Well, lots of news lately here.
Outside of those headlines and details, I'm curious what anyone who posts here wants to happen with the Ukraine war and what they think will happen with the Ukraine war.
I'd like Russia to withdraw completely, but I don't know that will happen with Trump bending the knee to Putin. It's likely in Europe's hands now.
The last time a country invaded another unprovoked was Iraq into Kuwait, and that was also wrong. (it could be debated our incursion into Afghanistan was unprovoked since the country itself didn't attack us but Trump gave it back to the Taliban so whatever...)
I'll say again, a Republican US President is parroting Russian propaganda and encouraging Russia's expansion. I recall we won the Cold War, during GOP administrations, but this administration has already negotiated with terrorists and our enemies.
I want to submit a larger post time permitting, but I would think some win some lose by both sides fits. I hate it for Ukraine though.
a) Russia keeps what they've captured
b) the rest of Ukraine joins NATO
Neither side will be happy, that is why it probably makes sense. Can't just give Russia all what they have without Ukraine not gaining anything, right? And not giving anything to Russia will prolong the war as they'd just reject it and keep playing the long game.
Trump like flattery as we all know. Putin knows. Zelenskyy probably knew too. With some reservations I'm sure, but Zelenskyy spoke more directly. Trump no like that so Trump mad at Zelenskyy now, more than he already was before. I like the mineral and rare earth material angle, not sure if it was proposed right - it was rejected so I will assume it was proposed wrong.
Feels right now, and we should give the negotiations time to play out, but feels like right now it is 2 against 1 (US and Russia against Ukraine) in terms of bringing the war to an end.
Russia is going to come out of this the winner. If they consider losing 100 to 200 thousand in this war for some land as winning. Never the less they will feel victorious and Ukraine will feel defeated and betrayed.
Wonder how long could Russia play it out, they clearly playing the attrition game and don't value the lives of their soldiers. When would they break. Already having an assist from the North Koreans, if the US and Ukraine were committed to continue fighting them, wonder how long Russia could go? How long could Ukraine go for that matter?
Hate seemingly letting Russia off the hook and hate that Ukraine is going to get nothing in the end. Think that is where it is going though. I think Russia probably gets my a) and Ukraine will not get b).
I'd like to see a photo of Zelenskyy wearing a t-shirt with the caption: My country was invaded by Russia and all I got was prison-raped by Donald Trump.
Trump's accusation that Zelenskyy started this war and is a dictator (pot-kettle-black?) is the most blatant, laughable lie ever told - period.
We're a month into his second term. I hope that at least some of the people who elected him are starting to realize what they voted for.
.... I like the mineral and rare earth material angle, not sure if it was proposed right - it was rejected so I will assume it was proposed wrong. ...
Imagine that you (or anybody) was assaulted and robbed. You call the police - the case goes to court. The judge decrees that your assailant be given half of your wealth/belongings and that everything is cool now. Justice has been served! Perhaps this is an oversimplification of things, but I'm sure thats how Ukrainians are feeling right now.
.... I like the mineral and rare earth material angle, not sure if it was proposed right - it was rejected so I will assume it was proposed wrong. ...Imagine that you (or anybody) was assaulted and robbed. You call the police - the case goes to court. The judge decrees that your assailant be given half of your wealth/belongings and that everything is cool now. Justice has been served! Perhaps this is an oversimplification of things, but I'm sure thats how Ukrainians are feeling right now.
America turning its back on another democracy, great look!
I hope that Putin doesn't stop suddenly or Trump will get a broken nose.
Guessing the "deal" that will be proposed to Ukraine with Donny's blessing, give up half of your country and agree not to apply to NATO for its protection. How could Zelensky pass on that deal....
Closer to reality, Russian troops have been bogged down for months, Putin has let criminals out of prison to get more manpower on the front lines, North Korean troops have been brought in and slaughtered. Sounds to me like Russia is not in a position of advantage there. Yet, Trump will threaten the US pulling all financial & military aid if Ukraine doesn't go along with a deal structured similar to that.
I just hope that Europe steps up when the US bails. If they don't Europe may well be next.
"My friends say I'm ugly I got a masculine face." Tom Waits
Zelenskyy didn't do anything wrong in the White House yesterday. Unless you count not walking on eggshells and not kissing Trump's ass. He has a point of view, he has legitimate concerns for his country, he knows and has lived the reality of Russia and Putin being his country's enemy. He doesn't just want a ceasefire, anyone in his position would want protection from further Russian aggression given their history.
I get that the policy of this US administration can have it's own agenda and interests that may not align with Ukraine's and I do not mind trying to have better relations with Russia and Putin, Bush tried to do that, Obama tried to do that. But how this has played out for Ukraine is painful to watch. Trump acts like he can't be tough with Putin and then try and negotiate with him, but he can rip Zelenskyy up and down for no good reason in attempts to negotiate with him. Trump likes Putin, whether I like that or not, it's very clear to see how that influences all his statements toward Zelenskyy and Ukraine. But the JD Vance aspect of yesterday's meeting was almost more upsetting to me than Trump's. Maybe because I understand Trump's position even if I don't agree with all the variables of it. But Vance was just looking to score points and gain attention and he threw the whole thing off the rails and is to blame for this new low in relations and damaged process.
Zelenskyy hasn't apologized, he doesn't need to from what I saw.
@nebish As with his "public flogging" of Joe Biden at his inauguration, Donald (President of the Divided States of America) - via his public attack of Zelenskyy shows once again that wealth and power do not go hand in hand with class and taste. What we are witnessing is a hostile corporate takeover of Democracy. Thanks in no small part to some serious mis-plays and mis-calculations of the Democrats over the past 20 years, Donald now virtually owns the United - er, DIVIDED States government lock, stock and barrel. He seems to have rampant free reign over every post and government outlet. As much as I hate it, I don't seen anybody with the power to stop him. Pray for the return to common sense for the midterms. In the meantime, cue the Damien theme music.
With Donny hell-bent on extracting payment for service to Ukraine - wondering if he will also be billing Israel for reimbursement for funding their destruction of Gaza over the last quarter of a century. Are they REALLY going to let him build a Trump Casino on the Gaza Strip?
The war must stop. The Biden administration mishandled it and Trump is trying to handle it as if it's a real estate deal.
Apparently the UK has gotten Zelensky to agree to sign the mining deal which is key to moving forward to Trump.
The Russian's thought they would roll over and defeat Ukraine in two weeks. Our billions of dollars given in regular intervals was apparently key to that not happening. The Russian military isn't the big bear we thought. Unless they introduce some of their nukes. Russia has more nukes than any other country and exploded the most powerful nuclear bomb ever exploded in the 1960's. That is why Biden didn't get the US more involved.
The killing fields in Ukraine are shocking. Over 80,000 Ukraine soldiers slaughtered and perhaps 150, 000 Russians. The war needs to STOP!!! Zelensky wants to keep it going and hopefully win. But he can't win. Ukraine can not win and Russia can't win unless they use nukes.
BTW Jack Tapper of CNN is coming out with a book which details the cover up of just out mentally confused due to old age Biden was!! But they wanted to run Biden again because they were terrified Trump would get back into the White House and be out for revenge toward key Democrats.
Biden's performance at the first debate wasn't the result of a cold or a bad day. According to Tapper, he was that way often.
Trump according to Adam Schiff would loose to Harris by a wide margin then soon go to jail. Many Democrats thought Trump would be in jail in 2025. Wow were they wrong. I was expecting big orange to loose too. But he carried ALL THE SWING STATES and WON THE POPULAR VOTE. Talk about resurrection from the trash pile!!
Why did this happen? A lot of reasons I assume. The cost of gas, rent, groceries, used cars and how the border was handled likely was a big reason.
According to CNN insiders, key Democrats are sick to their stomachs Trump is back in the White House. And they blame Joe Biden. Obama and Nancy Pelosi are very irritated at Joe Biden. Pelosi and Biden are not on speaking terms these days
Jake Tapper's book should be interesting but why didn't CNN report the kind of shape Biden was in and perhaps he wouldn't have run again.
And a final note. Perhaps what will eventually happen is Trump, Putin, Chairman Xi and Musk will divide up the world and Canada and Greenland will be annexed!!!
With Donny hell-bent on extracting payment for service to Ukraine - wondering if he will also be billing Israel for reimbursement for funding their destruction of Gaza over the last quarter of a century. Are they REALLY going to let him build a Trump Casino on the Gaza Strip?
Was the "Middle East Riviera" all just a ploy to get other nations to step in and take responsibility for rebuilding Gaza? I can change the thread title to Ukraine and Gaza in 2025 if we'd like to have a dual pointed discussion.
Arab leaders approve $53bn alternative to Trump's Gaza plan
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjd32xyjg4eo
@nebish I don't think there are ever any plans. I think Trump is just blindly poking the bear. He's a (shitty) real estate developer and it's waterfront property, Kushner has been developing through out eastern Europe and beyond. It's just tone deaf bluster, taking advantage of others' tragedy.
@nebish I don't think there are ever any plans. I think Trump is just blindly poking the bear. He's a (shitty) real estate developer and it's waterfront property, Kushner has been developing through out eastern Europe and beyond. It's just tone deaf bluster, taking advantage of others' tragedy.
Probably right, he just says shit and see what reaction he gets. Supporters like to tie certain events or results to his comments one way or the other as being connected as to justify or explain alot of what he says whether they are actually related or not.
I wondered if $53 billion is enough money, see the amount came from an EU-World bank study. How much will Hamas get to rebuild their tunnels?
Europe financially supports the Russian war against Ukraine through it's purchase of energy, not so good of a partnership for them.
But I am glad they are starting to up the ante in terms of their own military involvement, better them than us. From the German foreign Minister:
We must, as Europeans, lead more strongly ourselves than ever before and defend our interests and international law with determination – with no ifs or buts.
European nations really willing to go to war with Russia over Ukraine?
Opinion columnist at the Post, Bush-era type conservative. I don't think he is coming off as an Trump apologist, but I am adding it here because I had previously said "Zelenskyy did nothing wrong" (at the oval office meeting). Not sure I change my opinion necessarily, but I'm more educated reading these opinions for me to weigh against my own and others. If interested see highlighted in bold within points 1, 2 and 4 - edit, bold not showing up will underline.
5 things people get wrong about Trump and Ukraine
I’ve spent hours talking with the president about the war. Here’s what you need to know.
March 11, 2025 at 6:45 a.m. EDTToday at 6:45 a.m. EDTIt is obvious from his disastrous Oval Office meeting that Volodymyr Zelensky does not understand President Donald Trump or what drives him when it comes to ending the war in Ukraine.
The truth is more complex. I have spent many hours talking to and interviewing Trump about Ukraine and examining all he has said on the subject since Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago. I might not agree with every element of Trump’s approach, such as his decision to pause military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv. But unless Ukraine’s leaders understand Trump’s true goals and objectives, they will continue to find themselves at loggerheads with the man who holds the fate of their country in his hands.
1. Trump’s most pressing objective is to stop the fighting. The first thing Trump talks about when the subject of Ukraine comes up is that a) the war would never have started if he had been president, and b) he wants the killing to end. “I feel I have an obligation to try and do something to stop the death,” he said during his Feb. 28 meeting with Zelensky. “On both sides, we’re losing a lot of soldiers. And we want to see it stop. And we want to see the money get put to different kinds of use like rebuilding.”
This is why he wants an immediate ceasefire, while negotiations for a long-term peace deal proceed. The real damage Zelensky did during his Oval Office meeting was not alienating Trump personally (though he certainly did that), but convincing Trump that he does not want peace. Zelensky summarily dismissed an immediate ceasefire because he said Putin had already broken ceasefires 25 times, telling Trump, “That’s why we will never accept just a ceasefire. It will not work without security guarantees.” He questioned the value of diplomacy, demanding of Vice President JD Vance, “What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?” And as Zelensky detailed Putin’s atrocities, what Trump perceived was a man so blinded by his contempt of Putin that he did not want the war to end. “You see the hatred he’s got for Putin. It’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate,” Trump said as the meeting spiraled.
That convinced Trump — who wants to end the war in months, not years — that U.S. military assistance was encouraging Zelensky’s intransigence. “This guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing,” he declared in a social media post. So, he paused military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine as pressure on Zelensky to accept a ceasefire.
Zelensky should have accepted Trump’s ceasefire unconditionally, which would have put the onus on Putin: If the Russian leader rejected it or violated it, he would be object of Trump’s ire and coercion, not Zelensky. The sooner Zelensky figures this out, and convinces Trump he wants to end the fighting, the more likely military aid will resume and it will become clear that Putin is the real obstacle to peace.
2. Trump wants to help Ukraine get the best deal possible. Trump is committed to helping Ukraine survive as a sovereign and independent nation. This is why the first agreement he negotiated on returning to the White House was “a durable partnership” with Kyiv to jointly develop Ukraine’s minerals and rare earths — which, once signed, will mean America is, literally, financially invested in Ukraine’s survival.
Trump also wants to help Ukraine regain as much of its territory as possible at the peace table. During a CNN presidential debate in June, Trump was asked whether Putin’s demands that Russia “keeps the Ukrainian territory it has already claimed” were acceptable to him. “No, they’re not acceptable,” he replied. And during an Oval Office meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer last month, he revealed that he planned to help Ukraine recover lost territory. “A lot of the sea line has been taken, and we’ll be talking about that,” Trump said, “And we’re going to see if we can get it back or get a lot of it back for Ukraine.”
Trump also understands that Ukraine needs security guarantees. He considers the minerals deal one such guarantee. “We’re going to be working over there. We’ll be on the land. And … nobody’s going to be messing around with our people when we’re there,” Trump explained. But he knows more will be needed — which is why, during his meeting with Zelensky, he publicly said he was open to the possibility of sending U.S. troops as part of a peacekeeping force. “I know other countries are going to, and they happen to be right next door. We haven’t committed, but we could conceivably,” he said.
Trump is open other ideas for long-term security measures. But he believes security is the last thing to be negotiated, not the first. “Security is so easy. That’s about 2 percent of the problem. I’m not worried about security. I’m worried about getting the deal done,” he said last month. I’m not sure he’s right — and Zelensky surely disagrees — but if Zelensky demands security measures up front, as a condition of ending the fighting, he will be running headlong into Trump’s negotiating strategy. That’s unwise.
3. Trump is saying nice things about Putin as a negotiating tactic. How does Trump really feel about the Russian invasion of Ukraine? “The Russian attack on Ukraine is appalling,” he told the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2022. “It’s an outrage, and an atrocity that should never have been allowed to occur.”
But now that the president is leading peace negotiations, he sees no utility in calling out Putin’s atrocities. “You want me to say really terrible things about Putin and then say, ‘Hi, Vladimir, how are we doing on the deal?’ That doesn’t work that way,” he explained during Zelensky’s ill-fated visit.
Trump believes he has to be seen as a neutral arbiter to get a deal. “Well, if I didn’t align myself with both of them, you’d never have a deal,” he said in the Oval Office. “I’m not aligned with Putin. I’m not aligned with anybody. I’m aligned with the United States of America, and for the good of the world.” In public, Trump is neutral. But in truth, he is trying to help Kyiv survive.
And while his critics suggest he is really on Putin’s side, Trump does not feel he needs to prove his tough-on-Russia bona fides. “Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have,” he told me in 2020, before laying out the litany of actions he took against Russia during his first term, from sanctions to cyberattacks. There’s no reason to think he wouldn’t do it again if he decides that Putin is the intransigent party.
Putin has told Trump that he wants peace, so Trump is accepting his “yes” — for now. But at some point soon, the Russian leader will have to prove it with actions, not words. If Putin ends up stringing Trump along, he’ll find out how quickly Trump will turn on him. Indeed, after Putin escalated missile strikes against Ukrainian cities last week, Trump reportedly grew increasingly outraged and warned he was preparing to impose “large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.”
Putin might not realize it, but he is on a short leash. Zelensky’s best strategy is to be as cooperative with Trump as possible, and put Putin in a position where he is tugging on that leash, trying to avoid going where Trump wants to lead him.
4. Trump wants to protect American taxpayers. Trump has criticized how much the United States has spent on aid to Ukraine, but that is because he believes the war should never have happened and would never have happened on his watch. He tacitly supported the aid package Congress passed last year, giving Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) the green light to pass it during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago. Trump wanted it to be in the form of loans, not aid. Today, a year later, many Ukraine supporters in Congress now agree that the way to arm Ukraine going forward is through interest-bearing Foreign Military Financing loans backed by Ukrainian minerals as collateral.
Trump says the United States has spent $350 billion aiding Ukraine. He has not explained how he gets to that figure, but I suspect he’s counting everything we have spent since Russia’s full-scale invasion — including bolstering NATO’s defenses in Europe, and the deployment of additional troops and weapons to Poland and the Baltic states — as a cost of the war to U.S. taxpayers.
By contrast, Zelensky has unwisely downplayed U.S. financial contributions, declaring “in total, the U.S. separately gave us about $67 billion in weapons, and we received $31.5 billion in budget support.” That is a grave mistake; every member of Congress knows that they voted for $183 billion in aid to Ukraine across five bills, many under fire from the anti-Ukraine right for doing so. Undercounting that support undercuts Ukraine’s allies and comes across as ungrateful.
Trump believes he can help Ukraine survive and rebuild while making American taxpayers whole, and the minerals deal is the way to do so. Zelensky would be wise to stop discounting the level of U.S. support and sign the deal as soon as possible.
5. Trump does not share the hostility of the anti-Ukraine right. If anything, he considers himself the best friend Ukraine has. He liked Zelensky (at least before his White House meeting), and credits the Ukrainian leader with saving him during his first impeachment. “He was like a piece of steel,” Trump said, standing next to Zelensky at Trump Tower last summer. “He said, ‘President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong.’ He said it loud and clear. And the impeachment hoax died right there. … And I appreciated that.”
Zelensky took all that goodwill and squandered it with one disastrous meeting. To go from the effusive praise and genuine affection Trump showered on him at Trump Tower to getting unceremoniously thrown out of the White House was quite a diplomatic feat.
The fact is, Zelensky had Trump’s friendship and lost it. He needs to win it back, because — like it or not — his country’s fate depends on it. And the only way to do so is to convince Trump that, as Trump put standing next to Zelensky last summer: “We both want to see this [war] end.” If Trump doesn’t believe that, his gratitude for Zelensky’s impeachment support won’t mean much.
Perhaps I will be proved wrong about some or all this as the negotiations unfold. If I am, I’ll be the first to admit it and call Trump out. But from what I’ve seen over the past three years, I believe those who claim that Trump is siding with Putin against Ukraine are simply incorrect. And those whispering otherwise in Zelensky’s ear are not helping. They are setting him up for confrontation and failure.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/03/11/trump-ukraine-russia-deal/
For context, Jeff Bezos' Washington Post has killed any opinions that criticize the Trump administration causing mass-resignations at the paper. This piece reads as Trump-coddling trash.
For context, Jeff Bezos' Washington Post has killed any opinions that criticize the Trump administration causing mass-resignations at the paper. This piece reads as Trump-coddling trash.
I am aware. Bash the source. I have no problem reading opinions from the New York Times or the WSJ. But here, only if it says Trump is bad and evil will it do as a worthy opinion. Hey, Trump is plenty bad and I'd listen to commentary on why he's evil whether I think that is true or not. People only want to read and hear with what reinforces and what they agree with it seems.
It lists some missteps that Zelenskyy might have made. What would you want him to do exactly? His nation is dependent on US aid in his fight vs Russia. I have no problem with him voicing his opinion and backing it up with historical examples. But we all have moments in our lives where something didn't go as we hoped, maybe our approach, or miscalculation led to an outcome we didn't want. I found some of the points raised as fair. You don't have to. Of course you can just cast it away as Trump coddling too if you want. Not sure how that makes anyone better for discussing topics.
No, you know better than that. It's not like there hasn't been plenty written about the incident in other legitimate media, actual reporting. I don't have to waste my time reading the opinion of a Trump cuck who writes for a discredited source of opinion. I scanned it and it's full of a the same FOX News apologist nonsense that gives far more credit to Trump and Vance, ignores their own ugly behavior (wear a suit, say thank you) and dunks on Zelenskyy. The author has previously defended torture as moral and effective, which it is not. He has a history of reverse engineering his opinions and is not someone whose opinion is worth my time.
Regardless, Ukraine funding has been turned back on so this is already out of date.
Well thanks for humoring me anyway.
I do think the point remains, if Zelenskyy could've accepted the premise of a ceasefire without pressing for security guarantees almost 2 weeks ago it would've moved the whole timeline up. I like that now the decision is in Russia's hand now. I certainly hope they accept the ceasefire. If they don't then I suppose it must go on. I question if the Ukraine issue is in the vital national interest of the United States. I really do not know why Putin would accept ceasefire, I assume he wants to achieve his objectives and with what seems like an unlimited amount of bodies to keep throwing at the war, they can play the long game and just keep fighting. He wants to win, he wants what he wants and I'm sure he believes he can get it with due time. So why stop now?
I found this assessment interesting:
Quantifying the Russian threat
For the Russian military, the war in Ukraine has been costly. However, because of the Kremlin’s broad mobilisation of society and industry, Russia’s military is now considerably larger, more experienced and better equipped than the force that invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Russian army and general staff now possess invaluable battlefield experience unmatched by any other military – apart from Ukraine.
The Russian presence in Ukraine at the end of 2024 stood at roughly 700,000 troops, far more than the 2022 invasion force. Russian defence production has been rapidly ramped up (Wolff et al, 2024). In 2024 alone, Russia produced and refurbished an estimated 1,550 tanks, 5,700 armoured vehicles and 450 artillery pieces of all types. It also deployed 1,800 long-range Lancet loitering munitions3 . Compared to 2022, this represents a 220 percent increase in tank production, 150 percent in armoured vehicles and artillery, and 435 percent in long-range loitering munitions.
Most of this is modernised Soviet equipment, but Russian production will continue, albeit at a reduced tempo, once Soviet stockpiles are exhausted. This reduction will be felt less if it occurs after hostilities in Ukraine have ended. Furthermore, Russia has made substantial advances in drones, after previously relying on Iran.
A Russian attack on a European Union country is thus conceivable. Assessments by NATO, Germany, Poland, Denmark and the Baltic states put Russia as ready to attack within three to ten years4 . It could be sooner, with the quadrennial Zapadmilitary exercises taking place in Belarus in summer 20255 . These will demonstrate Russia’s ability to manage military exercises at scale even during a war.
https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/defending-europe-without-us-first-estimates-what-needed
Contrast with a quote I had the other day, maybe in the 'other' Ukraine thread, that Germany is less ready for conflict now after the war and Russia on the other hand is only stronger. I don;t know if people like Adam Kinzinger are still referred to as a neo-con, seems now we have neo-neo-cons about which are 180 degress from the old neo-con, but neo-con he is, but people like him believe 'Ukraine is winning'. Hard to agree with that thinking. I think as long as Russia wants war with Ukraine that Ukraine never "win". Russia cares not of the expense and lives lost, resources are more limited for Ukraine and come with complications and difficulties on relying on other western nations for support.
We will see. Part of me thinks that Putin will accept the ceasefire out of his friendship with Trump and then look for an excuse or opportunity to restart the war, possibly when Trump is gone. Who knows what the western world will or won't be willing to do at that point. A ceasefire is a good thing, what comes out of it will be the key.
If the fighting in Ukraine and Gaza stop before summer and gasoline keeps falling in price ( $2.68 here today. Last year always over $3 a gallon) and the illegal border crossing continue to be dramatically lower than the last four years, then maybe I won't be as disappointed Harris lost.
Actually Biden/Harris gave the impression they were anti fossil fuel and hoped to have us all electric by 2040 and the Republicans beat them over their heads most of last year as anti fracking and drilling and going to take your classic muscle car away from you BUT!!! Truth is more oil and natural gas was fracked and pumped out of US reserves in 2024 than ever before.
Biden didn't even know he was President 2 or 3 days a week and Harris didn't know how to pitch the deal like a young Biden or an Andrew Cuomo or a Ronald Reagan.
Trump is a great salesman and can make people believe things that aren't true. But apparently he is a lousy CEO and businessman.
The only thing positive I've read from Trump credits who knows him is he hates war and killing.
Just days before the November 5th, 2024 election Adam Schiff was on CNN and he predicted Harris would win comfortably. Carry 5 of the swing states including Pennsylvania, win the popular vote and the electoral college and will move into the White House on January 20th, 2025 and Donald Trump will be going to jail in 2025!!!!
Wow did Adam Schiff get it wrong!!!!
If the fighting in Ukraine and Gaza stop before summer and gasoline keeps falling in price ( $2.68 here today. Last year always over $3 a gallon) and the illegal border crossing continue to be dramatically lower than the last four years, then maybe I won't be as disappointed Harris lost.
Getting the fighting to stop is one thing. Keeping it from restarting is another when both sides want very different things as in Ukraine and Russia and Israel and Gaza/Palestinians/Hamas/Arab World. But getting a prolonged period of ceasefire or peace is better than not having it. We'll have to see.
Gas and oil prices being low is also good to a point, unless it is low because of something like a recession thwarting demand. There is a balance to this that Trump seems to ignore or be ignorant of. Drill baby drill, lower energy prices - and energy is pretty broad, but he is most fixated on oil and gas. There is a price point where operators need to be in order to actually make money. I think as consumers we would take $66 barrel oil WTI each and every day. As an oil producer, for some companies and locations this is not an economical figure and certainly pushing it lower by bringing on more supply won't make companies more likely to produce more just to break even or perhaps lose money. There is some expectation that more Russian oil could come on the market as restrictions are eased if a ceasefire is reached, that has contributed to oil drifting lower. However, Iranian oil on the market grew significantly the last several years as sanctions were not enforced. With the return of maximum pressure, Iranian oil exports could drop to the pre-2021 levels. The movement and value of crude oil is a rather interesting topic.
With Putin comments yesterday at a press conference, a late night meeting with US envoy and potentially direct call between him and Trump soon, hopefully we know what is to come next, as early as this weekend?
