Keep it simple, Dems, on the budget debate. A dialog with a MAGA

 It will easy to get lost in the weeds of figures and statistics as the debate begins. All of are subpoints, but always come back to a simple message.

Update: 2/28/2025   The GOP has a plan to cook the books on the impact of extending tax cuts to the rich:; They will try to change the original basis to disguise their lies. 

Here are the detailed weeds: House Budget Economic Claims Don’t Add Up | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities    The simple truth is that they are "cooking the books to cover a lie"

 .  https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-budget-change-deficit-impact-trump-tax-cuts-rcna194015.

Continuing with the original post: 

I got this comment on a private Facebook page. My response.

GOP supporter:

"Dummycrats still don’t understand these positive advancements that he’s (Trump/Musk) accomplishing. Still so many brainwashed, uninformed sheep people." So many foxated by selective reporting, too. DOGE Quietly Deletes the 5 Biggest Spending Cuts It Celebrated Last Week - The New York Times

My response, especially, meaningful to those in red states and Congressional districts throughout the country who benefit the most: The opportunity is now to make the point: the House budget proposals as the debate that puts the specifics in writing and votes for and against in the official record.

"Keep it up GOP. You are handing the Dems a simple message. . Cutting or eliminating programs that are popular for even red-state ordinary people comprehend: "You want me to sacrifice what I need to give more tax cuts to those who do not need them and increase the debt? I dare you to call positive, cutting (social security, medicare, and Medicaid kids lunches, cancer research etc.). Positive for whom?."

It is not just benefits that are being cut, it is "threatening to take away their health coverage, make health care more expensive, and make it harder to afford food and college." https://www.cbpp.org/press/statements/house-budget-would-increase-costs-and-hardship-for-many-while-providing-huge-tax       

Add this to GOP/Trump not reducing grocery prices and inflation, and Democrats will have great messaging in the midterms.  

James Carville , Democratic strategist, proposes that Dems just sit back and let the GOP manufacture enough rope to hang themselves  That is one approach, but it is still important to educate voters who is responsible for what as the budget issues are debated. It makes it easier at midterm campaign time. It is doubtful that the GOP will have the guts to cross Trump publicly other than about an isolated issue or two since they risk facng well-funded oppostion in their primaries. 

So spooked by the angry constituents at the town hall meetings, GOP representatives are being encouraged by party leaders to not hold such public meetings. However, GOP votes on behalf of their House bill are on the record, thanks to direct intervention by Trump, and it wll be hard to duck their official votes. (one negative  GOP vote in the end)   I can see the Democrats already crafting their attack ads. The challenge  Dems face is breaking through the foxated informaton silo to reach and educate less hard core Trump voters.  It will take some imagination and cleverness using other methods and social media channels.

The United States is no longer the leader of the free world

 The US is no longer the leader of the free world but has given up half the power that it had when it was allied with Europe in December. This is not isolationism. It is an engagement of the worst kind. We are now acting like a satellite of the old USSR, echoing the Kremlin mothership's propaganda. Did Trump voters really mean for the US to become allied with dictators, including those we once called the Axis of Evil? The United States at the UN 2/24/2025 made it official: the US is now allied with Russia and China against Ukraine when it voted with them in a resolution of support of Ukraine. It voted no. If Trump persists in the matter of foreign policy with the course he has set on, we will lose control of our own nation's destiny when he defers to Putin in words and deeds. (Ukraine started the war, not Russia; Europe is getting paid back for its contributions to Ukraine, so the US should too) Macron fact-checked Trump on air in real-time. New German chancellor to be Friedrich Merz has sworn to get independence from the US quickly and German supporters of Ukraine rallied at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

These 17 countries voted with US against Russia-Ukraine UN resolution

War in Ukraine: France’s diplomatic action - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs

Axis of evil - Wikipedia

Scowling Trump furious with Macron for claiming 'aggressor is Russia' in front of his face

Lawrence: Trump humiliated on the world stage as France's Macron instantly corrects his Ukraine lie

A from my 2/28/2025 Facebook post: I just witnessed a s...t show on a presser with Zelensky and Trump with JD Vance on the attack. The upshot: be grateful,Zelensky, we are taking your mineral rights with no guarantee of your security. That Zelensky sat through that disgusting show of an oval office presser in the history of the US. It is a replay of Vance and Trump's personal attack...and "if you don't say you are grateful, " your country is finished. This is on TV live. You do not negotiate like that. But it exposed the bully that Trump is and how much of satellite nation of Russia's the US has become. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkXWNiTQbV0

msn.com

Zelensky Rebukes Trump's Call for Russian Ceasefire to His Face

In his earlier remarks, Trump called for a "ceasefire" and "truce" am

|

Trump's art of the no deal on Ukraine as he makes blunders after blunders updated 3/3/2025

Update 3/4/2025: Here's where Trump's deal with Putin stands: Trump aligns foreign policy with Putin. that so far has resulted in no deal on Ukraine, no peace deal, no rare earth deal, and kissing the Atlantic alliance with Europe goodbye as it goes its own way. US is now alone in the world with only allies, the Axis of Evil, Russia, China, and Iran, none of whom support US security interests..  Here's what Putin got: the breakup of the Atlantic alliance and possibly NATO itself, the US disarms its cyber-attacks and counter to Russia, giving them free access to sabotage US cyber, internet, and social media,and elections.. Russia gets all sanctions against them levied by the US removed, Russia gets its spy networks in the US as all embassies and consulates are reopened. 

The cease fire or agreement on mineral rights may still happen as Zelensky seems to be more flexible and is not requesting a security agreement as a condition.  However, in the meantime, the alliance with Russia is still one sided, and dangerous to US national security. That alliance with Russia is still a rotten deal.  Zelenski today:"We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky — ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure — and truce in the sea immediately if Russia will do the same. Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal.

Related video: Zelensky will accept invitation for 'constructive' talks with Trump (Daily Mail)

Update: 3/1/2025 moved to a stand-alone posting 3/1/2025 but left here italics as well. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: The backfire to the on camera Trump/Vance ambush of Zelensky is beginning

Trump's biggest blunder? The ambush of Zelensky in the Oval Office motivated Europe to get off its duff, step up to the plate, and possibly own the plate, too.

 https://www.foxnews.com/world/world-leaders-back-zelenskyy-following-trump-vance-oval-office-spat     Vance's ambush of Zelensky may backfire. The key is who holds the nukes and France and UK do in Europe . They have enough warheads to counter Russian nuke threats and blackmail and call their bluff. Europe likey can counter any Russian incursion with conventional weapons per some sources familiar with the situation.  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Is Putin blackmailing the US and west with nuclear threats?

  After Trump-Zelensky blowup, Europe may be more willing to seize frozen Russian assets while EU official says ‘free world needs a new leader’Does Europe have any bargaining chips with Russia? Not yet on the table, Europe holds $330 billion in frozen Russian assets, which are kept for rebuilding Ukraine. Not all are reachable, but billions are. While Europe is reluctant to use such frozen assets of another nation's sovereign fund, it could be a bargaining chip as part of a guarantee of Ukraine's security. It could be used if Russia attacked NATO allies.. If released, the money could be used for Ukraine's purchase of weapons on the open market. That could be appealing to Germany, which is already a major manufacturer of weapons for Ukraine and would cut out US manufacturers that are benefitting now. As Europe mobilizes behind Ukraine, it's sitting on a $218 billion ace card — and it's being urged to play it

Trump's error is assuming Ukraine has no other alternatives, so he had them over the barrel. With the elections in Germany resulting in a coalition of a centrist government and a coalition of the left and right of center, the path is cleared for Europe to give security guarantees and defend Ukraine's sovereignty independent of the US. France has already done so.

If Trump persists, he will be left with no deal, no peace in our times, and the fall out of disgust of his alliance with Russia, even the failure of capitulation and to

appeasement, and the end of 70 years of transatlantic alliance.

Trump will find himself allied with Russia, Iran,China, North Korea and a bunch of others. We used to call some of them the "axis of evil". This is not isolationism. It is entaglements of the worst kind

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv4n0dg3v3o

https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/trump-ukraine-deal-russia-minerals-putin-zelensky

Update: 2/28/2025   I just witnessed a s...t show on a presser with Zelensky and Trump with JD Vance on the attack. The upshot of Trump/Vance "Be grateful, Zelensky, we are taking your mineral rights with no guarantee of your security, and you have no choice but to agree with us." That Zelensky sat through the most disgusting show of an Oval Office presser in the history of the US was a remarkable show of self-restraint. Vance and Trump's personal attack.., bringing up dirt stretching back to Hunter Biden and impeachment resorting extortion attempt, was just plain ugly and made uglier with the parting words, "If you don't say you are grateful, " your country is finished," and we will have WWIII. This is on TV live. You do not negotiate like that. But it exposed the bully that Trump is and how much of a satellite nation of Russia that the US has become. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkXWNiTQbV0   

 Was the "cease-fire deal" put on the table before the presser, or did Trump try to ambush Zelensky or set him up on TV  to agree?  Or was one condition it comes to Russia without an enforceable security deal? Russia has a history of breaking agreements. They did break an agreement and invaded Crimea. The Russian Federation’s Ongoing Aggression Against Ukraine - U.S. Mission to the OSCE To Zelensky, a ceasefire based on trusting Putin was not a deal at all.. The only ones who seem to trust Putin are Trump and Vance. Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation - WikipediaSome observers think Zelensky was set up for the oval office meeting https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/zelensky-trump-vance-ukraine-war-b2706901.html

 My guess is that the nasty presser will only infuriate and inspire Europe to support Ukraine and guarantee its survival, and the US will be left flapping its mouth like a parrot of Russian propaganda and without rights to Ukraine's minerals. After the blowup, Zelensky left early.  Trump then tweeted that Zelensky was not ready for peace and could return when he was.  What is clear is that Zelensky believes  that without security agreements the "peace terms" being shoved down his throat were useless.   https://www.newsweek.com/trump-says-zelensky-not-ready-peace-after-oval-office-blowup-2038006   https://www.foxnews.com/world/world-leaders-back-zelenskyy-following-trump-vance-oval-office-spat

Trump's negotiating strategy is the art of the no deal. Not only did he give away NATO and 20% of Ukraine's territory in advance of beginning negotiations with Russia, he also tried to extort from Ukraine their natural resources that had a value of 4 times what the US has already contributed to Ukraine. In return, what does Ukraine get: no security guarantees, loss of 20% of its territory, and no way to stop further Russian aggression without outside help. Ukraine just said thanks, but no thanks.

This segment has been repeated in a stand alone post 2 25 2025 The US is no longer the leader of the free world but has given up half the power that it had when it was allied with Europe in December. This is not isolationism. We are now acting like a satellite of the old USSR, echoing the Kremlin mothership's propaganda. Did Trump voters really mean for the US to become allied with dictators, including those we once called the Axis of Evil? The United States at the UN 2/24/2025 made it official: the US is now allied with Russia and China against Ukraine when it voted with them in a resolution of support of Ukraine. It voted no. If Trump persists in the matter of foreign policy with the course he has set on, we will lose control of our own destiny when he defers to Putin in words and deeds. (Ukraine started the war, not Russia; Europe is getting paid back for its contributions to Ukraine, so the US should too) Macron fact-checked Trump on air in real-time. N ew German chancellor to be Friedrich Merz has sworn to get independence from the US quickly and German supporters of Ukraine rallied at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

These 17 countries voted with US against Russia-Ukraine UN resolution

Lawrence: Trump humiliated on the world stage as France's Macron instantly corrects his Ukraine lie |

Democrats, messaging again. It's not the layoff victims, it's the service cuts

 Democrats are missing a very important point: Chainsaw Musk is not about cruelty to laid-off career civil servants.  It is about what happens to the services so many Americans have taken for granted as important to their lives.  Cutting the workforce is one thing, but voters are finding that services that have been cut did have value to them, and in the next few months, they will find more. The demonstrations should begin to dramatize how voters are being  hurt, not how sad it is for those who were laid off 

An interesting dialogue with a dedicated MAGA on a private Facebook page

"Dummycrats still don’t understand these positive advancements that he’s accomplishing. Still so many brainwashed uninformed sheep people.

My response:

Keep it up GOP. You are handing the Dems a simple message. . Cutting or eliminating programs that are popular for even red-state ordinary people ((brainwashed and sheeple) comprehend: You want me to sacrifice what I need to give more tax cuts to those who do not need them and increase the debt. I dare you to call cutting social security, medicare, and Medicaid positive advancements. Positive for whom?.

We lived for a year during the first month of Trump's regime. By his blitzkrieg of so many issues making news at once, he depends upon humans who can only hold one thought at a time to get you to look at his tree and no others in a forest that is falling on top of us. There is a possibility that his blitzkrieg also allows time for a backlash to develop in time for the 2026 midterms. The backlash will be a slower burn as enough former Trump voters feel the impact on their actual lives. I still think the ultimate pushback will be whether rising prices and, inflation and anger with prized federal services evaporating will be as bad as the left predicts. 

All voters are freaked, for sure, over whether they will still get their social security check or afford to keep grandma in a nursing home who depends on Medicare/Medicaid to stay in one, or their veteran benefits are reduced  .That hits home. However, it is going to feel worse soon. They are going to feel the shock when their kids no longer get lunches at school or their local rural hospital is closed because their patients cannot get Medicaid to pay their bills. Need I go on? .Grocery prices; inflation will likely increase.  That is where the outrage should focus, now and until the 2026 congressional midterms, where the blame can be pinned on the local congress person who voted for these cuts to services.  . The focus should be on how tax cuts to the rich are the cause of these service cuts.  Saving democracy may be the long term goal, but that is still a sales point for those who understand what democracy is...the more educated,,but Democrats already have that 48% of the popular vote who gets it.  The message to those who need a lesson in democracy is that when Trump rules like a King, their voices do not get heard or they will get some vague BS answer.

  The town hall focus on how awful it is so many good people got fired across the board is a strategy this week but not for the weeks before the 2026 midterms. Understand there is a great deal of resentment against bureaucracy and red tape, who actually think government bureaucrats are the problem not only because they are being disloyal to Trump and MAGA, but for their taxpayer money paying for services that they suspect have waste, fraud, and abuse, for which they do not see benefits, or they get lousy service when they try to get problems resolved.  That service, for sure, will get lousier with no one left in DC or the local federal branch to answer phones or emails or chats. 

 Right now, the GOP answer is" The pain is only short term; it will all get better soon." The retort should be "Better for whom"?  The very rich who want to cut the services you need to justify their absurd tax cuts?? Providing incompetent political appointees now to provide whatever services are left? Their spots will or may not be filled, and if filled, by those who are there because of screened and proven loyalty, ready for TV and campaign contributions, not because of competence or experience.  Once again, these services the government provides, and no one in MAGA gives a twit if they get them.  The oligarchs and billionaires running the Trump show certainly don't get it or care. They won in 2024."They'll get around to fixing grocery prices later" (after Trump whines are too hard to do and then tried to slap import fees to double down on the pain.). Not exactly Day One, was it? It is not just a matter of class warfare. It is unfair to everyday Americans coping with daily life.  

When will it get better?  Why 2026? Congress is the only body other than the courts that can fix the pain Trump causes, and their Congressperson has become useless and uncaring in the face of Trump and Musk's rule by fear. The next time, and maybe the best, is 2026 before Trump consolidates power, controls media, bullies the free press into silence, and controls free and fair elections, putting the post office mail-in balloting and the federal election commission under his direct control.( Did you notice that one?).

The only whistleblowers left is the free press...guard it well updated

Update: 3/2/2025 One of the real challenges in writing on my blog is finding the facts or at least finding someone to report them regardless of whether they fit or contradict the Trump regime line. I was often using  Reuters and AP, and both were denied access to the pressers in the epic blowup between Trump, Zelensky, and Vance in the Oval Office. Yes, at least this explosive conversation was available on U Tube soon after and I posted it on Facebook for everyone to see and judge for themselves. The blog always contains the source sites of what I write, and I try to avoid those with paywalls or known biases. Both are challenges and hard to avoid..

 Truth and facts can hurt either side, but wannabe dictators only want you to see and hear their alternative facts. That is my personal experience with dictators, first hand, Communist ones in East Germany and Tito in Yugoslavia. It is not only the content of their stories but also the stories they report. Without a free press, voters will not even know that they have been hurt by whom, much less be able to mount a resistance. One job of a free press is to expose such lies or twisted data. The Trump regime provides an abundant opportunity. Former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham ‘knows he can basically say anything, and his base will believe.’ That is what it is like to live in a dictatorship. https://thehill.com/.../4394676-grisham-trump-knows-he.../.

THEHILL.COM

Grisham: Trump ‘knows he can basically say anything and his base will believe’

Update: 2/27/2025 The Associated Press has been barred from White House pressers; CBS was forced to settle a lawsuit over an interview with Kamala Harris; the owner of the Washington Post, billionaire Jeff Bezos, has taken over the Washington Post editorial page and will permit no dissent.  Update 2/28/2025, AP, Reuters, kicked out of presser that was a drama of Trump and Vance acting badly in front of the whole world.

 The free press is the last line of defense of democracy threatened by a president who now boasts he is a king. The free press is key to America becoming aware of the danger and the fallout that will also harm the very lives of American citizens.  Without a free press, voters will not even know that they have been hurt by whom, much less be able to mount a resistance.   Trump thinks he can lie, and he can get away with it because his loyal followers will believe any thing he says.   Grisham: Trump ‘knows he can basically say anything and his base will believe’   That is what it is like to live in a dictatorahip.  

: "Modern-day dictators have gained the power they seek because they have used modern technology to spin and mind-control their way to their position. .They spin the news to engineer their support" "The central goal remains the same: to monopolize political power. But today’s strongmen realize that in current conditions, violence is not always necessary or even helpful. Instead of terrorizing citizens, a skillful ruler can control them by reshaping their beliefs about the world. He can fool people into compliance and even enthusiastic approval. In place of harsh repression, the new dictators manipulate information. Like spin doctors in a democracy, they spin the news to  support. They are spin dictators." How Do Dictatorships Survive in the 21st Century? | Andrew Carnegie Fellows | Carnegie Corporation of New York   

. 

 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-bars-associated-press-oval-office-air-force-one/

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/02/when-it-comes-to-corruption-trump-is.html

https://newrepublic.com/post/192012/jeff-bezos-change-washington-post-opinion  Bezos takes over editorial page of the Washington Post and will not allow dissent. https://newrepublic.com/post/192012/jeff-bezos-change-washington-post-opinionhttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd650zdwe8do The Associated Press is denied access to White House pressers because it dared argue with Trump over the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.   0352075501b779b8b187667f3427e0e8 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-bars-associated-press-oval-office-air-force-one/

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/02/when-it-comes-to-corruption-trump-is.htm

https://newrepublic.com/post/192012/jeff-bezos-change-washington-post-opinion  Bezos takes over editorial page of the Washington Post and will not allow dissent. https://newrepublic.com/post/192012/jeff-bezos-change-washington-post-opinionhttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd650zdwe8do The Associated Press is denied access to White House pressers because it dared argue with Trump over the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.   0352075501b779b8b187667f3427e0e8 

Beware. A warning to gullible voters who only listen to media they trust:\ https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4394676-grisham-trump-knows-he-can-basically-say-anything-and-his-base-will-believe/      

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Social media fans Zucked again? Update 1 14 2025

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/a-30-million-campaign-to-free-social-media-from-billionaire-control-is-now-underway/

Donald Trump has threatened to shut down broadcasters, but can he?

How Hungary's Orbán uses control of the media to escape scrutiny and keep the public in the dark | The Associated Press

Trump's alliance with Putin's Russia is a fool's gamble.

 Update: 2 24 2025: Trump's negotiating strategy is the art of the no deal. Not only did he give away NATO and 20% of Ukraine's territory in advance of beginning negotiations with Russia, he also tried to extort from Ukraine their natural resources that had a value of 4 times what the US has already contributed to Ukraine. In return, what does Ukraine get: no security guarantees, loss of 20% of its territory, and no way to stop further Russian aggression without outside help. Ukraine just said thanks, but no thanks.

Trump's error is assuming Ukraine has no other alternatives, so he had them over the barrel. With the elections in Germany resulting in a coalition of a centrist government and a coalition of the left and right of center, the path is cleared for Europe to give security guarantees and defend Ukraine's sovereignty independent of the US. France has already done so.

If Trump persists, he will be left with no deal, no peace in our times, and the fall out of disgust of his alliance with Russia, even the failure of capitulation and to

appeasement, and the end of 70 years of transatlantic alliance.

The US is no longer the leader of the free world but has half the power that it had when it was allied with Europe in December. New German chancellor Friedrich Merz has sworn to get independence from the US as quickly as German supporters of Ukraine rally at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Does Europe have any bargaining chips with Russia? Not yet on the table, Europe holds $330 billion in frozen Russian assets, which are kept for rebuilding Ukraine. While Europe is reluctant to use such frozen assets of another nation's sovereign fund, it could be a bargaining chip as part of a guarantee of Ukraine's security. If released, the money could be used for Ukraine's purchase of weapons on the open market. That could be appealing to Germany, which is already a major manufacturer of weapons for Ukraine and would cut out US manufacturers that are benefitting now.

Continuing with the original post.

Trump's new, informal alliance with Putin's Russia is a fool's gamble.
The implications are profound. Trump has green-lighted Russian aggression, indicating that he would not honor the mutual defense purpose of NATO to come to the defense of Poland and the Baltics. At this point, Trump has virtually killed off NATO by refusing to honor its 75-year-old purpose of stopping Soviet/Russian expansion by agreeing if one nation were attacked, all treaty members would respond militarily. Trump also indicated that he would withdraw US troops from Europe. The European countries now realize they are on their own to stop the Russian goal of reassembling the imperial Russia of the past, Putin's dream. To think that Europe would just let Russia finish its conquest of Ukraine and march on to Poland and the Baltics would be peaceful is a non-starter. To think the US people will tolerate that and not send in our troops eventually is a fool's gamble.

Trump may look like a hero to his loyal MAGA base. He is not looking like a hero to even the usually loyal New York Post, who called his policies and pressures on Ukraine "despicable," or to powerful senators from red states who called Putin a war criminal who should be in jail. GOP senators are now revolting against Trump on this issue: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/20/politics/video/gop-senator-tillis-trump-putin-cancer-speech-senate-floor-digvid Sen. Thom Tillis made a fiery speech in the Senate.

Donald Trump's Favorite Newspaper Calls His Ukraine Proposal 'Despicable' - Newsweek   

Two GOP senators rail against Putin despite Trump’s rosy assessment of Russian leader | CNN Politics

Trump will go down in history as the president who lost Ukraine if he persists. Capitulation and appeasement are not good looks for the president who thinks he is a king.. 

Still, to Russia, America now looks like a weakling to our adversaries, unwilling to defend America's West European friends, with its president ripe for manipulation, flattery, and control by Putin. Trump is acting like one who aspires to be a "strong leader " like Putin. Putin is his peer group and the ideal of how he would like to govern..as he has openly opined. The chances are that it will backfire on him and on America's national security interests. Trump's alliance with Russia will reverberate as a greeenlight rekindling of the Balkan wars as the world is distracted with armed conflict in the rest of Europe, and the Chinese takeover of Taiwan, for starters, who sees America as too weak and unwilling to put up a fight.

Why does Trump have it in for Ukraine? Why is Trump risking national security interests and ticking off Europe? It seems irrational. My theory:

It's personal with Trump. Trump's attempt to blackmail Zelesnsky to find dirt on the Biden family and son Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine resulted in the impeachment of Trump.

Trump's animosity toward Zelensky is now playing out as Trump has now allied himself with Russia, which has resulted in classic Trump hurling insults on Twitter and social media and taking the Kremlin line that "Zelensky is a dictator. Absurdly, Trump parroted back the Russia line that Zelensky started the war, not Russia. Zelenksy should have agreed to Russian demands to stop aligning himself with the West and NATO and become a part of Mother Russia is what it implies. Martial law is still in effect. The war is still raging in 20% of Ukraine.. To say Zelensky is a dictator because he has not held an election since Russia invaded is a ploy, a bully bluster, and a talking point that only makes the bad blood worse. Zelensky represents the deep movement of Maidan that opposes turning Ukraine over to Russia to become absorbed in it. Zelensky is no fool. He realizes that the election call ploy is an attempt by Russia to take control of Ukraine by other means.

To intensify an already intense situation, Trump's treasury secretary reportedly demanded that Zelensky sign a document to turn over 50% of mineral rights to rare minerals and fossil fuels to the US in return for support. Zelensky refused. Art of a great deal? Not so much, Trump Zelensky is pressured to give something he does not have or will not get.....half of his mineral resources royalties. .. Half of Ukraine's rare earths and natural resources are in the area controlled by Russia https://www.independent.co.uk/.../ukraine-minerals-deal...

If Trump hands that over to Russia, what then? Putin walks away with his 6%. Watch Putin try to subvert the other 80% of Ukraine...and call for elections for Ukraine to be absorbed into mother Russia. I'd say Russia got the better part of Trump on this deal.

.The worst deal is the one Trump demanded of Zelensky with the rationale that the value of the rights was to pay back the US for their support of Ukraine, but the US will not see a penny for years. No public or private enterprise would ever invest in mining there if there is a hot war, an uneasy cease fire, or instability and fear that a war would be rekindled. The craven Trump is trying to extort Ukraine as the value of the potential deal is four times the actual amount of aid the US has given so far. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/world/europe/ukraine-trump-minerals.html

Trump is attempting to belittle Zelensky, and calling him a dictator is either fooling himself and his MAGA base. The Ukrainian nationalist movement to stay out of Russia's clutches has deep roots in a populist movement. How short our memories are. Beginning in 2013, with the Maidan revolution, Ukraine's democracy movement began. It won with violent street demonstrations of citizens, demanding joining the West and the EU, and it resulted in the Putin loyal president fleeing to Russia. For the rest of how this has played out and why, and when, much has been written, but take a look at the one in Wikipedia if all else fails. Search the Revolution of Dignity.

A refresher course in recent history. The Maidan movement is not an invention of Pres. Volodomyr. Zelensky, former TV star and media executive..He was their 6th president, elected in free and fair elections in 2019. winning the election because he was not involved in partisan bickering and promised to end corruption. In 2022, the infamous column of Russian invaders attempted to take over Ukraine by capturing the capital, Kyiv. Their subversion and influence efforts to stop Ukraine's attempt to join Western Europe had failed. Their military attack failed because the population led by Zelensky themselves rose up with another version of guerilla warfare, sabotaging the bogged-down Russian forces and supplies. Once again, this reflected popular support for democracy and closer ties with the West, including NATO membership. Zelensky rose to the moment, using his communication and executive skills to become an effective wartime leader, sometimes even compared to Churchill.

1994, in the Budapest memorandum between Russia, the US and the UK. Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in return for a pledge to Russia that the USA and the UK would never invade Ukraine. Ukraine, at that time, could not imagine the threat would come from Russia. If Ukraine still had nuclear weapons...would Russia have invaded in 2022?

Images

VideoThe Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances is a diplomatic memorandum signed in December 1994 by Ukraine, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It aimed to provide security assurances to Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan in exchange for their entry into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, committing the signatories to abstain from military and economic coercion against these three nations. 

Wikipedia+3