Rachel Maddow

I mean, if you don't count vodka and potash, Russia basically has two industries, two things to offer the world, oil and war.

And they're using their war-making abilities, their intelligence and satellite capabilities, to help Iran kill Americans, to help Iran target and kill Americans in the Middle East.

Also on the war-making front, Russia is obviously enjoying seeing the United States burn up lots and lots and lots of missiles and interceptor munitions in the Middle East.

So we'll be less happy and less able to provide those same types of weapons to Ukraine to fight against Russia.

So on the war-fighting front,

side of things for Russia.

This is great for them.

This is a win-win.

And, meanwhile, Russia's other industry, oil and gas, is as happy as it's been in a long time because of the huge spike in oil and gas prices all over the world, as Russia's oil and gas competitors in the Persian Gulf all basically get knocked offline.

Right?

If Russia can just sell their oil and gas, if they can be allowed to get their oil and gas to market, well, Russia's going to be rich again.

which they desperately need given how they've spent themselves into oblivion in their endless, pointless Ukraine war.

And so we now simultaneously have the US intelligence reports that Russia is helping Iran target American personnel and military facilities to kill Americans in the Middle East, and the news that Trump is cutting sanctions on Russia to ensure they can sell practically all the oil and gas they want and refill their financial coffers as a country.

And so what exactly happened today when Trump reportedly called a CBS news reporter and said, um, the war's pretty much over?

And then Trump called a bizarre and incoherent press conference at one of his golf resorts where he said, no, no, no, it's not pretty much over.

Where did you hear that?

Who told you that fake news?

In the middle of that swirling dust devil of nonsense and reversal and double reversal and incoherence and non sequitur from the president of the United States, what happened in the middle of all that today?

Well, according to the Kremlin, in the middle of all that, President Donald Trump called Vladimir Putin.

and talked to him for an hour.