sweden have called on their residents to prepare for the possibility of war, issuing new guidance last fall on what to do if a conflict with Russia were to break out. Moscow, in turn, warned that the two nations — which joined NATO in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine — were viable nuclear targets in the event of war. Tensions soared higher following reports in April that the Kremlin expanded its military bases located just 100 miles from the Finnish border. With Post wires
Politico
21 minutes ago
- Politico
Playbook PM: Trump floats ‘severe' consequences if Putin meeting goes sideways
Presented by THE CATCH-UP TRUMP AND THE WORLD: President Donald Trump spoke with European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this morning in an hourslong virtual meeting ahead of Trump's much-anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Though the White House has tempered expectations leading up to the confab, at stake is a potential ceasefire deal that could end the over three-year war in Ukraine. WHAT TRUMP IS SAYING: Speaking at the Kennedy Center, Trump said the meeting with leaders this morning was a 'very good call' that he rated a 10. He also said his plan has always been to speak with both Putin and Zelenskyy, and that he would call Zelenskyy after the summit on Friday. WHAT ZELENSKYY IS SAYING: 'Putin is bluffing,' the Ukrainian leader said in Berlin, where he traveled for the meeting. 'He is trying to apply pressure before the meeting in Alaska on all directions of the Ukrainian front.' He doubled down on his call for sanctions, saying Putin is acting 'as if sanctions are not important to him and that they are not working. In fact, sanctions are very helpful and are hitting the Russian military economy.' WHAT PUTIN IS SAYING: Russia said today that its demands haven't changed. The Kremlin still wants all Ukrainian forces out of the key territories they've occupied and for Ukraine to abandon its bid to join NATO, Reuters' Dmitry Antonov reports. Russia currently has occupied around a fifth of Ukraine, including all of Crimea — a longstanding disputed territory. What Putin wants from Trump: Though a ceasefire is 'squarely on the agenda,' the meeting will 'venture further than that,' The Economist scoops this morning. 'One potential area is a deeper normalisation of diplomatic and business relations between America and Russia, including a lifting of sanctions. Mr Putin yearns for this kind of rehabilitation. Another is co-operation in the Arctic, for example over energy, resurrecting discussions that reportedly took place in February, with Russian officials keen to woo American business. What offers Russia might make for peace in Ukraine are less obvious.' WHAT EUROPE IS SAYING: There's about five things European leaders pushed this morning, POLITICO's Nette Nöstlinger and Veronika Melkozerova write. Foremost, they want Ukraine to have a seat at the table and for a ceasefire to be put in place before the real negotiations start. Ukraine will only start negotiations at the 'contact line' between both countries (not the territory further inland that Russia currently claims). They want security guarantees. And there needs to be a crackdown on Putin if things don't improve after the Friday summit. Other world leaders chime in: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said it was a 'great call' and that the 'ball is now in Putin's court.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen dubbed it a 'very good call' and said Europe, the U.S. and NATO will 'remain in close coordination.' A step back: This morning's call was pressure-packed for European leaders, who've been wary of the idea for a potential 'land swap' that might carve up Ukrainian territory and reward Russia for the war it started, WaPo's Ellen Francis reports. Trump has tempered expectations for what might come out of the summit, his administration calling it a 'listening exercise.' But many in Europe — none more than Zelenskyy — want to make sure that 'listening exercise' doesn't end with Trump agreeing with Putin's push to get more land. But it seems everyone's on the same page — for now. That's the message German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron signaled after the meeting. Trump 'largely shares' Europe's priorities, 'and that is why I can say that we had a really constructive and good conversation,' Merz said, flanked by Zelenskyy. Macron told reporters that Trump agreed that Ukraine must be involved in territorial discussions to end the war, and that Trump was 'very clear' that he wants to get a ceasefire in Alaska. More from our POLTICO colleagues in Europe Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Send me your thoughts and scoops at abianco@ 8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. THE NATIONAL GUARD TAKES D.C.: Trump told reporters while speaking at the Kennedy Center that he intends to request an extension to federalize the D.C. police force beyond 30 days, WaPo's Maegan Vazquez reports. 'We're going to be asking for extensions on that — long-term extensions, because you can't have 30 days,' Trump said. The latest: There were 43 arrests overnight in D.C. — twice the amount from Monday night — as the federal policing of the district is now well underway, per CBS' Kathryn Watson. Around 30 National Guard officers were patrolling the district last night — that number is set to climb tonight, according to the White House. In the background: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s self-proclaimed 'warrior on the Hill,' is not a public face in the fight against the district's federalization and has been largely absent from interacting with the media, POLITICO's Nick Wu reports. 'Norton's back-seat response to the most serious federal threat to the city's government in 30 years is out of step with her one-time reputation as a fierce defender of local prerogatives in the face of meddling by federal authorities. … Behind the scenes, Norton has been involved in marshalling a response to Trump's actions beyond her Monday statement.' Somewhere in the middle: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is walking a fine line on criticizing the Trump administration's plans. 'Even the shocking takeover, it seems, hasn't changed Bowser's conciliatory approach to the president,' POLITICO's Michael Schaffer writes in his latest Capital City column. 2. NEWS FROM THE KENNEDY CENTER: Trump visited the famed performing arts center in D.C. this morning to announce this year's honorees and that he will be hosting the 48th Kennedy Center Honors ceremony himself, which no president has ever done, WaPo's Travis Andrews writes. The honorees are: metal band 'Kiss', Broadway star Michael Crawford, country music legend George Strait, actor Sylvester Stallone and singer Gloria Gaynor. More from WaPo Tied together: It's notable to remember Trump named himself chair of the Kennedy Center's board earlier this year, and has tied his takeover of the Washington institution to his larger beautification project for D.C., NYT's Katie Rogers reports. Trump touched on this during the ceremony and said he would rid the district of crime and that 'we're going to redo the grass with the finest grasses.' 3. THE CRISIS IN GAZA: Israel has been hammering Gaza City with another 123 people reported dead in the last day, per Reuters. And 25 people were killed while seeking aid today, per AP. As the deadly war nears almost two years, not a single person has been charged or prosecuted by Israel for the Oct. 7 attack, even as several hundred Palestinians have been detained for suspicion of involvement and thousands of other Palestinians are being held for alleged connections to Hamas, NYT's Johnatan Reiss reports. How it's playing: The DNC will weigh two different resolutions on the growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza strip at its meeting this month, Semafor's Burgess Everett scooped. Votes will be held on whether to back a ceasefire and a return of hostages held by Hamas and on the resolution recommending 'suspension of military aid to Israel' and support for recognizing a Palestinian state. 4. FED UP: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is homing in on the Federal Reserve, calling for a 50 basis-point rate cut in September, Bloomberg's Daniel Flatley and colleagues scooped. Bessent said on Bloomberg TV that the Fed could go into a 'series of rate cuts' and said the Fed's benchmark should be lowered by at least 1.5 percentage points. He added there's a 'big list' of 10 or 11 potential names being floated to replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell next May. 5. MAGA IN POWER: 'Leaving a top Trump administration post? The president may have an ambassadorship for you,' by AP's Will Weissart and Michelle Price: 'The new appointments can be viewed as consolation prizes for leaving a high-profile post in the Trump administration following rocky tenures. But they also reflect the degree to which Trump is trying to keep his loyalists close, even if their earlier placements in the administration were ill-fitting. During his first White House tenure, Trump was new to politics, made many staffing picks based on others' recommendations and saw heavy staff turnover. Trump has stocked his second administration with proven boosters, which has meant fewer high-profile departures.' 6. TECH CORNER: GE Appliances is set to invest $3 billion to build out its factories in the U.S. over the next five years to swerve Trump's tariffs, WSJ's John Keilman reports. The new factories in South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama will make refrigerators, water heaters and more and will spur 1,000 new jobs, according to the company. Not just GE: Some tech startups are also turning their focus back toward the U.S., boosting their hiring plans to take advantage of the tax deduction on domestic spending on research and development from Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, WSJ's Meg Tanaka and Theo Francis write. Chip on your shoulder: The U.S. has secretly placed location trackers in shipments of advanced chips believed to be at risk of diversion to China, Reuters' Fanny Potkin and colleagues scooped. It could also serve to 'build cases against people and companies who profit from violating U.S. export controls.' Plus: Bessent told Bloomberg TV that the revenue-sharing agreement with Nvidia and AMD could be a model applied to other industries over time, per FT's Myles McCormick. It all comes as Trump has cast himself as the central decision-maker of the global semiconductor industry, as NYT's Tripp Mickle writes this morning. 7. ON DEFENSE: 'How the unraveling of two Pentagon projects may result in a costly do-over,' by Reuters' Alexandra Alper: 'Trump's Navy and Air Force are poised to cancel two nearly complete software projects that took 12 years and well over $800 million combined to develop … The reason for the unusual move: officials at those departments, who have so far put the existing projects on hold, want other firms, including Salesforce and billionaire Peter Thiel's Palantir, to have a chance to win similar projects, which could amount to a costly do-over … Trump officials say the administration is striving to make the contracting process more efficient.' 8. CUTTING DEEP: A U.S. appeals court ruled today that the Trump administration can move forward with axing billions of dollars in foreign assistance funding, Bloomberg's Zoe Tillman reports. It reversed a lower court's decision that said the government had to pay out the money as appropriated by Congress for this year. 'The ruling is a significant win for President Donald Trump's efforts to dissolve the US Agency for International Development and broadly withhold funding from programs that have fallen out of favor with his administration, regardless of how Congress exercised its authority over spending.' TALK OF THE TOWN Mike Lee is writing a new book called 'The Uniparty', set to release next February. THE PODCASTING ERA — Kyle Tharp in his Chaotic Era newsletter put together a review of the estimated monthly downloads of prominent politicians' podcasts. The highs: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is leading the pack by a wide margin with nearly 1.5 million downloads per month. California Gov. Gavin Newsom's podcast is next with just over 442,000 downloads, followed by Rep. Dan Crenshaw's (R-Texas) show at over 366,000. The lows: All the other shows on the list slot in with low numbers, with Sen. Marsha Blackburn's (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Troy Carter's (D-La.) podcasts at the bottom. MEDIA MOVES — Katie Roof is joining The Information as deputy bureau chief of the venture capital section. She previously was a reporter covering venture capital for Bloomberg. TRANSITIONS — David Frash is now director of state and local government affairs at Anduril. He previously was the director for state & local government external affairs at NetJets. … Elizabeth Price Foley is now a partner at Holtzman Vogel. She previously practiced law at Cooper & Kirk, and is a founding member of Florida International University's College of Law. … Anastasia Dellaccio is joining The Digital Chamber as executive director of state and regional affairs. She previously was SVP for external affairs and engagement at the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. WEEKEND WEDDING — Antonia Pogacar, national battleground and candidate fundraising director for the DCCC, and Dan Kanninen, founding partner and CEO of Arc Initiatives and a Harris campaign alum, were married on Saturday on Madeline Island in Wisconsin. Bob Jauch, a former Wisconsin state senator, officiated the ceremony. Pic, via Natasha Lamalle … SPOTTED: Jim Doyle, Julie Merz, Buffy Wicks, Jeremy Bird, Betsy Hoover, Sam Cornale, John Bisangano, Aaron Florence-Weinberg, Jonae Wartel, Mitch Stewart, Paul Tewes, Julianna Smoot, Chris Wyant, Max Lesko, Mike O'Neil, Carlos Monje, Dave Wilkinson, Brian Farnkoff, Jordan Brooks, Kristen Bautz, Victoria Black, Michael McGarty, Mitchell Dunn, Tanya Bjork and Lon Johnson. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
28 minutes ago
In Alaska, is Putin offering Trump peace or a trap?: ANALYSIS
LONDON -- Could President Donald Trump's summit this Friday in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin bring a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine? Right now, most observers have far more doubts than hopes. What's clear is the meeting could be a golden opportunity for Putin to influence Trump's vision for how to end the war. Russian media is crowing about the choice of location for the summit -- cheering the idea that Trump and Putin will decide the fate of the war alone and that Alaska's distance from Europe underlines how European countries and Ukraine are being sidelined. Some Russian media commentators also note how Alaska was once Russian territory, sold by Tsar Alexander II to the United States for a pittance in 1867 Many observers, particularly Russian, are dismissing the meeting as a sign Trump has allowed Putin to once again deceive him. They note that Trump threatened Russia with tougher sanctions, but instead Putin now has a summit where he can once more pretend to want peace. They view this as Putin's latest -- and potentially very successful -- gambit to defuse Trump's frustration with him and head off his threat to impose tougher sanctions on Russia. Some Russian analysts have suggested the surprise summit, in fact, is a graceful way for both Putin and Trump to sidestep the awkward issue of Trump's own deadline last week to impose the new sanctions if Russia didn't end the war. Trump, clearly reluctant to do so and aware they might not work, has been able to put them off. "For Trump, it's an opportunity to save face in a situation when he actually has few ways of pressuring Moscow," Farida Rustamova and Margarita Lituova, Russian journalists who closely cover the Kremlin, wrote on their Substack. "For Putin, a personal meeting would help him to maintain a relationship with Trump, who is clearly inclined to sympathize with the Russian position." But there are still some glimmers that perhaps the meeting could move a ceasefire closer. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said the U.S. has received a signal from Russia that it may be "ready to end the war, or at least to make a first step towards a ceasefire." "This was the first such signal from them," Zelenskyy told reporters. There are indications that the gap between Russia and Ukraine's positions has at least slightly narrowed. The Wall Street Journal and others have reported Putin is now demanding Ukraine hand over the remainder of unoccupied eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, in exchange for halting his offensive on two other southeastern regions, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia could also hand back the small slivers of land it occupies in Ukraine's Sumy and Kherson regions. Previously, Putin had insisted on taking Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as well. But those demands would still be extreme -- Ukraine would be giving up a huge swath of territory, home to hundreds of thousands of people and important defensive strongholds, in exchange for almost nothing. It would also make it far easier for Russia to relaunch its invasion later. Zelenskyy has already ruled out handing over unoccupied Donbas, noting Ukraine's constitution in any case forbids it. He again on Tuesday also made clear there could be no territorial exchanges without "security guarantees" for Ukraine. European countries have fully backed him. But Trump has indicated he is unwilling to provide any meaningful security guarantees and even if he did, it's very unlikely Putin would accept that. It is hard to see how that gap can be bridged. But for the first time, both sides are speaking more about freezing the lines of contact, something that is far more likely to be acceptable. The summit will be a test to see if something has shifted in the Kremlin and if Putin now truly wants a ceasefire. Andrii Zahorodniuk, a former Ukrainian defense minister, told ABC News he believes Putin will almost certainly propose demands he knows are unacceptable so that Ukraine will alienate Trump by rejecting them. Trump could block military aid to Ukraine if it does not accept. Russian media has already been laying the ground to blame Europe and Ukraine if the summit fails to produce peace. Trump himself on Monday expressed irritation with Zelenskyy for bringing up the constitutional block on handing over land. Putin "plays with the desire of the U.S. administration to bring peace to Ukraine," Zahorodniuk said. "Putin wants to get the U.S. on their side to get all Donbas, something they cannot achieve without losing another few hundred thousand people and a year of time."
