France Bans Popular Candidate, Germany Prepares for War, Putin Vows to ‘Finish Off’ Ukrainian Troops
DOGE’s efforts to downsize America’s government by eliminating waste and fraud are one of the most valuable and important projects in the country right now. I am truly stunned at the scale of rot they are finding. Our feature story this morning, “President Trump vs. the Bureaucratic State,” from our new print edition, shows not only the challenge of the effort but also the hostility it is provoking from liberal judges and government workers. “Unfortunately, many powerful and influential people don’t want to see America’s ‘deep state’ downsized,” it says. Read this article to understand this battle in its prophetic context.
France bans popular candidate: It appears democracy is suffering another blow in a pillar European country. Marine Le Pen, who heads the National Rally, the biggest party in France’s Parliament, has been banned from holding office after a court found her guilty of misusing EU funds today. Despite her far-right, socialist agenda and closeness to Russia, Le Pen was seen as the likely winner of France’s next presidential election in 2027.
The ruling is suspicious as the EU is known for opposing Le Pen. It also comes after French President Emmanuel Macron tried to prevent her rise by siding with left-wing parties and encouraging tactical voting. Europe’s new motto is, if you can’t beat them, ban them. Given the French’s fondness for rioting, this could end badly. Also, France’s split and dysfunctional parliament can hold elections after this June. This ruling could turbocharge support for Le Pen’s party in those elections.
Such political shocks point to the Bible’s prophecy of the rise of a king-like dictatorship in France.
“Germany decides to leave history in the past and prepare for war”: This is an actual headline from the BBC today. The article is about Germany responding to Russian aggression and U.S. isolationism by voting to significantly boost its military spending, exempting defense spending from debt rules. These truly are historic times—and more importantly, prophetic times.
Putin wants to end the Ukraine war—by “finishing off” Ukraine’s army: President Trump is getting a crash course in the ugly realities of geopolitics. Despite his promises to end the Ukraine war and his efforts to drag the two sides to a ceasefire, Vladimir Putin vowed on Friday that his army would “finish off” Ukrainian troops, Peter van Halteren reports. Putin said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal and called for the United Nations to establish a temporary government in Ukraine until elections could be held.
In other words, forget about a peace deal.
This truly angered President Trump, who complained to NBC and threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil. This would mean that anyone who buys Russian oil could face tariffs. Later Trump softened his tone, saying no to a reporter who asked if his relationship with Putin was at its lowest point. “I don’t think he’s going to go back on his word,” he said. “I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve always gotten along well.” However, the bromance between the two men that Steve Witkoff spoke about so effusively apparently isn’t strong enough to overcome the tough reality of dealing with such a man.
Yet Putin is ready to strengthen his relationship with India: He plans to visit his populous neighbor later this year to strengthen the two nations’ strategic and economic partnership. India is already Russia’s second-largest trading partner, second only to China. The “kings of the east” continue to align.
Looks like the Panama Canal deal is falling through: China may not be giving up its control of Panama’s ports after all. Earlier this month, it was announced that BlackRock would buy two strategic ports near the Panama Canal—Balboa and Cristobal—operated by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison, owned by billionaire Li Ka-shing. President Trump hailed it as a step toward reclaiming the Panama Canal from Chinese influence. But the deal, which was set to be finalized by this Wednesday, has faced delays and complications due to pressure from Beijing. Reports now indicate that CK Hutchison will not sign the agreement as planned. Beijing says the sale would be a loss of strategic leverage and a capitulation to U.S. pressure. ZeroHedge notes, “For weeks, various Chinese media outlets called CK Hutchison’s billionaire founder ‘spineless’ and questioned which ‘side he should stand on.’” The government has instructed Chinese state-owned firms to pause new dealings with Li’s businesses, escalating political tensions. The delay doesn’t necessarily mean the deal is dead, but clearly China has thrown a wrench into the process.
Japan is shifting toward the offensive militarily: It is mulling deploying long-range missiles on its southernmost island of Kyushu by early next year, which would augment its counterstrike ability against both China and North Korea, Geopolitical Futures reported last Friday. “[T]he deployment marks a shift toward an offensive rather than a defensive military posture,” they wrote.
As Japan’s uncertainty about America’s willingness to defend it increases, the nation has also recently focused on developing other offensive weapons systems such as aircraft carriers, increased defense cooperation with India and the Philippines, and has even held a rare high-level military exchange with its longtime rival China. Geopolitical Futures wrote:
Japan’s behavior suggests Tokyo wants to diversify its alliances and become a leading security partner in the Asia-Pacific. Much more important, however, it suggests Japan wants to achieve a higher degree of military autonomy than it currently enjoys.
Japan’s shift away from pacifism and toward becoming a full-fledged, autonomous military power has long been a focus of the Trumpet—because prophecy shows that it will culminate in a violent conflict affecting billions of people.
Over 1,700 people are dead in Myanmar after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday. China and Thailand also felt the quake, with 18 killed in Thailand and many missing.
Britain cracks down on transphobia—in toddlers: A child age 3 or 4 was suspended from a nursery school for “abuse against sexual orientation and gender identity,” the Telegraph reports. This is the most outrageous of dozens of cases of children ages 4 to 6 being sent home for transphobia and homophobia; a total of 94 students in state primary schools were suspended or excluded for similar reasons in the 2022–23 academic year. One Church of England school warned the parents of a 6-year-old that their son would be considered “transphobic” if he asked questions about a male student wearing a dress. The same school said students would be considered transphobic if they showed “an inability to believe a transgender person is actually a ‘real’ female or male.” This is essentially teaching that 2+2=5. Until the grip of such insanity in our schools is broken, Britain is doomed.
