‘HE’S PLAYING WITH FIRE!’: President Donald Trump’s latest stern social media post warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “playing with fire” is being met with dismissal and derision in Moscow.
Frustrated with Putin’s flagrant disregard for his repeated pleas to stop bombing civilians while supposedly talking about a possible peace deal, Trump’s anger boiled over again. “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump posted on Truth Socal. “He’s playing with fire!”
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov brushed aside Trump’s recent jabs at Putin as simply “shifts” in rhetoric. “Changes in rhetoric are common among many world leaders,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council and a frequent Putin hatchet man, had a more pointed response, once again rattling Russia’s nuclear saber. “Regarding Trump’s words about Putin ‘playing with fire’ and ‘really bad things’ happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII,” Medvedev posted on X. “I hope Trump understands this!”
On Monday, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Trump’s characterization of Putin as “absolutely CRAZY” due to “an emotional overload.” Meanwhile, Kremlin watcher Julia Davis wrote in the Daily Beast that Trump’s recent outbursts have put propagandists on Russian state TV in a bind “since they are not allowed to criticize” Putin but “have been praising America’s new direction of disregarding the ongoing genocidal invasion of Ukraine for the sake of resuming trade and economic relations with the invaders.”
“Walking a tightrope, state TV hosts omitted the word ‘crazy’ in their reporting for their domestic audiences,” Davis wrote. “Instead, they quoted solely the part of Trump’s tirade where he complained that ‘something has happened’ to Putin, describing the American president’s comments as ‘rude.’”
TRUMP SHARPENS PUTIN CRITICISM IN WARNING AS HE WEIGHS SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA: ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE!’
IT’S SANCTIONS TIME: Trump keeps waving the threat of new sanctions against Russia, but, so far, has been unwilling to pull the trigger. “I believe president trump was sincere when he thought his friendship w Putin wld end the war,” Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the senior Republican in the Senate posted on X. “Now that being the case ITS TIME FOR SANCTIONS STRONG ENUF SO PUTIN KNOWS ‘game over.’”
“I think the next step is to go after the sources of income that are funding the war that Putin is raging and has raged now for more than three years in Ukraine,” former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said on CNN. “That includes the sale of oil and the shadow fleet and other sources of revenue coming from the energy sector.”
Trump has three levers of pressure he can apply to Putin, according to former Supreme NATO Commander retired Adm. James Stavridis, the $300 billion in Russian assets that are frozen in Western banks, giving the Ukrainians more long-range weapons, and secondary sanctions.
“Anybody who does business with Russia cannot do business with the United States,” said Starvidis, now a CNN military analyst. “When President Trump says that Vladimir Putin is absolutely crazy, I can give you my reaction to that in two words. Hallelujah. Amen. Welcome to Team West, Team Democracy. It’s really time we did more than just call out Vladimir Putin.”
“I think I would go for the secondary sanctions, and really get tough, including saying to NATO, We’ve wasted three years not supplying military assistance in a strategic fashion,” former national security adviser John Bolton said on CNN. “We have been deterred by these Russian threats of a wider war. That’s over. We’re going to have a strategy now that will regain full sovereignty and territorial integrity for Ukraine. Now, I don’t expect Trump to do it, but that’s the right thing to do.”
WHITE HOUSE SPECIAL ENVOY TO UKRAINE SAYS TRUMP’S JOB IN ACHIEVING PEACE IS ‘NOT EASY’
IS TRUMP SHIFTING?: Trump watchers, including former members of his national security team from his first term, are debating whether Trump is finally turning against Putin, especially given that his latest reference to “lots of really bad things” that would have happened if not for him.
Trump has a “unique view that state-to-state relations between the U.S. and Russia depend on his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin,” said Bolton, a frequent critic of Trump’s foreign policy. “I think what he really wants to do is absolve himself from any failure, which it manifestly is to get a ceasefire, after four months of trying.”
“This is [Trump] saying, if that were the old Vlad Putin that I knew, then I would have solved this in 24 hours. But Putin has changed. I haven’t changed. It’s not my fault. It’s because Putin is doing something different.”
In an interview with the British newspaper The Telegraph, Fiona Hill, a former member of Trump’s national security council, said Trump both feared Putin and misread him. “He is deferential toward Putin because he really is worried about the risk of a nuclear exchange,” she told the newspaper.
“Trump thinks it’s just about real estate, about trade and who gets what, be it minerals, land, or rare earths,” she said, adding that Trump president doesn’t seem to get that “Putin doesn’t want a ceasefire… [He] wants a neutered Ukraine, not one that is able to withstand military pressure.”
“Everybody sees this, apart from Trump,” she said.
HUGO GURDON: PUTIN PLAYS TRUMP LIKE A BALALAIKA
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HAPPENING TODAY: HEGSETH DEPARTS FOR SINGAPORE: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is winding his way to Singapore for his second official visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
“Hegseth will deliver plenary remarks on May 31st at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore,” the Pentagon said in a statement. “While there, he is slated to meet with Singapore’s Prime Minister and other senior Singaporean officials, convene a multilateral meeting of his counterparts from Southeast Asia, and participate in several Trilateral and Multilateral meetings with his counterparts from several Asian countries.”
The trip will also mark the first time Hegseth is taking a significant number of reporters from so-called “legacy media” on the plane with him, including from AP, ABC, and CNN. Sources confirmed that Hegseth’s office tried to get CNN producer Haley Britzky replaced because of a social media post in which she invited potential sources to contact her privately using the encrypted messaging app Signal.
When CNN refused to pull Britzky from the trip, other news organizations supported the decision on the principle that the Pentagon should not dictate which journalists should represent a particular organization.
As of this writing, Britzky is on the trip, according to Oliver Darcy, a media reporter who was first to report the dust-up in his subscription newsletter on Monday. By trying to “handpick who gets to report on official travel,” Darcy writes, the Pentagon is engaging in a “disturbing strategy: limit scrutiny by shrinking access and working to intimidate the press.”
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT SCRAPS WEEKLY DOGE-INITIATED ACTIVITY REPORTS
ANOTHER UNFLATTERING HEGSETH PROFILE: On Sunday, President Trump was hit with a question out of left field from a reporter from the New York Post about Hesgeth’s “acting chief of staff” Ricky Buria, who the reporter claimed was a Biden administration holdover who “has said some very critical things about you and Vice President Vance.”
Trump professed to know nothing about Buria and promised to look into it if the reporter gave him more information once they boarded Air Force One. “I have no idea who he is but if he did say that I would recommend that we don’t take them,” Trump said. “Let’s say I’ll take a look.”
The New York Post profiled the 43-year-old Marine Colonel, who his detractor called “Rasputin Ricky,” and reported he had in the past criticized Vance’s “wackamamie crazy” and “isolationist” views and also “slammed President Trump’s use of the military for immigration enforcement as ‘dumb.’”
Now comes a front-page Washington Post story that paints a picture of internecine warfare inside Hegseth’s inner circle centering around tensions between Buria and another close Hegeset aide, Eric Geressy, a retired soldier whom Hegseth considers his mentor.
The article cites current and former officials and describes the climate in Hegseth’s office as “continued behind-the-scenes dysfunction, brought on by unresolved personality conflicts, inexperience, vacancies in key leadership roles, and a steady-state paranoia over what political crisis could emerge next.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump sharpens Putin criticism in warning as he weighs sanctions on Russia: ‘Playing with fire!’
Washington Examiner: White House special envoy to Ukraine says Trump’s job in achieving peace is ‘not easy’
Washington Examiner: Hugo Gurdon: Putin plays Trump like a balalaika
Washington Examiner: Defense Department scraps weekly DOGE-initiated activity reports
Washington Examiner: North Korea warns Trump’s Golden Dome is ‘an outer space nuclear war scenario’
Washington Examiner: Trump urges Canada to be 51st state to avoid $61 billion bill for Golden Dome
Washington Examiner: King Charles applauds ‘self-determination’ of ‘strong and free’ Canada but plays nice on Trump
Washington Examiner: From the Middle Ages to modern war: Pope as preeminent peacemaker
Washington Examiner: SpaceX Starship breaks up in reentry after fuel leak
Washington Examiner: Elon Musk expresses disappointment with Trump’s ‘beautiful bill’
Washington Post: Within Pete Hegseth’s divided inner circle, a ‘cold war’ endures
Military.com: Hegseth Orders Review of Defense Department’s Support for Homeschooling
New York Times: As Trump Seeks Iran Deal, Israel Again Raises Possible Strikes on Nuclear Sites
AP: Zelenskyy visits Berlin as he seeks more support for Ukraine in the war against Russia
Washington Post: Ukraine braces for expected Russian summer offensive in the east
AP: Russia seizes Ukrainian border villages as its bombing campaign slows
Kyiv Post: Russia Changes Drone Tactics to Bypass Ukraine’s Air Defense, Air Force Says
The Telegraph: Fiona Hill: Trump is terrified of Putin, I’ve seen it first hand
Fox News: Battle Over Space Command HQ Location Heats Up as Lawmakers Press New Air Force Secretary
Colorado Springs Gazette: After Delays, Hundreds of Full-Time Air Force Reservists Preparing to Transfer to Space Force
Anchorage Daily News: Major New Air Force Training Center in Anchorage Will Help Boost North American Defense Capabilities, Officials Say
AP: US Sen. Duckworth visits Taiwan to discuss regional security and trade
Aviation Week: US Air Force Wants Cheap Missile on CCAs, Fourth-Gen Fighters
Task & Purpose: Navy SEAL Team Six Operator Will Be the Military’s New Top Enlisted Leader
Washington Post: At Veterans Affairs, Plan for Sweeping Cuts Tanks Morale
Defense News: Hermeus Notches First Flight of Quarterhorse High-Speed Aircraft
SpaceNews: Rocket Lab to Acquire Satellite Payload Manufacturer Geost for $275 million
Washington Post: Opinion: Trump should build millions of cheap drones, not Golden Dome
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Florida Guard Prepares to Welcome F-35 with Pilot Training, Maintenance Upgrades
Task & Purpose: Airman Who Died in New Mexico Lake Remembered as ‘Bright Spot’ in Unit
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Bombers, Fighters Unite in Rare 7-Plane Flyover
THE CALENDAR:
WEDNESDAY | MAY 28
9 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “The Russia-Ukraine Drone War: Innovation on the Frontlines and Beyond,” with Kateryna Bondar, fellow at the Wadhwani AI Center; Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani AI Center; and Samuel Bendett, non-resident senior associate at the CSIS Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program https://www.csis.org/events/russia-ukraine-drone-war-innovation
11 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “What Are U.S. and NATO Views on China?” with Henrietta Levin, former deputy China coordinator for global affairs at the State Department and former director for China and Southeast Asia for the White House National Security Council; Victor Cha, president of the CSIS Geopolitcs and Foreign Policy Department and CSIS Korea Chair; and Luis Simon, non-resident senior associate at the CSIS Europe, Russia and Eurasia Program https://www.csis.org/events/impossible-state-live-podcast
1 p.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “Diplomacy or War: The Trump Administration and Iran,” with Suzanne Maloney, director, Brookings Institution Foreign Policy Program; Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; and Aaron David Miller, CEIP senior fellow https://carnegieendowment.org/events
3:30 p.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council discussion: “Reporters at Risk: Editors’ Perspectives,” with Tom Bowman, Pentagon reporter at NPR; Laurie Goodstein, deputy international editor at the New York Times; David Wood, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist; Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council; and Adrienne Arsht, executive vice chair of the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Center and the Atlantic Council’s National Security Resilience Initiative https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/reporters-at-risk-editors-perspectives/
5 p.m. Stanford, California — House Homeland Security Committee field hearing: “Innovation Nation: Leveraging Technology to Secure Cyberspace and Streamline Compliance,” with testimony from retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, former White House national security advisor and senior fellow in the Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Wendi Whitmore, chief security intelligence officer for Palo Alto Networks; and Jeanette Manfra, global director for security and compliance in the Office of the CISO, Google Cloud https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChdT2snPVxfp2m8n4VDdMag
THURSDAY | MAY 29
11 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group virtual discussion: “China’s AI Infrastructure Surge: How PRC Data Centers and AI Models Bridge Military Ambitions and Global Connections,” with report author Ylli Bajraktari, President and CEO, Special Competitive Studies Project; and Greg Levesque, CEO and cofounder, Strider Technologies RSVP: Thom Shanker at [email protected]
2 p.m. — Association of the U.S. Army virtual discussion: beginning at noon, on “People, Training, and Readiness,” with U.S. Army Reserve Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Betty; and retired Army Sgt. Maj. Dan Dailey, vice president of non-commissioned officers and soldier programs at AUSA https://www.ausa.org/events/noon-report/people-training-and-readiness
THURSDAY | JUNE 5
2 p.m. 1333 H St. NW — Center for American Progress discussion: “America’s Role in the World,” with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); and Neera Tanden, president and CEO, Center for American Progress https://rsvp2.americanprogress.org/americasroleintheworld
SATURDAY | JUNE 14
6:30 p.m. Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C — Grand Military Parade and Celebration honoring the 250th Anniversary of the U.S. Army, with remarks by PresidentDonald Trump, and featuring veterans, active-duty troops, wounded warriors, Gold Star Families, and patriotic Americans from across the country Tickets: https://america250.org