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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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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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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The central question remains, and unfortunately it is a question that cannot be answered except by dropping all pretenses. That question is: Was the SARS-CoV-2 release ‘accidental’ or done with ‘intent’.

On her last day as Director of National Intelligence, and I am certain she will never return, what Tulsi Gabbard releases is alarming evidence the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Anthony Fauci, lied -repeatedly- to congress, the media and the American people. {ODNI Link Here}

CTH has long espoused that in the aftermath of the release, the SARS-CoV-2 response, how they reacted to it and all the control mitigation stuff, came from the Intelligence Community and Military.  What DNI Gabbard released is evidence of exactly that aspect; the NIAID under Fauci worked directly with the U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC).

Remember, with emphasis, this is ‘after action’ stuff.

This is post-COVID-release information about what took place within government after the virus was released upon all of us.  The fact that Tulsi had to wait until her final day in office to make this statement, together with the fact that no one has been held to account, and the establishment’s desperate effort from blocking Acting DNI Bill Pulte from succeeding her, only reinforces the conclusion that the people who orchestrated this cover up remain firmly in charge and that part of this battle is far from over.

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Today, President Donald Trump is participating in a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House.

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President Trump announces the deal with Iran is completed:

[SOURCE]

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth appears on CBS Face the Nation as Margaret Brennan recovers from Kirsten Welker stealing all her glory in last week Trump’s interview.

Determined to put herself back in the running for Best Dramatic Acting in a Live Recorded Political Event, Mrs. Brennan takes pearl clutching to new levels and reaches deep into her narrative pretending skills to make today the penultimate end of the world media day for the future of all mankind.

Yes America, it’s a serious challenge to the teeth bearing Welker approach last weekend; however, but Brennan takes a deep breath, tries to ignore concerns about soccer games distracting her audience, and rises to the moment.  Video and Transcript Below:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: This morning, the Israeli Defense Force conducted strikes in Lebanon on Beirut’s southern suburbs to target the Iranian-backed Hezbollah leadership. The IDF called it retaliation for strikes on Israel. CBS has learned the potential US-Iran truce includes a vague reference to ending the fighting in Lebanon, which may not be enough for Iran’s leaders. And Iran’s failure to cut off support for its proxy force, Hezbollah, may not be enough for America’s partner, Israel. For the latest, we begin this morning with Secretary of Defense Hegseth, who joins us from Tennessee. Mr. Secretary, welcome to Face the Nation.

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH: Good morning, Margaret. Thank you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, did the Hezbollah Israel strikes disrupt any of the plans to have this memorandum signed today. Are we on track for a Sunday signing?

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For those who have been paying attention, for the past several days the U.K. political discussion has centered around major political embarrassment for Prime Minister Keir Starmer following the very public resignation of most of the British defense cabinet members, including the Minister of Defense.

The cited reason for the chaos is Starmer’s unwillingness to support or fund the U.K military, leaving their resources in a critical state of depletion.  Starmer has delivered grand prose to NATO about leading military operations in Ukraine, the Arctic Circle and the Strait of Hormuz. However, in reality they have few working ships, only one working carrier, no training equipment and they have to shout “BANG” during military exercises because they don’t have the money for blank ammunition in their weapons.  The state of the U.K. military is now a well-known embarrassment.

Following the resignation of almost all the British military leadership, Starmer was facing serious political ridicule.  Then, last night, in what can only be honestly described as a transparent political optic, Starmer staged the seizing of a “Russian shadow fleet” oil tanker, which he bragged about on the X platform – complete with cinematography to showcase the boldness of the operation.

You really have to see the video Prime Minister Starmer organized [shared below] to promote his display of strength against the horrible Russians.  [It is presumed the designation of “shadow fleet” comes from the lack of London insurance on the vessel itself.]

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A few days ago, the ‘coalition of the willing’ (Starmer, Merz, Macron and Zelenskyy) met in London to hammer out the latest words on paper, a new military pledge to support Ukraine against Russia.

Both British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles III agreed to a renewed military effort that included British armed forces securing Ukraine territory according to their plan.

Three days later, British Defense Minister John Healey resigns, citing insufficient funding of military.  Seriously folks, you cannot make this up.  This comes on the heels of the U.K. borrowing ships from Germany in order to participate in NATO exercises led by the U.K.

LONDON – UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer suffered a fresh blow on Thursday after Secretary of Defense John Healey resigned over a budget dispute, saying the government is not willing to give the British Armed Forces the “resources they need.”

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Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Kier Starmer and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in London to discuss their collective next steps in their plan for opposition to Russia.

Politico is reporting that Germany is going to replace the United States as the direct contact for negotiations with Russia; that’s according to a spokesperson for Merz. However, if you read the actual printout from their collective agreement there is nothing of the sort mentioned [SEE HERE].

Instead, what actually exists within the statement are five terms they have agreed upon in order to start direct discussions between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.  At least two of the terms are non-starters for Russia:

[…] Conditions that would need to be in place for a just and lasting peace. 

• • First, a stop to the fighting. They called on President Putin to agree to an immediate and complete ceasefire. 
  • Second, the current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations. International borders must not be changed by force, and Ukraine’s sovereign right to choose its own security arrangements and alliances must be fully respected.  
  • Third, Ukraine must have robust and legally binding security guarantees in place once a ceasefire enters into force, building on commitments made in Berlin in December 2025 and Paris in January 2026. This includes the deployment of the Multinational Force – Ukraine.  
  • Fourth, Russian assets will remain immobilised until Russia ceases its war of aggression and compensates Ukraine for the damage caused by the war. 
  • Fifth, that European security interests must be safeguarded in any deal.  Elements of any negotiation related to the EU and NATO would need the consent of the EU and its Member States and NATO Allies respectively. 
  • [SOURCE]

The #3, #4 and #5 points are not going to go anywhere.

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