Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 192
November Surprises
“Ukraine has run out of missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system, leaving it more vulnerable to Russian ballistic missile attacks,” CNN reports.
“The stark development comes amid an increasingly bitter public feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.”
“Progress toward a U.S.-Mexico tariff deal has stalled after opposition from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the second time that he has had a hand in upending advanced negotiations with a North American partner,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“President Donald Trump has said he does not intend to use nuclear weapons against Iran or foresee deploying ground troops in the country,” CNBC reports.
Said Trump: “I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to. We’re the greatest nuclear power in the world.”
New York Times: “On the campaign trail in 2024, President Trump promised lower prices and a swift end to the war in Ukraine.”
“Two years on, neither has been accomplished. And in his scramble to ease fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections, Mr. Trump has wreaked further havoc in his efforts to make peace in Ukraine.”
Susan Glasser: “At a time when Donald Trump’s party is struggling to hold both houses of Congress and his own approval ratings are cratering to historic lows, the President has been campaigning hard all week against… Volodymyr Zelensky.”
“Yes, Trump’s October preëlection surprise is that he’s finally decided to begin openly helping Vladimir Putin in Russia’s war of conquest against Ukraine.”
“The order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House,” Reuters reports.
“The officials said leaders at the Defense Department received a message that the SpaceX Starshield service for the Ukrainian military needed to be slowed.”
“European leaders know they can’t stop courting Donald Trump. But as the U.S. president menaces Ukraine and offers Russian an economic lifeline, they are preparing for a world where he effectively sides with Moscow,” Bloomberg reports.
“In the span of a week, Trump has trashed years of energy sanctions on the Kremlin, pressured Kyiv to quit bombing Russian oil refineries and suggested Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy was an illegitimate leader — echoing Moscow’s propaganda. At one point, Ukraine also lost full access to the Elon Musk-owned Starlink system, leaving it hobbled on the battlefield.”
“Ukraine resumed strikes on Russian refineries after Moscow repeatedly violated a ceasefire on energy targets,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“President Donald Trump didn’t order any limitations on Ukraine’s access to SpaceX’s Starshield satellite technology, according to a senior U.S. official,” Bloomberg reports.
“Asked whether the U.S. president had ordered restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starshield, the official said Thursday no such request was ever made by the president.”
“Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is no longer serving as the Trump administration’s special envoy for the Shield of the Americas initiative, though she remains involved in the administration’s efforts to coordinate security cooperation across the Western Hemisphere,” CBS News reports.
“For such an obscure spot on the globe, little Republika Srpska has managed to enlist a host of people with close ties to the upper reaches of the Trump administration in the past few months,” the New York Times reports.
“When the pro-Russian government of the Balkan territory wanted help this summer on an energy project, it turned to a Washington lobbying firm with ties to President Trump.”
“That firm, Continental Strategy, was ready to assist. Continental counts among its partners several former Trump campaign and administration officials as well as Katie Wiles, the daughter of Mr. Trump’s chief of staff.”
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Ukraine will defy President Trump and resume strikes on Russian oil refineries after Moscow repeatedly broke the U.S.-backed energy cease-fire,” the New York Post reports.
Said Zelensky: “The block is out. We’re done.”
CNBC: Ukraine to resume strikes on Russian refineries, shattering hopes of an “energy ceasefire.”
“The U.S. military has developed new strike plans that include potentially using the so-called ‘mother of all bombs’ to target Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites should President Donald Trump give the order to resume combat operations either before or after the midterm elections,” CNN reports.
“Ukraine was blindsided by new limits placed on satellite connectivity inside the country that handicapped its ability to use military drones and defend against Russian attacks,” MS NOW reports.
“After bipartisan backlash on Wednesday, Elon Musk said it was the U.S. not his company SpaceX that provides the systems, that made the call.”
“Diesel prices in the United States are hovering near record highs — and a deal President Trump announced last week to increase Russian fuel exports is unlikely to lower them significantly anytime soon,” the New York Times reports.
“The amount of diesel Russia could supply under that agreement is much lower than what the country was exporting this time last year and constitutes a small proportion of the diesel supply the world has lost because of Mr. Trump’s war with Iran, energy analysts said. And it is not clear that Russia could even deliver all the fuel the president and Russian officials have promised.”
“The United States is sending several hundred Army soldiers to train and conduct exercises with local forces in Latin America as the Pentagon expands its campaign to combat drug trafficking in the region,” the New York Times reports.
“As President Donald Trump and his administration have ratcheted up pressure on Ukraine to stop striking Russian refineries, citing harm to American consumers, they have remained silent on recent Russian strikes on U.S. businesses in Ukraine,” CNN reports.
“Russia has escalated its attacks on facilities tied to American corporations – and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine writ large – over the past several months.”
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged President Donald Trump to renew the fighting against Iran before Israel’s October 27 election and the U.S. midterm elections a week later, Israeli television reported Tuesday, as the American leader said he would make a decision on Iran ‘very soon,'” the Times of Israel reports.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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