MAGA faithful cheer Trump for pausing Ukraine weapons after bristling at Iran strikes
This week's announcement pausing deliveries of key air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other equipment to Ukraine comes just a few weeks after Trump ordered the U.S. military to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Bombing those sites in Iran had some hardcore supporters of the 'Make America Great Again' movement openly questioning whether Trump was betraying his vow to keep America out of 'stupid wars' as he inserted the U.S. military into Israel's conflict with Tehran.
With the Ukraine pause, which affects a crucial resupply of Patriot missiles, Trump is sending the message to his most enthusiastic backers that he is committed to following through on his campaign pledge to wind down American support for Ukraine's efforts to repel Russia, a conflict he has repeatedly described as a costly boondoggle for U.S. taxpayers.
'The choice was this: either prioritize equipping our own troops with a munition in short supply (and which was used to defend U.S. troops last week) or provide them to a country where there are limited U.S. interests,' Dan Caldwell, who was ousted as a senior adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, posted on X.
Caldwell publicly worried before the Iran strikes that U.S. involvement could incite a major war and ultimately cost American lives.
Far-right influencer Jack Posobiec, another ardent MAGA backer, warned as Trump weighed whether to carry out strikes on Iran last month that such a move 'would disastrously split the Trump coalition.'
He was quick to cheer the news about pausing some weapons deliveries to Ukraine: 'America FIRST,' Posobiec posted on X.
Both the White House and the Pentagon have justified the move as being consistent with Trump's campaign pledge to limit U.S. involvement in foreign wars.
'The president was elected on an America first platform to put America first,' Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said.
At the same time, the decision is stirring anxiety among those in the more hawkish wing of the Republican Party. Many are flummoxed by Trump's halting the flow of U.S. arms just as Russia accelerates its unrelenting assault on Ukraine.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican who hails from a district that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, wrote to Trump and the Pentagon on Wednesday expressing 'serious concern' about the decision and requesting an emergency briefing.
'We can't let (Russian President Vladimir) Putin prevail now. President Trump knows that too and it's why he's been advocating for peace,' Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, wrote on X. 'Now is the time to show Putin we mean business. And that starts with ensuring Ukraine has the weapons Congress authorized to pressure Putin to the negotiating table.'
Trump spoke by phone with Putin on Thursday, the sixth call between the leaders since Trump's return to office. The leaders discussed Iran, Ukraine and other issues but did not specifically address the suspension of some U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine, according to Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign affairs adviser.
Zelenskyy said in Denmark after meeting with major European Union backers that he hopes to talk to Trump in the coming days about the suspension.
The administration says it is part of global review of the U.S. stockpile and is a necessary audit after sending nearly $70 billion in arms to Ukraine since Putin launched the war on Ukraine in February 2022.
The pause was coordinated by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby.
Colby, before taking his position, spoke publicly about the need to focus U.S. strategy more on China, widely seen as the United States' biggest economic and military competitor. At his Senate confirmation hearing in March, he said the U.S. doesn't have a 'multi-war military.'
'This is the restrainers like Colby flexing their muscle and saying, 'Hey, the Pacific is more important,'' said retired Navy Adm. Mark Montgomery, an analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
Backers of a more restrained U.S. foreign policy say the move is necessary, given an unsettled Middle East, rising challenges in Asia and the stress placed on the U.S. defense industrial complex after more than three years of war in Ukraine.
'You're really coming up to the point where continuing to provide aid to Ukraine is putting at risk the U.S. ability to operate in future crises,' said Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defense Priorities. 'And you don't know when those crises are going to happen.'
'So you have to be a little bit cautious,' she added.
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Toronto Sun
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- Toronto Sun
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Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The U.N. human rights office says it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization, while others were massed waiting for aid trucks connected to the United Nations or other humanitarian organizations. Spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings. 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U.S. President Donald Trump's stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and Putin has changed drastically over time. Andrew Chang explores how Trump's recent criticism of Putin may signal U.S. policy shifts. Then, can one judge overrule Trump? The attack on Kyiv began the same day a phone call took place between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy called the timing of the strikes a deliberate signal that Moscow has no intention of ending the war. The U.S. has paused some shipments of military aid to Ukraine, including crucial air defence missiles. Ukraine's main European backers are considering how they can help pick up the slack. Zelenskyy says plans are afoot to build up Ukraine's domestic arms industry, but scaling up will take time. Zelenskyy and Trump spoke after Friday's wave of attacks. The Ukraine president said they discussed air defences and agreed to work on increasing Kyiv's capability to defend the sky. He added that he discussed joint defence production, as well as joint purchases and investments with the U.S. leader. Separately, a spokesperson for Friedrich Merz said the German chancellor had reached out to Trump via phone call on Thursday to discuss Germany buying Patriot missile defence systems from the U.S. and delivering them to Ukraine. Putin has argued he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to fend off a threat to Russia posed by Ukraine's push to join NATO and to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine — arguments rejected by Kyiv and its allies. He insisted any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine abandon its NATO bid and recognize Russia's territorial gains. When asked if he made any progress with Putin on a deal to end the fighting in Ukraine, Trump said: No, I didn't make any progress with him today at all. WATCH l Kyiv residents seeks shelter in latest attack: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Kyiv residents take shelter underground as explosions rock city People took shelter in a basement in Kyiv overnight as Russia hammered Ukraine's capital with drones in a widespread attack. Russia says 1 person killed, substations damaged In Russia, Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Sergiyev Posad district, near Moscow, early on Friday, injuring one person and damaging power infrastructure, the head of the district said. Oksana Yerokhanova wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app that at least four explosions were recorded throughout the district — some 75 kilometres from the Kremlin — and that a power substation was damaged, leaving parts of the district without electricity. In the southern Russian region of Rostov, a woman was killed as a result of Ukraine's drone attack, which damaged several apartment buildings and forced the evacuation of scores of people from their homes, the acting governor of the region said Friday. The scale of the attack on Russia was not immediately known. There was no comment from Ukraine. In general, Kyiv says that its attacks inside Russia are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow's war efforts and are in response to continuous Russian strikes on Ukraine. On Thursday, the Russian military confirmed the killing of Maj.-Gen. Mikhail Gudkov, deputy head of the Russian Navy. Gudkov — who was handed a top military honour by Putin in February and appointed to the top naval post in March — was killed on Wednesday during combat work in one of the border districts of Kursk region, Russia's Defence Ministry said. Unofficial Russian and Ukrainian military Telegram channels had earlier reported that Gudkov was among several servicemen and officers killed in an attack which utilized a U.S.-made HIMARS missile. Reuters could not independently verify how Gudkov, 42, died or what he was doing in Kursk. The Associated Press with files from Reuters
