President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are speaking by phone as Kyiv continues to weather attacks on energy infrastructure despite Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s claim to have ordered a halt to such attacks following a phone call with Trump one day earlier.
Andrew Feinberg reports from the White House.
Oliver O’Connell19 March 2025 14:44
The GOP is backing the vice president to succeed Trump as their next presidential candidate, despite the commander-in-chief recently stating it was “too early” to endorse Vance as his heir apparent.
The one-time “never Trump guy” turned MAGA stalwart was selected by Trump to be his running mate on the campaign trail in July 2024.
Eight months on, the president’s longtime aides and allies have begun throwing their support behind Vance for a possible run at the presidency in 2028.
Joe Sommerlad19 March 2025 14:40
national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Wednesday that he spoke with his Russian counterpart about efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
“We agreed our technical teams would meet in Riyadh in the coming days to focus on implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire President Trump secured from Russia,” he wrote in a post on social media platform X.
There is no mention of the involvement of the Ukrainians in such a meeting.
Oliver O’Connell19 March 2025 14:35
Is the Mexican crackdown on fentanyl at the U.S. border — under pressure from Donald Trump — actually working?
According to figures from Customs and Border Patrol, it seems so…
Seizures of the drug are down 73 percent since September, to the lowest levels in three years.
Oliver O’Connell19 March 2025 14:30
The Trump administration is seeking an emergency order that would prevent them from having to answer Judge James Boasberg’s questions about the El Salvador flights.
The deadline to answer the questions is today.
Lawyers for the administration wrote in part: “What began as a dispute between litigants over the President’s authority to protect the national security and manage the foreign relations of the United States pursuant to both a longstanding Congressional authorization and the President’s core constitutional authorities has devolved into a picayune dispute over the micromanagement of immaterial factfinding.”
Alex Woodward19 March 2025 14:23
Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, says a meeting between the president and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will likely happen.
Witkoff made the remarks in an interview with Bloomberg TV this morning at the White House.
The two leaders spoke by phone yesterday for some 90 minutes in which the Russian president demanded that any cessation of his war on Ukraine would rely on an end to foreign military and intelligence help to the country.
Wikoff also said that Putin gave a direct order not to attack any Ukrainian energy infrastructure targets after his phone call with Trump but an attack had already commenced.
He believes Putin is acting in “good faith.”
Oliver O’Connell19 March 2025 14:21
The former Fox News star who is deeply embedded within Trump’s inner circle, warned the president this week that a strike on Iran “would certainly result” in a war that would cost billions of dollars and lead to “thousands of American deaths” in the region.
“The cost of future acts of terrorism on American soil may be even higher. Those aren’t guesses,” the MAGA podcaster added on Monday evening.
“Those are the Pentagon’s own estimates. A bombing campaign against Iran will set off a war, and it will be America’s war. Don’t let the propagandists lie to you.”
The far-right commentator’s remarks came on the heels of Trump’s air strikes across Yemen this past weekend that killed dozens, which were followed by an explicit threat to the Iranian government of “dire consequences” if the Houthis engaged in any further retaliatory attacks.
Justin Baragona has more on an unlikely dove.
Joe Sommerlad19 March 2025 14:15
Oliver O’Connell19 March 2025 14:00
U.S. citizens are deeply divided when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and political correctness, according to a poll from NBC News.
The divisions have emerged along partisan and racial lines, with the poll coming as Trump continues his push to dismantle DEI programs.
In the poll, 49 percent of registered voters agreed that DEI programs should end as “they create divisions and inefficiencies in the workplace by putting too much emphasis on race and other social factors over merit, skills, and experience.”
Meanwhile, 48 percent said DEI programs should remain “because diverse perspectives reflect our country, create innovative ideas and solutions, encourage unity, and make our workplaces fair and inclusive.”
Gustaf Kilander takes a closer look.
Joe Sommerlad19 March 2025 13:50
Amid a multi-week Wall Street sell-off that has seen the major stock market indexes approach correction territory over economic uncertainty largely spurred by Trump’s chaotic trade war, Fox Business anchor Charles Payne grumbled that this was all the media’s fault.
With the Dow Jones index down hundreds of points on Tuesday afternoon, breaking a brief two-day comeback, Payne appeared on Fox’s America Reports to discuss investors’ continued apprehension and the White House’s attempts to tout the “success” of its economic policies.
“As we have said for years as market watchers, markets do not like uncertainty,” anchor Sandra Smith noted.
“Even if the decision is to go forward with an unpopular policy, or economic plan, the markets can accept that as long as they know what’s coming. It is that uncertainty that continues to weigh on markets.”
Payne, however, trumpeted the Trump administration’s long-term vision while blasting the mainstream press for being biased against the president and far too gloomy with its economic coverage.
“Yeah, but what we’re seeing in the last couple of weeks is a media creation,” he groused.
“The media has gone to war with President Trump to make tariffs the scariest thing in the world.”
Justin Baragona has more.
Joe Sommerlad19 March 2025 13:35
