In the week since Donald Trump and JD Vance launched a two-on-one televised attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the American president, his administration, and his allies have escalated actions that undermine—and even endanger—Ukraine and its people on multiple fronts, leading critics to denounced President Trump’s “betrayal.”

Trump and his administration reportedly will be targeting Ukrainian refugees in the U.S., and have already crippled a key military tool vital to Ukraine’s defense, halted weapons shipments, and ordered a top Pentagon agency to suspend operations and planning against Russia’s cyber offensives. Trump’s close allies reportedly are looking to back Zelenskyy’s political opponents in Ukraine. Critics—and even Russian state propagandists—say these moves send an unmistakable signal to the world: the United States has “switched sides” in Vladimir Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine.

“The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently declared, as MSNBC reported Tuesday. “This largely aligns with our vision.”

President Trump “was asked for his reaction after the Kremlin said the White House was largely aligned with Moscow. He didn’t answer — but he didn’t have to,” observed MSNBC’s Steve Benen.

Reuters is reporting that the Trump administration will move to revoke the legal protected status of 240,000 Ukrainians who fled the Russian invasion to come to the United States. These refugees, under a Biden administration program, were required to pay fees, be fully vetted, and have proof of a sponsor and financial means.

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“The move, expected as soon as April, would be a stunning reversal of the welcome Ukrainians received under President Joe Biden’s administration,” according to Reuters, which noted that at least some could be put on a fast track to deportation.

While Reuters reports its sources say the plan was in place before President Donald Trump’s and Vice President. JD Vance’s Oval Office blowup, it also comes amid moves that appear to put the Trump administration on the side of Russia and President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier this week, President Trump ordered a suspension of critical intelligence sharing with Ukraine, a move that is “expected to cripple Kyiv’s ability to target Russian forces,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Trump administration also “suspended weapons shipments to Ukraine earlier this week,” after the “contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky,” the Journal reported. Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe, “said Trump, after that meeting, had also ‘asked for a pause’ of intelligence sharing.”

For years, the CIA and other U.S. Intelligence agencies “have forged deep ties with Ukrainian counterparts,” according to the Journal. Now, that has changed.

“We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship,” Trump National Security Advisor Mike Waltz told reporters Wednesday.

National Security Advisor ⁦@MikeWaltz47⁩ confirms US has paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine: “We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship.”

He says talks continue: “I think we are going to see movement in very short order” pic.twitter.com/Yyzpr7dSIq

— Nancy Cordes (@nancycordes) March 5, 2025

Trump’s decision to halt intelligence sharing “will cost civilian lives almost immediately, dismayed Ukrainians said Thursday,” NBC News reported. The President’s decision also came as European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “convened a summit in Brussels as they attempt to cope with an upended landscape in which the Trump administration appears to be treating them with hostility while seemingly warming to the Kremlin.”

In another escalation against Ukraine and an apparent move toward Russia, on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that the war in Ukraine is “a proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia – and it needs to come to an end.”

“It’s a proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia – and it needs to come to an end,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Fox News.

Rubio criticized Ukraine and the Europeans for not having a plan to end the conflict.

“No one has any… pic.twitter.com/8LsgUFjaQy

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) March 6, 2025

Reuters reported that the Kremlin “said on Thursday that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s view that the Ukraine conflict is a proxy war between the United States and Russia is in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s own assessment.”

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On Thursday, Politico Europe exclusively reported that “senior members of Donald Trump’s entourage have held secret discussions with some of Kyiv’s top political opponents to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just as Washington aligns with Moscow in seeking to lever the Ukrainian president out of his job.”

“The discussions centered on whether Ukraine could hold quick presidential elections. These are being delayed in line with the country’s constitution because Ukraine remains under martial law. Critics of holding elections say they could be chaotic and play into Russia’s hands, with so many potential voters serving on the front lines or living abroad as refugees.”

Politico notes that while the Trump administration denies interfering in Ukraine’s domestic politics, “the behavior of Trump and his officials suggests quite the opposite. Trump has accused Zelenskyy of being a ‘dictator without elections,’ and hinted he would not be ‘around very long’ if he didn’t do a deal with Russia. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has falsely accused Kyiv of canceling the election.”

University of Copenhagen award-winning professor of political science, Marlene Wind, blasted the news.

“This is just appalling. Is Trump secretly planning a coup in Kyiv by replacing @ZelenskyyUa with a pro-Russian politician?” she asked.

Bartłomiej Gajos, a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union, asked: “Is it official US policy to seek regime change in Ukraine? That would be my question to the administration if I were a journalist.”

Meanwhile, critics are also condemning Secretary Rubio’s remarks—with some calling them Russian talking points. And President Trump’s decision to target the nearly quarter-million Ukrainian refugees in the U.S. is also being denounced.

Critics Sound the Alarm

“This is nasty, heartless, un-American and dangerous,” declared veteran and veterans’ activist Paul Rieckhoff. “It’s sending innocent civilians back into a war zone to die. These are women and children and seniors. The latest move to deepen Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine. And American values. He continues to drive the knife deeper into the back of Ukraine. And NATO. Putin is celebrating. And the Statue of Liberty is weeping. Congress must exhaust every option to block this. I’d expect Canada or another good nation to step up to accept these Ukrainians. As America continues to fail and fall. And become more isolated and less safe.”

“Hold on,” said The Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimo, “didn’t President Trump just say that half of Ukraine is flattened and that his main motivation is care for innocent Ukrainian lives?”

The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser remarked, “How to see this as anything other than a betrayal of people who fled for their lives? The US welcomed them… and now we’re throwing them out, and switching sides in Putin’s war.”

Last week, Glasser wrote: “the United States of America has switched sides in the war between Russia and Ukraine. The country is no longer on the side of Ukraine.”

Late Thursday morning Glasser posted video of a French lawmaker, calling it a “Powerful speech about Trump’s betrayal of the democratic world.”

“My question watching this — where is the American version?” she asked. “Why hasn’t US’s own opposition to Trump been able to speak out with such clarity and force? Tempus fugit.”

Jesuit priest James Martin, a New York Times best-selling author, and editor-at-large of America magazine, responding to the news Ukrainian refugees may lose protections and be deported, wrote simply: “‘I was a stranger and you did not welcome me’ (Mt 25).”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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Image via Reuters

Pete Buttigieg, fresh off a clash with his successor, Sean Duffy—who, just days into his new job, lashed out at the Democratic former U.S. Secretary of Transportation after a series of air travel crises—joined The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night to discuss—and denounce—President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, and his own—and the nation’s—political future.

Buttigieg blasted Trump’s speech, the longest of its kind in recent history, declaring it was filled with “darkness” and “dazzle,” while decrying the President’s refusal to understand and promote the role of government. He described the state of our union as “complicated,” “roiling,” and “confused about why our leaders are talking about renaming things on a map instead of getting the price of eggs down.”

And he lamented that “there was very, very little” in Trump’s speech “about the things that most affect our lives.”

“I believe politics is about everyday life,” Buttigieg continued. “It’s about what government can and must do to make our everyday lives better. And the biggest issue on people’s minds, the affordability of everyday life is not something that got more than a a few seconds of mention in his speech, nor did he mention some of the biggest things in dollar terms that he’s doing.”

“I mean, objectively , the biggest thing that he’s working on is tax cuts for the rich. $5 trillion, minimum. No mention in a speech that was what, two hours?”

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“But it’s always like this, right? It’s always gonna be about—they’re gonna talk about Greenland, and about pronouns, and about mice, and not about what’s gonna actually make our lives better.”

As it turns out, with many Democratic voters grappling with a party they feel has lost its way amid the onslaught of President Donald Trump’s takeover, transformation, and demolition of the federal government—and, as Buttigieg mentioned, with Americans struggling to pay their bills, even ahead of Trump’s sweeping and unpredictable tariffs—the former Secretary of Transportation finds himself in an enviable position, boasting a wealth of political opportunities ahead.

A father of two who often talks about raising two young children—twins—with his husband, Buttigieg and his family moved to the Great Lakes State to be closer to Chasten’s parents.

Last week, Buttigieg sat down with Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to discuss a possible run for a seat opening in his home state of Michigan. Democratic U.S. Senator Gary Peters is not seeking a third term, setting off what is expected to be a closely watched and pivotal race in 2026—one that could help swing control of the U.S. Senate back to the Democrats.

But Buttigieg’s name has also been tossed around for a gubernatorial run: Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is term limited. While he has not officially weighed in, The Detroit News, which broke the story of Senator Peters’ retirement, says one source indicates Buttigieg is “very seriously focused” on a potential run for the Senate, not the governor’s mansion.

While Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential run did not get him a seat behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, it cemented a close relationship with President Joe Biden, who declared publicly that Buttigieg reminds him of his late son, Beau.

Some say Buttigieg could run again for the White House in 2028, although it’s far too early for him to make that decision. And some believe he has the clout, experience, and support that few other Democrats can currently boast, given the state of the party. There’s even an active Reddit page for his fans, which apparently number around 31,000 on the platform.

But he also has concerns, which he shared Tuesday night.

After Colbert blasted the President’s message from earlier on Tuesday—during which Trump appeared to ignore the First Amendment and declared anyone on a college campus engaging in “illegal protests” will be deported or imprisoned, Buttigieg denounced the broader problem.

“We have to stand up to this, and by we I don’t just mean Democrats. Like, freedom loving conservatives, libertarians, where are you?” Buttigieg, once known as “Mayor Pete,” declared. “We might not agree on everything, but if you are so committed to liberty, as a libertarian or a freedom loving conservative, that you think the clean air act is ‘tyranny,’ then what do you have to say about the head of your government threatening to expel or imprison people who protest in disagreement with his politics?”

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“Where are you? We should be able to come together around that,” he insisted.

“Our nation has always been at its best when it widens the circle of belonging and equality to take care of more people and not less,” he continued, when asked about Trump’s anti-LGBTQ remarks Tuesday night. “And our nation’s been at its worst when we’ve been discriminating.”

Asked point-blank if he has any concerns about the Roberts Supreme Court overturning Obergefell, the landmark 2015 ruling that recognized same-sex couples have the same rights and responsibilities as different-sex couples when it comes to marriage, Buttigieg definitively replied: “Sure.”

Buttigieg insisted that Democrats have “got to focus.”

“You gotta be engaged. Doesn’t mean being online every minute, but you gotta be engaged. You’ve got to hold elected officials accountable, like, what’s going on at these town halls, and you’ve got to be organized.”

“I campaigned on freedom, security and democracy back when I was running for president, and I still believe that is the core that should drive our message,” he said, speaking of Democrats. “And we need to take that message everywhere.”

“It’s not just what we say, it’s not just how we say it, it’s where we say it,” he continued.

And he predicted Trump will continue to lose support, which he has already since entering the Oval Office for a second time.

Colbert, hoping to make some political news, asked Buttigieg, “Is there anything you’d like to tell us?”

“Not tonight,” the former Secretary replied. “I’ve been looking at it,” he said of the Michigan Senate race, where currently there are several possible Democratic contenders and a Republican who, according to the polls, holds a lead over him.

“I’ve decided that I’m going to continue to work on the things that I care about, to defend the values, that I was just talking about. I have not decided what that means professionally, whether that means running for office soon or not, but, I will make myself useful.”

Watch the videos below or at this link.

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The Trump administration reportedly is planning to cut 80,000 workers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in what Democrats are calling an “assault” on a federal agency that for years had been plagued by extensive wait times for the nation’s retired warfighters. The Biden administration had dramatically increased federal funding, expanded VA healthcare programs to include millions more veterans, and reduced veterans’ homelessness to the lowest levels ever recorded.

VA chief of staff Christopher Syrek has “told top level officials at the agency that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000,” The Associated Press reports, citing an internal memo. The AP also notes the agency is calling it an “aggressive” reorganization.

“That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act.”

During his address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, President Donald Trump did not mention the word “veterans,” based on a New York Times transcript of his remarks.

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Syrek’s memo “calls for agency officials to work with the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency to ‘move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach’ to the Trump administration’s goals.”

Government Executive first broke the news Tuesday night, reporting that the “cuts will be sweeping and spare no part of the department, Syrek said.”

“Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said VA’s plan was not just dangerous but an ‘outright betrayal of veterans.’ He noted that VA had to grow its workforce to meet new demands.”

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who also sits on the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, blasted the move, saying in a statement that the Trump administration “’has launched an all-out assault’ against progress the VA has made in expanding its services as the number of covered veterans grows and includes those impacted by toxic burn pits.”

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“Their plan prioritizes private sector profits over veterans’ care, balancing the budget on the backs of those who served. It’s a shameful betrayal, and veterans will pay the price for their unforgivable corruption, incompetence, and immorality,” Blumenthal added.

“Slashing 80,000 employees when the VA is already severely understaffed couldn’t be a more blatant attack on veterans in this country,” declared U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-CA).

Criticizing Trump, the progressive political action committee VoteVets commented on the news: “What else would you expect from the man who thinks we’re suckers and losers.”

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Image via Reuters