I am trying to avoid my own confirmation bias, which is difficult in this case, because when Congressman Mike Waltz was announced as NSA to President-elect Donald Trump, immediately I thought he would be the first to exit the national security team; his ideology just doesn’t mesh right.

Following the fiasco with Signal and his Jeffrey Goldberg foul up, it looked like Waltz was pushed out of the immediate circle of influence and instead told to focus on restructuring the National Security Council.  His proximity still exists, but his immediate role appears -at least outwardly- to have shifted; he seems less influential as a direct emissary for President Trump to foreign intelligence peers and leaders.

I have this horribly annoying affliction to noticing small details and taking notes, and all indications point in that direction.  When you start to notice this shift, what becomes evident is within the verbiage used as a proximity person begins describing events as if they were an observer, not a direct participant. [The “we” is lost.] Listen to how Mike Waltz describes current geopolitical events, he sounds like a pundit not a participant.

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If my suspicion is accurate, President Trump has a National Security Advisor in name only.

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An interesting report from the U.K reflects British government officials who feel their legal position against ‘free speech’ in Great Britain is now part of the negotiations for President Trump’s tariffs.  Essentially, the tariff discussion is encompassing more than just tariffs; if the nation does not support traditional freedoms and liberty, they could face stronger tariffs from the USA.

The messenger for this dynamic is not coincidentally Vice President JD Vance, who aligns closely with the tech platforms.  The tech control agents are bitterly opposed to President Trump’s tariff position, and this nuance is quite possibly a way to give the tech platforms an ancillary benefit, vis-a-vis free speech support.

The tech industry is facing pressure from the EU and British government to censor and control information content on their platforms.  By adding the importance of free speech to the leverage of tariff pressure, President Trump gives both Main Street companies and American Tech Titans something important to their business interests.  This is both a smart and righteous approach.

(Via The UK Independent) Sir Keir Starmer must embrace Donald Trump’s agenda by repealing hate speech laws in order to get a trade deal over the line, a Washington source has told The Independent.

The warning came after the US vice-president suggested a UK-US agreement may be close, with the White House “working very hard” on it.

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President Trump hosted Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in the Oval Office and took questions from reporters on Thursday.  The majority of the question from both the U.S. and Norwegian media encompass the current effort to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.

One of the ceasefire ‘sticking points’ per se’, is that immediately following the breakout of the conflict the government of President Zelenskyy changed many of their constitutional rules to include the legal elimination of opposition parties in the country, removal of religion or faith-based social influence that runs counter to the Ukrainian Nazi mindset, the cessation of elections in Ukraine, and other “emergency measures” intended to assist the stability of Zelenskyy’s government as they entered a war footing.

The results of the legal changes and constitutional framework, which included non-recognition of any lost territory, is now being leveraged by Zelenskyy in negotiations for a ceasefire.  President Zelenskyy is now saying the ceasefire terms proposed, which include accepting regional losses of geography to Russia, are not constitutionally possible and he has no power to agree to them.

In essence, Zelenskyy’s emergency government changed the constitutional power of the President, cemented a new constitutional status during war, and now says those previous changes make it impossible to accept proposed terms.  This self-fulfilling creation, intentionally done with forethought for exactly this kind of current scenario, is the baseline for frustration toward the Ukraine position.  President Trump notes this Ukraine position is frustrating, while thousands die weekly in the process.  WATCH:

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Interesting series of events converging.  According to multiple media outlets, a delegation from the U.S, Europe and Ukraine are scheduled to meet again in London tomorrow for further discussions of the peace proposal.

President Trump said Monday they had “very good meetings” about Ukraine and Russia recently as Trump was likely debriefed from the meeting that Secretary Rubio and Envoy Steve Witkoff held in Paris, France with Emmanuel Macron, Ukraine, EU and U.K officials.  However, this was the same Paris meeting that preceded Secretary Rubio saying if progress was not made quickly, the USA would exit their role in negotiating a peace deal.

President Trump and Secretary Rubio are putting pressure on Ukraine, EU, U.K as well as the CIA background players to get to a place of earnest peace discussion, by threatening to pull back from their effort and likely allowing Russian President Putin a lot of implied latitude to increase hostile action.

The belligerent Ukraine officials (harsh Nazi tones on display) feel emboldened to keep fighting with enhanced funding and support from the EU, U.K, NATO and CIA operatives embedded with Ukraine forces.  As an ancillary matter, the potential for Trump to pull back stands as a visible motive for the USA Deep State to keep attacking Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

At a certain point President Trump is going to have to make a decision on further support.  If Trump exits the proxy war, that’s when the real internal battle with the CIA will likely surface. This is a very interesting dynamic to keep watching as CIA Director John Ratcliffe appears to be a bystander, incapable of stopping the independent elements of the CIA from operating their own agenda.

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Earlier today, President Trump held the swearing-in ceremony for Dr. Mehmet Oz to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services along with Secretary of HHS Robert F Kennedy Jr.  Following the ceremony President Trump took questions from the media.

The first questions to President Trump encompass the remarks by Secretary of State Marco Rubio about walking away from peace negotiations in the Ukraine-Russia conflict if the EU/UK and NATO participants do not get serious about stopping the bloodshed. The Q&A segment begins at 13:42 (prompted) WATCH:

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“This is not our war.” ~ Secretary Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters in Paris on April 18 about the prolonged peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. However, a frustrated Rubio warned that the U.S. could “move on” from its involvement in negotiations to end the war if no progress is made “within a matter of days and weeks.” That’s the mainstream media narrative.

The non-pretending summary is that Ukraine, France, Great Britain, the EU, NATO et al are all trying to retain their interests in the conflict. Russia has simple terms, but the war machinery controlled by the intel apparatus (CIA and EU) and the financial stakeholders in the EU region are unhappy. [Too many cooks] A frustrated Secretary Rubio says, make up your mind, if no deal – ¹we’re done.  WATCH:

¹Having followed this very closely, here’s what “we’re done” likely means.

President Trump ends the USA side of the proxy war. President Trump pulls back all support for Ukraine; stops sending money, weapons and to the extent he can, intelligence to Ukraine. This opens the door for Russia to go full combat as the ground thaws, without concern for USA to engage.

The EU will have to step up with funding, intelligence and war material to continue supporting Ukraine.  Rubio is calling the EU/UK bluff here because he knows without the USA the EU/UK will not commit to fight Russia.

Remember if no one does anything, Russia has already gained the ground they want and will just continue grinding western Ukraine to ever expanding rubble.  Factually, doing nothing is a big win for Russia, especially if Trump withdraws.

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There are a ton of geopolitical influences happening in the background and foreground of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Trump voice and envoy Steve Witkoff, and Keith Kellogg meeting in Paris with delegations from France, U.K, Ukraine and EU stakeholders.  The intent is to get the EU/UK on board with a Trump/Putin ceasefire plan.

NYP Story HERE ~ AP Story HERE

French President Emmanuel Macron (seeking a distraction from his own internal political turmoil) has appointed himself as representative for EU interests in the peace negotiations.  No one in the EU wants to hear Macron keep whining, so they just roll with it.  Macron even bought new lifts for the occasion.

The UK comes into the picture in Paris because France and the UK have decided to lead the coerced EU “coalition of the willing” (not many are willing) to create the boots on the ground peacekeepers if there is going to be a ceasefire.  REMINDER: Macron and Starmer demand the U.S. backstop their proposed Ukraine peacekeeping with USA military power.

Those of you who bet on Macron using the opportunity to leverage a better tariff position; actually, the entire reason he appointed himself leader; can take a victory lap. “At Thursday’s talks in Paris, Macron also discussed the impact of Trump’s tariff policies and the conflicts in the Mideast.” (source) We all knew the little French rat would. We were right.

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Folks, I know this is going to be hard, but we must remain steadfast in bearing the burden of new tariffs for our essential items.  Hermes has announced they will pass along the cost of President Trump’s tariffs to consumers.

Currently, Hermes branded purses ranging from $20,000 to $200,000 are purchased by a whopping 0.001% of Americans, yet 90% of wives for Wall Street hedge fund managers have them.

Yes, this is going to be a painful price increase; however, it is our patriotic duty to withstand it.  We can survive it.

NEW YORK – […] The Paris-based company — which manufactures the vast majority of its goods in France — will raise prices enough to offset any hit to growth from the current 10% tariff on the European Union, according to Eric du Halgouet, Hermes’ executive vice president of finance.

If Hermes adds the 10% tax, US shoppers could pay an additional $2,000 on a lower-cost model, or an extra $20,000 on a $200,000 handbag. (read more)

If you have any tips or advice on how to deal with increased emotional anxiety as a result of this horrific announcement, please provide your words of wisdom in the comments section.  If we lean on each other for support, we can get through this.

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El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has been a key strategic ally for the Trump administration in support of the deportation and repatriation of hundreds of criminal aliens and gang members from the region.

Beginning in 2012, supported by President Obama, thousands of criminal gang members from south and central America flooded into the USA.  In 2017, President Trump began to secure the border; however, in 2021 Joe Biden made the entry of alien gang members even easier.  In 2025, President Trump is utilizing President Bukele and his maximum detention centers in El Salvador to reverse the flow and remove the gangs.

President Bukele has initiated major criminal justice reform in the nation of El Salvador, liberating millions of people who were terrorized by the criminal element. Today President Trump thanked Bukele for his partnership in the White House and held an open press assembly.  WATCH:

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The rapid change in Ursula von der Leyen now starts to make sense.  According to a press release [SEE HERE] from European Big Pharma, they recently had a meeting with the EU Komisar and threatened to leave Europe if the trade system is not renegotiated quickly.

President Trump is on the cusp of announcing a big change in tariffs against foreign pharmaceutical companies in an effort to get the manufacturing of medicines brought back to the USA.  Details are soon to surface.

In a proactive move, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), went to the European Commission (EC) yesterday to hold talks with von der Leyen, calling for radical change and holding the threat of an exodus to the U.S. over the EC president’s head.

PRESS RELEASE – Today, CEOs of the research-based pharmaceutical industry issued a stark warning to President von der Leyen that unless Europe delivers rapid, radical policy change then pharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing is increasingly likely to be directed towards the US.

A survey of EFPIA member companies conducted last week – to which 18 international large and medium-sized innovative companies responded – identified as much as 85% of capital expenditure investments (approximately €50.6 billion) and as much as 50% of R&D expenditure (approximately €52.6 billion) potentially at risk. This is out of a current combined total of €164.8 billion in investments planned for the period 2025-2029 in the EU-27 territory. Over the next three months, companies that responded estimate that a total of €16.5 billion i.e. 10% of the total investment plans is at risk.

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