"Many in professional Washington and the media were shocked this week when the president of the United States began parroting Kremlin talking points and castigating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator.”
But to understand this origin story, you only have to look at the events of the summer of 2019 and the circumstances leading to the first impeachment of Donald Trump.
“He never recovered from the consequences of the ‘perfect’ phone call,” John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, told The Dispatch.
That would be Trump’s July 25, 2019, phone call with Zelensky, just two months after Zelensky came into office. During that call, Trump pressed Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, all while Trump’s administration had placed a hold on congressionally mandated military aid to Ukraine.
This call followed weeks of pressure from Trump allies both privately and publicly trying to get the Ukrainian government to announce an investigation into the Bidens or other Democrats like Hillary Clinton.
The military aid to Ukraine was lifted only after a whistleblower had made a complaint about the July 25 phone call, the news of which started the process that would lead to the House impeaching Trump for abusing power and obstructing Congress.
Trump never let go of his grievance against Zelensky and Ukraine, even holding on to the idea (later deemed the product of Russian-backed propaganda) that the Ukrainian government had interfered in the 2016 election against Trump’s campaign.
This is Trump's personal revenge, pure and simple.
Joss @Joss
Malden
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US President Donald Trump referred to himself as a king in a social media post on Wednesday, declaring, “LONG LIVE THE KING!” while announcing the cancellation of congestion pricing in New York. “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” he said on Truth Social. Moreover, the official White House X account shared Trump's post, featuring an image of him wearing a crown and a US flag pin on his collar. -
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the creation of an "army of Europe" to guard against Russia as he suggested the US may no longer come to the continent's aid. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he also said that Ukraine would "never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement" after US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to start peace talks. The free world can ignore the US for now, and pull together to defeat Putin. It took some time for the US to abandon isolationism in WW2, but they joined in eventually to tip the balance. OUR armies in Europe are in NATO, and Putin the bully already has a bloody nose from underestimating Zelensky. Time for a Churchill to emerge. -
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When Hong Kong was returned to the Beijing Government the first action of the new regime was to throw out all the school and library history books, and introduce the Chinese version. Currently the new US administration is forcing out senior leadership at the National Archives and Records Administration. “President Donald Trump has been highly critical of the archives since the agency asked the Department of Justice to investigate Trump’s mishandling of classified documents after he left office.” Communist or Capitalist, they need to affirm their version of history. Book burning parties will shortly pollute the atmosphere...watch it happen soon. -
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We’ve written before at HuffPost UK about how changes to a person’s walking speed or style can sometimes be an early sign of dementia. We also know that increased frailty can reveal an increased dementia risk nine years ahead of diagnosis. The NHS advises older adults (over 65) to get some form of exercise every single day, even if it’s only light movement, because it can help to combat the risks of heart disease and stroke. But a group of researchers found that how someone’s gait (their walking style and speed) looks decades earlier than that may reveal “faster ageing” overall. What does a person’s walking style say about how they’re ageing? The researchers said that while gait speed is a well-known health marker for older adults, “little is known about the factors associated with gait speed earlier in life”. So, they looked at data from 904 New Zealanders who took part in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. The research took place over five decades of the participants’ lives ― from birth until they were 45. They found that the people involved in the study who had a slower gait speed at aged 45 tended to have increased signs of ageing overall, including earlier facial ageing and more compromised teeth, lungs and immune systems. Their brains seemed to have aged faster, too. There was also “a mean difference of 16 IQ points between the slowest and fastest walkers”, a factor which researchers say was “remarkably” linked to how a lot of participants performed at cognitive tests aged just three years old. In short, the scientists say the “gait speed test is cheap, safe, easy to test repeatedly, and feasible to use among people in their 40s”. So... will walking more help me to age slower? This study didn’t seek to prove that ― they just found a link, not a cause. But there’s some research to suggest that exercise can help to prevent the negative side-effects associated with ageing, and lots of evidence that tells us people who exercise more may live longer than those who don’t. Benefits are seen even among those who pick up their first weight at 70. The NHS recommends 150 minutes of low-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of higher-intensity exercise a week. -
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A man who served 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit says he was "shaking" when his lawyer told him he had received the first part of a compensation payment. Andrew Malkinson had his conviction quashed in 2023 after years protesting his innocence, but has waited since then for compensation. The 59-year-old, who was a security guard working in Salford before his arrest, was wrongly convicted in 2004 and chances to free him were repeatedly missed, leading to one of the worst miscarriages of justice in UK legal history. Mr Malkinson said he "would hesitate to say that I am grateful... but I am relieved the Ministry of Justice has finally done the right thing to lift me out of limbo with this interim payment." "No one should have to wait this long to be able to start to rebuild their life, and too many innocent people are being denied compensation altogether." Mr Malkinson said the £1m cap on compensation payouts for people who have been in jail for more than 10 years should be lifted. Andy now faces the risk of losing his social housing flat just because he has been awarded this money." Head -shaking - but no heads rolling in the Civil Service... -
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Trump Signals He Might Ignore the Courts “The United States is sleepwalking into a constitutional crisis. Not only has the Trump administration seized for itself extraconstitutional powers, but yesterday, it raised the specter that, should the courts apply the text of the Constitution and negate its plans, it will simply ignore them. Trump refuses to even try to pass his plans democratically. And as courts have stepped in to halt his efforts to ignore the law, he is now threatening to ignore them too.” What's new? Trump has done this all his life, and the Supreme Court has endorsed Presidential Immunity. Good news - he's set the smoke alarms off! -
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9 Letter Word Game Below are nine letters - from those nine make as many words as you can of four letters or more:- "U" MUST appear in every word. L R T P A P E E are the other 8 letters you can use. Tip - put the eight letters in a circle round the "U". There is definitely a nine letter word to be found!. 23 words = word master 31 words = word genius OVERALL TARGET 39 ....Word Perfect! *** Please enter one word IN TURN with other players. Definitions of unusual words are most welcome! Update will appear as and when, but game will probably close in 3-4 days. Enjoy. [ it's going to be a good weekend to stay indoors! ] -
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"US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Palestinians would "love" to leave their embattled homeland in Gaza and live elsewhere if given an option. They would "love to leave Gaza," he told reporters as he signed a raft of initiatives at the White House. "I would think that they would be thrilled." "I don't know how they could want to stay. It's a demolition site," he said, more than 15 months after US ally Israel launched a punishing invasion of the territory in retaliation for attacks launched by Palestinian militant group Hamas. Trump spoke as he was due to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to discuss the truce with Hamas. He is likely to urge his ally to stick to the deal, parts of which have yet to be finalized. Trump has previously touted a plan to "clean out" Gaza, calling for Palestinians to move to Egypt or Jordan." Making way for Mar A Gaza? Surely not? -
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"Elon Musk, who is heading US President Donald Trump's efforts to shrink the federal government has said there is work ongoing to shut down the US foreign aid agency, USAID. "It's beyond repair," Mr Musk said, adding that President Trump agrees it should be shut down. Yesterday, REUTERS reported the Trump administration removed two top security officials at USAID during the weekend after they tried to stop representatives from Mr Musk's department from gaining access to restricted parts of the building, three sources said. In fiscal year 2023, the US disbursed $72 billion of assistance worldwide on everything from women's health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption work. It provided 42% of all humanitarian aid tracked by the United Nations in 2024. Field hospitals in Thai refugee camps, landmine clearance in war zones, and drugs to treat millions suffering from diseases such as HIV are among the programmes at risk of elimination. Speaking more broadly about cutting US expenses and fraud, Mr Musk estimated the Trump administration can cut $1 trillion from the US deficit next year. He asserted, for example, that "professional foreign fraud rings" are stealing money vast sums by masquerading as or creating fake digital US citizens. Mr Musk did not offer any evidence to support his fraud claim or explain how he reached the amount of $1 trillion." Your thoughts. -
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Donald Trump has questioned the circumstances surrounding the tragic American Airlines plane crash last night. At least 19 bodies have been recovered after a PSA Airlines jet, operating as American Airlines 5432, collided mid-air with a military helicopter at around 9.00pm local time. What Donald Trump has said about the American Airlines plane crash US President Trump said he has been briefed on the 'terrible accident', and has thanked first responders for their 'incredible work.' However, the 78-year-old believes it 'looks like it should have been prevented'. "The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport," he wrote on his social media site Truth Social. "It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn't the helicopter go up or down, or turn. "Why didn't the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane. "This is a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented. NOT GOOD!!!" He added: "What a terrible night this has been. God bless you all!" No mention of sympathy for the families involved. -
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9 Letter Word Game Below are nine letters - from those nine make as many words as you can of four letters or more:- "N" MUST appear in every word. W T G O N H G I are the other 8 letters you can use. Tip - put the eight letters in a circle round "N" There is definitely a nine letter word to be found!. 10 words = word finder 15 words = word wizard 23 words = word master 31 words = word genius OVERALL TARGET 38 ....Word Perfect! *** Please enter one word in turn with other players. Definitions of unusual words are most welcome! Update will appear as and when, but game will close in 3-4 days. Enjoy!! -
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Congressional elections happen every two years. At that time, one-third of the Senate and every seat in the House of Representatives is up for election. Midterm congressional elections take place halfway between presidential elections. The most recent congressional elections were in November 2022. The next midterm elections will be in November 2026. Looking forward to the American voters verdict on the present regime. -
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"Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday echoed US President Donald Trump’s claim the conflict in Ukraine could have been prevented had he been in the White House in 2022." I land on Ukraine and Poland, and then his dice he can have Greenland and Canada. I build our glorious empire, he build the gold-plated hotels. -
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A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order that sought to end the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, regardless of the parents' immigration status. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon. -
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