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Evening Report

TRUMP FIRST 100 DAYS

© Matthias Schrader, Associated Press

Trump officials look for one-two punch in Europe

PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NATIONAL SECURITY TEAM sent a warning shot to global allies Friday, bringing their disruptive and confrontational style to the world stage.

In a blistering speech at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President Vance scolded U.S. allies in the European Union while announcing that the status quo won’t hold under Trump.

“There’s a new sheriff in town,” Vance said to light applause.

Vance seethed at what he described as a crackdown on free speech in Europe, citing a man who was arrested for silently praying near an abortion clinic.

“In Britain and across Europe, I fear free speech is in retreat,” he said.

Vance took aim at what he described as a mass migration crisis in Europe.

“No voter on this continent went to the ballot box to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants,” he said.

And he blasted global concerns about the influence of Elon Musk, saying:

“If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”

Earlier in the week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned NATO that the U.S. would be pulling back and Europe would be responsible for its own security.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius rebuffed Vance back in a Friday speech at the Munich conference:

“This democracy that was just called into question by the U.S. vice president … he compares the condition of Europe with the condition that prevails in some authoritarian regimes,” Pistorius sad. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is not acceptable. This is not the Europe, not the democracy where I live … this is not the democracy I witness every day.”

RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEGOTIATIONS OFF TO A MUDDY START

Trump’s national security team is in Munich to begin deliberations on how to end the nearly three-year war between Russia and Ukraine.

Vance met Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“We want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that’s going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road,” Vance said.

Zelensky posted on social media after the meeting:

“We are ready to move as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace. We deeply value President Trump’s determination, which can help stop the war and secure justice and security guarantees for Ukraine.”

It’s been a bumpy ride so far, both literally and figuratively.

The Air Force plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Munich had to return to Washington when its cockpit windshield cracked. Rubio got on a different plane.

• Meanwhile, Hegseth elicited bipartisan outrage for announcing that Ukraine would not gain entrance to NATO or return to its 2014 borders as part of any peace deal with Russia.

Hegseth initially defended the remarks, saying he was only being realistic.

Many saw that as a concession to Russia before negotiations officially got underway.

“A rookie mistake,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told Politico, adding that he was “puzzled and disturbed” by the remarks.

Hegseth later walked back the remarks, saying “everything is on the table.”

Zelensky later conceded:

"The United States never saw us in NATO, they just spoke about it, but they really didn't want us in NATO.”

• Trump has spoken warmly about the potential for a working relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, unnerving some Senate Republicans.

Vance on........

© The Hill