Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Richard Blumental appear on CBS with the always dramatic Margaret Brennan to discuss what President Trump is going to do against Russia and President Vladimir Putin tomorrow.  Senator Lindsey Graham is very happy with the plans President Trump will outline tomorrow; very happy.

The action appears to center around the confiscation of Russian assets, Russian central bank reserves held in European bonds. The money belongs to the people of Russia in the form of bonds previously purchased by Russia using a system that many nations follow, including all those nations who buy U.S. treasuries.

If the USA or Europe end up confiscating those funds, the only thing this action would prove is that the western financial system cannot be trusted. Many Nations are already reluctant, some fleeing from EU/U.S treasuries as a result of this threat, and we are seeing changes in the bond rates as a result.  Senator Graham doesn’t care about the strategic financial interests of the USA, he’s more concerned about fighting Russia regardless of long-term ramifications.  WATCH:

[TRANSCRIPT] – MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning, and welcome to Face the Nation. We have a lot to get to this morning. So, let’s begin with Senator Lindsey Graham in Clemson, South Carolina, and Senator Richard Blumenthal in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They both just returned from Europe, where they met with Ukrainian President Zelensky. Good morning to you both, Senators.

SENATOR RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: Good morning.

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Good Morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Graham, I want to start with you. Russia is escalating. They’re not ending this war in Ukraine. NATO’s Secretary General is going to be here, in Washington, this week and will be meeting with President Trump, who is, according to our reporting, considering fresh funding for Ukraine. That would be the first time since he’s taken office. What do you know about what is coming?

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Everyone can see the play by President Trump. Essentially, the “coalition of the willing” (U.K, Germany, France) are not willing to go to war against Russia without the United States in front of them.  Giving the coalition the weapons puts the consequences of their use on the heads of NATO allies.

Despite the majority of Washington DC, specifically the Senate thirsting, pleading and demanding an expanded NATO war, President Trump does not want to go to war against Russia. However, simultaneously Trump has to try and steer the war machine controlled by DC, the Senate, USIC and NATO.

The INERTIA for expanded war is evident.  President Trump is now trying to split the baby regarding Russia, by sending patriot missiles and weapons to NATO as opposed to sending them directly to Ukraine.

In February Marco Rubio earnestly and honestly said, “The Ukraine conflict is a proxy war for the United States against Russia.”  President Trump has concurred with that statement and through his prior comments he attempted to extricate the U.S. from this dynamic.

The shipment of missiles to NATO instead of Ukraine is simply a way of trying to stop direct support, yet Trump is forced by the inertia toward war to maintain a footing of expanded conflict with Russia.

To be very clear, Russian President Vladimir Putin is clear-eyed on this situation with NATO, and he has been all along.

Putin has said repeatedly that NATO was/is in direct conflict against Russia despite Ukraine not being a NATO member.  This conflict with NATO well precedes Putin’s decision to conduct a ‘special military operation’ within Ukraine.

Now, we see through Trump’s approach the dropping of pretenses.  Putin was correct.  With NATO directly providing the war weapons to Ukraine there is no pretense, no doubt. NATO countries are funding an offensive war against Russia using a non NATO proxy state, Ukraine.

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CNN state media narrative engineers (think State Dept. in all things CNN) are running with a story to promote a new book by Josh Dawsey (Wall Street Journal – Author), Tyler Pager (New York Times – Author), Isaac Arnsdorf (Washington Post – Author) where they write about an audio segment by candidate Trump telling NY donors how he threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping.

The leaked audio is essentially unremarkable as President Trump has told this story several times. However, the background context is more interesting when we consider the motives of the WSJ, NYT and WaPo. Here’s the segment:

The WSJ is against President Trump based on economics; WSJ representing Wall Street. The NYT is against President Trump based on DHS/DOJ domestic opposition from within DC. The WaPo is against President Trump based on the CIA position and larger intelligence community. None of the motives within these outlets are challenged by the intellectually honest political observers.

So, what’s the play here?

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I’ll put the entire cabinet meeting in another post.  It is interesting that RFK Jr. was not present (?).

For this outline, let’s focus on the issue that is exploding the MAGA and anti-MAGA universe on social media right now. President Trump and Pam Bondi’s response to a question about Jeffrey Epstein and the controversial DOJ/FBI memo that now states there is no “third party” or “client list” connected to the Epstein sex trafficking.

Obviously, President Trump is not happy with attention focused on the Epstein issues.  The most likely reason for the frustration expressed is simply that President Trump is unaware how much the Epstein issues are -and have been- part of the background focus within the base of his support.  Here’s the segment. WATCH:

First, kudos to Marco Rubio for his stone faced and remarkably unaffected disposition within the exchange.  It takes time and experience to remain stoic at this level.  Exceptional control.

Second, everyone here has a reasonable BS detector – meaning we can tell when a person is not telling the truth.  It is transparently obvious AG Pam Bondi is extremely uncomfortable with the Epstein issue, and her responses indicate she is not being honest or forthright.  You could say, she’s lying; however, the facts of her presentation are a little more complicated.

The main issue around Bondi’s less-than-fulsome response is the motive.  Is she lying because she’s just grossly incompetent about the issue, or is she lying because she is nefarious in her intent.  The Occam’s Razor answer to her obvious parseltongue is a combination of both.

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Appearing on CNBC to explain the big picture economics, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlines how debt and deficit hawks are seemingly blind to the need for GDP growth to deal with federal spending.

From the outset of President Trump’s MAGAnomic policies in his T-1 and T-2 platform, growing the U.S. economy, expanding the size of the GDP is a key facet to dealing with debt and deficits.  President Trump has always promoted economic policy that expands the size of the pie rather than focus on making smaller portions of each spending slice.

Secretary Bessent also explains the current status of the tariffs as delivered by the Trump administration.  The next few days are exceptionally busy with incoming requests to renegotiate trade terms, and avoid countervailing duties.  WATCH:

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Big picture:  Trump, Lutnick and Greer are now transmitting 1. Baseline tariffs (10-20%), 2. Reciprocity tariffs (trade imbalance) and 3. Section 232 tariffs (ex. Steel and Aluminum).  Countries are notified and their tariff rate begins on August 1st.

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President Trump held an impromptu presser aboard Air Force One traveling to New Jersey after July 4th celebrations. Interesting comments about Ukraine and Russia as President Trump took several questions.

At 07:51, “Mr President, are you confident you will be able to find a way to end the fighting in Ukraine?”  President Trump responds, “That’s an interesting question”….  WATCH:

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America 250 is proud to join a monumental July 4th celebration, kicking off a new era of American greatness, featuring special remarks by President Donald J. Trump.  This 250th anniversary kick-off event will take place at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, offering patriotism, excitement, inspiration, and a glimpse into the grand festivities planned for America’s 250th anniversary year.

Additionally, the White House has announced that President Trump will be signing the Big Beautiful Bill in the White House on July 4th at 5:00pm.  Good stuff.  The livestream links to the celebration day event today are below.  Anticipated start time 4:30pm ET.

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… Put yourself in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s shoes against the backdrop of 35 previously exiled Russian officials from the United States as a result of the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment and Joint Analysis Report {BACKGROUND}.

QUESTION: What exactly would Vladimir Putin think about this admission from the CIA?

[Source]

CIA Director John Ratcliffe admits the former CIA and FBI fabricated the intelligence that led to the expulsion of Russian officials under the false premise of Russia “hacking” the 2016 election.  Why now?

How would Putin interpret this very public message?

Then, consider the sequence….

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If my data alignment points are accurate, now that the BBB is passed through the Senate we are likely to see some very major geopolitical changes come rushing to the surface.

Keep watching and let’s see if things happen the way we expect.

WASHINGTON DC – The Pentagon has halted shipments of some air defense missiles and other precision munitions to Ukraine due to worries that U.S. weapons stockpiles have fallen too low.

[…] In a statement following the publication of this story, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said that the decision “was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe. The strength of the United States Armed Forces remains unquestioned — just ask Iran.”

Included among the items being pulled back are missiles for Patriot air defense systems, precision artillery rounds, Hellfire and other missiles that Ukraine launches from its F-16 fighters and drones.

The losses will surely be felt on the ground as Ukraine continues to beat back fresh assaults by Russian forces. (read more)

In related news not getting attention, French President Emmanuel Macron had a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin today. [LINK]  Also, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the president of Azerbaijan today, an ally of Putin [LINK]. Azerbaijan is to Russia as Mexico is to the United States.

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President Trump, Governor DeSantis and Secretary Noem deliver remarks from the Alligator Alcatraz facility. WATCH:

During a tour through Alligator Alcatraz (raw feed below) President Trump and DHS Secretary Noem were asked about the legality of CNN Promoting an ICE Block app to help illegal aliens avoid capture and detention.  WATCH:

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