TRUMP: ‘I MAY SAY, LOTS OF LUCK. KEEP FIGHTING’: President Donald Trump said his only role in meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this week is to evaluate whether what Putin has to offer is a good deal or a bad deal, and report back to the relevant parties, including Ukraine and America’s European allies.
“I’m going to meet with President Putin. And we’re going to see what he has in mind. And if it’s a fair deal, I’ll reveal it to the European Union leaders, and to the NATO leaders, and also to President Zelensky. I think out of respect, I’ll call him first. And then I’ll call them after. And I may say, lots of luck. Keep fighting. Or I may say, we can make a deal,” Trump said at a White House news conference yesterday. “And I’m going to tell them what kind of a deal. I’m not going to make a deal. It’s not up to me to make a deal.”
Trump said he was prepared to hit Russia with more sanctions beyond the 50% tariff on India for buying Russian oil after his Aug. 8 deadline expired, when he got the call that Putin wanted to talk. “I was all set to do things far bigger than that, but I got a call that they’d like to meet. And I’m going to see what they want to meet about. I’d like to see a ceasefire. I’d like to see the best deal that could be made, for both parties,” Trump said. “I thought it was very respectful that the president of Russia is coming to our country as opposed to us going to his country or even a third-party place,” Trump said.
TRUMP’S RUSSIA SANCTION DEADLINE COMES AND GOES WITH A WHIMPER
“I VERY, VERY SEVERELY DISAGREE WITH WHAT [ZELENSKY’S] DONE’: Despite insisting he’s just planning to hear what Putin has to say, and make a snap judgment whether it’s a sufficient basis to proceed, (“Probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” he said) Trump did indicate he will try to engage in some horsetrading to get some of Ukraine’s “prime real estate” back.
“Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They’ve occupied some very prime territory … In real estate, we call it oceanfront property. That’s always the most valuable property,” Trump said. “That’s gone other than one small area. Odesa, it’s a small area. There’s just a little bit of water left … “We’re going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine.”
Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wasn’t included in the meeting because “he’s been there for three and a half years. Nothing happened.”
“I get along with Zelensky, but you know, I disagree with what he’s done. Very, very severely disagree. This is a war that should have never happened,” Trump said, reverting to his previous position that Zelensky failed to prevent the war, even though Russia was the aggressor, and suggesting Zelensky was the main obstacle to achieving a ceasefire.
“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying, ‘Well, I have to get constitutional approval.’” I mean, he’s got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap, because there’ll be some land swapping going on.” Trump said he knows “through Russia and through conversations with everybody” that the land swaps will be “for the good of Ukraine.”
“The next meeting will be with Zelensky and Putin, or Zelensky and Putin and me. I’ll be there if they need. But I want to have a meeting set up between the two leaders,” he said. “I’m going in to speak to Vladimir Putin and I’m going to be telling him, ‘You got to end this war. You got to end it.’ … What’s the definition of a good deal? I’ll tell you after I hear what the deal is.”
EUROPEAN LEADERS WARY THAT TRUMP-PUTIN SUMMIT COULD END WITH LAND CONCESSIONS
ZELENSKY: PUTIN ‘DEFINITELY NOT PREPARING FOR A CEASEFIRE’: In Kyiv, Zelensky is watching events unfold from the sidelines with an ominous sense of dread. His intelligence services have reported that Putin is doing nothing, which would indicate that he’s preparing to halt his offensive.
“He is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war. Putin is determined only to present a meeting with America as his personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before, applying the same pressure on Ukraine as before,” Zelensky said in his latest video address. “So far, there is no indication whatsoever that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a post-war situation. On the contrary, they are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations. If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does.”
The grim assessment is shared by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, which concluded in an Aug. 10 assessment, “The Kremlin is attempting to use the upcoming Alaska summit to divide the United States from Europe rather than engage in meaningful peace efforts.”
In the assessment, posted last night, the ISW noted “Putin is reportedly demoting officials within his inner circle who have voiced disagreement with his determination to continue the war,” citing a New York Times report.
“Dmitri N. Kozak, who has said privately that the invasion was a mistake, has lost power to another senior Putin ally, Sergei V. Kiriyenko, who has embraced the military action,” the Times reported. Citing Kremlin insiders, the newspaper said Kozak had privately advised Putin against invading Ukraine in February 2022 and, more recently, presented Putin with a proposal to stop the fighting and hold peace negotiations.
“Kozak’s recent opposition to Russia’s war and the subsequent reduction in his influence in the Kremlin demonstrate Putin’s determination to continue his war to achieve his maximalist demands,” the ISW said.
ZELENSKY WARNS PUTIN IS PREPARING FOR MORE WAR, NOT PEACE, AHEAD OF TRUMP MEETING
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HAPPENING TODAY: TRUMP TAKES CONTROL OF DC POLICE: Citing powers reserved for the president under the 1973 Home Rule Act, and calling Washington D.C. a city “overtaken by violent gangs, bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out maniacs and homeless people,” President Trump placed the city’s police force under federal control and ordered the deployment of 800 National Guard troops to help combat the alleged crime wave.
“I’m announcing a historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse. This is liberation day in D.C. and we’re going to take our capital back,” Trump said.
Just seven months ago, the local attorney general announced that the capital city recorded a 35% drop in violent crime last year, and now has the lowest overall crime rate in more than 30 years. But the beating of Edward Coristine, a.k.a. “Big Balls,” a former member of Elon Musk’s DOGE team, who reportedly tried to stop a carjacking on Aug. 3, apparently convinced Trump that the city was under a crime wave.
“This is an emergency. This is a tragic emergency. And it’s embarrassing for me to be up here,” Trump said. “I don’t like being up here talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once beautiful capital was with graffiti all over the walls.”
The White House put out its own fact sheet, claiming Washington had the fourth-highest homicide rate in the country — nearly six times higher than New York City and also higher than Atlanta, Chicago, and Compton.
“We’re talking about safety, we’re also talking about beautification. We’re the most beautiful, potentially capital in the world. We always had,” Trump said. “But people come from Iowa. They come from Indiana. They come and then they get mugged. Not going to happen. Keep coming. Because, by the time you get your trip set, it’s going to be safe again.”
“We will bring in the [active-duty] military if needed. People will say, ‘Oh, that’s so terrible,’” Trump said, quickly adding, “I don’t think we’ll need it.”
The effort includes using federal officers from the FBI, ICE, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Park Police officers to disband homeless encampments and begin addressing graffiti in federal parks.
“These became littered with homeless camps under the Biden administration,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “They’re stopping and enforcing the laws against graffiti on our monuments.”
“We’re going to be removing homeless encampments from all over our parks – our beautiful, beautiful parks, which now, a lot of people can’t walk on,” Trump said. “Some of those people, we don’t know how they even got there. Some of those people are from different countries, different parts of the world. Nobody knows who they are. They have no idea, but they’re there. Getting rid of the people from underpasses, and public spaces from all over the city; there are many places that they can go. And we’re going to help them as much as you can help, but they will not be allowed to turn our capital into a wasteland for the world to see.”
TRUMP FEDERALIZES DC POLICE AND ACTIVATES NATIONAL GUARD TO COMBAT CRIME: ‘TAKE OUR CAPITAL BACK’
HEGSETH: GUARD WILL NOT ENGAGE IN ‘ROGUE’ LAW ENFORCEMENT: The Pentagon announced that under the authority of the Secretary of the Army, approximately 800 soldiers have been activated as part of what’s been dubbed the “D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force.”
Between 100 and 200 troops will be assigned to support law enforcement, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox host Laura Ingraham last night they won’t be making arrests or engaging in direct law enforcement.
“Under Title 32, which is the authorization they’ll be using, they have broad latitude. But they’re not going to be involved in law enforcement functions,” Hegseth said. “They will be standing right alongside our federal agents, like they were in Los Angeles. They’re going to be proactive. If you take an action or shot at them, there will be a consequence.”
“So there’s no rogue law enforcement going on from the National Guard,” Hegseth said. “But there is also the application of common sense. We’re not going to have national guards sitting there like this, seeing a crime committed, and not do something about it. You can help somebody interdict, temporarily detain, like we did in Los Angeles, and hand over to law enforcement.”
On the other hand Trump said under his command, D.C. police will no longer have to exercise restraint in dealing with anyone who fights back against authority. “They’re standing there and people are spitting in their face, and they’re not allowed to do anything,” Trump said. “But now they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.”
DC OFFICIALS CONDEMN TRUMP MPD TAKEOVER, BOWSER STRIKES CALMER TONE
RASKIN: ‘A TEXTBOOK AUTHORITARIAN MANEUVER’: President Trump says after he cleans up Washington “real quick, very quickly,” he plans to move on to other American cities he believes are sliding into decay.
“We have other cities also that are bad, very bad. You look at Chicago, how bad it is. You look at Los Angeles, how bad it is. We have other cities that are very bad. New York has a problem and then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland,” Trump said.” They’re so far gone. We’re not going to let it happen. We’re not going to lose our cities over this. And this will go further.”
“This is a phony, manufactured crisis if I’ve ever seen one,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), whose congressional district borders Washington. “In a textbook authoritarian maneuver, the President now invokes emergency powers to militarize the seat of government and override the authority and decisions of D.C.’s elected officials.”
“President Trump has made clear that he would like to expand these efforts beyond the Capital City, to take over American cities like Chicago, Oakland, and Baltimore, where his constitutional and legal authority would be even more dubious,” Raskin said. “To be clear, this escalation has nothing to do with fighting crime.”
“Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly undermined public safety in our nation’s capital. On his first day, without consulting District leaders or the hundreds of police victims, Trump pardoned and released from prisons and jails 1,600 individuals who participated in the worst mass domestic violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and D.C.’s local police in American history, including several hundred convicted of beating cops,” Raskin said.
“Then he began firing D.C.’s most experienced career violent crime prosecutors simply because they had prosecuted the cop-beating January 6 insurrectionists whom Trump pardoned,” Raskin added. “He has named January 6 participants, pro-insurrectionist conspiracy theorists, and election deniers to run the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., the Justice Department, and the FBI.”
WES MOORE SLAMS TRUMP’S DC NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT AS ‘DEEPLY DANGEROUS’
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump’s Russia sanction deadline comes and goes with a whimper
Washington Examiner: Trump says ‘next meeting’ after Putin summit will involve Zelensky
Washington Examiner: Zelensky warns Putin is preparing for more war, not peace, ahead of Trump meeting
Washington Examiner: European leaders wary that Trump-Putin summit could end with land concessions
Washington Examiner: Trump federalizes DC police and activates National Guard to combat crime: ‘Take our capital back’
Washington Examiner: Some aspects of home rule sidelined as Trump takes control of DC police force
Washington Examiner: DC officials condemn Trump MPD takeover, Bowser strikes calmer tone
Washington Examiner: Wes Moore slams Trump’s DC National Guard deployment as ‘deeply dangerous’
Washington Examiner: At least five countries to recognize a Palestinian state next month — what pushed them to it?
Washington Examiner: Hegseth says he’s ‘not tipping’ his hand on US troop deployment to Mexico
Washington Examiner: Trump to extend China tariff pause, says Beijing has been ‘dealing quite nicely’ on trade
Washington Examiner: Analysis: Escalating China-Philippines tensions crystallized by China warship collision
Washington Examiner: DC officials condemn Trump MPD takeover, Bowser strikes calmer tone
Washington Examiner: Wes Moore slams Trump’s DC National Guard deployment as ‘deeply dangerous’
Washington Examiner: Legality of Trump’s National Guard deployment to Los Angeles on trial
Washington Examiner: Trump rejects suggestion to build ‘big, beautiful briefing room’ for press
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Trump can’t prostrate before Putin
New York Times: West Point and Air Force Academy Affirmative Action Lawsuits Are Dropped
Wall Street Journal: North Korea Capitalizes on Russia’s Help by Expanding Satellite Launching Facility
New York Times: How North Korea Promotes Kim’s ‘Dear Daughter’ as a Worthy Heir
Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-1 Bombers Return to Norway to Train with Allies
Defense One: Will 2026 Be Military Lasers’ Breakthrough Year?
Breaking Defense: Industry Giving Little Away Regarding Interest in UK Loyal Wingman Effort
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Can AI Help Targeteers Curb Civilian Casualties?
Breaking Defense: Special Operators to Deploy Wearable to Keep Tabs on Vitals, Help Warn About Chemical Threats
Military.com: Service Investigating After Airman Died During Physical Training Test in California
Air & Space Forces Magazine: New Vulcan Rocket to Launch With Experimental Satellite That Could Boost Future GPS
DefenseScoop: Transportation Command Could See Expanded Contested Logistics Responsibilities Next Year
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Spain Takes Over ‘Heart and Soul of Our Air Force’ at Air Combat Command
Foreign Affairs: Opinion: Israel and the New Air Superiority
THE CALENDAR:
TUESDAY | AUGUST 12
9 a.m. — Henry L. Stimson Center virtual discussion: “North Korean Foreign Policy in Focus: Emerging Scholar Perspectives,” with Gordon Kang, senior analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies; Ludovica Favarotto, research assistant at the Institute for International Political Studies; Jinwan Park, Schwarzman Scholar; and Rachel Minyoung Lee, senior fellow at the Stimson Center’s Korea Program and 38 North https://www.stimson.org/event/north-korea-emerging-scholar-perspectives
WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 13
1 p.m. — Washington Institute for Near East Policy virtual discussion: “Arms Sales and the Middle East: Another Arena for Great Power Competition,” with Laura Cressey, former director of the State Department’s Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers; Samuel Bendett, adviser in the Center for Naval Analyses’s Russia Studies Program; Ionela Ciolan, research officer at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies; and Jake Rinaldi, associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation https://washingtoninstitute-org.zoom.us/webinar/register
THURSDAY | AUGUST 14
10 a.m. Center for a New American Security virtual discussion: “Policy Options on Afghanistan Four Years After the U.S. Withdrawal,” with U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan Richard Bennett; former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary David Sedney; Metra Mehran, gender and policy adviser at the Atlantic Council; and Lisa Curtis, director of the CNAS Indo-Pacific Security Program https://www.cnas.org/events/virtual-event-policy-options-on-afghanistan
12 p.m. 1400 K St. NW — Arab Center Washington, D.C. book discussion: Understanding Palestine and Israel, with author Phyllis Bennis, fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, and director of its IPS New Internationalism Project; and Khalil Jahshan, executive director of Arab Center Washington, D.C. https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/
FRIDAY | AUGUST 15
8 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “U.S.-Japan Global Partnership in Central Asia,” with Tomohiko Uyama, professor at Hokkaido University; Zhanibek Arynov, assistant professor at Nazarbayev University; Joseph Webster, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center; Markus Garlauskas, director of the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative; and Kyoko Imai, associate director of the Atlantic Council Indo-Pacific Security Initiative and the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/us-japan-global-partnership-in-central-asia/
10 a.m. — Henry L. Stimson Center virtual discussion: “Taliban Rule and Regional Realignments Four Years On,” with Sibghatullah Ghaznawi, associate research scholar at Columbia University; Shalini Chawla, fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies; Sarah Godek, research associate at the Stimson China Program; and Akriti Vasudeva Kalyankar, fellow at the Stimson South Asia Program https://www.stimson.org/event/taliban-rule-and-regional-realignments
