In Europe, nationalism is butting heads with the transnational ideal underpinning the EU. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accuses Germany of imposing a supranational dictatorship through the EU—Germany criticizes Hungary for undermining the rule of law. Josué Michels’ feature story this morning, “Germany vs. Viktor Orbán,” shows how this conflict is playing out and how Bible prophecy says it will end.

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Trump turns on Putin: Many thought President Trump was too cozy with Vladimir Putin and that he was ready to surrender Ukraine to Russia. These days, that’s not so clear. Trump now seems to be taking on a more realistic view of Russia’s president. “I’ve been hearing so much talk,” he said yesterday. “It’s all talk. It’s all talk, and then missiles go into Kyiv and kill 60 people.”

The geopolitical implications of this shift are great—particularly in how President Trump is encouraging Europe to militarize and take the fight to Russia. Just weeks ago, he was calling Europe a bunch of freeloaders and saying nato is defunct. No longer. “A strong Europe is a very good thing,” he said yesterday as he hosted nato Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House.

His measures against Russia, announced yesterday:

• A significant boost in shipments of “top of the line” U.S. weapons to nato allies, who will transfer those weapons to Ukraine—about $10 billion worth, Axios reports. The military aid package includes missiles, air defense systems and artillery shells. The Telegraph: “While new U.S. missiles will not unilaterally change the course of the war, they could broaden Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian military and economic infrastructure.”
• 100 percent secondary tariffs against Russia’s trade partners if Putin does not sign a peace deal within 50 days.

The Financial Times reported that on a recent phone call, President Trump asked Volodymyr Zelenskyy if Ukraine “could hit military targets deep inside Russia if he provided weapons capable of doing so. ‘Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? … Can you hit St. Petersburg too?’ Trump asked on the call, according to the people. They said Zelenskyy replied: ‘Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.’”

Jacob Heilbrunn in the Spectator wonders, “Has Putin turned Trump into a Russia hawk?”:

The hawks in Washington are jubilant, the maga restrainers, as they refer to themselves, aghast. Trump was supposed to recite the obsequies [burial rites] for liberal internationalism with Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson as the pallbearers. Now it’s neoconservatism redivivus [reborn].

The Spectator’s Freddy Gray recently observed, “Trump has turned on the peaceniks in his orbit.” He has indeed. It started with Iran. Now it’s proceeded to include Russia and Ukraine, the very conflict that he promised to end within 24 hours on the 2024 campaign trail.

Trump has had a taste of what American power can accomplish abroad. He seems to like it.

The Trumpet has criticized President Trump’s misguided peace efforts. Yet in recent moves, in several arenas in which we have expressed concern, the president seems to be making a turnaround of sorts:

• He halted Israel’s offensive in Gaza to try to negotiate peace with Hamas. More recently, he has expressed frustration with the terrorist group and less concern about Israel’s aggression.
• He advocated a deal with Iran and told Israel not to attack. That turned out to be a ruse. When Israel struck Iran’s nuclear sites, Trump cheered and then sent American bombers into the fray.
• He pledged to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end within “24 hours” of becoming president. Now he is treating Russia’s leader with a far more realistic, hard-nosed approach.

Trump still has a businessman’s love for the deal. Even his forceful moves are aimed at bringing about negotiated peace, even if it means keeping despots in power. He reportedly views the arms sales to nato as a way to hurt Russia enough to strong-arm it back to the bargaining table. He still doesn’t see the true extent of Putin’s evil.

And the practical effects of Trump’s decisions are more limited than might first appear. For example, sending arms to Ukraine via Europe, with Europe footing the bill, will limit the effect.

Still, it is fascinating to watch the geopolitical and prophetic effects of this extraordinarily consequential presidency. His enthusiasm for arming Europe is a stunning example. Read our July Trumpet feature “How Trump Is Transforming the World” to learn more.

The autopen was in charge: As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has said, Joe Biden as president was actually Barack Obama’s surrogate. Still, the latest revelations about the extent to which Biden’s staff affixed his signature to pardons and commutations using an autopen is shocking.

A report in Sunday’s New York Times discloses that White House chief of staff Jeff Zients approved the use of the notorious autopen on 25 warrants for pardons and commutations, two of which granted clemency to thousands of people. Legal analysts are questioning whether a presidential pardon is legitimate if the president didn’t personally approve it. David Sypher Jr. wrote for the Spectator World:

Let’s not pretend this is normal. President Joe Biden has admitted that he didn’t personally approve the full list of individuals he pardoned on his final day in office. … Presidential clemency is one of the few powers in the Constitution left entirely to the judgment of one person. It’s meant to be exercised with moral clarity, human reflection and a sense of final responsibility. What Biden did was effectively outsource that sacred duty to nameless staffers armed with e-mail chains and eligibility “criteria.”

Zients served as director of the National Economic Council during the Obama administration; it is increasingly clear that Obama administration alumni were calling the shots while the “chief executive” was mentally incapacitated. Stephen Flurry wrote in “Barack Obama’s Third Term—and Fourth,” “The nation-destroying problems afflicting America are not the mistakes of a senile president. They are the successes of a malevolent shadow president.”

IN OTHER NEWS

Knesset chaos: United Torah Judaism, one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition partners, announced they will be leaving the government. utj represents the interests of ultra-Orthodox Jews. It left because the government has refused to legislate an exemption of ultra-Orthodox seminarians into military conscription. In the 120-seat Knesset, Netanyahu now has a majority of exactly one; any more defections, and Israel could be heading to early elections. Our In Brief has more details.

SCOTUS rules Trump can fire nearly 1,400 Department of Education employees: Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 overturning a lower court injunction preventing the president from downsizing the doe. This decision enables the administration to work toward keeping Trump’s campaign promise to reduce or eliminate the department and shift education responsibilities to the states. It is another sign of “the king’s court.”

MAHA update: The White House yesterday published a list of changes that have already been made to “Make America Healthy Again.” It’s a small start to address a mammoth problem. But reading this list is worthwhile not only to enjoy a bit of good news but also to get a look at just how toxic America’s food production has been.