Canada’s New Prime Minister, Nuclear Talk in Europe, Trump Threatens Russia With Sanctions
A colleague of mine said, “The week we just came through is the most prophetically significant of my lifetime. It was like seven Berlin Walls.” So true! And we have a lot to catch you up on from the weekend as well. So much of it is global backlash against the new resident in the White House.
Canada will have a new prime minister this week, as Mark Carney, 59, was elected Liberal Party leader by a landslide. He looks moderate, though he probably isn’t. But he gives the Liberals the appearance of going in a new direction.
His victory speech dripped with anti-Americanism. “These are dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust,” he said. “America is not Canada. And Canada never, ever, will be part of America in any way, shape or form. … We didn’t ask for this fight. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves.”
Donald Trump’s tariff threats are supercharging public support for the Liberal Party, which had been in the basement under Justin Trudeau. Now Carney’s surge in the polls gives him a shot at beating Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives. Read Abraham Blondeau’s feature in this morning’s brief: “Trump Derangement Syndrome Infects Canada Election Campaign.”
Nuclear talk in Europe spreads: Germany’s next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, confirmed he wants France and Britain to share their nuclear weapons. “We have to become stronger together in nuclear deterrence,” he told Deutschlandfunk radio. But he said it should supplement the American nuclear shield, not replace it.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also wants to explore his nation acquiring French nuclear weapons or otherwise benefiting from them. He also announced a plan to give military training to all adult males in Poland. Watch for increasing fallout over fears that the U.S. is going to abandon the NATO alliance.
Trump threatened sanctions on Russia—then paid a compliment. On Truth Social on Friday, he wrote, “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large-scale banking sanctions, sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.” Later in the day, though, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Vladimir Putin is “doing what anybody else would do.” He said, “I think we’re doing very well with Russia …. I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine.” Then again, on Air Force One yesterday, the president said the U.S. is close to lifting the pause on intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
This drives Europe crazy: EuroIntelligence has a good write-up on the ramifications of America trying to bring Ukraine and Russia to the bargaining table by shutting off Ukraine’s military support and threatening to sanction Russia.
Our own assessment is that the military aid is much more important to Ukraine than lifting sanctions, or avoiding new ones, is to Russia. Ending military aid to Ukraine, then, gives Russia fewer reasons to negotiate, rather than more. Why agree to a ceasefire or peace treaty when Ukraine is in such a bad position?
Over the weekend, German media suggested the nation’s American-made F-35 fighter jets have a so-called kill switch, enabling the U.S. to remotely disable the planes, this article says. Even if that isn’t true, “the U.S. could make these weapons next-to-useless by refusing to provide upgrades and support.” The U.S. already withdrew support for F-16 radar-jammers that Ukraine is using. Such fears are driving Ukraine to rely instead on French-built Dassault jets.
Also, Elon Musk mentioned over the weekend that SpaceX could shut off Ukraine’s access to Starlink, causing more consternation among European leaders. EuroIntelligence concludes:
Replacing U.S.-provided military and defense capabilities would be extremely difficult for the Europeans. … However, we are at a point where the risks of not doing this are perhaps too great.
Whether it’s true or not that American weapons and support are unreliable, this narrative is turbocharging Europe’s push to buy its own weapons.
Massacre of the Alawites: It should surprise nobody, but Syria’s new leaders are not the Jeffersonian statesmen that European leaders were hoping for. Violence is once again engulfing Syria as the new victorious leaders massacre the losers. A government security patrol near Latakia was ambushed, and the government launched a brutal counteroffensive that left over 1,000 dead in four days. Reports show intense attacks across the Alawite coastal region, causing widespread devastation.
Europe wants into Syria, as Gerald Flurry has said. It has been exceedingly eager to work with the new government. This makes things really awkward for a Continent that touts human rights so much. But watch to see how this plays out in a way that Germany still ends up in control.
Ayatollah Khamenei says “No” to new nuclear negotiations offered by President Trump. He is doing Trump a favor. As Marc Rod wrote today for Jewish Insider, by writing the ayatollah to make a deal and negotiating directly with Hamas, Trump’s Mideast policy is “taking a page from Obama’s playbook.”
The Trump administration canceled $400 million in grants to Columbia University on Friday for failing to address anti-Semitism on campus. Were you aware of the staggering sums the government gives to these schools? This is $400 million in taxpayer money to one university. What does the nation get from it? So many of these universities are turning out graduates who hate the United States.
