Trump stops U.S. military aid to Ukraine
Donald Trump has ordered a stop to U.S. military aid to Ukraine. This affects military hardware worth a bit under $4 billion for which Congress had previously approved funding. Some of the hardware consists of used vehicles that are ready to ship overseas. A White House source who spoke on condition of anonymity said Trump’s decision was for a pause in additional aid while the question of whether to continue aid is under review. The source said Trump’s decision was designed to put more pressure on Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to negotiate with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Canada is ready to respond to U.S. trade tariffs
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Canada has lined up $30 billion in new trade tariffs on U.S. goods, eventually going up to $155 billion on goods imported from the U.S. New tariffs were announced by Donald Trump against Canada, Mexico and China to go into effect at midnight Monday even though Joly was saying that diplomatic talks about the tariffs continued and that Canada and Mexico are united regarding U.S. tariffs. Trump also announced that the 10% tariff on goods from China was doubled to 20%. Trump threatened to increase U.S. tariffs on goods from any country that imposes tariffs in retribution for whatever the U.S. does.
French Foreign Minister gets standing ovation when backing Zelenskyy
French Foreign Minister Francois Bayrou told the French Parliament that Donald Trump was trying to bend Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s will by publicly berating him at the White House last Friday. He called it a staggering scene marked by brutality. He said that Trump was trying to humiliate Zelenskyy and make him give in to the demands of the Russian aggressors. He got a standing ovation when he said the French appreciate how Zelenskyy handled the situation.
Trump order opens up national forests to cutting for lumber
Donald Trump has signed an executive order that allows tree cutting in the national forests that is designed to increase lumber supplies and thereby make wood cheaper for builders. White House Aide Peter Navarro said that the country’s policies that protect national forests from widespread tree cutting have driven up construction costs and hurt the U.S. by allowing lumber from Canada, Germany and Brazil to be brought into the U.S. and sold cheaper than U.S. lumber. Trump’s order also speeds up the government review process for some tree cutting proposals, in some cases eliminating environmental reviews.
Hegseth shuts down operation that protects U.S. computers from Russian attack
Secretary of Defense Hegseth has ordered the U.S. Cyber Command to stop its operations against Russia. The Cyber Command is charged with detecting and stopping Russian efforts such as hacking into computer systems that control U.S. infrastructure and Russian interference in U.S. elections. The Defense Department has declined to comment on Hegseth’s order. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said that what Hegseth did was a critical strategic mistake. He said it gives Russia a free pass as Putin plans to launch cyber attacks against critical American infrastructure.
Wall Street Journal again editorializes against Trump
Rupert Murdoch’s conservative newspaper The Wall Street Journal has again come out with an editorial that blasts Donald Trump. The Journal’s editorial page previously called Trump’s tariffs the “dumbest trade war in history.” A follow-up editorial calls his announcement that tariffs against Canada and Mexico would go into effect at midnight Monday even dumber. This follows the Journal’s editorial board speaking out after Trump and Vice President Vance publicly lambasted Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. The Journal’s editorial called Trump’s foreign policy “less brave new world than a reversion to a dangerous old one.” The editorial continued, “He says he wants ‘peace,’ but is it peace with honor, or the peace of the grave for Ukraine.”
