Tag Archives: Ukraine

Forbes: Trump Lashes Out At India And Russia’s ‘Dead Economies’ And Responds To Medvedev’s War Threat

Posted on by
Reply

Topline

President Donald Trump lashed out at both Russia and India in a Truth social post at midnight on Thursday, as he doubled down on the 25% tariffs he placed on New Delhi—along with an unspecified “penalty” for its continued trade with Moscow—and attacked former Russian president and key Putin ally, Dmitry Medvedev, who warned that Trump’s ultimatums against his country were a “step towards war.”

Key Facts

In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president wrote: “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.”

Trump claimed the U.S. has done “very little business with India” as their Tariffs are “among the highest in the World,” and added: “Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together.”

While announcing his plan to impose a 25% tariff on India, Trump pointed out that the country has “always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia” and is the “largest buyer” of Russian energy after China.

This was the first instance of the president following through with his threat to impose “secondary tariffs” on Russia’s key trading partners unless Moscow agrees to end its war in Ukraine.

Trump, however, didn’t specify what this penalty would entail.

What Do We Know About Trump’s Deadline For Russia?

Earlier this month, Trump threatened to impose 100% “secondary” tariffs on Russia, unless it managed to secure a deal to end the war in Ukraine in 50 days. These secondary tariffs would target countries like India and China, which are among Russia’s key trading partners. However, the president revised his deadline on Monday during his visit to Scotland and said Moscow now has 10 to 12 days to take steps towards ending its conflict with Ukraine.

What Has Medvedev Said About Trump’s Deadline For Russia?

When Trump announced the first deadline, Medvedev mocked it in a post on X, saying: “Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care.” After Trump shortened the deadline on Monday, Medvedev responded, tweeting: “Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia…He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe road!”

What Did Trump Say About Medvedev?

The president had not commented on Medvedev’s earlier post, but his Thursday midnight post appears to respond to the former Russian president’s “step towards war” remark. After pointing out that Russia and the U.S. do almost no business together, Trump said: “Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” Medvedev, who had not shied away from nuclear saber-rattling in the past few years, has not yet responded to Trump’s remarks.

Theatrics and a complete lack of statesmanship!

Trump Hits Out Against Former Russian President’s War Threat—Doubles Down On India Tariff
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump announced a 25% tariff rate on Indian goods, along with an unspecified “penalty” for its continued trade relationship with Russia.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/07/31/trump-lashes-out-at-india-and-russias-dead-economies-and–responds-to-medvedevs-war-threat

Trump Lashes Out At India And Russia’s ‘Dead Economies’ And Responds To Medvedev’s War Threat
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump announced a 25% tariff rate on Indian goods, along with an unspecified “penalty” for its continued trade relationship with Russia.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-lashes-out-at-india-and-russia-s-dead-economies-and-responds-to-medvedev-s-war-threat/ar-AA1JD76k

Daily Beast: JD Vance’s Idyllic Vacation in Foreign A-List Hotspot to Be Hijacked by Protests

Posted on by
Reply

The Stop Trump Coalition said the vice president will “find the resistance waiting” on his English summer break, an ocean and almost 4,000 miles from DC.

Anti-Trump protesters have warned that they will derail JD Vance’s planned English countryside escape.

The vice president, his wife Usha, and their three children are expected to explore London in mid-August, rent a cottage in the Cotswolds, and then travel to Scotland, according to The Telegraph.

The Cotswolds is a stunning area full of rolling hills and quaint villages in southwest England, which is frequented by the wealthy elite, including Hugh Grant, David Beckham, and King Charles. But a serene stay is set to be hijacked by “a coalition of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, climate protesters and trade unions,” the British publication reported.

Ellen DeGeneres, who decided to move to the U.K. with wife Portia de Rossi after Trump’s re-election, is also a recent American expat living in the area. DeGeneres said over the weekend that she had found an oasis of calm. “We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, ‘He got in,’” DeGeneres told the BBC. “And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here.’”

The Stop Trump Coalition has pledged to ensure that Vance’s merriment falls as flat as it did when he visited Disneyland with his brood earlier this month. Demonstrators gathered outside the hotel he was believed to be staying at to protest the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration raids in California.

The group, which helped mobilize mass protests against Donald Trump’s first state visit to the U.K. in 2019, warned that even in the heart of the English countryside, the vice president “will find the resistance waiting.”

A spokesman told The Telegraph that the group also plans to Trump’s visit to Scotland later this week, when the president will open a new golf course named after his Scottish mother, and a second full state visit planned for September.

“We are meeting Trump with protests in Aberdeen and Edinburgh this month, and then in London and Windsor in September,” they said.

“J.D. Vance is every bit as unwelcome in the U.K. as Donald Trump. We remember how Vance cut short his ski trip in Vermont because he was so enraged by the sight of a few protesters.

“We are sure that, even in the Cotswolds, he will find the resistance waiting.”

In March, protesters in Vermont forced Vance and his family to flee a ski resort after demonstrations sprang up against the administration’s Ukraine stance.

He was told to “go ski in Russia,” and branded a “national disgrace.”

The Vances were also met with resistance at Disneyland earlier this month. Over 100 protesters turned up the day before he arrived to speak out against the Trump administration’s mass deportations in a demonstration outside the Grand Californian Hotel, where the Vances were booked.

A smaller crowd of protesters showed up the day he arrived, with the park reportedly shutting down certain rides for the Vances to enjoy privately, causing delays for other park guests.

Even California Gov. Gavin Newsom blasted Vance in an X post, writing, “Hope you enjoy your family time, @JDVance. The families you’re tearing apart certainly won’t.”

The Stop Trump Coalition, meanwhile, has also said it will protest against the president’s visit. He will jet into Scotland, where he has business interests, meeting Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Aberdeen, on the country’s northeast coast.

The group previously said it will hang anti-Trump banners and flags along roadsides and position a huge message on a beach to be visible from the sky.

The folks in Greenland wouldn’t stoop low enough to have lunch with J.D. Dunce. Hopefully the folks in the U.K. will show equally high standards!

JD Vance’s Idyllic Vacation in Foreign A-List Hotspot to Be Hijacked by Protests
The Stop Trump Coalition said the vice president will “find the resistance waiting” on his English summer break, an ocean and almost 4,000 miles from DC.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/vances-vacation-plans-immediately-hit-with-protest-threats

Daily Express: Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem explodes over ‘false’ FEMA failure report as flood deaths soar

Posted on by
Reply

The DHS head has been accused of being unprepared to handle the natural disaster, which killed 129 people and left 160 missing, but she denies the claims.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem accused The New York Times of politicizing the deadly Texas floods following the publication of a report that sharply criticized her handling of the catastrophic disaster.

“It’s just false,” [Bimbo #2] Noem said about the damning report on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday. “It’s discouraging that during this time, when we have such a loss of life and so many people’s lives have turned upside down, that people are playing politics with this because the response time was immediate.”

The investigation revealed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which operates under the DHS, left “nearly two-thirds” of thousands of desperate victims without answers when they placed distress calls during the July Fourth weekend deluge in Central Texas, a disaster that has taken 129 lives while 160 remain missing. It came as an extraordinary throwback photo revealed Noem’s face BEFORE plastic surgery – but she still denies any procedures.

[Bimbo #2] Noem, who critics have nicknamed “ICE Barbie” due to her tendency to dress up for immigration-related photo-ops, has come under intense fire for her management of the event, especially regarding the overhauls she has implemented at the massive federal agency.

Numerous detractors, including Texas legislators, have charged her with being ill-equipped to manage the natural disaster, allegations she has forcefully rejected.

The former South Dakota governor terminated “hundreds of contractors at call centers” as part of cost-cutting measures, along with other modifications, that purportedly weakened the federal emergency response to the calamity.

CNN reports that she is facing allegations of hindering search and rescue operations by instituting a new policy requiring her personal approval for any contracts or grants exceeding $100,000.

She has forcefully denied the findings of the report, which she insinuates was driven by hidden political motives.

“I’m not sure where it came from,” [Bimbo #2] Noem told NBC. “The individuals who are giving you information out of FEMA, I’d love to have them put their names behind it because anonymous attacks to politicize the situation is completely wrong.

“The false reporting has been something that is inappropriate and it’s something that I think we need to clear up.”

In an ironic twist, she proceeded to make a political statement herself, asserting that her management of the natural disaster surpassed what the Biden administration could have achieved.

“This response was by far the best response we’ve seen out of FEMA, the best response we’ve seen out of the federal government in many, many years and certainly much better than what we saw under Joe Biden,” she claimed.

Amidst the devastating aftermath of the floods, there has been growing concern that U.S. President Donald Trump might act on his repeated threats to dismantle FEMA. Nonetheless, [Bimbo #2] Noem addressed these worries, arguing that such fears are unfounded.

“The president recognizes that FEMA should not exist in the way that it always has been,” she remarked. “It needs to be redeployed, in a new way, and that’s what we did during this response.”

Addressing concerns, she also noted that other federal resources can be utilized in addition to FEMA.

Kristi “Bimbo #2” Noem is a pathological liar who couldn’t tell the truth if her life depended on it.

Kristi Noem explodes over ‘false’ FEMA failure report as flood deaths soar
The DHS head has been accused of being unprepared to handle the natural disaster, which killed 129 people and left 160 missing, but she denies the claims.

https://www.the-express.com/news/politics/177412/kristi-noem-fema-report-response

Daily Beast: Musk Accuses Trump Aide of Federal Crime as Feud Explodes

Posted on by
Reply

The former boss of the Department of Government Efficiency has ramped up his attacks on White House staffer Sergio Gor.

Elon Musk has accused one of President Donald Trump’s top aides of committing a federal crime.

Weeks after the epic breakup between the president and the world’s richest man, Musk has continued to snipe at Sergio Gor, the director of the presidential personnel office, who he believes fueled his falling out with Trump.

Earlier this week, Musk described Gor as a “snake” after the New York Post reported that, even though Gor is in charge of vetting thousands of executive branch employees, he himself hasn’t been fully vetted.

But on Friday, the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency ramped up his attacks, writing on X: “He deliberately lied about where he was born on Federal forms. That’s a serious crime.”

“Gor is breaking the law,” Musk later added.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House about Musk’s latest comment, which came in response to a series of posts by Ukraine-born American race car driver Igor Sushko accusing Gor of being a “Russian spy.”

Sushko had posted a series of articles relating to the White House aide, including a New York Post story questioning where Gor was born; details of a fact-finding trip he took to Russia while working for Senator Rand Paul; an archive of Gor’s high-school email suggesting it referred to him as “Russian-Maltese”; and a now-retracted investigation by former Washington Post reporter-turned-independent journalist Brian Krebs.

Central to Musk’s attack is the claim that Gor failed to file his own SF-86, the critical vetting form required for permanent U.S security clearance. This was despite Gor being responsible for vetting thousands of executive branch employees.

Among other things, the form covers citizenship, employment history, relatives, foreign contacts and travel, financial activities, and drug use. The White House, however, insisted earlier this week that Gor filled out the form, has the relevant clearance, and is a “trusted adviser to President Trump.”

Underpinning Musk’s accusation is a long-standing rift with Gor, who says the 38-year-old fueled his spectacular falling out with Trump earlier this month.

Things got particularly messy when Gor encouraged Trump to rescind his nomination for Jared Isaacman—Musk’s personal friend—to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) just days before his Senate confirmation vote. Trump at the time cited Isaacman’s “prior associations”—a reference to Isaacman’s past donations to Democrats—as the reason for withdrawing his nomination.

And that last tidbit is probably the real issue here — F’Elon Musk’s buddy won’t be running NASA, which would have removed a lot of regulatory obstacles from Musk’s path, not to mention helping to ensure a steady stream of lucrative government contracts.

Musk Accuses Trump Aide of Federal Crime as Feud Explodes
The former boss of the Department of Government Efficiency has ramped up his attacks on White House staffer Sergio Gor.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musk-accuses-trump-aide-sergio-gor-of-federal-crime-as-feud-explodes

Alternet: ‘Dangerous moment’: Analyst says Trump deliberately leaving former aides ‘unshielded’

Posted on by
Reply

President Donald Trump’s decision to strip security protections from his own former officials has left them dangerously exposed at a time of escalating global conflict and political violence in the United States, The Bulwark’s Will Saletan argued in a piece published Thursday.

According to Saletan, the convergence of foreign assassination plots and domestic political attacks is not coincidental — and Trump’s policies have made the moment even more perilous. “We’re in a dangerous moment,” he said.

“These two challenges aren’t unrelated,” Saletan wrote. “They’ve converged before. They might do so again.”

‘Dangerous moment’: Analyst says Trump deliberately leaving former aides ‘unshielded’

https://www.alternet.org/trump-aides-threats

Daily Beast: Trump Lists Reasons He Deserves Nobel Prize in Epic Meltdown

Posted on by
Reply

“The people know, and that’s all that matters to me!” the president claimed.

“I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between India and Pakistan, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between Serbia and Kosovo, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for keeping Peace between Egypt and Ethiopia (A massive Ethiopian built dam, stupidly financed by the United States of America, substantially reduces the water flowing into The Nile River),” Trump wrote on Friday. “And I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize for doing the Abraham Accords in the Middle East which, if all goes well, will be loaded to the brim with additional Countries signing on, and will unify the Middle East for the first time in ‘The Ages!’”

He added, “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!

What the people know is that he is a deranged narcissistic who should be in a looney bin.

Trump Lists Reasons He Deserves Nobel Prize in Epic Meltdown
“The people know, and that’s all that matters to me!” the president claimed.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-lists-reasons-he-deserves-nobel-prize-in-epic-meltdown

WhoWhatWhy: Trump Silences Dissent in the Military

Posted on by
Reply

Behind closed doors, the Trump administration is advancing a chilling project: silencing dissent, lowering intellectual standards, and purging independent oversight — all within what was the most powerful military in the world. 

Sound familiar? It’s Donald Trump’s playbook: Reward loyalty, punish competence — this time with an armed force, trained to kill, and stripped of oversight.

Military officers, legislators, legal scholars, and defense experts are raising alarms about a series of directives that appear to reshape the US armed forces — from a constitutionally grounded institution into a politically compliant weapon.

Trump Silences Dissent in the Military – WhoWhatWhy
With dissent punished, critical thinking suppressed, and standards lowered — the military becomes easier to control and less able to defend the Constitution. What orders will they follow?

Raw Story: ‘Very insulted’: Trump tells G7 members they’ve hurt Putin’s feelings

Posted on by
Reply

U.S. President Donald Trump used a press conference with G7 chair Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to air Russia’s grievances about being kicked out of what was then the G8 over the annexation of Crimea.

Who cares?

Carney had just publicly welcomed Trump to the summit when the president launched into his claim that there would never have been a full-scale invasion of Ukraine had he been president.

Bullsh*t!

“And, I mean, he was thrown out by Trudeau, who convinced one or two people along with Obama. He was thrown out. And he’s not a happy person about it, I can tell you that. He basically doesn’t even speak to the people that threw him out. And I agree with him.

Poor babies!

‘Very insulted’: Trump tells G7 members they’ve hurt Putin’s feelings

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-putin-ukraine-ceasefire

Guardian: Pussy Riot’s founder built a ‘police state’ in an LA art gallery. Then the national guard arrived

Posted on by
Reply

Nadya Tolokonnikova tells the Guardian she felt she had ‘entered a wormhole’ when her police state exhibition was shut down – by the police state

Nadya Tolokonnikova, the co-founder of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot, was sitting in a replica Russian prison cell in downtown Los Angeles when the police started shutting down the streets around the art museum.

Police helicopters hovered overhead. Somewhere, through a loudspeaker, an officer delivered a tinny order to disperse.

Tolokonnikova was only three and a half days into what was supposed to be a “durational performance” reenacting her two years as a political prisoner in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

But Donald Trump had ordered national guard troops into Los Angeles, over the objections of California’s governor, and the protests against immigration raids that Trump wanted to target were happening just a block from the gallery where Tolokonnikova was performing.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (Moca) hastily decided to shut its doors. But Tolokonnikova, 35, whose political art has left her as a wanted criminal in Russia, chose to continue her performance inside the empty museum.

“Police State Exhibit Closed Today Due to the Police State,” she posted on Instagram.

The situation “felt like I had entered a wormhole,” Tolokonnikova told the Guardian the next day via email. She wanted to be out on the streets, but she decided to finish her performance while live-streaming audio of the protests outside into her prison cell. It felt important, she wrote, “not to bend to the whims of Ice or the national guard”.

Tolokonnikova was in Los Angeles to display a new performance piece called Police State, which includes a replica Russian prison cell like the ones in which she was incarcerated for nearly two years, including in the notorious penal colony IK-14 in Mordovia.

…

Pussy Riot’s founder built a ‘police state’ in an LA art gallery. Then the national guard arrived
Nadya Tolokonnikova tells the Guardian she felt she had ‘entered a wormhole’ when her police state exhibition was shut down – by the police state

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/jun/15/pussy-riot-nadya-tolokonnikova-police-state

Daily Beast: Judge Frees Harvard Scientist ICE Tried to Deport to Russia

Posted on by
Reply

Kseniia Petrova, 30, spent four months in federal custody after returning from a vacation with frog embryo samples.

A Harvard researcher charged with smuggling frog embryos into the United States has been released on bail after spending four months in federal custody.

In February, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended Kseniia Petrova, 30, at Boston Logan International Airport after she allegedly failed to properly declare frog embryo samples she had brought from Paris.

The Russian-born scientist had her visa revoked and was held at an ICE facility in Louisiana, facing deportation to Russia, where she had previously been arrested for speaking out against the invasion of Ukraine.

“If I go back, I am afraid I will be imprisoned because of my political position and my position against war,” Petrova told the Associated Press.

A federal judge ordered her release from ICE custody in May, ruling that the immigration officers had acted unlawfully, and that neither Petrova nor the nonliving frog embryos posed a threat.

However, she remained in federal custody after prosecutors in Massachusetts charged her with one count of smuggling goods into the U.S. That case is ongoing, and she must return to court next week for a hearing.

Judge Frees Harvard Scientist ICE Tried to Deport to Russia
Kseniia Petrova, 30, spent four months in federal custody after returning from a vacation with frog embryo samples.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/judge-frees-harvard-scientist-ice-tried-to-deport-to-russia