There are some contextual comments from President Trump that are never reported, this is one of those examples.  Within these impromptu press remarks aboard Air Force One, President Trump gives context for his current position toward the leadership in Ukraine, and other matters.

The beginning remarks about U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveling to Kyiv to meet with President Zelenskyy, and the fact that Zelenskyy refused to meet with him – says quite a lot about the lack of respect the Ukraine president is openly willing to display.  Obviously, this is one datapoint that helps explain President Trump’s perspective.  WATCH:

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President Trump delivered the keynote address at the Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII Summit) in Miami, Florida.

Remaining in a rapid response forward footing in case events unfold quickly, President Trump’s key foreign policy advisors and emissaries are traveling with him as he addresses the audience.  During part of the remarks, President Trump addressed the current headline foreign policy issues in Gaza and Ukraine, once again calling attention to the madness of the conflict.

At 3:52 of the video segment below, President Trump begins discussing the position of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  Keep in mind, during the transition phase prior to the inauguration, during the early days of the administration and all the way up to last week, President Trump has been in discussions with Zelenskyy. So, President Trump has a pretty solid understanding of where Zelenskyy stands on the issue of ending the conflict.  With that backdrop, listen:

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The full speech, with questions is below:

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A notice in the federal register [SEE HERE] scheduled to be published on February 20, 2025, outlines how the U.S. State Department under Marco Rubio intends to designate Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and MS13 as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

In combination with enhanced actions by the Dept of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S. Treasury Dept., the designation opens up a lot of authority for the U.S. government to target not only the gangs, but any entity or enterprise who supports their activity; including the government of Mexico.

WASHINGTON – […] This designation allows the U.S. to impose financial sanctions on these groups and people connected to them, and cooperate with allies to cull cartels. It also allows the U.S. to declare members of these groups as “inadmissible” to the country and ineligible for immigration benefits.

It’s not immediately clear how far these sanctions might go — or who they may target. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

The move follows President Donald Trump’s latest efforts to crack down on cartels. On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order that established a pipeline for cartels and other international groups that “constitute[d] a national security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime” to be labeled as global terrorists.

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According to the New York Times, the IRS will begin laying off up to 6,000 staff this week.

(New York Times) – The Internal Revenue Service will begin laying off roughly 6,000 employees on Thursday as part of the Trump administration’s push to downsize the federal work force, three people familiar with the agency’s plans said.

The terminations will target relatively recent hires at the I.R.S., which the Biden administration had attempted to revitalize with a surge of funding and new staff, the people said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The Trump administration has begun laying off probationary employees — who do not enjoy as much job protection as their more tenured colleagues — across the federal government in recent days.

I.R.S. managers on Wednesday began asking employees to report to the office in the coming days and bring with them their government-issued equipment, according to messages viewed by The New York Times. The I.R.S. employs roughly 100,000 accountants, lawyers and other staff across the country. (read more)

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Last weekend French President Emmanual Macron organized an emergency meeting in Paris with leaders from the European Union to address the unfolding crisis of President Trump organizing a ceasefire and peace in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

The outcome of the meeting was what would be expected. Each member of the EU said they would not put their military forces into a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if the United States were not leading the effort.  Having previously warned the NATO alliance to step-up their military spending, President Trump has no intention of putting U.S. troops into a regional conflict that affects Europe.

Additionally, Macron has domestic political issues he is hopeful to draw attention away from; meanwhile British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is similarly alarmed as the U.K has taken up the prominent position of military support for Ukraine.  Together, they are both planning quick trips to the White House for talks with President Trump.

WASHINGTON DC – French President Emmanuel Macron is coming to Washington next week, national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Wednesday.

Macron called for an emergency “informal” meeting with world leaders just days ago in Paris to discuss European security and the challenges posed by President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump and Macron had a “friendly” but brief conversation just prior to the summit, POLITICO reported on Monday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also set to visit next week, Waltz said on Fox News. Starmer’s office confirmed the visit earlier this week.

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It was inevitable. We have been together from the outset of the conversation where we admitted to ourselves that sooner or later the pretending was going to have to stop. Well, here we are.

President Donald Trump begins a very uncomfortable process to peel back the mask that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy represents. This is needed:

President Trump – Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle. The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us — We have a big, beautiful Ocean as separation.

On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING.” He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.” A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues….. (link)

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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has cancelled his planned trip to Saudi Arabia, citing his anger that he was not a participant in the U.S-Russia discussions which took place in Riyadh, earlier today. [SEE REUTERS REPORT]

“We want no one to decide anything behind our backs…No decision can be made without Ukraine on how to end the war in Ukraine,” Zelenskiy told reporters during a visit to Turkey where he held talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. (more)

I am not going to say much about this, except to remind readers what I mentioned yesterday morning.  Things are about to get very sketchy.

[YESTERDAY] Zelensky said in an interview Sunday that his country would “never” accept a peace deal struck by the United States and Russia if Ukraine was not involved in the talks.

If Zelenskyy is in the region (UAE), watch President Trump -through Rubio- to use those recent statements by Zelenskyy and say, ‘well then, get in here and talk.’  If that were to happen, Zelenskyy would reject the move because he is entirely unprepared to operate from a position of independent leadership.

Watch this part closely because President Trump seems increasingly close to exposing the truth about the Ukraine war and how U.S. politicians are motivated in their influence positions by the financial benefits of the conflict.  Sparks could fly if the pretending stops. [END]

Zelenskyy was in Poland, Germany, the UAE and Turkey since last weekend.  For a nation “at war” President Zelenskyy has a lot of time to travel to various countries outside his own.

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A high-level diplomatic meeting between USA and Russia has not happened in more than three years.  The first goal was to figure out how to talk to each other again, what processes to use and what the consultation mechanism would be for when peace negotiations would begin.  That ‘deconfliction’ goal seems to have been achieved.

Additionally, in a very positive sign, both the USA team and the Russian team agreed to return to normal embassy operations, in diplomatic speak “missions,” in both Moscow and Washington DC, that includes staffing support to reestablish contacts and communications. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff spoke to reporters after their meeting with the Russian delegation in Saudi Arabia.

Pay close attention to the specific words Marco Rubio uses at 14:40 of the video, in the bigger of the big pictures, that is the goal of President Trump and President Putin. WATCH:

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – […] The U.S. team was led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz. The Russian negotiating delegation included Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the U.S. team agreed to establish “a consultation mechanism to address irritants to our bilateral relationship with the objective of taking steps necessary to normalize the operation of our respective diplomatic missions.” Rubio told the Associated Press the two sides agreed to restore embassy staffing as part of this normalization.

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The ‘leaders’ of Europe got together in Paris, France at the request of French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss how to handle a peace agreement if Putin, Trump and eventually Zelenskyy come to terms.  The outcome perfectly encapsulates the EU.

After essentially saying the United States would not send military troops into Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping mission, President Trump sent a communique to each of the leaders, “asking them to spell out what they would be prepared to offer to enforce a peace agreement, as well as what they would expect from the U.S.”  However, there was no consensus from the EU meeting.

Instead, the Germans, French, British, Polish and EU leaders from Brussels said they would not send military assistance to Ukraine, without the leadership of the United States, and specifically without U.S. military troops to lead them.  {Insert belly laughter here} Of course, they didn’t.

Politico outlines the story of the meeting: […] “A French-led effort by European leaders to present a united front on Ukraine in the face of rising fear over U.S. President Donald Trump’s intentions fizzled Monday as they failed to agree on sending troops to police a possible peace deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron had called the emergency meeting in Brussels after European leaders were left reeling by news the U.S. would start negotiations with Russia to end its war on Ukraine, but without inviting any representatives from Europe or from Ukraine.

But after a 3.5-hour huddle at the Elysée presidential palace, the response of leaders to the biggest security calculus shift in decades was underwhelming.  “We realize that such meetings do not end in decisions,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after the meeting.

Leaders came up with no new joint ideas, squabbled over sending troops to Ukraine, and once again mouthed platitudes on aiding Ukraine and boosting defense spending.

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What a difference one election can make.  Secretary Kristi Noem announced a nationwide and international multimillion-dollar ad campaign warning illegal aliens to leave our country now or face deportation with the inability to return to the United States.

The international ads warn criminal illegal aliens not to come to America and break its laws or they will be hunted down and deported. This series of ads will run on radio, broadcast, and digital, in multiple countries and regions in various dialects.

Ads will be hyper-targeted, including through social media, text message and digital to reach illegal immigrants in the interior of the United States, as well as internationally.  Here’s the domestic version to play in USA media:

“Thank you, President Donald J. Trump, for securing our border and putting America first. President Trump has a clear message: if you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you. You will never return. But if you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream,” said Secretary Kristi Noem. “If you are a criminal alien considering entering America illegally: Don’t even think about it. If you come here and break our laws, we will hunt you down. Criminals are not welcome in the United States.”

Here’s the international version that will play in targeted nations:

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