Moments ago, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick took the oath of office in the Oval Office as delivered by Vice-President JD Vance.

Secretary Lutnick is going to be a very key component in the MAGAnomic agenda, likely second only to President Trump. Just as Wilbur Ross was key to unlocking the economy in President Trump’s first term, so too is Secretary Lutnick going to play a pivotal role.

Long before President Trump won the election, Howard Lutnick was one of the few people who really understood the construct of MAGAnomics, how economic nationalism was crucial, and how the strategic use of tariffs creates massive GDP growth. The swearing-in ceremony is very uplifting, and both President Trump and Secretary Lutnick are very positive about the future.

At 11:38 of the video below, President Trump holds an impromptu press conference. WATCH:

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During an interview with Brian Kilmeade, President Donald Trump sounds like he is battling the same cold as me.  However, on the serious side, President Trump goes through the geopolitical map of challenges being faced and gives a brutally honest perspective on the current status.

At 06:30 of the interview, President Trump outlines his current opinion on the Ukraine President and the reason for it.  President Trump talks about the simple process of creating a surety (rare earth minerals) for U.S. taxpayer funds that have been sent to Zelenskyy, and the outline of a deal the people who control Zelenskyy ultimately rejected.

President Trump is frustrated at the approach taken by the EU toward Russia where shutting the door to Vladimir Putin ultimately resulted in nothing.  As noted by President Trump, closing down conversation, triggering sanctions that ultimately were futile, and isolating the nation of Russia only made the problem worse.  Ultimately, leading to President Trump saying, “I’ve had it” with the “games” being played as thousands of young men are being killed for nothing.  It is a very honest conversation.  WATCH: 

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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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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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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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When Elon Musk asked how Norm Eisen could be financed, I replied, “If the United States govt gave money to Qatar, knowing Qatar was going to send that money to organizations within the USA intended to carry out an objective of a small group in U.S. govt., what would that be called?”

Qatar is a major source of funding for the Brookings Institute.  Brookings funds various Lawfare operations, including Norm Eisen.  The extended process is quite simple. If elements within the U.S. Govt., wanted to indirectly fund Brookings, could they do it by sending funds to Qatar?

The question is not supposition, because this was the exact process Hillary Clinton and Leon Panetta used for the State Dept to send weapons to the Libyan “rebels,” aka Operation Zero Footprint.

Operation Zero Footprint was the State Dept/CIA sending funds to Qatar, and the Qatari govt then purchasing missiles from the CIA to give to al-Qaeda affiliates in Libya.  We can consider the historic Iran-Contra scandal under a similar framework. However, the nuanced difference is about sending money toward a foreign govt (via USAID), while knowing the money would return to fund a domestic agenda inside the USA.

Example: USAID sends money to the U.K, and then British political allies send political operatives into the USA to support Kamala Harris.  We know the latter part of that sentence happened.  So, did the Biden administration (Samantha Power) fund the Labour Party operation?

Are the various political NGOs and activist groups in the USA actually funded, indirectly, by U.S. taxpayers?  Many signs point to, yes.

Against this high likelihood, it becomes just a natural extension of the process if U.S. politicians are beneficiaries of the circular laundry operation. That is what Representative Tim Burchett believes will surface if the DOGE team follow the money trail.  WATCH:

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio will need to maintain a lot of energy to operate foreign policy advancement at the “optimal resolution” speed of President Donald Trump.

Rubio departed Israel for his visit to Saudi Arabia where two major topics are on the agenda. The U.S. Secretary was welcomed by Saudi Foreign Minster Faisal bin Farhan and is scheduled to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. On the agenda today is what to do about Gaza, tomorrow the discussion changes direction to address Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia has expressed opposition to the Trump plan for the temporary relocation of Gaza Palestinians while a complete restructuring, revitalization and rebuilding of the region takes place. However, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have not proposed an alternative to the Trump plan.

Saudi Arabia (MbS), Egypt (al-SiSi) and Jordan (King Abdullah II) have balked at the idea of Israeli Prime Mister Benjamin Netanyahu that Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan temporarily host Palestinian refugees; a plan suggested by President Trump. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan do not want more Palestinians to worry about.

Ultimately, Secretary Rubio is in Saudi Arabia to ask Crown Prince MbS directly, if not the Trump plan – then what? What solution can be proposed by the Arabs that creates long lasting stability, peace and the opportunity for residents in Gaza to live without terrorism, Hamas, chaos and war?

♦ Tomorrow the agenda switches to discuss the Russia -v- Ukraine conflict. Secretary Rubio will be joined by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz. The Russian delegation includes Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, President Vladimir Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Oddly, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the region; however, according to most public reporting he is not expected to participate in the U.S-Russia negotiations. I would not be surprised if something in the background is triggered by President Trump that pulls-in Zelenskyy while the Ukraine President is in Saudi Arabia.

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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears on Meet the Press to discuss his position toward ending the conflict with Russia.  Within the conversation [04:11], Zelenskyy said, “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine.”

President Zelenskyy represents the interests of the European Union, multinational corporations, various elements of NATO memberships, the World Economic Forum, the CIA division within the U.S. State Dept., western banks and a confab of various western intelligence operations.  After that, he represents the interests of Ukrainians.  This is why he will not permit elections.

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The looming confrontation between President Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with all the aforementioned interests Zelenskyy supports, is going to be something very interesting.

The interview is almost an hour.  I am embedding the transcript below; if you are short of time, you can read and review at your leisure.

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