Friday Fallout, Vol. 1
A Round Up of the Week's Top Stories
The Art of the Deal
While holding an Oval Office press conference with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump and Vice President Vance launched into a stunning tirade, accusing the Ukrainian president of being ungrateful. The meeting came to a head when Trump told Zelensky to “make a deal or we’re out.”
The public dressing down of Zelensky was met with shock and immediate shows of support for Zelensky on X:
European Commission President, Ursula Von Der Leyen: "Your dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people. Be strong, be brave, be fearless. You are never alone, dear President. We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace."
Moldovan President, Maia Sandu: "The truth is simple. Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine defends its freedom—and ours. We stand with Ukraine."
Not surprisingly, support for Trump and Vance came from the usual suspects as well:
Speaker Mike Johnson: "Thanks to President Trump - the days of America being taken advantage of and disrespected are OVER.”
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham: "What I saw in the Oval Office was disrespectful and I don't know if we can ever do business with Zelenskey again. He either needs to resign and send somebody over that we can do business with, or he needs to change."
Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban: "Strong men make peace, weak men make war. Today President @realDonaldTrump stood bravely for peace. Even if it was difficult for many to digest. Thank you, Mr. President!"
The failed meeting between Presidents Trump and Zelensky ultimately ended without a signed minerals deal.
Stick the Landing!
On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 had to abort its landing after narrowly avoiding a collision with a private jet that was taxiing across the runway. Flight 2504 cleared the private jet by only 250 feet, avoiding certain disaster. An air traffic control recording shows that “the private plane had been cleared to cross one runway but hold at another. The pilot of the private jet repeated the instructions to the tower incorrectly and was corrected by the tower. The pilot then repeated the instructions correctly. About 30 seconds later, the Southwest pilot can be heard saying they are ‘going around.’”
According to a recent poll, between January 2024 and February 2025 the number of people who felt flying was safe dropped from 71% to only 64%. It’s no wonder, considering Tuesday’s close call at Midway comes on the heels of several other serious aviation accidents, raising concern about the safety of flying. In just the first two months of the year, there have been a remarkable number of accidents. Here are just a few:
January 29, 2025 – Potomac River mid-air crash between American Airlines Flight 5342 and UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter, 67 fatalities.
January 31, 2025 – Med Jets Flight 056 crashes shortly after taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. 24 injuries, one ground fatality.
February 6, 2025 - Bering Air Flight 445 crashed while flying over the Norton Sound. 10 fatalities.
February 17, 2025 – Delta Flight 4819 enroute rom Minneapolis crashed and overturned while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport. 21 injured, no fatalities.
February 27, 2025 - A Robinson R44 helicopter crashed near Uvalde, TX. Two fatalities
After more than 400 cuts to the FAA, the airline’s union says that many of the jobs eliminated were critical to air safety. It’s reasonable to assume that American’s confidence in air travel will continue to decline as the government continues to cut jobs and planes continue to fall from the sky.
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Vaccines!
This week, a West Texas child who was unvaccinated died from measles. The young child died amid Texas’ worst outbreak in 30 years, with Texas seeing upwards of 124 cases across nine counties.
As of yesterday, a total of 164 “measles cases were reported by nine jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island, and Texas.” It’s important to note that all of the reported measles cases were, of course, preventable.
On the heels of the first measles death in 10 years, the FDA abruptly canceled a meeting at which next year’s influenza vaccine would be discussed, “The annual gathering is key. Federal health officials must decide in advance which strains to target in the next vaccine since production takes months. The meeting’s cancellation comes amid one of the worst flu seasons in 15 years, with more than 19,000 deaths, according to the CDC, nearly 100 of them children.”
Time is of the essence if we’re going to have a vaccine for the next flu season. Without one, the implications for our nation’s young and elderly could be deadly.
THIS WEEK’S BRIEFS
“I’m taxing your patience, aren’t I?”
What did the tariff say to the importer?
“I’m taxing your patience, aren’t I?”
It’s terrible joke. I know!
What’s not a joke is President Trump’s announcement that he’ll be imposing his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, and an additional 10% duty on Chinese goodS starting March 4. Trump told reporters that “he decided to add the extra tariffs on China and stick to the Tuesday deadline for Canada and Mexico given what his administration sees as insufficient progress on curbing fentanyl flows into the country.”
It’s relevant to note that an estimated 80-90% of the fentanyl flowing into Canada comes from the United States, while only 10-20% enters the U.S. from Canada.
It’s also relevant to note that a tariff is just a tax on the consumer.
Weather Warning
Around 800 probationary employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were fired yesterday as The DOGE continues its relentless purge of federal workers. This accounts for about 7% of NOAA’s work force and could drastically impact the department’s ability to provide accurate forecasts as severe weather ramps up going into the spring’s severe weather season.
I’ll See You In Court
Legal challenges to President Trump’s executive orders are intensifying!
Election Commission Control: The Democratic Party is suing the Trump administration over an executive order (EO) that hopes to give the president greater authority over the FEC (an independent commission). The Election Commission Control says Trump’s EO is a violation of federal election law.
Immigration Policy and Deportations: The administration is under increasing scrutiny for implementing policies that could result in the detention and deportation of immigrants who have been accused of crimes but not yet convicted. This raises concerns surrounding due process.
Federal Workforce Restructuring: The administration's continued gutting of the federal workforce is facing harsh criticism. Legal experts are concerned these efforts on the part of DOGE and the administration violate the law.
It’s been a newsworthy week, and I’m certain next week will be as well. In the meantime, I hope you have a great weekend and I encourage you to return next Friday for my next addition of “Friday Fallout.”