I’m with President Trump: ‘There’s no deal until there’s a deal.’

And now that he has changed his stance and is openly siding with Vladimir Putin, despite vehement objections from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited the White House yesterday, a deal seems rather elusive.

Putin’s interest in peace is underscored by his continued bombardment of Ukraine, the country he illegally invaded, with the latest round killing 10 people. Which is to say the Kremlin dictator has no conceivable interest in peace, except on his maximalist terms.

Look, I’m rooting for Trump. If he can somehow square the circle of this brutal and bloody war, and bring things to an end, he will deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. And Hillary said she’d nominate him.

But the negative reviews of the Alaska sitdown has rankled Trump and prompted him to lash out at Fake News on Truth Social:

‘If we had the Summit elsewhere, the Democrat run and controlled media would have said what a terrible thing THAT was. These people are sick!’

Okay, he doesn’t like the press. Except we now know, thanks to his in-flight comments to Fox’s Bret Baier, that he enjoys the sparring, likening it to a golf game. The reporters are all trying to get him to make a mistake. If he makes no breaking news, he wins. If he does say something that’s breaking news, he didn’t put the ball in the hole and they’ve got him. 

I watched Sunday morning as Zelenskyy and top European officials said only Russia can end the war and that Ukraine would not be surrendering the Donbas region, home to more than 200,000 people.  

As Gen. Wesley Clark told me on ‘Media Buzz,’ once you get past the Donbas region, it’s a ‘straight shot’ to Kyiv, so the brave Ukrainians, who have held off the far bigger Russian war machine, would be defenseless. 

It’s mildly encouraging that media reports say Putin has accepted the need for security forces to protect Ukraine, meaning the Europeans – and the U.S. – would send troops for a peacekeeping unit.

When special envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in the room during the Putin session, was asked about Trump’s change of position, I thought he’d deny it, but he didn’t. That confirms the stories are true, and certainly complicates matters.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said over the weekend that Trump ‘said himself that a ceasefire was his absolute most important and highest priority. So, it was a joint demand, which isn’t happening now. We would have indeed hoped for a cease-fire first. The Russian side was obviously unwilling to do that.’

So what exactly is Putin giving up? Nothing, as far as I can see. Every day without a cease-fire is another day that the indicted war criminal gets to cement his battlefield gains.

And, under these circumstances, Trump expects Ukraine’s president to join in a trilateral meeting with him and Putin? 

Responding to Fox’s Peter Doocy, Trump said: ‘I think if everything works out well today, we’ll have a trilat and I think there will be a reasonable chance of ending the war when we do that.’ 

Zelenskyy, who repeatedly praised Trump–he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice after getting kicked out of the White House following his meltdown back in February–reminded reporters that ‘we live under, each day, attacks. You know, that today have been a lot of attacks and a lot of wounded people. And the child was dead, small one, one year and half.

‘So we need to stop this war, to stop Russia. And we need to support American and European partners that will do our best, for this. So, and I think we show that we are strong people and we supported the idea of the united system of personnel, President Trump to stop this war, to make a diplomatic way of finishing this war. And we are ready for trilateral as presidents.’

Now that stunned me. He’s willing to sit down with Putin and Trump after insisting on a cease-fire first – which was also the president’s position until he flipped and abandoned it after the sitdown with the indicted war criminal?

So what was the mood afterward?

‘I’m optimistic that collectively we can reach an agreement that would deter any future aggression against Ukraine,’ Trump said. He added, ‘I have a feeling you and President Putin are going to work something out.’

Zelenskyy ‘praised the constructive specific meeting,’ adding: ‘There is a lot of people in prison. So we need them back and guarantees which will work for the years. We spoke about it and I showed president a lot of details on the battlefield, on the map.’ 

But will Putin, who views Zelenskyy as an illegitimate leader, attend?

All the chatter about the red carpet and other atmospherics is meaningless. Yes, Zelenskyy wore a suit, albeit a military-style one.

We should all be rooting for Trump. Even if he falls short, and the war drags on, it can only end with a negotiated settlement.

At one point, Trump broke away from the session and called Putin, rather than waiting till afterwards.

Trump posted that this was ‘a very good early step,’ and early may be the operative word. The war could certainly drag on. But it can’t end on the battlefield. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without Trump’s unique preference for leader-to-leader talks, even though he’s now openly siding with Vladimir Putin. Sometimes that produces results and sometimes it doesn’t, as with Kim Jong-un. But it’s given him – and us – a shot. 

President Donald Trump described his White House negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders as ‘a very good, early step’ toward ending the nearly four-year-old Russia-Ukraine war, announcing that he has already spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about arranging a direct meeting with Zelenskyy.

Trump said the group of world leaders held discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine, with commitments coming primarily from European nations ‘in coordination with the United States’ in a statement on Truth Social after the meetings.

‘Everyone is very happy about the possibility of PEACE for Russia/Ukraine,’ Trump said, adding that Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff are now leading follow-up talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

Zelenskyy signaled he too was ready to meet directly with Putin. 

A Kremlin readout of the Trump-Putin call confirmed the pair ‘discussed the idea of raising the level of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations,’ but did not say whether Putin had agreed. 

Trump outlines next steps

Trump revealed that following the Oval Office meetings he phoned Putin to begin making ‘arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy.’ If that takes place, he said, the next stage would be a ‘Trilat’ — a trilateral meeting involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy said he would be open to a meeting with Trump and Putin or a meeting with just Putin next. 

‘We confirmed that we are ready for a trilateral meeting,’ the Ukrainian president told reporters after the meeting. ‘And if Russia proposed to the President of the United States bilateral, and then we will see the result of the bilateral, then it can be trilateral. So I said, always, Ukraine will never stop on the way to peace, and we are ready for any kind of format but on the level of leaders.’

While Trump has previously cast himself as a mediator rather than a dealmaker, the suggestion that Putin is open to meeting face-to-face with Zelenskyy marked the biggest breakthrough in peace negotiations yet. ‘Again, this was a very good, early step for a war that has been going on for almost four years,’ he said.

Security guarantees under discussion

The idea of ‘security guarantees’ has long been central to Ukraine’s demands. According to Trump, these would be provided primarily by European states, coordinated with Washington. Ahead of the meetings, Trump had not ruled out U.S. military involvement in the guarantees, but he has since stressed that Europe will bear the primary burden of defending Ukraine.

Trump also reiterated his view that U.S. support should come through arms sales rather than aid packages. ‘We’re not giving anything. We’re selling weapons,’ he said earlier this week. Ukraine has reportedly floated a proposal to buy as much as $100 billion in U.S.-made weapons with European financing, according to the Financial Times. 

Land swaps may be on the table 

During the meeting, Trump and Zelenskyy were pictured viewing a map outlining the front lines of the war and the Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russia, about 20% of the country. Trump may have used the map to discuss with Zelenskyy which regions he could realistically part with in order to obtain peace. 

According to a source familiar with Zelenskyy’s visit planning, clarity on U.S. and European security guarantees could help the Ukrainian leader make the case domestically for any territorial concessions — a likely core element of talks with Russia. The question of which areas Ukraine could ‘let go’ and which it must retain remains deeply sensitive in Kyiv, where public opinion has hardened after years of fighting and heavy civilian losses.

Russia’s categorical rejection

Moscow strongly opposed the concept of NATO-style guarantees. The Russian foreign ministry released a statement during the White House talks warning that any arrangement involving NATO countries could trigger ‘uncontrolled escalation’ with ‘unpredictable consequences,’ according to state media outlet RIA. That categorical rejection underscores the difficulty of bridging the gap between Ukraine’s security needs and Russia’s demands.

European leaders weigh in

German Chancellor Merz stressed that no meaningful talks could occur without at least a temporary ceasefire.

‘I can’t imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire,’ Merz said. ‘So let’s work on that and put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of these efforts depends on at least a ceasefire.’

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday, after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House, to begin coordinating next steps in the peace process aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. 

The president posted on his Truth Social platform Monday evening saying that he had called Putin at the conclusion of a day of meetings to begin ‘the arrangements for a meeting’ between the Russian president and his Ukrainian counterpart. Trump’s call to Putin mirrored his decision to call Zelenskyy following Friday’s Alaska summit with Putin. 

‘At the conclusion of the meetings, I called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelenskyy,’ Trump confirmed, following media reports hinting at the call.

The president added that after the meeting between the two warring presidents, there would be a trilateral meeting with the United States as well. 

‘After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,’ the president continued. ‘Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years.’

Yury Ushakov, a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Trump and Putin were on the phone for about 40 minutes and held a ‘candid and very constructive’ dialogue, according to CNN.

Putin ‘expressed support for direct negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine,’ Ushakov reportedly added.

Officials familiar with Monday’s talks also reportedly said Trump’s call to Putin came in-between talks with the European leaders present at the White House. Meanwhile, one of those leaders, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, reportedly said Putin agreed in the call with Trump to meet Zelenskyy in two weeks. 

Earlier in the day, Trump was caught in a hot-mic moment telling French President Emmanuel Macron that Putin wants to find a resolution to bring the war in Ukraine to an end for him.

‘I think [Putin] wants to make a deal,’ Trump whispered to Macron in the East Room as they were preparing for Monday’s talks. ‘I think he wants to make a deal for me, you understand that? As crazy as it sounds.’

Following Monday’s talks, Zelenskyy thanked Trump and all the other leaders present in D.C. for their work in trying to bring peace to his country, noting that the talks were ‘long and detailed.’  

‘Today, important negotiations took place in Washington. We discussed many issues with President Trump. It was a long and detailed conversation, including discussions about the situation on the battlefield and our steps to bring peace closer,’ Zelenskyy said in a post on X Monday night.

‘We appreciate the important signal from the United States regarding its readiness to support and be part of these guarantees. A lot of attention today was given to the return of our children, to the release of prisoners of war and civilians held by Russia. We agreed to work on this,’ Zelenskyy continued. ‘The U.S. President also supported a meeting at the level of leaders. Such a meeting is necessary to resolve sensitive issues.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on this but did not receive a response.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, saying that President Donald Trump ‘wants a solution that ends the bloodshed once and for all.’

‘Met with Ukrainian President @ZelenskyyUa on Ukraine’s security and deepening defense and economic partnerships,’ Rubio wrote in an X post in which he shared a photo of him shaking hands with the Ukrainian leader. ‘President Trump wants a solution that ends the bloodshed once and for all.’

Earlier Saturday, Zelenskyy revealed he had spoken with Rubio and Trumpenvoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner ahead of talks in Geneva, which he said his government expected to be ‘truly productive.’

I had a conversation with envoys of President Trump @stevewitkoff and @JaredKushner, ahead of the trilateral meetings in Geneva,’ Zelenskyy wrote on X. ‘We count on the meetings being truly productive.’

Zelenskyy said they also discussed ‘some developments following the meetings in Abu Dhabi, which were held at the end of last month and the beginning of this month.

‘Not everything can be shared over the phone, and our negotiating team will present Ukraine’s position next week,’ the Ukrainian president added.

After the Abu Dhabi talks, Zelenskyy told reporters the U.S. had set a June deadline for Moscow and Kyiv to strike a peace agreement.

‘The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will probably put pressure on the parties precisely according to this schedule,’ Zelenskyy said at the time, according to The Associated Press.

Zelenskyy added at the time that if the June deadline is not met, the Trump administration would likely put pressure on Moscow and Kyiv to meet.

On Saturday, he also thanked the U.S. for its ‘constructive approach’ to ending the war.

‘We greatly appreciate that America consistently maintains a constructive approach and is ready to assist in protecting lives,’ Zelenskyy wrote. ‘I thank President Trump, his team, and the people of the United States for their support.’

Rubio on Saturday also said he had discussed peace between Ukraine and Russia at the Munich Security Conference with his G7 counterparts. 

‘Met with my @G7 counterparts in Munich to advance @POTUS’s vision of pursuing peace through strength,’ Rubio wrote. ‘We discussed ongoing efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, promote stability in Venezuela, and address global threats to achieve international peace and prosperity.’

The talks between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine are expected to start Tuesday in Geneva.

To paraphrase President Ronald Reagan, I think it’s time to ask: do you honestly feel better off today than you were at the beginning of the year?  

In the past few weeks, President Donald Trump cheated at golf in Scotland on the taxpayer dime, announced a $200 million White House ballroom to host his rich donors, finalized a Qatari grift for his new Air Force One, waddled around the White House roof like a lost old man, and talked about how his old pedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein ‘stole’ a 16-year-old spa worker from Mar-a-Lago. 

How much of that time did he spend actually focusing on the economy? 

On jobs?  

On bringing prices down, like he promised to do on day one?  

Look, for years, the Trump Industrial Complex has been ruthlessly effective at painting Democrats every which way. I’ll admit, we didn’t do nearly enough to define ourselves before allowing them to define us. In fact, we did some research the other month and found the number one word associated with the Democratic Party was ‘weak.’  

Now, I know that’s not the case. We’re the party of the working class, the small business, the farmer. Before leading the DNC, I headed up the Minnesota DFL – and you know what DFL stands for? Democratic-Farmer-Labor.   

We’re the party that says, we don’t want to dismantle the VA or fire vets from their jobs, we want the men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom to be able to find an affordable home or get care after they’ve served. We’re the party that promises, if you’re going to work your butt off for decades, then you shouldn’t have to worry about some snake oil salesman blowing up your Social Security. And now it seems we’re the only party that still believes the Constitution matters.  

But it doesn’t matter what I know. It matters what people think. Between now and the midterm elections, our job – my job – is to make the case why your life would be better with Democrats in charge.  

Now, you know what else Trump Republicans in D.C. are ruthlessly effective at?  

Ruining the country.  

Trump thinks the best way to show leadership is through bumper-sticker politics. But while you read his catchy slogans, he drives the car into oncoming traffic.  

When he wants to appear tough, he sends the military into U.S. cities.  

When he wants to make the economy seem better than it is, he fires economists and pumps fake trade deals.  

When he wants to avoid his friendship with the most notorious sex criminal in modern history, he whips up BS scandals about Democrats.   

Meanwhile, the latest labor report shows the past three months as the weakest stretch for jobs since COVID-19. America’s small business backbone is being ground into dust. Farmers are shutting down operations. Families are paying more, getting less, and sitting up at night wondering if their job will be there for them next week.  

It’s almost as though, since coming into power, Trump and his allies in Congress have done everything possible to stop America from being great.  

They caused unnecessary economic tariff chaos and then, with their debt-ballooning budget, followed it up by ripping healthcare and food from those who need basic lifelines to make it through tough times. All to give lucrative tax windfalls to the most extreme elites. The richest of the richest of the rich.  

They attacked construction jobs, rural hospitals and nursing homes. They’re raising energy prices, grocery prices, clothing prices, car prices – the list goes on.  

And Trump said foreign countries would eat the tariff costs. Nope. You’re eating the costs. No press conference or talking point or billionaire-controlled AI bot can convince your bank account of something that’s not true.  

Trump thinks the best way to show leadership is through bumper-sticker politics. But while you read his catchy slogans, he drives the car into oncoming traffic.  

The thing is, we all want America to be great.  

But Democrats measure greatness by how many people have healthcare, how many families can find childcare that doesn’t break the bank, how many young couples can get keys to their first home, how many people with amazing ideas can turn those ideas into businesses. 

Let’s not forget, the Republican Party some of us still remember did big things. We didn’t always agree, and we fought bitterly at times, but at least they tried. They actually invested in stuff that matters to people, like building the interstate highway system, creating NASA, and knocking out polio. Hell, even President Richard Nixon created the EPA to make sure air is clean and water is safe. Now, the Trump administration is greenlighting forever chemicals in your water. These are the people who ran on ‘Make America Healthy Again.’  

Nobody should feel like they have to cover for Trump anymore. You deserve better. Plus, he already has a cartoon villain squad covering up for him every day with the Epstein files. 

If you’re disillusioned by politics, think that this government is captured by the ultra-elites, or believe the system is broken and screwing you over – you’re right.  

If you’re sick of the status quo, looking to break from the establishment, and end rigged games that protect powerful people, then I’m going to break it to you – you should vote Democrat.  

As Democrats, our job isn’t to help Jeff Bezos pay for his $50 million European wedding. It’s to make sure the economy allows you to afford your own wedding, or raise a kid, or get care for aging relatives, or pay the summer A/C bill.  

Don’t you wish Republicans in Washington cared about those things too? 

They attacked construction jobs, rural hospitals and nursing homes. They’re raising energy prices, grocery prices, clothing prices, car prices – the list goes on.  

Look, it’s a damn shame that some people don’t feel like Democrats fight for them anymore. 

Here’s my admission: we can’t say to voters that we’re going to fight for them, fight for their families, fight for working people, and then when given the power, do nothing with it. 

That has to change. It is changing.  

I like to say you don’t need a miracle to grow a spine. You just need a willingness to do what’s right.  

I know politics these days feels like a sport. Good guys and bad guys. Winners and losers.  

But whether or not families can make it in this country isn’t a sport.  

It’s the most serious thing in the world.  

Trump doesn’t take that responsibility seriously. I promise, Democrats do.  

Former Attorney General Bill Barr will appear before House investigators on Monday as part of the House GOP’s probe into Jeffrey Epstein.

He was one of the many officials subpoenaed by House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., earlier this month to appear before the panel and is part of a broader, bipartisan push in the House to uncover more information on the late financier and convicted pedophile.

Barr served as attorney general during President Donald Trump’s first term and helmed the Justice Department when Epstein was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City after being indicted on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

He became embroiled in investigations into Epstein’s death in August 2019 in the immediate aftermath, given that the Department of Justice (DOJ) oversees the Bureau of Prisons.

‘I can understand people who immediately, whose minds went to sort of the worst-case scenario because it was a perfect storm of screw-ups,’ Barr told the AP in 2019.

Fox News Digital reached out to Barr for comment ahead of his testimony.

Flash forward over six years later, and interest in the case, particularly over the Trump administration’s handling of it, has reignited a public and political firestorm.

The renewed interest stemmed from a memo from the FBI released last month when the agency revealed it would not release new documents from the case and that their review of it was closed.

In the memo, the FBI found there was ‘no incriminating ‘client list,’’ nor was there ‘credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.’

‘We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,’ the agency stated.

Though Barr was a prominent figure at the time, he is not the main target of Comer and the committee. Several others, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were also subpoenaed by Comer to appear before the committee.

‘Everybody in America wants to know what went on in Epstein Island, and we’ve all heard reports that Bill Clinton was a frequent visitor there, so he’s a prime suspect to be deposed by the House Oversight Committee,’ Comer told Newsmax.

Comer’s decision to subpoena the Barr and the Clintons, along with former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, ex-Attorneys General Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales, came after the Oversight panel voted to compel people with possible links to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former associate, to testify.

Along with the list of former officials, Comer also subpoenaed the DOJ for records related to Epstein’s case.