Kremlin defender Tulsi Gabbard is the US’s new spy chief, while the US and Russia are holding peace talks without European and Ukrainian officials at the table. The vibe has officially shifted. This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by Sean Rameswaram. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at the G20 Summit in Osaka in 2019. Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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It's officially been a month now, and to his credit, President Trump waited almost an entire month before doing a 180 on U.S.-Russia relations. Trump had a nice long phone call with Vladimir Putin about a week ago. Ukraine was not invited.
My call was perfect.
And then on Tuesday, Trump blamed Ukraine for being invaded by Russia. And then to top it off, on Truth Social yesterday, he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator without elections. Shortly thereafter, on that same website, Trump called himself a king. Totally cool, normal stuff. But you might be old enough to remember the United States being on Ukraine's side of this war.
On Today Explained, we're getting used to this new normal, being BFFs with Russia. And we're going to start with the person Trump has put in charge of U.S. intelligence, a Russia sympathizer with no intelligence experience to speak of, named Tulsi Gabbard.
On this week's episode of Net Worth and Chill, I'm chatting with internet sensation and everyone's favorite Philly influencer, Bran Flakes. He's a social media maverick and content creator turning viral moments into cold, hard cash. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or watch on the Your Rich BFF YouTube channel.
So what is the actual State of the Union?
This was like the Donald Trump show, and he was going to throw red meat to the people who love him anyway.
I'm Preet Bharara, and this week I'm joined by historian Joanne Freeman, columnist Frank Bruni, and commentator Jonah Goldberg on my podcast, Stay Tuned with Preet. We discuss Trump's address to Congress and how the country is holding up just two months since Inauguration Day. The episode is out now. Search and follow Stay Tuned with Preet wherever you get your podcasts.
This is Today Explained.
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