Trump Meets with Zelenskyy and Says Higher NATO Defense Spending May Deter Future Russian Aggression
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the NATO summit Wednesday and suggested that increased spending by the trans-Atlantic alliance could help prevent future Russian aggression against its neighbors.
NATO members agreed to raise their spending targets by 2035 to 5% of gross domestic product annually on core defense requirements as well as defense-and security-related spending. That target had been 2% of GDP.
'Europe stepping up to take more responsibility for security will help prevent future disasters like the horrible situation with Russia and Ukraine,' Trump said at the summit-ending news conference shortly after seeing Zelenskyy. 'And hopefully we're going to get that solved.'
Trump also reiterated his belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the war in Ukraine that began with Moscow's invasion in February 2022.
'He'd like to get out of this thing. It's a mess for him,' Trump said. 'He called the other day, and he said, 'Can I help you with Iran?' I said, 'No, you can help me with Russia.''
Trump's meeting with Zelenskyy was their first face-to-face session since April, when they met at St. Peter's Basilica during Pope Francis' funeral. Trump also had a major confrontation with Zelenskyy earlier this year at the White House.
Zelenskyy, on social media, said he discussed with Trump the possibility of Kyiv producing drones with American companies and buying U.S. air defense systems. 'We can strengthen each other,' he wrote.
He said he also talked to Trump about 'what is really happening on the ground.'
'Putin is definitely not winning,' Zelenskyy said.
Trump left open the possibility of sending Kyiv more U.S.-made Patriot air defense missile systems.
Asked by a Ukrainian reporter, who said that her husband was a Ukrainian soldier, Trump acknowledged that sending more Patriots would help the Ukrainian cause.
'They do want to have the antimissile missiles, OK, as they call them, the Patriots,' Trump said. 'And we're going to see if we can make some available. We need them, too. We're supplying them to Israel, and they're very effective, 100% effective. Hard to believe how effective. They do want that more than any other thing.'
Over the course of the war, the U.S. has routinely pressed for allies to provide air defense systems to Ukraine. But many are reluctant to give up the high-tech systems, particularly countries in Eastern Europe that also feel threatened by Russia.
Trump laid into the U.S. media throughout his news conference but showed unusual warmth toward the Ukrainian reporter.
'That's a very good question,' Trump said about the query about Patriots. 'And I wish you a lot of luck. I mean, I can see it's very upsetting to you. So say hello to your husband.'
Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, has been front and center at recent alliance summits. But as the group's latest annual meeting of leaders opened in the Netherlands, Zelenskyy was not in the room. The Trump administration has blocked Ukraine's bid to join NATO.
The conflict with Russia has laid waste to Ukrainian towns and killed thousands of civilians. Just last week, Russia launched one of the biggest drone attacks of the war.
During Trump's 2024 campaign for the White House, the Republican pledged a quick end to the war. He saw it as a costly boondoggle that, he claimed, would not have happened had he won reelection in 2020. Since taking office in January, he has struggled to find a resolution to the conflict and has shown frustration with both Putin and Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy spent Tuesday in The Hague shuttling from meeting to meeting. He got a pledge from summit host the Netherlands for military aid, including new drones and radars to help knock out Russian drones. The White House did not allow press coverage of Zelenskyy's nearly hourlong meeting with Trump.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the United Kingdom will provide 350 air defense missiles to Ukraine, funded by 70 million pounds ($95 million) raised from the interest on seized Russian assets.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
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But multiple employees expressed concerns about what the move would mean for NSF staff and said HUD's announcement was thin on details, including a concrete timeline. The frustration added to broader discontent at HUD, the backbone of the federal government's housing policy. Since Trump's inauguration, the department has sought to slash funding for fair-housing efforts, rental assistance, housing vouchers and homelessness prevention. So many staffers took the second-round buyout offer that officials are trying to get people to voluntarily move into vacant roles. The anger among NSF workers was on display after the announcement, when Turner visited the building and was greeted by chants of 'We won't go' by staff members. The AFGE local said that it had not been briefed on the relocation but that its members had heard that the plan included a private elevator, multiple parking spaces and a personal gym for the HUD secretary. The union accused Turner of prioritizing his own comfort over responsible government spending. On Wednesday, Turner dismissed those allegations as 'ridiculous' and 'not true.' 'I didn't come to government to get nice things,' he said. 'This is about HUD employees, to have a safe place, a nice place to work.' The move could be a loss for D.C. – although city leaders have also been exploring whether the disposal of certain federal buildings could pose real estate opportunities for the city. Even before Trump's election, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) had long advocated for federal employees to return to the office to bring more foot traffic – and sales tax revenue – back to the sleepier downtown. She traveled to Mar-a-Lago in December to speak with Trump about the federal workforce and government buildings. Bowser also urged the federal government to turn over any underused federal office space to the District so the city could do something different with it. But after the Trump administration began massive federal job cuts, and later announced a long list of federal buildings that could be disposed of, D.C. officials were worried that a problem with downtown office vacancies would be exacerbated. It was unclear Wednesday what will happen with the Weaver Building once it is vacated. The District is expected to lose 40,000 jobs due to the job cuts, leading its chief financial officer to project a roughly $1 billion deficit over the next several years. D.C. economic development officials are advocating for a more strategic partnership with the Trump administration to identify smaller-scale real estate opportunities that could benefit both D.C. and the federal government. For example, not far from HUD, both federal and local officials have focused on a cluster of underused federal buildings – including offices for the Departments of Energy and Agriculture – just blocks from the National Mall. While federal officials are reviewing a potential downsize, city officials have said they see an opportunity to turn the federal fortress into a lively new neighborhood between the Mall and the Wharf. 'We all want a strong and beautiful Nation's Capital – but that requires a committed federal partner,' Nina Albert, the city's deputy mayor for planning and economic development, said in a statement. 'We call on our federal partners to engage with us on a comprehensive strategy that pauses the relocation of agencies and plans for moves that maximize the benefit to both the federal government and the District.' For Virginia, the Trump administration's efforts to slash, remake and relocate big chunks of the federal government are playing out as voters prepare to choose a new governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 members of the House of Delegates in November. Democrats, led by gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger, hope to capitalize on the upheaval that they say could cripple the state's economy. The term-limited Youngkin and the Republican who hopes to succeed him, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, are on a trickier path as they stand with Trump and portray the cuts as short-term pain to get the nation's finances in order. Youngkin in particular has sought to cast the changes as an opportunity for Virginia. Youngkin fully embraced Trump last year as the governor abandoned a long-teased presidential bid and set his sights on 2028. He cast HUD's decision as confirmation that by cutting taxes and reducing regulations, he has led purple Virginia to new heights as blue neighbors decline. The governor noted that bond-rating agencies had just affirmed Virginia's sterling triple-A rating while D.C.'s and Maryland's were downgraded by Moody's. 'Virginia continues to be a magnet, a magnet welcoming opportunity wherever it presents itself,' Youngkin said, adding that his administration is searching for an alternative site to house the NSF. Peters appeared to support that effort, saying, 'If I were a betting man, I would bet that they end up in Virginia.' Youngkin also used the news conference as an opportunity to seize another potential economic windfall from the Trump administration. When asked about Trump's decision to pause a plan to move the new FBI headquarters out of D.C. to Prince George's County, Maryland, the governor said he would continue to pitch his state as an option. 'I would love the opportunity to present Virginia as the home for FBI headquarters,' he said. Terry Rephann, regional economist for the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, said Virginia has not been enjoying as much economic success as Youngkin claims. The center projects that 18,000 federal job losses will occur in Virginia, on top of thousands of layoffs at government contractors such as McLean-based Booz Allen Hamilton, which in May announced plans to cut 2,500 jobs. Moreover, FBI leadership is pushing to move one of the bureau's elite training academies from Quantico, Virginia, to Huntsville, Alabama, The Post reported this month. 'The planned HUD relocation would only claw back a small portion of the anticipated losses, so it's still a net deficit situation,' Rephann said. 'When the governor says we'll come out a winner in this … I really don't see what data he has to support that.' Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) accused Youngkin of ignoring warning signs for the state's economy, including a 40 percent surge in year-over-year home listings in the D.C. region and five straight months of rising Virginia unemployment. (The state's unemployment rate in May was 3.4 percent, still below the national average of 4.2 percent.) 'All we hear from this administration is happy talk, cherry-picked statistics and theme-branded press events where he won't answer real questions,' Surovell said. Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins (D) said the HUD move will boost the city's economy. Officials have for years been struggling to increase commercial and office uses, in part to allow them to ease residents' growing tax burden. The city was not involved in discussions to bring HUD to Alexandria, a city of about 160,000 people that is also home to 10 other properties that include federal office space. But city officials are hopeful that the NSF will remain in Alexandria as well. 'If we have those [HUD] jobs, in addition to keeping those jobs at NSF,' Gaskins said, 'this is a win that recognizes and is a testament to the investments we've put into making this a great city to work, and to live and to do business.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
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Mamdani's mother, Mira Nair, is an award-winning filmmaker whose credits include 'Monsoon Wedding,' 'The Namesake' and 'Mississippi Masala.' His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is an anthropology professor at Columbia University. Mamdani married Rama Duwaji, a Syrian American artist, earlier this year. The couple, who met on the dating app Hinge, live in the Astoria section of Queens. Mamdani was once a fledgling rapper Mamdani attended the Bronx High School of Science, where he cofounded the public school's first cricket team, according to his legislative bio. He graduated in 2014 from Bowdoin College in Maine, where he earned a degree in Africana studies and cofounded his college's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. After college, he worked as a foreclosure prevention counselor in Queens helping residents avoid eviction, the job he says inspired him to run for public office. Mamdani also had a notable side hustle in the local hip-hop scene, rapping under the moniker Young Cardamom and later Mr. Cardamom. During his first run for state lawmaker, Mamdani gave a nod to his brief foray into music, describing himself as a 'B-list rapper.' 'Nani,' a song he made in 2019 to honor his grandmother, even found new life — and a vastly wider audience — as his mayoral campaign gained momentum. His critics, meanwhile, have seized on lyrics from 'Salaam,' his 2017 ode to being Muslim in New York, to argue his views are too extreme for New Yorkers. Early political career Mamdani cut his teeth in local politics working on campaigns for Democratic candidates in Queens and Brooklyn. He was first elected to the New York Assembly in 2020, knocking off a longtime Democratic incumbent for a Queens district covering Astoria and surrounding neighborhoods. He has handily won reelection twice. The Democratic Socialist's most notable legislative accomplishment has been pushing through a pilot program that made a handful of city buses free for a year. He's also proposed legislation banning nonprofits from 'engaging in unauthorized support of Israeli settlement activity.' Mamdani's opponents, particularly Cuomo, have dismissed him as woefully unprepared for managing the complexities of running America's largest city. But Mamdani has framed his relative inexperience as a potential asset, saying in a mayoral debate he's 'proud' he doesn't have Cuomo's 'experience of corruption, scandal and disgrace.' Viral campaign videos Mamdani has used buzzy campaign videos — many with winking references to Bollywood and his Indian heritage — to help make inroads with voters outside his slice of Queens. On New Year's Day, he took part in the annual polar plunge into the chilly waters off Coney Island in a full dress suit to break down his plan to 'freeze' rents. As the race was entering the final stretch, Mamdani walked the length of Manhattan, documenting the roughly 13-mile (21 kilometer) trip by posting photos and videos of his interactions along the way. In TikTok videos, he's even appealed to voters of color by speaking in Spanish, Bangla and other languages. Progressive promises Mamdani has offered a more optimistic vision, in contrast to candidates like Cuomo, who have largely focused on crime and law and order issues. His campaign has been packed with big promises aimed at lowering the cost of living for everyday New Yorkers, from free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for people living in rent-regulated apartments and new affordable housing — much of it by raising taxes on the wealthy. The big promises have, unsurprisingly, endeared him to the Democratic Party's liberal wing. Mamdani secured endorsements from two of the country's foremost progressives, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Pro-Palestinian views Mamdani's outspoken support for Palestinian causes was a point of tension in the mayor's race as Cuomo and other opponents sought to label his defiant criticism of Israel as antisemitic. The Shia Muslim has called Israel's military campaign in Gaza a 'genocide' and said the country should exist as 'a state with equal rights,' rather than a 'Jewish state.' That message has resonated among pro-Palestinian residents, including the city's roughly 800,000 adherents of Islam — the largest Muslim community in the country. During an interview on CBS's 'The Late Show' on the eve of the election, host Stephen Colbert asked Mamdani if he believed the state of Israel had the right to exist. He responded: 'Yes, like all nations, I believe it has a right to exist — and a responsibility also to uphold international law.' Mamdani's refusal to condemn calls to 'globalize the intifada' on a podcast — a common chant at pro-Palestinian protests — drew recriminations from Jewish groups and fellow candidates in the days leading up to the election. In his victory speech Tuesday, he pledged to work closely with those who don't share his views on controversial issues. 'While I will not abandon my beliefs or my commitments, grounded in a demand for equality, for humanity, for all those who walk this earth, you have my word to reach further, to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree, and to wrestle deeply with those disagreements,' Mamdani said.
