Tag Archives: Donald Trump

In his words: Trump’s rhetoric about Zelenskyy and Putin has evolved

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President Donald Trump repeatedly said during his White House campaign that if he won the 2024 election, he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours.” But in the 10 months since he took office, the road to a peace deal has been fraught with changing dynamics involving the American leader, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump’s rhetoric toward both men has evolved. It continues to do so. At the outset of his second term in January, Trump was conciliatory toward Putin, for whom he long has shown admiration. Over time, Trump expressed increasing exasperation with Putin, while seemingly softening criticism of Zelenskyy after their February blowout in the Oval Office. Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on Russia and he was suggesting by the fall that Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia. That was a dramatic shift from his repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war that began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022. By late November, Trump had endorsed a peace plan favorable to Russia. Some Democratic senators suggested the proposal was a “wish list” that originated with Moscow and they had heard just that from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The State Department disputed it and Rubio insisted the plan was written by the United States. American allies in Europe nonetheless worried it was too conciliatory to Russia. Trump had returned to slamming Zelenskyy in ways that recalled how Trump and Vice President JD Vance had hounded the Ukrainian leader out of the Oval Office months earlier. Trump was now suggesting Zelenskyy was not appearing grateful enough for years of U. S. military support. The Republican president also chided European countries for not doing more to put economic pressure on Russa. Here is a look at what Trump has said this year and how his tone has changed: Jan. 31 “We want to end that war. That war would have not started if I was president.” Trump said his new administration had already had “very serious” discussions with Russia and that he and Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the conflict. Feb. 19 “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left.” Trump’s harsh words for Zelenskyy on his Truth Social platform drew criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans in Congress, where defending Ukraine from Russian aggression has traditionally had bipartisan support. Zelenskyy said Trump was falling into a Russian disinformation trap. He was quickly admonished by Vance about the perils of publicly criticizing the new U. S. president. Feb. 28 “You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have.” Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy over the war, accusing him of not showing gratitude after he challenged Vance on the question of diplomacy with Putin. The argument in the Oval Office was broadcast globally. It led to the rest of Zelenskyy’s White House visit being canceled and called into question the U. S. support of Ukraine. A few days after the blowup, Trump temporarily paused military aid to Ukraine to pressure Zelenskyy to seek peace. March 30 “I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word. You’re talking about Putin. I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word. I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve always gotten along well.” Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he trusted Putin to hold up his end of a potential peace deal. April 24 “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” In a Truth Social post, Trump reacted to Russia attacking Kyiv with an hourslong barrage of missiles and drones. It was the first of his rare criticism of Putin as Russia stepped up its attacks on Ukraine. April 29 “A lot of his people are dying. They’re being killed, and I feel very badly about it.” Trump addressed the toll It was the first time the two leaders had met since the Oval Office spat and it signaled a shift in Trump’s attitude toward the Ukrainian president. May 25 “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” Trump’s Truth Social post made it clear he was losing patience with Putin as Moscow pounded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles. June 25 “He was very nice actually. We had a little rough times, sometimes. He was . Couldn’t have been nicer. I think he’d like to see an end to this, I do.” Trump had a closed-door meeting with Zelenskyy during a NATO summit in The Hague. Trump’s comments to reporters later also opened the possibility of sending Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine. July 8 “We get a lot of bull–t thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth. He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.” Trump also said he was “not happy” with Putin and that the war was “killing a lot of people” on both sides. Trump’s comments during a Cabinet meeting came a day after he said the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine. It was a dramatic reversal after earlier announcing a pause in the delivery of previously approved firepower to Kyiv, a decision that was made amid concerns that America’s military stockpiles had declined too much. July 13 “I am very disappointed with President Putin, I thought he was somebody that meant what he said. He’ll talk so beautifully and then he’ll bomb people at night. We don’t like that.” Trump’s remarks to reporters came as Russia has intensified its aerial attacks. July 14 “I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy. It’s been proven over the years. He’s fooled a lot of people before.” Trump pushed harder against Putin during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Trump said if there was no deal to end the war within 50 days, the U. S. would impose “secondary tariffs,” meaning taxes would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow. Trump and Rutte also discussed a rejuvenated pipeline for U. S. weapons. European allies planned to buy military equipment and then transfer it to Ukraine. Aug. 15 “There’s no deal until there’s a deal.” Trump failed to secure an agreement from Putin during a summit in Alaska even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started the war. Trump had wanted to show off his deal-making skills. Instead, he handed Putin long-sought recognition on the international stage after years of Western efforts to make Putin a pariah over the war and his crackdown on dissent, and forestalled the threat of additional U. S. sanctions. Sept. 23 “Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win. This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.’ ” Trump posted on social media soon after meeting with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the U. N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders. He also said he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a departure from Trump’s previous suggestions that Ukraine would never be able to reclaim all the territory that Russia has occupied since it seized the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Oct. 17 “Stop the war immediately.” After again hosting Zelenskyy at the White House, Trump implied that Moscow should be allowed keep territory it has taken from Kyiv if doing so could help end the conflict more quickly. “You go by the battle line wherever it is otherwise it’s too complicated,” Trump said. “You stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it.” Trump had a lengthy phone call with Putin the day before Zelenskyy arrived and announced he soon planned to meet with Putin in Hungary. That meeting never materialized, in part because of a lack of progress on ending the war. Trump also signaled to Zelenskyy that the U. S. would not be selling Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles, which the Ukrainians believed could be a game changer in helping prod Putin to the negotiating table. Oct. 22 “Hopefully he’ll become reasonable.” Trump made the comment suggesting Putin could be more favorable to a peace agreement after the Treasury Department announced sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil companies and their subsidiaries. But Trump added, “And, hopefully Zelenskyy will be reasonable, too. You know, it takes two to tango, as they say.” Nov. 21 “He’s going to have to approve it.” Trump suggested that Zelenskyy would have to accept the U. S. peace plan. Trump pressed Zelenskyy to agree to concessions of land to Moscow, a massive reduction in the size of Ukraine’s army and agreement from Europe to assert that Ukraine would never be admitted into the NATO military alliance. Trump set a Nov. 27 deadline Thanksgiving Day in the U. S. for Zelenskyy to respond to the plan. Trump also said more time could be allotted to Ukraine as long as progress was made to a lasting peace. Nov. 22 “I would like to get to peace.” Asked if the peace plan was his final offer, Trump said it was not. He did not elaborate. But his comment suggested he would be willing to negotiate past the Nov. 27 deadline and alter the peace plan in ways that Ukraine wants. “We’re trying to get it ended. One way or the other, we have to get it ended,” Trump said of the war. Senators from both parties who have been critical of Trump’s approach to ending the war said they spoke with Rubio, who told them that the plan Trump was pushing Kyiv to accept was actually a “wish list” of the Russians. The State Department called that account “false” and Rubio later took the extraordinary step of insisting that the plan was U. S.-authored. But the incident raised still more questions about its ultimate fate. Nov. 23 “UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS, AND EUROPE CONTINUES TO BUY OIL FROM RUSSIA.” In a post on his social media site, Trump went after Zelenskyy and the Europeans once more: “With strong and proper U. S. and Ukrainian LEADERSHIP” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “would have NEVER HAPPENED,” Trump said, again blaming his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for allowing the conflict in Ukraine.
https://ktar.com/national-news/in-his-words-trumps-rhetoric-about-zelenskyy-and-putin-has-evolved-3/5781614/

Trump promete fin “de inmediato” a TPS para somalíes en Minnesota, desatando temor y dudas legales

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Por JAKE OFFENHARTZ La promesa del presidente Donald Trump de poner fin a las protecciones legales temporales para los somalíes que viven en Minnesota ha desatado una ola de temor en una comunidad inmigrante sumamente arraigada en el estado, así como dudas sobre si la Casa Blanca tiene la autoridad legal para promulgar la directiva tal como se describe. El mandatario publicó la noche del viernes en su plataforma de redes sociales Truth Social que a los residentes somalíes de Minnesota se les retiraría “de inmediato” el Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS por sus iniciales en inglés), una salvaguarda legal contra la deportación para inmigrantes de ciertos países. El anuncio provocó una respuesta inmediata de algunos líderes estatales y expertos en inmigración, quienes se refirieron a las amenazas de Trump como un intento sin muchos fundamentos legales para sembrar miedo y sospecha hacia la comunidad somalí de Minnesota, la más grande del país. “No hay un mecanismo legal que le permita al presidente poner fin al estatus de protección para una comunidad o estado en particular con el que tenga problemas”, aseguró Heidi Altman, directora de políticas del National Immigrant Justice Center. “Trump está haciendo lo que siempre hace: demagogia contra los inmigrantes sin justificación ni evidencia y usar esa demagogia en un intento por retirar importantes protecciones que salvan vidas”, agregó. La protección para los somalíes ha sido extendida 27 veces desde 1991, después de que las autoridades estadounidenses han determinado que las condiciones en Somalia no son lo suficientemente seguras para que las personas que ya se encuentran en Estados Unidos puedan regresar a ese país. Sin embargo, el gobierno de Trump podría tomar medidas para retirar las protecciones legales para los somalíes a nivel nacional. Pero eso afectaría sólo a una pequeña fracción de las decenas de miles de somalíes que viven en Minnesota. Según un informe elaborado para el Congreso en agosto pasado, únicamente hay 705 somalíes al amparo del TPS a nivel nacional “Soy ciudadana, al igual que la mayoría de los somalíes en Estados Unidos”, señaló la representante por Minnesota Ilhan Omar, una demócrata de origen somalí. “Buena suerte celebrando un cambio de política que realmente no tiene mucho impacto en los somalíes a los que amas odiar”. Aún así, grupos activistas advirtieron que la medida podría avivar el odio contra una comunidad en un momento de creciente islamofobia. “Esto no es sólo un cambio burocrático”, dijo Jaylani Hussein, presidente del Council on American-Islamic Relations para su oficina en Minnesota. “Es un ataque político a la comunidad somalí y musulmana impulsado por una retórica islamofóbica y de odio”. En su publicación en redes sociales, Trump afirmó, sin ofrecer evidencia, que las pandillas somalíes han atacado a los residentes de Minnesota y se refirió al estado como un “centro de actividad fraudulenta para el lavado de dinero”. Fiscales federales han presentado cargos en las últimas semanas contra decenas de personas que forman parte de un plan de fraude de servicios sociales. Algunos de los acusados son originarios de Somalia. El gobernador de Minnesota, el demócrata Tim Walz, ha señalado que su estado se ubica consistentemente entre los más seguros del país. “No es de sorprender que el presidente haya elegido atacar de manera generalizada a toda una comunidad”, señaló Waltz el viernes. “Esto es lo que hace para cambiar de tema”. Activistas comunitarios destacan que la diáspora somalí en Minnesota ha ayudado a revitalizar los corredores del centro de Minneapolis y juega un importante papel en la política del estado. “La verdad es que la comunidad somalí es querida y está profundamente entrelazada en muchos de los vecindarios y comunidades de Minnesota”, subrayó Altman. “Desestabilizar a familias y comunidades nos deja a todos menos seguros, no más”. Como parte de un impulso más amplio por adoptar políticas de inmigración más estrictas, la Casa Blanca ha tomado medidas para retirar varias protecciones que les habían permitido a los inmigrantes permanecer en Estados Unidos y trabajar legalmente. Entre ellas se incluye el fin del TPS para 600. 000 venezolanos y 500. 000 haitianos que recibieron protecciones durante la presidencia de Joe Biden. ___ Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
https://www.mcall.com/2025/11/22/trump-promete-fin-de-inmediato-a-tps-para-somales-en-minnesota-desatando-temor-y-dudas-legales/

Everyone ‘Got Played’: Curtis Sliwa Says Americans Were ‘Suckers’ Going Into Trump-Mamdani Meeting

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Unsuccessful Republican New York City mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa told CNN on Friday he thought President Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Democratic Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani proved that past barbs traded by the two men were all for show. Mamdani’s defeated opponent expressed his view on “Laura Coates Live” that Americans “got played” as “suckers” by both the avowed socialist mayor-elect and the president, likening the duo of powerful New Yorkers to actors. Hours earlier, Trump and Mamdani met in the White House and held a discussion widely reported as unexpectedly friendly and cordial, despite the two politicians’ starkly different ideologies and past comments about each other. “Everyone in the world, everyone in the country, everyone in New York City, got played by these two thespians, these actors. Because remember, eight months ago, we thought it was Godzilla versus King Kong,” Sliwa told Coates. “There was Zohran Mamdani calling Donald Trump a fascist he’s not. And then Donald Trump calling Zohran Mamdani a communist he’s not.” (RELATED: Trump Gives Mamdani Permission To Call Him Fascist In Hilarious Oval Office Exchange) During the Oval Office meeting, Trump appeared to laugh off the past name-calling from the campaign. When a reporter asked if Mamdani still believed the president was a “fascist,” Trump jokingly cut-in before the mayor-elect could answer, “That’s okay, you can just say, ‘yes’ . It’s easier than explaining it, I don’t mind.” WATCH: “I’m the street guy and, as you know, Donald Trump did not support me to become the next mayor. And you’re going to find out why, because we just all got played for eight months,” Sliwa continued. He added later he felt “like the American people were turned into suckers” during Trump and Mamdani’s feuding. Sliwa came in a distant third behind Mamdani and former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an Independent, in the Big Apple’s Nov. 4 mayoral election. The Republican radio host and Guardian Angels founder received just 7% of the vote after his campaign suffered a major blow with Trump urging New Yorkers to vote for Cuomo. Cuomo was suggested to have had the greatest chance to form a coalition of voters large enough to counter that of Mamdani. “The president said, ‘I’m going to withhold $7 billion of badly needed federal funding for New York City if you elect Zohran Mamdani,’ and then Zohran Mamdani, on the night of his victory, turns and looks into the television and says, ‘Donald Trump, if you’re listening, turn up the volume,’” Sliwa told Coates, paraphrasing early November comments by both the president and mayor-elect. “So, they’re, like, antagonizing their followers. And then all of a sudden, today, we’re expected to believe Kumbaya: everything is fine, everything moves normally. No, no, no, no, no,” Sliwa added. (RELATED: ‘Angry Mamdani’: Socialist Mayor-To-Be Braces For Harsh Reality Check, Analysts Say) Coates then asked the Republican if “a good relationship between Mamdani and Trump” is “actually helpful” to New Yorkers, to which Sliwa responded, “Of course.” “But don’t you think these two men who spent eight months attacking one another and engaging their followers to foment anger towards one another owe the American people and the people of New York City an apology for doing that, because clearly they didn’t mean it?” he continued. “They went into that meeting today, ‘Oh, all is forgiven. All is forgotten.’ And you know, this is the midterm elections.” Businessman Andrew Yang, another former New York City mayoral hopeful, separately appeared to draw a different conclusion from Trump and Mamdani’s warm meeting. Yang, who did not endorse a candidate in the Nov. 4 mayoral election, told Fox News’s Kayleigh McEnany on Saturday he was “thrilled” at the meeting’s “tenor.” WATCH: “Because one of the major pitfalls potentially for a mayor like Mamdani was getting crosswise with this administration, having resources pulled, having ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] officials downtown,” Yang, a former Democratic 2020 candidate for president who left the party in 2021, said on McEnany’s show, “Saturday in America.” “And so the fact that Zohran and Donald Trump seem to be on the same page, so many New Yorkers today are breathing a huge sigh of relief,” he added. “I hope it holds up.” Yang was a 2021 Democratic candidate for New York City mayor and was, at one point, the favorite to win the party’s nomination before ultimately coming in fourth place. He broke with the Democrats later that year, going on to co-found the centrist Forward Party. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation. org.
https://dailycaller.com/2025/11/22/curtis-sliwa-cnn-laura-coates-live-donald-trump-zohran-mamdani-meeting-andrew-yang-fox-news-kayleigh-mcenany-saturday-america/

Trump Responds to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Resignation — ‘I Think it’s Great News for the Country’

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President Donald Trump spoke by phone Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation from Congress. In a shocking Friday night announcement, Rep. Greene declared she is resigning, effective January 5, 2026. “I think it’s great news for the country. It’s great,” Trump told Scott. Scott asked if Greene had given him any heads up about the announcement. “Nah, it doesn’t matter, you know, but I think it’s great. I think she should be happy,” Trump said. Scott added, “When I asked about the president about the rift between the two of them the president replied, ‘only between me and her, not her and me.’” “He said as of now, he has no plans to speak to her and wishes her well.” The president then pivoted to other topics, praising a separate meeting he had held earlier in the day with Zohran Mamdani. Greene posted a nearly 11-minute video and a four-page signed resignation letter to X about an hour before Trump’s response, confirming the end of her five-year tenure representing Georgia’s 14th District. The dramatic exit comes after Greene repeatedly demanded the immediate public release of the Jeffrey Epstein client list and files, which led to her being scolded and unendorsed by President Donald Trump in a series of posts to Truth Social. BREAKING: Marjorie Taylor Greene Announces Resignation from Congress (VIDEO) Greene said in the video, “I have too much self-respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms. Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for,” Greene said. Greene has been receiving both backlash and praise for her stance on Epstein from different portions of the right. She has also been a lightning rod for taking a bold “America Only” stance when it comes to funding Israel. “Loyalty should be a two-way street and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district’s interest, because our job title is literally ‘representative,’” she added. “If I am cast aside by MAGA Inc and replaced by Neocons, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Military Industrial War Complex, foreign leaders, and the elite donor class that can’t even relate to real Americans, then many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well,” Greene said. “Until then, I’m going back to the people I love, to live life to the fullest as I always have, and look forward to a new path ahead. I will be resigning from office with my last day being January 5, 2026,” she continued. Greene’s resignation will trigger a special election in Georgia’s deep-red 14th District. The White House has not issued an official written statement on the matter at this time.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/11/trump-responds-marjorie-taylor-greenes-resignation-i-think/

Texas seeks Supreme Court order to use a congressional map judges held is likely racially biased

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By MARK SHERMAN WASHINGTON (AP) Texas on Friday asked the Supreme Court for an emergency order to be allowed to use a congressional redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump that is favorable to Republicans in the 2026 elections despite a lower court ruling that it likely discriminates on the basis of race. The state is calling on the high court to intervene to avoid confusion as congressional primary elections approach in March. The justices have blocked past lower-court rulings in congressional redistricting cases, most recently in Alabama and Louisiana, that came several months before elections. Texas redrew its congressional map in the summer as part of Trump’s efforts to preserve a slim Republican majority in the House in next year’s elections, touching off a nationwide redistricting battle. The new redistricting map was engineered to give Republicans five additional House seats, but a panel of federal judges in El Paso ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the civil rights groups that challenged the map on behalf of Black and Hispanic voters were likely to win their case. If the ruling holds for now, Texas could be forced to hold elections next year using the map drawn by the GOP-controlled Legislature in 2021 based on the 2020 census. Texas was the first state to meet Trump’s demands in what has become an expanding national battle over redistricting. Republicans drew the state’s new map to give the GOP five additional seats, and Missouri and North Carolina followed with new maps adding an additional Republican seat each. To counter those moves, California voters approved a ballot initiative to give Democrats an additional five seats there. The redrawn maps are facing court challenges in California, Missouri and North Carolina.
https://www.capitalgazette.com/2025/11/21/election-2026-redistricting-texas-scotus/

Taiwan set to avoid ‘punishing’ 300% tariffs on semiconductor exports, says report — new trade deal could spur $400 billion investment commitment from island nation

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Taiwan National Science and Technology Council Minister Wu Cheng-wen said that the U. S. is not pushing through with its threat of a 300% tariff on chips, at least for those coming from the island. According to the Financial Times, Taiwan is currently finalizing a trade deal with the U. S. while awaiting the results of the U. S. Department of Commerce’s Section 232 investigation. At the moment, U. S. President Donald Trump has applied a 20% tariff on Taiwanese goods, except for semiconductor imports. “They understand that punishing Taiwan is not in their interests,” Wu told the Financial Times. He also said that the island will help the United States with the development of its semiconductor industry, especially with building science parks. “Of course, there’s the recipes of how to make the chips, but it’s also about the science park management, attracting companies, integrating academic research with industry,” he adds. “No other country has done what we have done.” Taiwan currently has three science parks and ten technology industrial parks that make it easier for companies to focus on innovation instead of red tape. These parks serve as nodes for the island’s high-tech industries, facilitating collaboration for firms within these zones. Aside from that, they also have a fixed lease rate, so companies do not have to worry about skyrocketing rental prices just to stay inside these zones. This model has enabled Taiwan to produce some of the most advanced tech institutions in the world, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the crowning jewel of the island’s silicon shield and headquartered in Hsinchu Science Park, being one excellent example. Aside from helping the U. S. revive its chipmaking industry, an unnamed U. S. government official suggested that the new trade agreement would also result in a US$400 billion investment commitment from Taiwan. This will be much easier for the island, as TSMC is already investing $165 billion in Arizona to build new fabs and even an R&D center. Other Taiwanese companies, like GlobalWafers, are also spending billions of dollars to expand their presence within the United States. This move might seem like an erosion of the island’s leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, but it’s also taking steps to develop a second “silicon shield.” Taiwan has allocated US$3 billion to turn it into an “AI island” while the government is also focusing on building up other industries, like drones, robotics, and medical technology. More importantly, it has restricted the export of TSMC’s most advanced process technologies to help keep it secure at least in the near future.
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/taiwan-set-to-avoid-punishing-300-percent-tariffs-on-semiconductor-exports-says-report-new-trade-deal-could-spur-usd400-billion-investment-commitment-from-island-nation

Lucas: Trying to make cents of the penny’s demise

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Once a proud coin of the realm, the penny has become a pest. It gets no respect. And the penny is not even worth one cent anymore. It costs the government nearly four cents to mint one penny. No wonder President Donald Trump ordered its demise. So in the future, every time it rains it won’t rain “Pennies from Heaven.” Speaking about loose change, the nickel, dime and quarter will be next on the hit list before you know it. It costs 14 cents, or 14 pennies, to make a nickel, six cents to make a dime, and 15 cents to make a quarter. And Trump did the penny pinching without Sen. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats fighting to save the penny by shutting the government down over it. He did it without even offering Schumer a penny for his thoughts. Realistically, “Shutdown Schumer” would have been better off had he shut down the government to save the penny. “In for penny, in for a pound,” a fighting Schumer could have said. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned. But when he learned that Trump secretly planned to replace Abraham Lincoln on the face of the penny with his own image, he balked. It was a bad penny of an idea after all. Unnamed and nonexistent sources said Schumer called it a “penny-ante” kind of a deal in the first place. Of course, Trump had no such plans to replace Lincoln on the penny. But whatever Trump planned the Democrats would have attacked him on it anyway. Trump may not like pennies, but he likes Lincoln. Besides, my imaginary White House sources say that Trump, after shooting down idea of replacing President John F. Kennedy on the old half-dollar coin, is planning to replace George Washington on the $1 bill. Under his picture it will read, “IN TRUMP WE TRUST.” He plans to do that at the opening ceremony of the new Trump Ballroom he is building at the East Wing of the White House, which has cost a pretty penny even if the money to pay for it came from private sources and not taxpayers. Still, challenging Trump over the abolition of the penny is something that people could have related to. Everybody has pennies, whether they want to get rid of them or not. Pennies are everywhere. Which is why putting my two cents in at Market Basket I always say “Close enough” to the change, including pennies, the part-time high school cashiers having difficulty making change give me back. And it would have been a better way to challenge Trump rather than shut down the government and institute payless paydays for the military, air traffic controllers and government workers, while threatening needy people to go without food. It was a Schumer Shutdown over nothing. In the event you have not been watching every penny, Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop making new pennies in February. Last week the U. S. Mint ended their production. The Mint has been producing them since 1793. Lincoln’s image was put on the penny in 1909. While no new pennies will be manufactured, there are billions of them in circulation and they will be around for a while, like many other government programs. Pennies, like the American people, are rugged survivors. During World War II, for instance, pennies were zinc-coated to save copper for the war effort. But they bounced back after we won the war. We have lived with pennies all our lives. Pennies are American history. And they will still be around, outlasting people, politicians, popes, pundits, poets, paupers and presidents. Save the cent. Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter. lucas@bostonherald. com.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/11/20/lucas-trying-to-make-cents-of-the-pennys-demise/

Trump’s New Peace Deal for Russia-Ukraine War: Everything We Know

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Adding to his roster of international peace negotiations, President Donald Trump has reportedly proposed putting together a plan to end the over three-and-a-half-year war between Russia and Ukraine, according to several reports citing anonymous sources close to the matter. Why It Matters The plan reportedly would grant Russia expanded control over two eastern Ukrainian territories in exchange for security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe. Territorial sovereignty has been at the crux of the war since Russian President Vladimir Putin led a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which was launched years after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014. The prospect of Russian land guarantees is viewed as a major concession and a concern for Ukraine and its supporters. The reported plan comes nearly a month after the Trump administration announced sweeping new sanctions targeting Russia’s oil industry and after the president said he was not, for now, considering a deal that would allow Ukraine to obtain long-range Tomahawk missiles from the United States for use against Russia. On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump repeatedly said he would end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day in office. It comes after the president made headway on a peace plan between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. What To Know The plan, outlined in 28 points, would reportedly grant Russia parts of eastern Ukraine, in exchange for a security guarantee, Axios reported, citing a U. S. official familiar with the situation. Specifically, it outlines Russia as gaining de facto control of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are referred to as the Donbas, but Ukraine would not be asked to publicly acknowledge it. The U. S. and international community would recognize Crimea and the Donbas as Russian territory. Currently, the U. S. State Department considers Crimea Ukrainian, writing on its website, “The U. S. government recognizes Crimea is part of Ukraine; it does not and will not recognize the purported annexation of Crimea. Occupation authorities continue to impose the laws of the Russian Federation in the territory of Crimea.” The Axios report noted that in two other frontline regions, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the “current lines of control would mostly be frozen in place, with Russia returning some land.” A Ukrainian official reportedly noted that the plan limits the size of the Ukrainian military and its long-range weapons in return for U. S. security guarantees. The report did not detail what the U. S. security guarantee entails. Two other countries are reportedly involved in the talks-Qatar and Turkey, Axios reported. Both parties played a key role in establishing Trump’s 20-point Israel-Hamas peace plan. On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Ankara. “We count on the strength of Turkish diplomacy, on [how] it’s understood in Moscow,” Zelensky said following their meeting, according to the Associated Press. A U. S. Army official confirmed to the Associated Press that Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was in Ukraine on Wednesday for negotiations. Axios reported earlier that Zelensky’s national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, met with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff last weekend. Financial Times reported that one of the lead architects of the deal is Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a close ally of Putin. What People Are Saying Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday: “Moscow is open to continuation; Moscow is open to negotiations. The pause that has arisen is, in fact, due to the Kyiv regime’s reluctance to continue this dialogue.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, per Russia state media outlet Tass: “We count on the continuation of the Istanbul negotiations based on a pragmatic and result-oriented approach. We see them as an important basis for a peaceful resolution [of the conflict].” Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, said in an X post on Wednesday: “I totally disagree with the Administration negotiating w/ the Russians & not the Ukrainians, and their plan to demand the Ukrainians accept the agreement as a “fait accompli.” Not involving the Europeans is foolish. The U. S. did this too with South Vietnam & the Afghan Government. This sounds like 1938 Munich.” Maria Avdeeva, a non-resident senior fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said in an X post on Wednesday: “Seriously? Witkoff and Dmitriev in Miami drafting Russia’s demands for Ukraine calling it a ‘peace plan’? It’s beyond pathetic.” Michael McFaul, Stanford University professor and former U. S. Ambassador to Russia, said in an X post Frankly, I’m shocked.” What Happens Next It is unclear when the plan will be publicly revealed and if and when the parties will agree to the proposal.
https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-new-peace-deal-russia-ukraine-war-everything-we-know-11077463

Texas redistricting: Federal court blocks new congressional map

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U. S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said the plaintiffs are likely to prove that the new map is racially gerrymandered. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to appeal the ruling to the U. S. Supreme Court. (Excerpt) Read more at youtube. com . TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Politics/Elections; US: Texas KEYWORDS: 2026midterms; redistricting Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC PO Box 9771 Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. 1 posted on by thecodont Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by.
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4353306/posts

MTG Slams Trump as Lawmakers Appear With Epstein Survivors Ahead of Vote

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In a joint press conference with survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, House lawmakers bashed President Donald Trump and Republican leadership ahead of the lower chamber’s vote to compel the release of the so-called “Epstein files.” Standing before survivors, longtime Trump sycophant and MAGA standardbearer Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told reporters that the debacle over the Epstein files has been “one of the most destructive things to MAGA.” “I wasn’t ‘Johnny come lately’ to the MAGA train,” Greene said. “Watching the man that we supported early on [.] Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart.” Greene has long supported transparency in the Epstein case, while Trump has pressured the nation to move on from the scandal. The president whose was once close friends with Epstein and whose name reportedly appears in the files recently revoked his endorsement of Greene, and repeatedly bash her as a “traitor” to his movement. The congresswoman addressed the president’s attacks on Tuesday. “I gave him my loyalty for free,” she said. “I’ve never owed him anything. But I fought for him for the policies and for America first. And he called me a traitor for standing with [survivors] and refusing to take my name off the discharge petition.” A bipartisan coalition of House members, led by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), bucked House leadership and Trump’s efforts to silence calls for the administration to follow through on its campaign promise for transparency regarding the cases against Epstein. The members spent months shoring up support for a discharge petition that would allow them to bring “The Epstein Files Transparency Act” to a floor vote without the approval of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has been allied with the president on the issue. Johnson for seven weeks stalled the swearing-in ceremony of Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who ultimately cast the vote to bring the resolution to the floor When it became clear the petition would be coming to a vote, Trump flipped his position, encouraging House Republicans to vote yes. Editor’s picks Survivors were not buying it. Halye Robinson, who worked closely with members of Congress to secure a vote to release the files, spoke directly to Trump: “To the president of the United States of America who is not here today. I want to send a clear message to you: while I do understand that your position has changed on the Epstein files and I’m grateful that you have pledged to sign this bill I can’t help to be skeptical of what the agenda is.” “I am traumatized. I am not stupid, I am traumatized,” she added. “You have put us through so much stress: the lockdowns, the halting of these procedures that were supposed to have happened 50 days ago. Adelita Grijalva, who waited to get sworn in. And then [you] get upset when your own party goes against you because what is being done is wrong. It’s not right.” Survivors and lawmakers who spoke called on the Senate to also pass the resolution, and criticized lawmakers including Johnson who only decided to lend their support after it became clear the vote had enough momentum to pass. “I think the speaker wants to save face,” Massie said. “He’s going to vote for a piece of legislation today that he’s disparaged for four months.” In a subsequent press conference, Johnson said “if and when” the legislation makes it to the Senate Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-Mont.) would take the time to carefully amend the act in order to assuage “concerns” about its scope. Trending Stories Johnson expressed worry that releasing the files “could ruin the reputations of completely innocent people, such as those who may just have known Epstein but knew nothing of his crimes or whose names he exploited and used to try to get close to his intended victims.” The American justice system exists precisely as the mechanism to try those accused of crimes, and fear of reputational damage is no reason to continue denying Epstein’s survivors the justice they deserve.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mtg-epstein-survivors-files-vote-press-conference-1235467233/