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Trump: Ukraine shouldn't target Moscow

Trump: Ukraine shouldn't target Moscow

The Hill2 days ago
President Trump told reporters Tuesday that Ukraine should not target Moscow with military attacks and that the U.S. was not looking to give long-range missiles to Kyiv in its ongoing war against Russia.
'No, he shouldn't target Moscow,' Trump said of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as he departed the White House for a trip to Pennsylvania.
The Financial Times reported earlier Tuesday that Trump had asked Zelensky during a recent phone call if Ukraine could hit Moscow if provided long-range weapons.
The president on Monday touted a deal with NATO to send additional weapons to Ukraine in its fight against Russia, with the military alliance bearing the brunt of the cost.
Trump also threatened to impose 'severe' tariffs on Russia if it did not agree to a ceasefire in the next 50 days. Asked Monday why he was effectively giving Russian President Vladimir Putin so long to carry on with his strikes against Ukraine, Trump indicated the timeline could shift.
'I don't think 50 days is very long,' he said. 'And it could be sooner than that.'
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after amassing troops at the border. Trump campaigned on a pledge to end the war within 24 hours, a timeframe he later claimed was 'sarcastic.'
Trump has in recent weeks expressed increasing frustration with Putin as Moscow continues to fire missiles into Ukraine despite the White House's push for a peace deal.
The president has faced growing pressure from some lawmakers in his own party to impose sanctions on Russia over its war effort in Ukraine, though Trump has been non-committal about whether he would sign the bill working its way through the Senate.
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  • CNN

‘A piece of paper doesn't make you human': Growing up with undocumented parents in America

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time10 minutes ago

  • USA Today

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But what's been going on over the past couple of weeks is that he's sort of started to enlist other people to bring the pressure. His budget director is one example. Other congressional Republicans are another example. In speaking with reporters, the president initially seemed to suggest that he was really getting ready to fire Jerome Powell, but then also sort of walked it back a little and sort of seemed to deflect some of that back onto Congressional Republicans saying, "I wouldn't fire him, but when I polled members of Congress, they all said they would fire him." Taylor Wilson: Well, you mentioned Congressional Republicans. I mean, what do we hear from lawmakers on this? Trump clearly is saying that at least some Republicans support firing him. 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The cost of getting materials into the country was awful. So it's not surprising that this big project had cost overruns, but now it's sort of being used as a political tool to say, Powell's overseeing this project that's just gone completely amok. That's important because in order to be fired, in order to be removed from his seat as Fed Chair, there has to be cause. And so the idea is, while this is a very political step, it is seen as one step towards firing for cause. Taylor Wilson: Andrew, is this new terrain, the idea of a president pressuring the central bank in this way? Andrea Riquier: It's not new at all. President Nixon apparently rode hard on his Fed Chair. President Lyndon Johnson really wanted to bring interest rates down when he was fighting a war in Vietnam. What is different, at least what my sources have told me, is that Trump, as we know, does things very publicly. In some cases some people say that there is a private Trump who will often reassure people to their face and be friendly and polite and professional in one-on-one or small group settings, but then he kind of lashes out in public. Taylor Wilson: How is all this landing with either Powell himself or just kind of inside the Fed more broadly? Andrea Riquier: So my sense is that Powell is just sort of keeping his head down and trying to be professional and stay above the fray. He has said publicly that he will not resign. Nobody knows if he could be forced into something. He probably doesn't even know what kind of pressure could be coming from the White House. But one sort of telling moment came a couple days ago when the Fed put out a big response to these critiques about the headquarters that we just talked about. They went through an FAQ of frequently asked questions about the renovations, and pointed out what I just said. This was approved. It was vetted. Yes, there are cost overruns, but there's very good reasons for it, and ultimately it should save taxpayer money. And so a lot of people watching this think that this is the Fed sort of being really forced to respond, being backed into a corner as it were. Taylor Wilson: Well, all eyes are on the markets and investors. How have investors been reacting? Andrea Riquier: So markets yesterday did have an initial response to this discussion. Both stocks and bonds sold off when Trump was initially talking around the idea that Powell could be fired. But then when he's clarified and sort of walked it back a little bit, assets recovered. What we have not seen yet is we've not seen the kind of big freak out that we saw, for example, in April after the tariffs were first rolled out, that really caused politicians to sit up and take notice. So I wrote a piece saying, who knows when we'll see that, but we're not there yet. Taylor Wilson: Another interesting piece from you, Andrea. USA TODAY reporter, Andrea Riquier. Thanks for stopping by. Andrea Riquier: Thank you, Taylor. ♦ Taylor Wilson: And coming up later this afternoon, what if your hospital room had a view of trees instead of a parking lot? Turns out it could change your recovery. Dr. Jay Maddock: People with a view of the park-like setting, got out of the hospital faster, used less painkillers, and had less post-op complications. Taylor Wilson: Public health expert Dr. Jay Maddock joins my colleague Dana Taylor to share the surprising health benefits of greening our medical spaces. Catch that conversation today, beginning at four PM Eastern Time, right here on this feed. ♦ And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And as always, you can email us at podcasts@ You can find a link to that email in today's show notes. I'm Taylor Wilson. I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA TODAY.

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