The Sunday Subject: March 2, 2025
Week six: Trump and Vance insult Zelenskyy; Europe rallies around Ukrainian president
Convicted felon Donald Trump met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom Trump was impeached for threatening to withold aid from in exchange for interfering in the 2020 presidential election. Their relationship has not improved in the years since. Vice President JD Vance opened by blaming Biden for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; when Zelenskyy pointed out that Russian troops have been on Ukrainian soil since 2014, and were throughout Trump’s first term, Vance called the Ukrainian president “disrespectful,” and said “you should be thanking [Trump].
Trump then jumped in to bicker with Zelenskyy, saying “you’ve allowed yourself to be in a very bad position,” and that “you’re gambling with World War III,” implying that being invaded by Russia was somehow Ukraine’s fault. Vance then instructed Zelenskyy to “offer some words of appreciation.” Zelenskyy tried to turn the conversation back to the war, but was interrupted by Trump saying, “no, no, you’ve done a lot of talking.”
European leaders were vocal in their support of Zelenskyy and his embattled country, with EU President Ursula von der Leyen saying, “Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President Zelenskyy.” French President Emmanual Macron called for respect Ukrainians fighting, “for their children and for the security of Europe.” Friedrich Merz, frontrunner to be Germany’s next chancellor, chided Trump, writing “we must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war.” Britain’s King Charles and Prime Minister Keir Starmer have also offered Zelenskyy a “royal welcome” in the form of an upcoming state visit. And EU foreign minister Kaja Kallas announced, “today it became clear the free world needs a new leader,” in a striking rebuke to Trump, who is continuing the pattern established in his first term of spurning America’s allies in favor of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Elon Musk continues to unconstitutionally revoke funding from agencies that regulate Musk’s compaines; Tesla is the focus of a consumer backlash.
Elon Musk, a top Trump campaign donor with no legal authority over federal funding — which the Constitution stipulates is the domain of Congress — continues to gut the federal government. Musk sent a mass email to thousands of government employees demanding they recount their accomplishments in five bullet points. (How Musk’s DOGE agency would read those thousands of responses or act on them was unclear). The State Department, the Justice Department, and the FBI were among agencies which instructed its employees to ignore the email, as it ignored privacy and security concerns.
Meanwhile, Musk continued to unconstitutionally revoke Congressionally-approved funding from more government agencies. Rolling Stone reported on a clear pattern — Musk is specifically targeting agencies that regulate his own companies. After gutting staff at the Federal Aviation Administration, leading to an increase in plane crashes around the country, Musk is now proposing the FAA break their contract with Verizon for a new air traffic control system, and instead hire Musk’s own company, Starlink.
Despite Musk’s attempts to profit off of clear conflicts of interest, the billionaire has gotten significanty poorer this week, as protests have sprung up around the country targeting his company Tesla. In respose, Tesla’s stock has dropped 28% ove the month of February, which Yahoo Finance calls the company’s second-worst month in its history.
Legal system, Democrats continue to push back against Trump
While the Supreme Court has excused Donald Trump for facing punishment for crimes he has or may have committed, his legal troubles as President have mounted quickly. The legal battles over Trump’s policies are too numerous to list here, but Forbes has a worthwhile breakdown of lawsuits brought by, “Democratic attorneys general, federal workers, labor unions, nonprofits, and other groups.” Some temporary rulings have paused some of Trump’s numerous executive orders, but none of the legal disputes in question have been completely settled yet.