Ben Rhodes

We talked about that with Max a bit, but the key point is that the Russians didn't want Kellogg in the talks because Kellogg had been pretty hawkish. We talked about it on this podcast. Kellogg was giving Fox News interviews, which Trump surely saw, about the need to escalate, ramp up weapons to Ukraine to put them in a stronger position heading into negotiations.

We talked about that with Max a bit, but the key point is that the Russians didn't want Kellogg in the talks because Kellogg had been pretty hawkish. We talked about it on this podcast. Kellogg was giving Fox News interviews, which Trump surely saw, about the need to escalate, ramp up weapons to Ukraine to put them in a stronger position heading into negotiations.

We talked about that with Max a bit, but the key point is that the Russians didn't want Kellogg in the talks because Kellogg had been pretty hawkish. We talked about it on this podcast. Kellogg was giving Fox News interviews, which Trump surely saw, about the need to escalate, ramp up weapons to Ukraine to put them in a stronger position heading into negotiations.

The Russians were like, we don't like that guy. The Russians kind of selected who they want to negotiate with, which is never what you want in a situation like that. And, you know, sent Kellogg to what is literally the kids table to Trump, which is Europe and Ukraine. So I don't think Keith Kellogg is going to be calling the shots here.

The Russians were like, we don't like that guy. The Russians kind of selected who they want to negotiate with, which is never what you want in a situation like that. And, you know, sent Kellogg to what is literally the kids table to Trump, which is Europe and Ukraine. So I don't think Keith Kellogg is going to be calling the shots here.

The Russians were like, we don't like that guy. The Russians kind of selected who they want to negotiate with, which is never what you want in a situation like that. And, you know, sent Kellogg to what is literally the kids table to Trump, which is Europe and Ukraine. So I don't think Keith Kellogg is going to be calling the shots here.

Agreed to with Russia. I mean, just think about that.

Agreed to with Russia. I mean, just think about that.

Agreed to with Russia. I mean, just think about that.

The U.S. and Russia agreeing that Ukraine has to hold an election without talking to Ukrainians about it.

The U.S. and Russia agreeing that Ukraine has to hold an election without talking to Ukrainians about it.

The U.S. and Russia agreeing that Ukraine has to hold an election without talking to Ukrainians about it.

Yeah. I mean, we'll get to the European piece of this and some of my experience in Munich, but this is not just a change from three years of US foreign policy. It's a change from 75 years of US foreign policy. This is the United States, like overnight, like we've been talking about rug pulls, Tommy, in the crypto context.

Yeah. I mean, we'll get to the European piece of this and some of my experience in Munich, but this is not just a change from three years of US foreign policy. It's a change from 75 years of US foreign policy. This is the United States, like overnight, like we've been talking about rug pulls, Tommy, in the crypto context.

Yeah. I mean, we'll get to the European piece of this and some of my experience in Munich, but this is not just a change from three years of US foreign policy. It's a change from 75 years of US foreign policy. This is the United States, like overnight, like we've been talking about rug pulls, Tommy, in the crypto context.

This is a rug pull underneath Ukraine and the entire continent of Europe, which is- Yeah, we're just accustomed to the United States being a guarantor of European security. That was founded for two purposes. One, to defeat the Nazis. And now we're for the Nazis. We'll get to that with JD Vance. And two was to kind of fortify Europe against the Soviet Union and then Russia.

This is a rug pull underneath Ukraine and the entire continent of Europe, which is- Yeah, we're just accustomed to the United States being a guarantor of European security. That was founded for two purposes. One, to defeat the Nazis. And now we're for the Nazis. We'll get to that with JD Vance. And two was to kind of fortify Europe against the Soviet Union and then Russia.

This is a rug pull underneath Ukraine and the entire continent of Europe, which is- Yeah, we're just accustomed to the United States being a guarantor of European security. That was founded for two purposes. One, to defeat the Nazis. And now we're for the Nazis. We'll get to that with JD Vance. And two was to kind of fortify Europe against the Soviet Union and then Russia.

And that appears to be gone. You cannot overstate what a dramatic shift this is in the US position. It's absolutely absurd to think that you're negotiating the end of a war with only one of the parties of the war. The Ukrainians have lost tens of thousands of people, many more injured, many more displaced over the last three years.

And that appears to be gone. You cannot overstate what a dramatic shift this is in the US position. It's absolutely absurd to think that you're negotiating the end of a war with only one of the parties of the war. The Ukrainians have lost tens of thousands of people, many more injured, many more displaced over the last three years.