Trump Grandstands About Ukraine Peace Talks as Russia Blows Him Off

Donald Trump is definitely losing the reins on negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump told reporters Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had requested additional military aid during their meeting ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome.

“[Zelenskiy] told me that he needs more weapons, but he’s been saying that for three years,” Trump said on the tarmac at Morristown Airport before boarding Air Force One to head back to Washington.

“He needs more weapons, and we’re gonna see what happens. I want to see what happens with respect to Russia—because Russia, I’ve been surprised and disappointed, very disappointed that they did the bombing of those places after discussions,” the president said, referring to Russia’s surprise attack on Kyiv late Wednesday that killed at least 12 Ukrainians amid collapsing peace deal negotiations.

Trump said that he wanted Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop shooting, sit down, and sign a deal.” The U.S. president’s statements follow increasingly concerned public messages to the authoritarian leader, including one musing that Trump may have been strung along by the war-bent despot.

But Ukraine’s not the only one that is refusing to budge on its demands. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov outlined the country’s list of requirements to end the war in a new interview Monday, and it’s the same exact things they’ve been asking for since 2022.

Lavrov said that Russia requires full control of five Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Crimea. Lavrov also insisted that Ukraine must be demilitarized and banned from entering NATO. Kyiv would need to introduce legislation to restore the state of Russian language, culture, and religious institutions, as well.

Lavrov also said that Russia wanted to lift a ban on Kyiv’s ability to directly negotiate with Moscow.

Yaroslav Trofimov, the chief foreign affairs correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, said that Russia was sending Trump a clear message. “Lavrov basically tells Trump to get lost,” Trofimov wrote in a post on X Monday. Trofimov said that Lavrov had advocated a “denazification” that would require a regime change in Ukraine.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted that China isn’t budging in the face of President Trump’s ill-advised tariffs.

On Fox News Monday morning, Brian Kilmeade asked Bessent about progress on talks between the two countries over trade.

“Do you plan on calling your counterpart [in China]?” Kilmeade queried. Bessent’s response showed that he hadn’t planned on it.

“We will see what happens with China, uh, that it’s important, I think it’s unsustainable from the Chinese side, so, uh, maybe they’ll call me one day,” replied Bessent.

Meanwhile, China’s foreign ministry said Monday that President Xi Jinping and Trump have not spoken recently and that there hasn’t been any progress on a trade deal between the two countries, contradicting Trump’s words in Time magazine on Friday that Xi had called him as part of tariff negotiations.

“As far as I know, the two heads of state have not called each other recently,” said Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the ministry, to Reuters. “I would like to reiterate that China and the U.S. have not conducted consultations or negotiations on the tariffs issue.”

Trump has levied tariffs of 145 percent against China, inciting a trade war between the two countries as China retaliated with tariffs of its own. Trump toned down some of his anti-China rhetoric last week and even claimed that the two countries were working on a deal, only to be immediately corrected by Beijing then as well. It seems China knows that it has all of the leverage with U.S. markets sliding, and will dig in until Trump backs down.

Top GOP pollsters are seeing the forest for the trees in Donald Trump’s tanking approval rating.

Speaking with CNN on Sunday, Republican pollster and communications strategist Frank Luntz described the drop-off as “a significant change.”

An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll published Sunday found that Trump’s approval rating had plummeted to 39 percent—a 6 percent drop from February—while 55 percent of Americans said they disapprove of the job he’s doing in office. That’s the lowest first-100-day rating of a president since modern polling began, roughly 80 years ago.

“The president was upholding some reasonably high numbers—January, February, and early March. And over the tariff situation, it became more and more negative,” Luntz told CNN.

“The agenda still has a majority support,” Luntz continued. “But the way that it’s being articulated is costing the president right now.”

Trump’s whiplash tariff proposals turned the stock market—and Americans’ retirement savings—into a rollercoaster of losses. Still, Trump’s base is weathering the storm. The falling numbers are not stemming from his supporters, per Luntz, but rather a large chunk of the population who helped him secure the White House in November but would otherwise identify as nonpartisan.

“His own numbers, with his own people, have withstood all these pressures,” Luntz said. “It’s those who didn’t like him, now have really turned against him, and among independents, swing voters, people who are not ideological or partisan, those are the people who are saying, ‘I don’t like what’s happening right now.’”

“It’s not his own voters—and what the president and the administration will argue is that he’s just as popular today as he was with the people who voted for him. But in the end, we’re all of America, not just those who supported him.”

The pollster warned that Trump needs to change his messaging strategy on key issues or face the long-term consequences of his sinking popularity.

Donald Trump has completely gutted the Department of Justice section charged with securing elections, The Guardian reported Monday.

In January, there were seven top career managers overseeing the voting section of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, which is charged with enforcing federal laws protecting voter registration. As of this week, all of them are gone.

Last week, five of them were reassigned to the complaint adjudication office, which handles employee complaints, alongside Tamar Hagler, who had served as the chief of the voting section office, and another career attorney. Of the two remaining managers, one was reassigned to an antisemitism task force, and the other retired.

These removals are part of a wider reshuffling in the Justice Department, as experienced career officials are reassigned to low-level duties, shifted toward the priorities of the Trump administration, or elect to take buyouts.

Trump appointees at the DOJ also instructed career employees in the voting section to dismiss all remaining active cases, but did not provide a rationale for their dismissal and did not meet with the attorneys. The section’s final active case was dismissed last Monday.

“This is what you do when you don’t really know what the section does and just want to create chaos in the simplest way possible that doesn’t involve you reading anything,” one former voting section attorney told The Guardian. “It is extremely clear that the intent is to get absolutely nothing done. And the effect will be that absolutely nothing gets done.”

The moves come just weeks after Harmeet Dhillon was confirmed to lead the civil rights division. A staunch Trump ally, Dhillon defended several election deniers in court and was widely expected to go after civil rights and diversity achievements.

Trump’s demolition of the DOJ’s voting section represents a victory for election deniers and far-right groups.

Cleta Mitchell, a far-right activist with the ear of the president, called for “every lawyer in the Voting Section” to be “terminated” in a post on X after Trump was elected in November.

“They are not supportive of Pres Trump or MAGA. There has to be a reckoning. These are leftwing activists who have come from and should return to their leftwing organizations,” she wrote.

The American Accountability Foundation, a dark-money witch-hunting cadre, sent a letter to then–attorney general nominee Pam Bondi in December specifically asking her to gut the DOJ’s voting section.

“These people are woke radical leftists and donors who have no place in the Department of Justice,” the group wrote in the letter signed by Thomas Jones, AAF’s president. “In order to restore the American people’s trust in election integrity and a neutral civil service, they must be fired and replaced with America-first attorneys who will execute on the agenda the American People voted for in November.”

The Trump administration’s meddling at the Department of Justice is part of a wider scheme to undermine any election he is likely to lose. A federal judge ruled Thursday to block parts of Trump’s executive order last month attempting to overhaul elections and voting processes.

President Trump is expected to sign an executive order requiring all truck drivers to speak English, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“President Trump believes that English is a non-negotiable safety requirement for professional drivers, as they should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety officers, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station personnel, and provide and receive feedback and directions in English,” a document given to Breitbart by the Trump administration reads.

The order directs Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to “rescind and replace guidance to strengthen inspection procedures for compliance with English proficiency requirements.”

“To promote unity, cultivate a shared American culture for all citizens, ensure consistency in government operations, and create a pathway to civic engagement, it is in America’s best interest for the Federal Government to designate one—and only one—official language,” the order continues. “Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society.”

Trump is expected to sign the order at 5 p.m. on Monday.

This comes days after Oklahoma advanced and Arkansas passed similar acts targeting non-English speaking drivers. This act, a clear shot at immigrant truck workers inspired by a MAGA conspiracy theory about an influx of foreign truck drivers, could very well have adverse effects on an industry that is the lifeblood of the country’s domestic shipping industry.

Trump supporters are freaking out after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker called for mass mobilization to resist Donald Trump.

Pritzker told guests at a New Hampshire dinner full of Democratic activists, officials, and donors on Sunday, “It’s time to fight everywhere and all at once.”

“Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now. These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace,” the Democratic governor said, drawing applause and even standing ovations from those in attendance. 

This did not sit well in Trumpworld. The president’s supporters immediately started clutching their pearls and acting as if Pritzker called for mass anarchy. Tech oligarch and fascism enthusiast Elon Musk called the remarks “crazy” on his X account, reposting video from the “End Wokeness” account, which is likely run by right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec.

Fellow MAGA influencer Benny Johnson accused Pritzker of inciting violence.  

Douglass Mackey, who went to prison for interfering in the 2016 election, went even further, claiming that Pritzker was “essentially calling for civil war against MAGA.”

Catturd, a well-known MAGA online troll whose real name is Phillip Buchanan, called Pritzker “scum.” 

This public freakout over a simple call to activism shows how the right is frightened of even the smallest bit of protest and seeks to criminalize any dissenting speech. MAGA personalities, such as Kari Lake, regularly call for and celebrate political violence, especially when a court case or election doesn’t go their way (and even when it does).  Even Republicans have admitted they’re terrified of the MAGA base’s threats of violence.

Pritzker’s words are much tamer than what conservatives say on a regular basis and are what Democratic voters are looking to hear from their leaders. It seems that the real conservative freakout might be fear over a coming wave of opposition in this country that could result in a loss of power and influence. 

On Canada’s Election Day, the leader of the United States urged the nation’s neighbors to vote for an especially odd third option: choosing Donald J. Trump as their leader.

“Good luck to the Great people of Canada. Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st State of the United States of America,” Trump posted on Truth Social Monday.

“No more artificially drawn line from many years ago,” he continued, apparently referring to borders—an issue that he used in three elections to divide Americans while scapegoating immigration as the root cause of America’s social disorder. “Look how beautiful this land mass would be. Free access with NO BORDER. ALL POSITIVES WITH NO NEGATIVES. IT WAS MEANT TO BE!”

“America can no longer subsidize Canada with the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year that we have been spending in the past. It makes no sense unless Canada is a State!” he added.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that Mexico’s and Canada’s trade deficits with the United States are “subsidies,” rather than indicators that America’s neighbors are purchasing more of its goods than they were selling in return. In 2023, that differential—or deficit—was nearly $41 billion with Canada and $162 billion with Mexico, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The president has also vastly overinflated the reality of the deficits, wrongly asserting that the U.S. is “subsidizing” its neighbors to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars each. The obvious solution to that problem, per Trump, is to take Canada and its independence, folding it into his increasingly centralized government.

But if Canada did enter the United States (hypothetically), it likely would not bode well for Trump’s ongoing quest for power. An analysis by legal experts who spoke with The Washington Post found that the introduction of Canada into the U.S. government would be a “nightmare” for Trump, adding an additional 53 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives—the vast majority of which would identify as Democrats.

But the likelihood that Canada would allow itself to be annexed as an afterthought to U.S. dominance is practically zilch. Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that his country’s cozy relationship with the U.S. had come to an end, and that they would wean themselves off American products and services “at speeds we haven’t seen in generations.”

“Our old relationship of steadily deepening integration with the United States is over,” Carney said, shortly after replacing former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Canada’s leader. “The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global economic leadership, when it forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect, and championed the free and open exchange of goods and services, is over.”

Carney is facing off against conservative lawmaker Pierre Poilievre, who appears to have modeled himself on Trump, for the prime minister’s office.

Republican Representative Mike Lawler wanted to impose order during his town hall Sunday, but no amount of rule-setting could have spared him from the fury of his constituents.

The New York Republican displayed a list of guidelines outside Clarkstown South High School in West Nyack, New York, where he was hosting his first town hall of the year.

The list required attendees to provide proof of residency in New York’s 17th district, prohibited “shouting, screaming, yelling or standing,” and encouraged them to “be respectful of one another, of staff, and of the congressman.”

But in the end, Lawler still faced tough criticism over his deference to President Donald Trump—often in the form of shouting and insults.

“What are you doing to stand in opposition to this administration? And what specifically are you doing that warrants the label ‘moderate?’” asked one constituent, a video on X showed, as the crowd of roughly 700 people erupted into cheers.

“My record speaks for itself—” Lawler began, sending the audience into raucous laughter and jeers. As Lawler continued to limply defend his supposedly moderate record—ProPublica has found that he voted in line with MAGA Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene 81 percent of the time—his constituents refused to quiet their anger.

“Folks, if you want me to answer the questions, let the question be asked, and then listen to the answer,” Lawler said. “If you’re just going to yell back and forth, the time is gonna run pretty quick.”

Lawler told his constituents who had expressed concern about Trump’s escalating trade war and “reciprocal tariff” policy that the president was simply responding to an “affordability crisis.”

“What caused record inflation? Five trillion dollars in new spending in the first two years of the Biden administration is what gave us record inflation,” Lawler said, drowned out by the sounds of booing from the crowd.

Constituents also expressed anger about the president’s inhumane deportations and his attacks on U.S. universities and colleges, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s mounting scandals, and concerns that Republicans were planning to make major cuts to Social Security and Medicaid.

“We’re not cutting Social Security or Medicaid. That is a lie—period!” Lawler insisted, and promised not to support efforts to strip benefits from eligible recipients. But the Republican Party has other plans to drastically shrink the federal match rate for the ACA expansion and shift more financial responsibility to states, and make it easier to gut the SSA.

While the audience was rowdy, they also appeared united. At one point, as Lawler explained that Trump’s tariffs were a response to higher tariffs from other countries and things such as European “price controls” on prescription medications, the audience began speaking in unison.

“Blah, blah, blah,” they chanted, according to a video posted on X.

Lawler was reelected to his seat in November with a whopping 57 percent of the vote. Voters in his district supported the moderate Republican over Democrat Mondaire Jones, but backed Kamala Harris rather than Trump.

The Trump administration is open to arresting Supreme Court judges, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told it on Monday morning.

“You guys arrested a Milwaukee County Circuit judge for allegedly helping illegal immigrants get away,” Fox News’s Peter Doocy asked Leavitt. “As you guys look at other judges, would you ever arrest somebody higher up on the judicial food chain, like a federal judge or even a Supreme Court justice?”

“That’s a hypothetical question, again I defer you to the Department of Justice for individuals that they are looking at or individual cases. But let’s be clear about what this judge did: She obstructed federal law enforcement who were looking for an illegal alien in her courthouse. She showed that illegal alien the door to evade law enforcement officials. That is a clear-cut case of obstruction,” Leavitt replied.

“And so anyone who is breaking the law or obstructing federal law enforcement officials from doing their jobs is putting theirselvses at risk of being prosecuted, absolutely.”

The Department of Justice on Friday arrested Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan, on charges of obstruction after she allegedly “intentionally misdirected federal agents away” from Eduardo Flores Ruiz, an undocumented immigrant. He was later arrested outside the courthouse.

The Trump administration is showing open and direct hostility toward the judicial branch, identifying any judge who dares to defy them as an “activist judge.” The arrest of Judge Dugan, the numerous court orders ignored by the administration, the eight immigration judges who have now been fired or put on leave, and now, Leavitt’s alarming answer are all clear indications that Trump has no plans to reel back his abuse of executive power.

A sprawling network of Signal group chats involving hundreds of top business executives, Silicon Valley leaders, and journalists, as well as legal and economic analysts, has massively reshaped national politics since the pandemic—in large part thanks to the platform’s disappearing-message function.

“Group chats are now where everything important and interesting happens,” Substack author Noah Smith wrote.

Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of the tech venture capitalist firm a16z and onetime co-author of Mosaic, an early internet web browser, spends “half his life on 100” of these sorts of group chats at a time, one anonymous participant hyperbolized to Semafor’s Ben Smith.*

In a blog post announcing Erik Torenberg as one of a16z’s general partners, Andreessen described the private spaces as having produced a national “vibe shift.” That’s because powerful individuals are less afraid to share what they really think in the closed-circuit digital rooms, according to several sources that spoke with Semafor.

“People during 2020 felt that there was a monoculture on social media, and if they didn’t agree with something, group chats became a safe space to debate that, share that, build consensus, feel that you’re not alone,” Torenberg told the publication.

Andreessen agreed—telling Torenberg on a recent podcast that they’re having “all the private conversations because they weren’t allowed to have the public conversations,” blaming the public silence on a general air of censorship on major social platforms.

But some of those conversations have straggled away from friendly discourse and into the realm of political influence. Amid the network lies a vast web of right-wing chatrooms bent on keeping Donald Trump in power and vanquishing political dissent from the left.

“A lot of these technologists hoped that the centrist path was a viable one, because it would permit them in theory to change the culture without having to expose themselves to the risk of becoming partisans,” conservative culture warrior Christopher Rufo told Semafor. “By 2021, the smartest people in tech understood that these people were a dead end—so the group chats exploded and reformulated on more explicitly political lines.”

Rufo—who has risen to popularity on the right for inventing a fiction that the left has taken over America—had seen the opportunity within the Signal spaces to influence those in power all along.

“I looked at these chats as a good investment of my time to radicalize tech elites who I thought were the most likely and high-impact new coalition partners for the right,” Rufo said.

With time, dissenters were brandished as upstarts suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome (sometimes shorthanded to TDS), spawning what are effectively echo chambers: smaller and tighter group chats that have nixed alternative perspectives.

“This group has become worthless since the loudest voices have TDS,” David Sacks wrote of the popular group chat Chatham House, informing Torenberg that he should “create a new one with just smart people.” Sacks left shortly after sending that message.

That spawned the exit of another three notable figures: Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, bitcoin billionaire Tyler Winklevoss, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

* This article previously mischaracterized Mosaic.