Against the backdrop of President Trump, Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth pointedly telling NATO of the U.S. intention to draw-down U.S. military operations from Europe, NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte flies to Washington DC to make the pro-NATO sales pitch directly to President Trump.

In one of the most transparent appearances in oval office history, a passionate, self-interested and professionally demure Mark Rutte pours on the praise for President Trump and puts on a massive sales pitch.  You can tell from President Trump’s demeanor, tone and general ambivalence, he too can see how over the top the praise and back-slapping is.

Secretary Rutte was intensely and diplomatically focused on not allowing any accurate criticism or statement of disappointment from President Trump be left unchallenged to frame the tone and context of the meeting by the media. This is quite a desperate spectacle to witness when you understand the stakes for Europe which were carried by Rutte. WATCH:

CTH readers can see through the professionally demure motivations of the NATO secretary, and it was obvious from President Trump’s response that Rutte was transparently playing to the U.S. audience and DC stakeholders.  That said, you’ve got to give Rutte credit for tap-dancing that fine line.

It was a great sales pitch, and President Trump was very courteous and respectful of the showmanship, but I doubt President Trump was moved much.  The G7 assembly in Turkey will be very interesting.

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I previously saw an interesting discussion with NVIDIA Jensen Huang where in the context of AI he was asked: who is the smartest person you ever met?

Jensen Huang paused for quite a few moments thinking about the question before he answered.

Huang then redefined the word “smart.”

‘Smart’ is a word we have historically used in reference to ‘intelligence’.  If a person was intelligent, we say that person is smart. However, in this era of AI at your fingertips, we must break this connection.

Intelligence, the assembly of knowledge about a particular matter of discussion, is no longer limited to educational or real-life training or study by people who focus intensely on subject material.

All of the knowing about a system, any system, process, history or discussion topic is now available almost instantly to anyone in this era of artificial intelligence.

The NVIDIA CEO then continued, therefore, once we break our historic reference connecting ‘intelligence’ and the generalized term ‘smart’, we can properly address the question you present.

Who is the smart man? Or, in the context of the originating question, “who is the smartest person?”

With this baseline established, Jensen Huang then outlined the traits of the smartest person.  The smartest person is not the person with the greatest knowledge; the smart individual is the person who can tune into the frequency of the universal moment, look at the human reality of what is factually taking place that has not yet become an input into the AI capture record, and then predict the material outcome – the destination of knowledge that has not yet arrived.

Essentially, Huang explains the smart person is alone, tuning themselves into the vibration that is the consequence of human activity, financial interests, geopolitical movement, social transformation, economic shifts and cultural modifications.  Then, positioning their interests at the place in the future where they predict all the activity will arrive.

The accuracy of prediction, or predictive positioning, then determines the scale of smart.  The more accurate a person is under this perspective, the smarter they are.

I agree with this perspective.

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At 9:30am London time, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made it official, he resigned. {Politico – Details}

“The question being asked now is not who was best placed to change the Labour Party, to take us into power and to begin the vital work of improving lives for millions of people. Those questions have been answered. The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.”

Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until his Labour Party chooses a new leader — with expectations growing that it will be former Greater Manchester Mayor and newest Member of Parliament, Andy Burnham.

(Via Daily Mail) […] An EU-UK summit on July 22 has been postponed after Sir Keir’s announcement of his resignation, despite the date only having been confirmed last week. A Government spokesperson said it would now be held ‘at the earliest opportunity’;

A YouGov poll has found that the public thought Sir Keir was right to resign by a margin of 62 per cent to 19 per cent, with another 19 per cent undecided;

Sir Keir’s allies have refused to rule out him quitting as an MP, raising the prospect of a tricky by-election fight in his constituency with the Greens;

Labour MPs and Nigel Farage have been calling for a general election to be held after the change in PM;

Sir Keir’s successor will be Britain’s seventh premier in a decade. (more)

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This is the third step in what I believe is a transparent operation conducted by Ukraine and the U.K (NATO group).

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now demanding the U.S. give license approval to military contractors in order to build U.S. Patriot Missile systems in Ukraine and throughout Europe.

I am almost certain this was the intent of the previous operation carried out by Ukraine upon their own religious and cultural centers in Kiev.  It fits a long-established pattern of operation which we have watched unfold in real time over the past few years.  Again, for emphasis, I cannot prove this – but deeply suspect it is accurate.

Breaking down what Zelenskyy outlines below. This is what it looked like in real time as the events described below unfolded.

(1) Following the pattern of visible and political diminishment of Christianity within Ukraine, the Nazi side of Ukraine carried out a false flag attack on their own cathedral and cultural sites as the set up to their plan. This was staged and timed to happen just before the G7 assembly in France.

(2) Using #1 as the pretense and justification, Ukraine then pulled the trigger on 600 simultaneous drones targeting Moscow in Russia – the drones were pre-staged and set to attack during the G7. This was planned prior to the events in France.

(3) Using #1 and #2 as the central backdrop, internal G7 pressure was then directed toward the U.S. delegation, while holding home turf on the ground of the ‘coalition of the willing.’ Zelenskyy, Starmer and Macron had this set up in advance.

That’s the outlook when you drop the pretenses. That’s the nature of this Ukraine. That’s also why we continue to call this operation World War Reddit! Here’s Zelenskyy’s demand:

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Take more than a few thoughts to appreciate the moment.  The gift within modern technology is our ability to witness and absorb inflection points as they arise – in real time.

Europe has been collapsing. Slowly at first; then, suddenly all at once.  Political capital has been depreciating at an unsustainable scale.

Across Europe, President Trump has reset relationships, forcefully delivering an exacting pressure – not by forward influence, but more by creating an excruciating void they must fill themselves.

The result: weak economic growth, rising defense expenditures, a collective state assembly that can no longer deliver positive individual outcomes.

European leaders are all facing the same pressures.  Look around and witness history repeating.  The British Empire in chaos, the U.K Prime Minister on the point of resignation. The German industrial economy now feeling the full weight of its own short-sighted energy policy, while being stripped slowly by Chinese parasites.

As the body of the system begins to shrink rapidly, they look urgently toward Rome for moral support; they need to believe in their superiority. But Giorgia Meloni cannot get beyond her vanity.  President Trump exploits it. It works.

At the exact moment when nationalistic defenses are needed most, the Spanish people find themselves facing the sunlight upon corruption within their socialist body politic. The timing is almost too perfect.

A loving God then provides massive ironies for the world to witness.  The biggest cultural sporting event in the EU; the distraction beloved by all Europeans as an expression of pride from village to metropolis, takes place in the United States. The EU tech devices are filled with fellow countrymen telling grand tales of this incredible American land.

The timing is not something governmental policy could ever control.  This is not strategy.  This is much bigger than a roadmap the hand or mind of man could draw or imagine.  No, these specific moments are -like all historic reference points- being driven by the one universal enterprise who controls all of it. This is amazing to witness.

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A familiar pattern emerges as the wife of Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, is indicted on corruption charges and remanded to give up her passport and return to court for check-in every 15 days until trial.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A judge on Saturday ordered the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to face trial on charges of influence peddling and corruption, and to surrender her passport.

Investigative judge Juan Carlos Peinado issued the ruling, arguing that Begoña Gómez represented a flight risk. In addition to surrendering her passport, she must also appear before a court every two weeks. A trial date hasn’t been set.

The decision touched off a heated political confrontation, with calls from the opposition for Sanchez’s Socialist government to resign.

Gómez is accused of using her position to influence government contracts given to a group of technology companies. The judge also accused her of the misuse of public funds in the hiring of a consultant, and the inappropriate use of software while she was a professor at a public university.

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On the heels of the G7 in France, U.S. President Trump and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni have been engaged in a geopolitical spat.

The core of the issue centers on Italy’s refusal to allow the U.S. military to conduct flight operations for the conflict against Iran from U.S. airbases in Italy.   President Trump, Vice-President Vance, Secretary of State Rubio and Secretary Hegseth have all remarked on their disappointment with Italy and Spain that has led to a full review of U.S. NATO operations in Europe.

The issue became personal at the G7 when President Trump ignored Meloni’s repeated attempts to repair the friction. President Trump was no longer tolerating the two-faced approach. Actions speak louder than words.

Understanding, a very specific image sensitivity Prime Minister Meloni carries, President Trump stated, “Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France. She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!). She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience, and this despite the fact the U.S. contributes hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year to protect Italy, and other “so-called” NATO Allies. Now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her “numbers up.” No thanks!!! ~ President DJT

Meloni then hit back with: “these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.  As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you. My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,” Meloni said in a post on Instagram. She added that “in any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.” {source}

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President Donald Trump gives an extensive interview to Axios on current events, the comparison between Term 1 and Term 2, and the issues surrounding the ceasefire agreement with Iran.

The conversation centers on Iran, where Trump defends the military campaign, the deal that followed and his decision to stop short of further escalation. He also discusses the Strait of Hormuz, Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, Cuba, Venezuela, artificial intelligence, Anthropic, China’s AI race and how he thinks about maintaining power in the final stretch of his presidency.

CHAPTERS:

0:00 – Welcome to The Axios Show
0:11 – The one big thing: power
1:37 – “I’m the boss” and the G7
3:36 – What Trump sees in world leaders
4:05 – Trump on Xi Jinping and China
6:11 – Venezuela, military power and oil
7:19 – Trump on Modi, Pakistan and global leadership

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is in Brussels, Belgium, for a NATO summit and meeting of all NATO defense ministers. As noted by Secretary Hegseth, “going forward, our annual NATO dues will be contingent on other countries meeting their defense spending targets; where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues contributions will go down,” Hegseth said. “NATO will be a two-way street. It’s only common sense. America cannot care for or pay more for Europe’s defense than our allies do.”

Specifically pointing toward Canada and Prime Minister Mark Carney, Secretary Hegseth noted some are not fulfilling their obligations while simultaneously talking about “middle powers” assembling.  WATCH (prompted)

PRESS STATEMENT – The War Department plans to review its posture and footprint in Europe to determine how the U.S. is supporting NATO, how partners are supporting NATO and whether what’s happening on the ground reflects what President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth believe the alliance should be.

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A highly disturbing video out from yesterday’s “Raise the Colors” protest in Sheffield city center, shows police engaged in physical confrontations with protestors.  During one viral video, an aggressive police officer (center of still image below) grabs the young man with the flag on his shoulders and throws him violently into a steel and concrete bollard on the sidewalk.

The video shared on X platform (below) is very disturbing.  The force of the body slam into the bollard appears to show the protestors head hitting the steel, which is significantly bent after the blow when the protester hits the ground.

The officer who slammed the man into the bollard seems to immediately notice something terrible, as do the officers who quickly rush in to surround the victim.  The aggressive police officer then begins to back away as other police tend to the medical condition of the man on the sidewalk.

Given the force of the blow, as reflected in the bending of the bollard, there are now fast spreading rumors on the X platform that the protester was killed.  Again, the status of the victim is unknown as no official statement has been made by Sheffield police or local authorities.

People are now demanding to know what the current status of the protestor is.

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