The Conversation -- August 16, 2025
⭐Trump, Traitor to Western Democracy. Here is the New York Times liveblog for today on the Trump-Putin debacle: “... [Donald] Trump on Saturday split from Ukraine and key European allies after his summit with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, backing Mr. Putin’s plan for a sweeping peace agreement based on Ukraine ceding territory it controls to Russia, instead of the urgent cease-fire Mr. Trump had said he wanted before the meeting. Skipping cease-fire discussions would give Russia an advantage in the talks, which are expected to continue on Monday when President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visits Mr. Trump at the White House. It breaks from a strategy Mr. Trump and European allies, as well as Mr. Zelensky, had agreed to before the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska. Mr. Trump told European leaders that he believed a rapid peace deal could be negotiated if Mr. Zelensky agreed to give up the rest of the Donbas region to Russia, even those areas not occupied by Russian troops, according to two senior European officials briefed on the call. In return, Mr. Putin offered a cease-fire in the rest of Ukraine at current battle lines and a written promise not to attack Ukraine or any European country again, the senior officials said. He has broken similar promises before.” This is part of the pinned item at 2:45 pm ET.
~~~ Marie: Apparently the "J" in "Donald J. Trump" stands for "Neville." All we need now is a rambling "peace in our time" speech with possibly some references to "Cats," "DEI," "fescue," and how he won the 2020 election "by a landslide like nobody's ever seen."
Here's the view of the Trump-Putin buddyfest from Kiev Independent.
Barak Ravid of Axios: "After his summit with Russian President Putin in Alaska on Friday..., Trump will meet Ukrainian President Zelensky for what could be a difficult meeting at the White House on Monday afternoon.... Trump's positions coming out of the meeting — that he no longer supports a ceasefire, and it's 'up to President Zelensky' to make peace — appear highly unfavorable to Ukraine.... Zelensky and Trump announced their upcoming meeting after a phone call between Trump, the Ukrainian president and several NATO leaders during which the president briefed them on his meeting with Putin. The call, which lasted more than an hour an a half, 'was not easy,' a source with direct knowledge said. The meeting will take place six months after their disastrous Oval Office meeting in February."
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, who lives in Washington, D.C., relates how her sister Peggy's beloved Buick just got carjacked, and after she the car back, someone T-boned it (i.e., another car ran into the side of her car). Then Peggy found out she got $1,800 worth of speed-camera tickets, courtesy of the carjackers. Trump, “the diva of distraction[,] is putting on a show.... But progressives should not fall into Trump’s trap and play down crime, once more getting on the wrong side of an inflammatory issue. As with inflation, they should remember that personal experiences can count more than sanguine statistics.”
Even if Trump is being diabolical, Democrats should not pretend everything is fine here. Because it’s not.
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Peter Baker & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: Donald “Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia reached no agreement to end the war in Ukraine at a high-profile summit meeting on Friday, although they reported making unspecified progress during a strikingly convivial reunion on American soil.... But if the substance remained unsettled, the atmospherics were extraordinary. The president rolled out a literal red carpet and even applauded as he welcomed Mr. Putin, who is under U.S. sanctions and faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes. The two laughed and spoke warmly with each other, and Mr. Trump even invited Mr. Putin to ride with him in the armored presidential limousine to their meeting. At their subsequent joint appearance at side-by-side lecterns at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, they heaped praise on one another. 'We really made some great progress today,' Mr. Trump said. 'I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with President Putin, with Vladimir.'... The two ended their encounter in Alaska, however, in a cloud of uncertainty. Mr. Trump referred obliquely to 'agreement' on some undisclosed points but not on others, while Mr. Putin said even more elliptically that they reached an 'understanding.' Neither explained nor took questions from reporters.” A Guardian story is here. ~~~
~~~ CBS News publishes a transcript of the press thing. ~~~
~~~ See yesterday's entry for some live commentary by New York Times reporters, including Baker & Rogers. Marie: This supposed summit was the epic embarrassment for the U.S. that everyone had anticipated. And, BTW, what happened to Trump's threat to "walk away" "within two minutes" if he found that Putin was unwilling to cut a deal? Instead, Elmer Fudd met with the Waskally Wabbit for three hours when it must have been clear to everyone but Elmer that Bugs wouldn't bend. Trump should stick to advising D.C. on its lawncare crisis; as Trump says, he knows grass -- he owns a lot of golf courses. (See video at the the top of yesterday's Conversation.) ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman & Peter Baker of the New York Times list some takeaways: “After meeting for nearly three hours, Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin left Alaska without announcing any deal or any specific areas where they made progress.... Putin secured wins before and after the summit [what with the red-carpet greeting & never making any concessions].... Trump showed deference to Putin.... Trump appears open to visiting Russia.... The person with the most at stake on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, was left watching on television with the rest of the world.” MB: Not mentioned: nobody is talking about Jeffrey Epstein. ~~~
~~~ It's no wonder it took Trump three hours to realize that Vlad was going to keep on killing Ukrainians. Old Man Trump is as easily-distracted as a kitten by a pull toy, so apparently the three-hour meeting included stuff like this: ~~~
~~~ Reuters: "... Donald Trump said on Friday his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agrees with him that letting voters send in ballots by mail puts honest elections at risk. 'Vladimir Putin, smart guy, said you can't have an honest election with mail-in voting,' Trump told Fox News Channel's 'Hannity' after a nearly three-hour meeting between the leaders in Alaska. 'He said there's not a country in the world that uses it now.'" MB: Yes, yes, if there's anybody who knows "honest elections," it's Vladimir Putin (who miraculously got 87% of the vote in Russia's most recent presidential election. Oh, and "Nearly three dozen countries from Canada to Germany and South Korea allow some form of postal vote, though more than half of them place some restrictions on which voters qualify, according to the Sweden-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance...." ~~~
~~~ Russia, Russia, Russia. Marcy Wheeler: “Trump and Putin had a short ride in Trump’s limo, with Putin grinning like the Cheshire cat. The meeting was abadoned early. Putin effectively ran the press event afterwards, in which he emphasized Russian demands that Ukraine subject itself to Russia, and Trump doubled down on his disproven claims that Hillary tried to frame him, when in fact Tulsi Gabbard recently released proof that Russia instead framed Hillary. Fully one-fifth of what Trump said was redoubling on the lie that Russia knows Trump knows to be a lie.... For Trump, this meeting was about sustaining the lies on which all his power is built: it’s not that Putin put him in charge because he would sell out America. Rather, he’s the victim. And by sustaining that lie, he renewed Russia’s great leverage over him.”
~~~ Serge Schmemann of the New York Times: “Reading from prepared notes — raising the question of whether they had been prepared before the meeting — at a press briefing after the three-hour meeting, the Russian president appeared especially satisfied with the fact that he, a pariah and wanted war criminal in Europe, was having what looked like a chummy face-to-face with the president of the United States, and on American soil, adjacent to Russia.... Mr. Trump, who before the meeting seemed to be moving toward a newly tough position on Russia — threatening 'very severe consequences' if there was no cease-fire and even suggesting that Mr. Putin was playing him — seemed here to revert to his longstanding admiration for 'Vladimir.'...” ~~~
~~~ The Guardian has follow-ups, many from European leaders, in a liveblog.
~~~ Looking for details? How about this remarkable capitulation? ~~~
~~~ Putin's Victory Over World's Biggest Chump. David Stern of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump said Saturday that Ukraine and Russia should go straight to agreeing on a final peace deal, dropping his demand for a ceasefire in a dramatic reversal that aligns him with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the backing of European leaders, has insisted that a ceasefire must be in place before any negotiations to end the war. In the run-up to summit, the Europeans thought that they had Trump’s support.... On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron had said Trump was 'very clear' that he wants to obtain a ceasefire. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the same day that a ceasefire must be a starting point for negotiations.... Putin has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire.... 'It was determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, following his summit with Putin in Anchorage on Friday.” Read on. The link is a gift link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: European "leaders" must stand up and quit coddling the incompetent, stupid, senile "leader of the free world." They are the "leaders of the free world," and they must start showing it. They can pat Trump on the head if they think that will make the world a safer place, but other than that, they should, perhaps politely, ignore him.
Incompetent, BUT Still Flagrantly Corrupt. Eva Dou & Clara Morse of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump’s increasingly aggressive intervention in the U.S. technology sector has come even though his financial disclosure forms show significant holdings in some of the companies most directly affected by his efforts, including Apple and Nvidia. Trump’s latest investment filing with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics showed that he owned between $615,000 and $1.3 million in Nvidia shares at the end of last year, and $650,000 to $1.35 million of Apple stock. Nvidia and Apple have both recently benefited from special concessions Trump has made to [them]. This week he confirmed that he was allowing Nvidia, the world’s most valuable public company, to resume lucrative sales of artificial intelligence chips to China in exchange for a 15 percent cut of resulting revenue for the U.S. government. Critics called the deal, which also applies to chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, unprecedented and potentially unconstitutional. Last week, Trump called out Apple among the companies exempted from 100 percent semiconductor tariffs, citing its domestic investment commitments, at a White House meeting at which Apple CEO Tim Cook gave him a plaque with a 24-karat gold base.”
Meagan Flynn, et al., of the Washington Post: “D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued ... Donald Trump over his executive actions asserting control over the D.C. police department and attempting to install an emergency police commissioner, one of the most extraordinary exertions of federal power in the city’s half-century of home rule. The lawsuit came hours after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered sweeping changes to law enforcement policies in the city and said a Trump administration official should assume all duties and responsibilities of the police chief, drawing immediate legal pushback from Schwalb and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D).” This is an update of a story linked earlier Friday. A Politico story is here. ~~~
~~~ Here's a second major update of this story: “A federal judge convinced the Justice Department to walk back ... Donald Trump’s efforts to assert control over the D.C. police department, but said he probably could enlist officers to help enforce immigration laws — signaling that the president’s effort to exert unprecedented control over law enforcement in the nation’s capital may continue. After hearing arguments Friday on an emergency request from D.C. officials to block the Trump administration’s takeover of the city’s 3,100-member police department, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes forged a compromise of sorts between the two sides — without issuing a ruling — on the key question of who runs the police force. She indicated D.C. Police Chief Pamela A. Smith has to remain in charge. The court did not rule on another key question: Whether Trump can commandeer D.C. police officers to enforce immigration laws. That issue is likely to be resolved next week, Reyes said....” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mark Walker & Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: “Several homeless encampments in Washington were cleared out by Friday, as ... [Donald] Trump’s efforts to take control of policing the nation’s capital played out among some of the city’s most vulnerable residents. The Metropolitan Police Department, now under federal oversight, swept through at least three encampments on Friday morning, according to Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center and people who said they observed the police actions. Officers were said to have thrown tents, sleeping bags and other belongings in the trash, and organizations that work with the homeless were bracing for more sweeps Friday afternoon and evening. Police began targeting the camps late Thursday. In some cases, the police apparently removed people despite city health department notices allowing them to remain for several more days.” MB: I just hope Dear Leader doesn't have to be disturbed again by the sight of homeless people on the way to his golf course. It's a disgrace! ~~~
~~~ Frances Vinall of the Washington Post provides a guide to what officers can compel you to do and what your rights are “if you are stopped by local or federal authorities in D.C.”
Michael Paulson of the New York Times: “The top official overseeing theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is stepping down, throwing into question the stability of one of the venue’s most important sources of box office revenue as ... [Donald] Trump seeks to transform the institution. Jeffrey Finn ... plays an outsize role at the Kennedy Center. For nearly a decade he has programmed its touring Broadway shows and locally produced musicals, which have often sold strongly.”
Michelle Goldman of the New York Times writes that Donald Trump's attempt “to force our national museums to conform to [a] triumphalist version of history” tracks with Poland's illiberal Law & Justice party's attempt to erase evidence Poland's part in the Holcaust from a new museum in Gdansk.
Jacob Bogage Shannon Najmabadi of the Washington Post: “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ousted three senior IRS executives this week responsible for online tax services and the scrutiny of tax-exempt organizations as the Trump administration asserts new control over the tax agency.... The departures come at a time of unprecedented turnover at the tax agency, where in recent days Bessent was named acting commissioner. He’s the seventh person to lead the IRS since the start of the year.... At least one-quarter of the IRS’s workforce has resigned, been laid off or accepted resignation packages. Several executives and former commissioners departed over the administration’s efforts to share confidential tax data with immigration authorities.”
Marianne LeVine, et al., of the Washington Post: “Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem is living for free in a military home typically reserved for the U.S. Coast Guard’s top admiral.... The highly unusual arrangement has raised concern within the agency and from some Democrats, who describe it as a waste of military resources. Noem recently moved into Quarters 1, a spacious waterfront residence at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington where the Coast Guard commandant typically resides. She did so because of concerns over her safety after the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, published photographs in April of the area around Noem’s residence in Washington’s Navy Yard neighborhood, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.... Other Cabinet officials, including during both Trump administrations, have paid to use military housing that otherwise would be occupied by top generals and admirals.” Noem supervises the Coast Guard.
“Current and former Coast Guard members have also cited Noem’s frequent use of a Coast Guard Gulfstream aircraft as a point of tension. Agency guidelines require the DHS secretary to use a plane with secure communications for both personal and professional business, though they are required to reimburse the government for personal travel. McLaughlin said that Noem had reimbursed 'tens of thousands of dollars' for the air travel, after publication of the story. Noem faced scrutiny for her expenses when she served as governor of South Dakota.... Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Coast Guard, Adm. Kevin E. Lunday — the No. 2 officer currently serving as acting commandant — has yet to be formally nominated and confirmed by the Senate. Lunday lives in a nearby home on base....” (Also linked yesterday.)
Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: “In early July, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York pardoned an immigrant from Laos to stave off his deportation, but unlike dozens of pardons she has granted before, the governor did not publicize this action. The man Ms. Hochul pardoned, Somchith Vatthanavong, 52, had been convicted of manslaughter as a teenager after he admitted to fatally shooting a man in 1988 during a confrontation at a Brooklyn pool hall, arguing that he had acted in self-defense. Mr. Vatthanavong, who had legally entered the United States as a refugee when he was a child, fleeing the aftermath of the Vietnam War, served 14 years in prison before being released in 2003. He then built a life in New York, marrying and raising two children who are U.S. citizens. But ... [Donald] Trump’s return to power heightened the likelihood that Mr. Vatthanavong would be deported because of his conviction 35 years earlier. So community groups and his wife and lawyers mounted a campaign to persuade the governor’s office — through petitions, meetings and phone calls — to pardon Mr. Vatthanavong.... On July 1 — the day before Mr. Vatthanavong had a mandatory immigration appointment that his lawyers believed would lead to his arrest — Ms. Hochul signed a certificate granting him an unconditional pardon, 'including offering relief from removal.'” (Also linked yesterday.)
Karina Elwood of the Washington Post: “The Education Department said Friday that it will pull funding from five Northern Virginia school districts where officials said they would not comply with a request to change policies supportive of transgender students. The school districts in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties and Alexandria had faced a Friday deadline to respond to findings from the federal agency that policies such as those allowing students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity violated Title IX, the law banning sex discrimination. The school districts have said the policies aim to satisfy antidiscrimination laws and create safe environments for students. Loudoun’s school board said earlier this week that it would not change its policies, and the other four districts did the same in a flurry of statements and letters on Friday.”
Laurel Rosenhall of the New York Times: “Democrats who lead the California legislature on Friday unveiled a map proposing new boundaries for U.S. House districts that would substantially change five Republican-held seats, making them more likely to be won by Democrats next year. The gerrymandered map, drawn by Democratic lawmakers expressly to help their party flip seats, is an attempt to offset the gains Republicans hope to make with maps Texas lawmakers have drafted at the request of ... [Donald] Trump. The proposed California map is the latest development in an extraordinary race to change congressional districts ahead of the midterm elections. That race, which began in Texas, is now spreading across the country: Indiana, Missouri and Ohio may consider changing their district boundaries to gain Republican seats; New York and Illinois have discussed altering maps to benefit Democrats, though changes in those states face greater hurdles. The ultimate goal for each party is to control the House during the second half of Mr. Trump’s term.”
Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: “A new lawsuit in federal court alleges that the Trump administration violated the law by secretly recruiting a group of people who reject the scientific consensus on climate change to write a report downplaying global warming. The Environmental Defense Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists, both environmental groups, accused the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency of 'flagrant violations' of a law that governs advisory committees. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Tuesday. It alleges that in March Chris Wright, the energy secretary, 'quietly arranged for five handpicked skeptics of the effects of climate change' to form a committee called the Climate Working Group that then wrote a report downplaying the threat of rising greenhouse gas emissions. Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, cited the report to justify a plan to repeal the legal foundation for regulating climate pollution. But the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 does not allow federal agencies to recruit or rely on secret groups when engaging in policymaking, according to the lawsuit.” MB: Sorry, but I don't think Johnny & the Dwarfs will be impressed by the environmental groups' argument.
It should alarm all Americans when the government retaliates against individuals or organizations for engaging in constitutionally protected public debate. -- Judge Sparkle Sooknanann, Media Matters v. F.T.C., Friday ~~~
~~~ Some Rare Good News. Kate Conger of the New York Times: “A federal judge granted an injunction on Friday blocking the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of Media Matters, saying the inquiry violated the free speech rights of the liberal watchdog group, which had published research critical of Elon Musk and his social media platform, X. In May, the F.T.C. began examining whether Media Matters illegally colluded with other advertising advocacy groups to pinch off revenue from X. Media Matters reported in 2023 that ads on X appeared alongside antisemitic content. Media Matters sued the F.T.C., calling the inquiry a 'campaign of retribution' waged on behalf of Mr. Musk and the Trump administration. On Friday, Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed, calling the inquiry 'a retaliatory act' and essentially blocking it from progressing, though the F.T.C. can appeal.” The Raw Story's report is here.
Susanne Craig & Kirsten Grind of the New York Times: “SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite internet company, has received billions of dollars in federal contracts over its more than two-decade existence. But SpaceX has most likely paid little to no federal income taxes since its founding in 2002 and has privately told investors that it may never have to pay any, according to internal company documents reviewed by The New York Times. The rocket maker’s finances have long been secret because the company is privately held. But the documents reviewed by The Times show that SpaceX can seize on a legal tax benefit that allows it to use the more than $5 billion in losses it racked up by late 2021 to offset paying future taxable income.... [Donald] Trump made a change in 2017, during his first term, that eliminated the tax benefit’s expiration date for all companies. For SpaceX, that means that nearly $3 billion of its losses can be indefinitely applied against future taxable income.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes, but take comfort. You're paying taxes so the richest man in the world doesn't have to.
Tax experts consulted by The Times said that not having to pay $5 billion in federal income taxes was substantial and notable for a company that has relied on contracts with the U.S. government to an unusual degree.
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Louisiana. Rick Rojas & Pooja Salhotra of the New York Times: “Mayor LaToya Cantrell of New Orleans was charged on Friday with going to criminal lengths to carry out and cover up a romantic relationship with a city police officer who had been assigned to protect her, prosecutors said. The indictment emerged from a lengthy federal investigation into corruption that has cast a shadow over Ms. Cantrell’s second and final term as mayor, which ends in January. She and her former bodyguard, Jeffrey Vappie, face a combined 18 felony counts, including making false statements, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.”
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