Trump Comments on His Relations with Putin
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has said he had an excellent relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin while in office, adding that the Ukraine conflict would have never started on his watch.
In an interview with the Impaulsive podcast, released on Thursday, Trump recalled that full-scale hostilities in Ukraine did not start while he was president between 2017 and 2021, claiming that the escalation would not have happened had he been reelected in 2020.
When asked to comment on his relationship with Putin, Trump described it as “very good,” adding that he also got along with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky. “But I was tough with him [Putin]. You know, I ended… the Nord Stream 2,” he noted, referring to the pipeline which was designed to transport natural gas between Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea, but was never put into full operation.
The former US president said he had voiced discontent with the EU over the project, asking why Europe was paying Russia “billions” a month for gas supplies, while America was providing the bloc with protection from Moscow.Read more Biden could cause nuclear war – Trump
According to the ex-US president, Putin acknowledged his role in killing Nord Stream 2. “Putin said to me: ‘It’s the biggest thing… you ended the pipeline… You and I are friendly but I’d hate to see you as enemy.’”
Still, Trump insisted that he managed to forge good relations not only with the Russian president but also with Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. “The funny thing [is] I got along with the tough ones much better with the weak ones.”
The Trump administration was a long-time critic of Nord Stream 2, and on numerous occasions pressured Germany to drop the project. The process of commissioning of the already-completed pipeline was finally halted in February 2022, when tensions between the West and Russia flared up before the start of the Ukraine conflict.
In the fall of 2022, several lines of Nord Stream 1 and 2 were sabotaged, with Russia demanding an international investigation and suggesting that US intelligence services must have orchestrated the explosions. Washington has denied responsibility, although US President Joe Biden had previously threatened to “bring an end” to the pipeline if Russian troops were to enter Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly promised to resolve the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours if reelected by sitting down with both Zelensky and Putin. The Kremlin said last month that the Russian president was not in contact with Trump, while Zelensky expressed doubts about the ex-US president’s ability to stop the hostilities.
Bill Gates’ Fake Meat Linked to ‘Premature Death’, Study Finds
Bill Gates’ synthetic meat products can increase the risk of severe heart disease and premature death, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of São Paulo and Imperial College London assessed the diets of more […]
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Putin Says The Biggest Danger To Europe Is The US
Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that Europe should maintain good relations with Moscow if it wants to retain its status as one of the centers of world development. Putin made the comments on Friday during […]
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Putin Names Conditions for Ukraine Peace Talks
Ukraine must remove its troops from Russia’s new regions before any meaningful peace talks can begin, President Vladimir Putin has said.
Moscow disputes Kiev’s claim of sovereignty over five formerly Ukrainian regions, four of which have joined Russia amid the ongoing hostilities. People in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions voted for the transition in late 2022. Hostilities continue to some extent in each region.
Ukrainian troops must be removed from these territories, Putin said on Friday at a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior Russian diplomats.
“I stress: the entire territory of those regions as defined by their administrative borders at the time they joined Ukraine [in August 1991],” Putin stated.
“Our side will order a ceasefire and start negotiations the minute Kiev declares that it is prepared to take this decision and starts actual withdrawal of troops from those regions, and also formally informs us that it no longer plans to join NATO,” the Russian leader pledged.
Putin outlined the conditions after condemning Kiev’s Western backers for allegedly preventing it from holding peace talks with Moscow while accusing Russia of rejecting negotiations.
READ MORE: Putin addresses top Foreign Ministry officials: As it happened
“We are counting on Kiev to take such a decision on withdrawal, neutral status, and dialogue with Russia, on which the future existence of Ukraine depends, independently based on the current realities and guided by the true interests of the Ukrainian people and not at Western orders,” Putin stated.
At this point, Moscow will not accept a frozen conflict, which would allow the US and its allies to rearm and rebuild the Ukrainian military, Putin claimed. The full resolution of the issue will involve Kiev recognizing the four new regions as well as Crimea as part of Russia, he insisted.
READ MORE: Russian troops never intended to capture Kiev – Putin
“In the future, all those basic principled positions have to be enshrined in fundamental international agreements. Naturally, that includes the lifting of all Western sanctions against Russia,” Putin stated.
Accepting these terms will allow everyone involved to turn the page and gradually rebuild damaged relations, the president said. Eventually, a pan-European security system that works for all nations on the continent could be created, Putin added, noting that Moscow has sought this outcome for years.
The Russian president’s keynote remarks came ahead of a Swiss-hosted summit supposedly meant to further peace in Ukraine. Kiev has insisted that Moscow could not be invited to the event because it would try to “hijack” it by promoting alternatives to the “peace formula” pushed by the Ukrainian government.
Putin claimed that the event was meant to distract public opinion from the “true roots” of the conflict, and that Vladimir Zelensky has usurped power in Ukraine after his presidential term expired last month. Nothing but demagoguery and accusations against Russia can come out of the Swiss gathering, he predicted.
Hunter Biden’s Daughter Testifies About Father’s Erratic Behavior Under the Influence of Cocaine
Presidential son Hunter Biden has been found guilty of all three felony charges related to the purchase of a revolver in 2018. Two of the jurors in the case admitted that the verdict was influenced by his eldest daughter Naomi’s testimony, which may have been a critical mistake for the defense.
Biden’s daughter testified on June 7, and she recounted Hunter’s erratic behavior in the days after he illegally lied about his crack cocaine addiction to purchase a .38-caliber revolver on Oct. 12, 2018. She said her father texted her at 2 a.m. on Oct. 18, asking if she could meet him somewhere in Manhattan so they could exchange cars after she used his Ford Raptor pickup. However, he did not show up.
Prosecutors presented evidence suggesting Hunter was arranging to buy crack cocaine during that period.
“I’m really sad, Dad,” Naomi texted Hunter later that day. “I can’t take this. I don’t know what to say. I just miss you so much. And want to hang out with you.”
Hunter lied on a mandatory gun-purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs back then and now he is set to face 25 years in jail. No sentencing date yet has been announced. (Related: Hunter Biden’s “historic” criminal trial will probe drug addiction and gun charges.)
One of the jurors from upper Delaware told the New York Post that it just seemed so sad for Naomi to see her father in such a state.
“She was happy when she thought he was getting better, but then he relapsed,” the 51-year-old woman added.
Another juror, who is a 68-year-old man from Sussex County, agreed that Naomi’s testimony was effective but it worked not in the way Hunter’s lawyers had expected.
“I don’t think any daughter should have to be up there testifying on her father’s behalf. That was heart-wrenching and I think all the jurors felt the same thing,” he said, adding that defense lawyer Abbe Lowell made the wrong move by calling Naomi to the stand. “He probably would not have called her.”
Hunter has pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including lying about his addiction when applying for a Colt Cobra revolver and illegally possessing the weapon for 11 days. Throughout the five-day trial, witnesses, including Hunter’s ex-wife, former girlfriend and sister-in-law, testified about his use of cocaine. His sister-in-law, Hallie Biden, testified that she found the gun in question but she immediately discarded it out of concern for Hunter’s and her children’s safety.
Lowell at one point claimed Hunter did not intend to deceive, believing he was not an addict at the time. The president’s son stated in a 2023 hearing that he had been sober since 2019.
“I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome,” Hunter said in the first statement he released after the decision was announced. “Recovery is possible by the grace of God and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time.”
President Joe Biden told ABC News that he would not pardon his son if convicted. Sentencing guidelines for the charges range from 15 to 21 months, but similar cases often result in shorter sentences or alternatives to incarceration.
Joe Biden says will “respect” the ruling
The president, in his first comment after Hunter was found guilty on all three counts in his federal gun trial, expressed love for his son and vowed to “accept the verdict” handed down by the jury.
“As I said last week, I am the president, but I am also a dad,” the president said. “Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery.”
He further reiterated that he will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal. “Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that.”
The president went to Delaware to meet Hunter, who immediately greeted his father when the president arrived, getting out of the motorcade and embracing on the tarmac. Hunter was joined by his wife, Melissa and their son, Beau.
Biden did not make an appearance at his son’s trial, but First Lady Jill Biden was almost always there at the hearings and walked out of the courthouse hand-in-hand with Hunter after the guilty verdict was announced.
Check out BidenCrimeFamily.news to read more stories related to the Bidens’ illegal dealings and actions.
Democrat Judges Rule Middle Schooler’s ‘Only Two Genders’ T-Shirt can be Censored by School
(LifeSiteNews) — A federal court ruled in favor of a Massachusetts school district that banned a student from wearing a shirt stating the biological fact that “There are only two genders.”
Chief Judge David Barron, an Obama appointee, ruled that school administrators have leeway under the First Amendment to regulate content that might allegedly be “demeaning.”
He was joined by fellow Obama appointee Judge Ojetta Thompson and Biden appointee Judge Lara Montecalvo. Judge Barron previously blamed the student’s shirt for “threatening messages” left at the school, according to NBC News’ paraphrase of his comments.
However, advocates of the student blasted the First Circuit Court of Appeals, saying it erred in the case L.M. v. Town of Middleborough.
Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented student Liam Morrison, said an appeal is likely. Morrison, after being told not to wear the first shirt, later wore a shirt saying, “There are [censored] genders.”
“Students don’t lose their free speech rights the moment they walk into a school building,” Senior Counsel David Cortman stated in a news release, responding to the Sunday ruling.
“This case isn’t about T-shirts; it’s about a public school telling a middle-schooler that he isn’t allowed to express a view that differs from their own,” Cortman stated. “The school actively promotes its view about gender through posters and ‘Pride’ events, and it encourages students to wear clothing with messages on the same topic—so long as that clothing expresses the school’s preferred views on the subject.”
“Our legal system is built on the truth that the government cannot silence any speaker just because it disapproves of what they say,” Cortman stated. “The 1st Circuit erred in its decision denying L.M. his right to free speech, and we are reviewing all legal options including appealing this decision.”
An attorney who often has represented liberal causes in the federal court system also criticized the judge’s decision.
The Supreme Court has previously ruled in favor of student free speech rights on contentious issues. For example, in 1969, the Court ruled in Tinker v. Des MoinesIndependent Community School District that students could wear black armbands to school in protest of the war in Vietnam. In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in B.L. v. Mahanoy Area School District in favor of a student who was punished for posting vulgar comments on her personal social media while off-campus.
“The decision substantially lowers the bar for allowing school authorities to censor student speech considered ‘demeaning,’ even if it doesn’t target any particular student or students, and even if it is not disruptive,” Robert Corn-Revere with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression told LifeSiteNews via email. FIRE submitted a brief in support of Morrison.
“And it empowers school officials to impose what views will be orthodox,” Corn-Revere said. “The holding is inconsistent with Tinker, which held that neither students nor teachers shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate, and with the Supreme Court’s more recent holding in Mahanoy Area School District.”
The Massachusetts Family Institute, which supports Morrison, also criticized the decision.
“This case is about much more than a t-shirt,” the group wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The court’s decision is not only a threat to the free speech rights of public school students across the country, but a threat to basic biological truths. While we are disappointed in this decision, we aren’t done fighting yet.”
“While we are disappointed in this decision, we aren’t done fighting yet,” the group also wrote in a statement. “Along with our partners at Alliance Defending Freedom, we are reviewing all legal options, including appealing to the United States Supreme Court. Please pray for continued strength for Liam and his family, as well as wisdom for our legal team.”
‘Are their feelings more important than my rights?’ Morrison says
Morrison’s expression of the biological reality of sex and his subsequent punishment last year attracted further attention after Libs of TikTok posted a powerful speech he gave in front of the school board.
“I was told that people were complaining about the words on my shirt, that my shirt was making some students feel ‘unsafe,’” he said. “Yes, words on a shirt made people feel unsafe. They told me that I wasn’t in trouble, but it sure felt like I was.”
“What did my shirt say? Five simple words: ‘There are only two genders.’ Nothing harmful, nothing threatening. Just a statement I believe to be a fact. I have been told that my shirt was targeting a protected class,” he said.
“Who is this ‘protected class’? Are their feelings more important than my rights?”