Trump's top ally turns on him again over 'broken promises' as MAGA civil war escalates over Ukraine
'I said it on every rally stage: 'No more money to Ukraine. We want peace.' We just want peace for those people,' she said in extensive comments to the New York Times – in just the latest instance of the MAGA lawmaker calling out the administration's foreign policy moves.
The says that sentiment drew applause on the campaign trail. 'And guess what? People haven't changed.'
Trump has been publicly chastising Russian President Vladimir Putin for days, and on Monday announced a new plan to send sophisticated weaponry to Kiev. At the same time, he promised to slap 100 percent 'secondary sanctions' on countries trading with Russia in 50 days if there weren't a deal to stop the war.
'We are very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent,' Trump said Monday.
'I'm disappointed in President Putin. I thought we would've had a deal two months ago,' he went on about the proposed peace deal.
Greene, who told the Daily Mail last week she wants to make weather modification a felony offense, raised doubts about Trump's claims that European nations would be picking up the full costs.
Trump has complained repeatedly about the cost of defending Ukraine born by U.S. taxpayers since Russia's 2022 invasion, often inflating the amount by tens of billions.
'Without a shadow of a doubt, our tax dollars are being used,' Greene told the Times.
She also noted the U.S. is NATO's top contributor, a form of indirect support. 'And so it is U.S. involvement,' she said.
Green also called the effort a departure from the focus on economic issues that helped Trump and Republicans get elected. 'No one's walking around thinking about Ukraine. No one's walking around thinking about Russia. They're just not,' she said.
'They walk around and all they think about is their bills, their problems and the road that may look like crap in front of their house — or they can't buy a house.'
Her criticism comes weeks after she hammered Trump over the decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.
She called it 'turning back on campaign promises' and warned that the United States is nearing a nuclear 'World War III.'
The internal drama comes as the Financial Times reported that Trump had a fiery conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky July 4 where he encouraged the Ukrainian to strike deep inside Russian territory.
That came amid Trump's fury at Putin's repeated attacks on Russia's neighbor despite a series of phone calls between the two men.
'Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? . . . Can you hit St Petersburg too?' Trump asked his counterpart, according to the report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Judge will consider releasing Kilmar Abrego Garcia from jail, possibly leading to his deportation
A federal judge in Tennessee could rule Wednesday on whether to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia from jail to await trial on human smuggling charges, a decision that could allow President Donald Trump's administration to try to deport the Maryland construction worker for a second time. Lawyers for the Justice Department have said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will detain Abrego Garcia if he's freed. ICE officials have said they will initiate deportation proceedings against the Salvadoran national and will possibly try to send him to a third country such as Mexico or South Sudan. Abrego Garcia became a flashpoint over the Republican Trump's immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That expulsion violated a U.S. immigration judge's 2019 order that shields Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador because he likely faces threats of gang violence there. The Trump administration claimed Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang, although he wasn't charged and has repeatedly denied the allegation. Facing mounting pressure and a U.S. Supreme Court order, the administration returned Abrego Garcia to the U.S. last month to face the smuggling charges, which his attorneys have called 'preposterous.' U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. scheduled a hearing in Nashville to consider the matter of releasing Abrego Garcia from jail to await his trial. Waverly will review last month's order by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville to free Abrego Garcia. Holmes determined that Abrego Garcia was not a flight risk or a danger to the community and set various conditions for his release, including wearing an ankle bracelet and living with his brother in Maryland. Waverly scheduled Wednesday's hearing following a motion by federal prosecutors to revoke Holmes' release order. The prosecutors argue Abrego Garcia is a flight risk and a danger to the community. Holmes has kept Abrego Garcia in jail at the request of his lawyers over concerns the Trump administration will try to deport him upon release. The attorneys asked Holmes to keep him in jail until Wednesday's hearing before Waverly to review her release order. The smuggling case stems from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, during which Abrego Garcia was driving a vehicle with nine passengers. Police in Tennessee suspected human smuggling, but he was allowed to drive on. Abrego Garcia lived and worked in Maryland for more than a decade, doing construction and raising a family. Abrego Garcia's American wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, is suing the Trump administration in federal court in Maryland over his wrongful deportation in March, while trying to prevent any attempts to expel him again. Abrego Garcia's attorneys have asked U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland to order the government to send him to Maryland if he's released in Tennessee, a request that aims to prevent his expulsion before trial. In court on Friday, Abrego Garcia's attorneys also asked for at least a 72-hour hold that would prevent his immediate deportation. Attorney Andrew Rossman called it the 'critical bottom-line protection' needed to prevent a potentially egregious violation of due process rights. Xinis didn't rule from the bench Friday but said she'd issue an order before Waverly's hearing on Wednesday. If Abrego Garcia is released into ICE custody, his lawyers have vowed to fight expulsion efforts within the U.S. immigration court system, which is part of the Justice Department. ___ Finley reported from Norfolk, Va.
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Free speech under threat as Brits fear causing offence over race religion and immigration
Free speech is under threat in Britain because people fear causing offence over race, religion and immigration, according to a new study. More than a third of Britons felt they had to self-censor their views on race or ethnicity while 32 per cent said they felt they could not speak freely about immigration or religious extremism. Some 41 per cent felt they had to hold back their views on transgender issues while 31 per cent felt constrained from discussing the conflict in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas terror attack. Almost half of Britons believe people are too easily offended, according to research for the Commission for Countering Extremism, which advises the Government. Older, white males are among those who feel the most restricted, and the more outspoken a person's views, the more likely they are feel constrained by the risk of offending others. The study, based on interviews with 2,500 people, was conducted by Ipsos to establish the state of free speech in Britain and was first reported by the Telegraph. People who are white, male, older and not university educated were more strongly in favour of free speech, regardless of the issue, but felt less able to speak their minds, the poll found. Some 48 per cent of this group said they felt they had to hold back their comments on race, far higher than the average of 36 per cent. The same was true on immigration, where 43 per cent felt they had to hold back on their views compared to an overall average among the public of 32 per cent. Among religious groups, Christians were more likely to back the right to free speech, but also more likely to feel they had to hold back on expressing their views. By contrast, women, younger Britons and people from ethnic minorities or non-Christian religions tended to think that people needed to be more sensitive in the way they spoke. Meanwhile the poll found that people predominantly held back from expressing their views to avoid causing offence or starting an argument. Some 46 per cent resisted expressing their views on any religious figure, text or teaching and 35 per cent held back their political views to avoid causing offence. Some people held back because of heightened concerns about their safety, with a quarter restraining themselves from discussing religion because of safety fears and 17 per cent their political views. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said that the Left's 'determination to shut down debate around immigration has created a chilling environment for free speech'. He told the Telegraph: 'In this context, a catch-all definition of Islamophobia would be a disaster, worsening the culture of fear that has spread throughout society.'
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Government opposes delaying death penalty decision for Zizian charged in border agent's shooting
A judge should not delay the decision on whether to seek the death penalty against a woman charged in the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont, federal prosecutors said this week. Teresa Youngblut, of Washington state, is part of a cultlike group known as Zizians that has been connected to six killings in three states. She's accused of firing at agent David Maland during a traffic stop on Jan. 20, the day President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order lifting the moratorium on federal executions. Attorney General Pam Bondi later cited Maland's death in directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in murder cases involving law enforcement officers unless they find significant mitigating circumstances. But in a motion filed earlier this month, Youngblut's lawyers argued the government has imposed a 'radically inadequate' and 'extraordinarily rushed' timeline for that determination. Prosecutors have set a July 28 deadline for Youngblut to explain why the death penalty should not be sought. Even though she has yet to be charged with a crime eligible for such punishment, prosecutors said the investigation is ongoing and charges may be added or changed. Youngblut's attorneys want to extend that deadline by at least six months, but in an objection filed Monday, prosecutors argued the judge has no authority to do so. 'To grant the defendant the relief requested in the motion would constitute an inunction prohibiting the United States from moving forward with an internal decision-making process of the Executive Branch and would intrude upon its independent prosecutorial discretion,' Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Dresser wrote. Younglbut is charged with using a deadly weapon against law enforcement and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon. Youngblut's attorneys have asked the court to give her until at least Jan. 30, 2026, to submit her mitigating evidence to a committee of lawyers that advises the government on capital cases and to prohibit prosecutors from making a decision about the death penalty until after the material has been reviewed. The defense argues the schedule 'promises to turn Ms. Youngblut's submission into a near-pointless formality.' Prosecutors countered that Youngblut has no right "beyond the Executive Branch's invitation" to participate in the government's internal capital review. At the time of the shooting, authorities had been watching Youngblut and her companion, Felix Bauckholt, for several days after a Vermont hotel employee reported seeing them carrying guns and wearing black tactical gear. She's accused of opening fire on border agents who pulled the car over on Interstate 91. An agent fired back, killing Bauckholt and wounding Youngblut. The pair were among the followers of Jack LaSota, a transgender woman also known as Ziz whose online writing about veganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence attracted young, highly intelligent computer scientists who shared anarchist beliefs. Members of the group have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord in 2022, the landlord's subsequent killing earlier this year, and the deaths of a Pennsylvania couple in between. LaSota and two others face weapons and drug charges in Maryland, where they were arrested in February, while LaSota faces additional federal charges of being an armed fugitive. Maximilian Snyder, who is charged with killing the landlord in California, had applied for a marriage license with Youngblut. His attorney has declined to comment. Michelle Zajko, whose parents were killed in Pennsylvania, was arrested with LaSota in Maryland, and has been charged with providing weapons to Youngblut in Vermont.
