Peace Is in the Air?
President Donald Trump’s efforts to bring peace to the world once again dominate the headlines. White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday. Little has been announced, but they’ll shift to a very significant venue for more discussions next week: Rome. Axios reported on the change in venue, citing anonymous sources who said the talks were “substantive, serious and excellent.”
These talks are more and more like a new Obama-style nuclear negotiation. Friday’s Trumpet Daily discusses the danger here in more detail.
Talks with Russia over Ukraine continue to fail. Thirty-four people were killed and over 100 injured as two Russian ballistic missiles hit the heart of Sumy, Ukraine, yesterday morning. “Homes, schools, shops and other buildings were damaged. Vehicles burned and bodies were strewn throughout the street. At least two children were killed, and 15 children were injured,” reports our In Brief. Witkoff, who met with Vladimir Putin on Friday, was in Saint Petersburg while the attack took place. Clearly, peace negotiations are failing badly.
“Today’s Palm Sunday attack by Russian forces on civilian targets in Sumy crosses any line of decency,” posted Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy for Ukraine. Our latest Trumpet issue examines why evil regimes like those in Russia and Iran are able to take advantage of President Trump’s peace negotiations this way.
Most Americans now view Israel unfavorably, data published last week from a Pew poll shows. Around 54 percent of Americans have a negative view of the Jewish state, up from 42 percent in 2022. Democrats and young Americans are more likely to view Israel negatively.
This flawed understanding of peace is part of the reason why. Israel goes aggressively after Hamas, whose hatred of Israel caused the fighting. For this, Israel is accused of being a warmonger, while those who would negotiate with Hamas and extend the violence are hailed as peacemakers. Growing anti-Semitism is also a factor—a dangerous signal for the world.
The pope is the subject of a recent article by Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry about what we expect from the next head of the Catholic Church. The pope made a surprise appearance at the end of mass yesterday, highlighting the more limited way he may be involved in future ceremonies. “For the past two years, Francis has increasingly relied on cardinals to celebrate the major papal liturgies at the altar, while he presides from a chair off to the side, due to difficulties standing for the entire ceremony, and he has also taken to having aides read his prepared speeches for him when he is unable to due to breathlessness or respiratory strain,” wrote Crux. “Based on just the past week, it is possible that for now … the pope might delegate masses to cardinals entirely and simply show up at the end of the liturgy to give a blessing and to show that he is still present.” If that’s all he can do, it looks like we’ll have a new pope very soon. Our top story today looks at two possible candidates.
Trade war latest: Markets have calmed down since Friday evening when President Trump exempted smartphones and computers from his global tariffs. He said on Sunday he would announce new tariffs on semiconductor imports this week.
Immigrants on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist and convicted felons received government benefits under the Biden administration, the Department of Government Efficiency revealed yesterday. Since 2003, 6,300 felons and people on the terrorist watchlist were paroled and released into the U.S. Of these, 905 collected Medicaid, 41 received unemployment insurance, and 22 got student loans. Parole for these individuals has now been revoked and their eligibility for Social Security benefits blocked.
This is yet more damage that could have easily been prevented. Yet as Trumpet executive editor Stephen Flurry explained shortly after Trump was elected, “this is merely a reprieve. We must use this momentary window of opportunity to recognize that we almost lost our country—and not just because of Biden or Obama. God allowed us to come face-to-face with national destruction not just so we would ‘vote Trump,’ but so we would realize there is something wrong with us. As previous great presidents like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt have told us, we must face our own sins, our own moral flaws, even our own flawed religions. More than that, we must now truly repent toward God. The resurgence we are experiencing under President Trump is temporary. Use it, before it is too late, to turn to God.”
A Syrian migrant stabbed a man to death at an underground station in Berlin on Sunday. Police have said it wasn’t terror related, and that both the attacker and victim were known to the police. Even if this a mugging gone wrong or an argument among acquaintances, it is more crime linked to Middle Eastern migrants. Now that the fringe-right Alternative für Deutschland is the most popular party in Germany, watch for such attacks to transform the nation.
