Analysis of Trump's Business and Presidency

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Create your own AI agent in minutes on Monday dot com I can just tell you there is nothing out there that That is going to be will run counter to any of the stories that I've talked about openly this entire campaign And I know everyone continues to be like, oh, what else is coming? ironically R The whole what else is coming has essentially been the same thing the whole time. which is A 've been very open about the fact that I struggled, very open about the fact I had a long litany of failed relationships for years because I myself was not in a good place U and then every now and again. We will have a media outlet or politically motivated attack come up and try to drag it all up, but it's All very much within the exact same story that I've told this entire time Okay. so you say there's nothing out there that could be concerning And this may sound a little bit raich. I I just want to make this clear, there's nothing out there that's actually concerning. People will make everything seem very concerning because that's what people do in politics. All right, so that was our interview with US Senate nominee Graam Platner of Maine, almost a month ago, telling us there was nothing else coming out that would be concerning to his campaign. Yet now, a woman has come forward accusing him of sexually assaulting her, which Platner denies. We're going to go through that new reporting from Politico. And what options Democrats have if he indeed does drop out of the race?lus We will preview the start of the NATO suummit. The meeting is expected to be dominated by Recent deadly Russian airstrikes in Ukraine, strikes in Ukraine as well as President Trump's strained relationship with the Alliance as a whole Also ahead, a disappointing end to the World Cup for the US men's national team. They got one of their star players back For last night's match against Belgium, but Didn't seem to matter Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It's Tuesday, july seventh with us. We have the co host of our eight AM hour, staff writer at the Atlantic, Jonathan Lamir, and MS now National Affairs analyst John Heylman. He's partner and chief political columnist at PC. And Willie willll get to Graham Platner and that story in just a moment, but it looks Well, two things actually. President Trump intervening in getting the US Star striker reinstated for yesterday, his game didn't help. But here's my take So Baligan, right He intervened on behalf of this red flag situation, which never happens, right In a way, I'm very grateful The presresident United States. And Stehven Miller because Balligan's story really frames The whole issue of birthright citizenship He was born in Brooklyn because his mom couldn't get out of the country. to go back home. And so he's an American Yes, that part of the story is definitely true. Unfortunately, it did not make a difference last night. They would have lost with them. They would have lost without them. They were just totally outclass by Belgium. I think it's better that he did play. It was an absurd red card. I think most people agree. How happened is in dispute, but he should have been on the field last night, but John, it didn't make much of a difference. the back page of some of the papers this morning Uncle Scram, that's the New York Post. and then Not There Night, says the New York Daily News. They've faced a much better team than they've played in Belgium. Belgium's really good. but also The United States just looked terrible last night. There's no way to sugarcoat it. No, they didn't lose. They got thrashed. It was an embarrassing performance, unfortunately in a disappointing end to what had been a really good run. They won their group stage They got through Bosnia. There were some real highlights here. The Tournment of the wholeo, you know, it now becomes sort of a mixed bag for Team USA. The World Cup in the United States has been a wild sucess and people have loved it But in terms of team USA's performance like The round of sixteen is sort of minimally acceptable. when you're att home You know, you were they'd hoped to get through at least one more round here. And this is a game going in. There are real expectations that they had a shot to win. And they were Thoroughly outclassed. You they gave him a goal in the first nine minutes. they gave him up a couple devastating goals later I mean, this wasn't even close. And the Balligan question is a big one. There's certainly some karma issues whether President Trump. I think most people agree the red card coming on replay was bogus. But once the red card iss ass signigned, there's really not a way to overturn it President Trump stepped in, bragged about it. and I think it's safe to say that Belgium used it as motivation, just two notes to you, Willie. As soon as the game was over, the official Belgian Twitter account tweeted overturn this with their goal. And then that last goal game was already over. was three to one. And they score that last goal in extra time to make a for to one. It was really a punctuation like take this. And then afterwards, what did they do? The Belgian players did the little Trump dance in the corner. So they were clearly rubbing some salt in the wound here and thoroughly beat up a USA team, which Up until this point had given us a lot of joy and hope. C crashing down last night was fun, but as you say, there was expectation that maybe the quarterfinals just as a step of progress from previous years to that get the soccer in America and this team in particular over that hump didn't happen last night, Mika Belgium's great, but it was a shame that the United States would have play really well throughout this tournament didn't really show up last night Some questioning whether the president got in their head a little bit because it did sort of change the whole mental dynamic around the game. And if you know enough about soccer, you know that it is and this team was on the upswing and they were feeling the joy. We'll talk about it more with Roger Bennett. Let's get to our top story this morning. Main Democratic Senate candidate, Graham Plotner, facing calls to drop out of the race after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her The woman, Jenny Rasco, detailed on her allegations to Politico in a series of three interviews over the past two weeks MS now does not identify victims of alleged sexual crimes unless they come forward publicly. She says she casually dated Platner on and off from twenty nineteen to twenty twenty one She told Politico that Platner in late twenty twenty one entered her home in rural Maine, uninvited and deeply intoxicated She says he sexually assaulted her after telling him to stop. She then cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual. Politico reports Resco previously described reckless and unsettling behavior by Platinner to the New York Times says she didn't go public with a specific assault claim because she didn't want to be known as a rape victim She told CNN yesterday that her reasons for coming forward are not politically motivated I couldn't disagree more. That was actually one of the reasons that I didn't come out because you dont agree with this politics. I do. I really agree with this politics. I think we need somebody with those political stances and who are willing to do the work. And you know, I see his political videos. They get me fired up as well. I understand why people someone like him in office you know, and I felt like me coming forward would essentially potentially take that away. And I felt really uncomfortable with the responsibility of and the weight of my story and what that might do In response to this new reporting, Platinner posted a video statement on social media, calling the accusations against him Troubling, serious, and false So Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful of the political reality it will inflict We are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love peopleeople that I love movement I belong to and the goal of defeating Susan Collins Those were the goals when we launched this campaign And they remain my goals today Now Maine state law allows Platinner to be replaced on the ballot if he decides to drop out of the race. but He has to do that By this coming Monday, july thirteenth The state Democratic Party would then have until july twenty seventh, to name his replacement. We're going to dig into the politics, the timing of this in just a moment, but first Let's bring in one of the reporters who broke the story of the new allegations. Senior National politics correspondent for Politico, Adam Wren Adam I want to get right to the questions about this, the questions surrounding this on both sides of this debate. There's not a police report, correct Um correct me if I'm wrong, and this there's not a legal case playing out here for due process to see itself through. So my question to you, given the very high standards political has before they write something like this and publish it. what aspects of this story brought it to the level of publishable Yeah, you're correct, Y Mika. There is no police report in this case. We spent a lot of time talking to Jenny, you, asking her for croborating evidence. She shared that she had confided into a number of people, including her therapist in almost real time And we reviewed email exchanges between she and her therapist referring to what she called the sexual assault and her therapist sort of acknowledging that this had happened to her. We talked to people who she confided in in the months after this happened. We asked her why she didn't file a police report and she describes sort of the The insular nature of where she lives in her corner of Maine that she shares with Graham Platner, and she debated sort of how to handle this. and we found ultimately the number of coobperating pieces of evidence to support her story in a way that we could report it So what are some of those corroborating pieces of evidence? So you've got conversations with her therapist and people who she confid it in. Um, any um Any conversations with Graham Platner at the time of it where she said, because apparently as part of this story, she says she even confirmed to him that this was not consent. Do you have that? What do you have that actually connects this literally Graam Plotner Yeah to raping this victim Yeah, she reached out to him the day after via Instagram and essentially, you know told him that you know she didn't want to hear from him again. She told him that morning as well. You know, we looked at messages that she had sent to others in the months after this happened through so you were able to see those DMs She tried to recover those DMs. We did not we were not able to review those DMs, but she described them to us. We also long before he was a public before he was a political candidate, we saw her essentially explain to others that he was, quote, in her words consensually careless end quote Right But you were you able to see the interactions between Graham Platner and this alleged victim? Did you actually physically see them? Did she produce them for you She was she attempted to uncover them. She but was unable to Willie So let's talk a little bit, Adam about some of the timing of this. Some people pointed out, it's a week out from the date that Democrats now have to scramble and potentially find a new candidate. If Platner does indeed drop out as he's expected to. We'll talk more about his support in the Democratic Party nationally at the state level has collapsed after these revelations. She was Jenny in that New York Times piecered in the piece a few weeks ago. So what's your sense of why she decided she wanted to go into more detail with you at this point. Yeah, Willie. She was frustrated with how that article landed, she told us. She was frustrated with another woman that she knows who was quoted in that piece, she how her story was received. She felt there was a lot of negative polarization around that anecdote that she was written off just because she was a Republican. And you know, she wanted maine voters to have sort of the full story. And you know she sort of relayed all of this to us And how do you square yesterday, we heard it we just saw on that soundbite that Graham Platinner just saying objectively that the charges are false. He says they are troubling, but that they're false, that this doesn't happen. Just to pull back the curtain a little bit, how do you square that as a reporter as you produce this story Yeah, you know, it's we gave the Platner, we reached out to the Platner campaign Ely Sunday, we gave them roughly twenty four hours to sort of respond to this and you know included their response. We know stress test all of the reporting in this as much as we could. And you know, of course, you know, included his his denial But, you know, she Jenny describes him as being, you know, deeply intox intoxicated. And, you know, at times while this alleged attack was occurring, you know, he was sort of J as she describes it passing in and out of recognition of what was going on and even you, occasionally you know apologizing. And you know the next morning, she confronted him about this and he didn't quite seem to remember what had happened. And she felt deeply wounded by that and in her telling, you know lived with that for years So Adam, let's talk now about how the Platinner campaign is responding. We saw the video from the candidate yesterday, and he says it's taking time to sort reevaluate next steps. What is his team suggesting to you as to what the timing might look like for indeed his decision as to what to do next? We have, as we'll dive into in a few minutes, have seen his support nationally really fall apart here How is this landing with his campaign? You, because he is to this point His popularity has been pretty resilient in Maine Due to previous allegations, this one though might be different. Yeah, John, there's some indication that he is trying to have some leverage in this situation and find a candidate who sort of fits his progressive fighter profile, you know, the former progressive guubernatorial Candidate Troy Jackson has been name checked as a possible replacement here. And so in some ways, he's trying to look at the contours and negotiate you know a potential exit from his race. He has galvanized a lot of support in Maine. We see these videos from the town halls that he has, the way that he's received on the campaign trail And there's a lot of, you know, significant support for his platform, for his message the way that's resonating across the state M And so you know, you know, they're looking for a path out and they' weighing sort of all their options at this point So Adam in closing, obviously this is a huge political bombshell story, a story that M probably will Lead to the end of Graham Platner's campaign And I'm just I'm going back to the decision to publish and I'm curious what What? concrete evidence. You have conversations with therapists, conversation with friends, but what took this story beyond? Graam Platner saying this was consensual Jenny Rasco saying this was not consensual What took it over the edge and had you and your editors decide to publish, of course kind of an earthquake in democratic politics What was the piece of evidence or pieces of evidence that made you sure of this story Yeah, I mean, long before he was a political candidate, long before much of the country knew his name, Jenny in her telling had confided in a number of people. We saw screenshots that she shared of messages relaying this account to others. We viewed an email response from her therapist to her acknowledging that they had talked about Th those are the things I said, but those are what what is the actual is there evidence between her and him evidence of a crime because he's being s being accused of rape Uh so What is the what put this over the edge Because yeah He says he didn't. and he has people on his side who say he didn't. She says he did and there are people, but none there's I'm trying what's the through line? What ties this together and gives you the evidence Bring this story to the point of publishable Yeah, you know, we interviewed her you know three separate times. Her storory stayed consistent across those times. You know, We talked to people who she had spoken with contemporaneously about these attacks and all of those stories lined up and checked out. and ultimately, you know, pololitico stands by our reporting. and we talked to you know, people who cooperorated her story largely The new reporting is online right now. Senior national politics correspondent for Politico, Adam Wren, thank you so much for getting up early and sharing this story with us. We appreciate it. Now top Democrats who backed Platinner through a number of controversies during his campaign have begun rescinding endorsements Congressman Roana called for Platner to drop out of the race last night, posting to social media sexual assault or violence against women is a red line These allegations are very serious and credible In a statement to MS Now, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote in part with so much at stake The best path forward is for Graham Platner. To step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations, outside this Senate race. Senator Rubin Galliego wrote on social media that he was rescinding his endorsement and called the allegations troubling and deeply serious. The National Democratic Party is also calling on Platinner to leave the race. Chairman Ken Martin confirmed the party's stance last night, writing Mers deserve A Democratic candidate who can serve the people of their state, which is why it's time for him to end his campaign Democratic leaders in the Senate are reportedly putting their foot down, blocking any monetary support for Main's Senate race. until Platner drops out as the nominee Willie, this is obviously Graham Platner has been really talked with different stories along the way and there are a lot of analysts who are now saying, why did it take so long? at the same time This is an incredible moment in time to come forward and some are questioning that as well. The timing Yeah, and as we've learned at least in the last decade, but hopefully far before that, it's not easy for any woman to come forward and put herself out there and put her name and face to a story like this. She doesn't want to talk about this publicly. So the allegations taken very seriously reported out by pololitico. and but immediately now we have, as you point out, six days for Democrats, John Heyman to find a new candidate if Platinner does indeed I'll leave the race as many are expecting him to do. I mean, we could just tick through it You've got Elizabeth Warren, one of his chief supporters. We haven't heard yet from Bernie Sanders. as of this morning, we may shortly Roana, Tammy Duckworth, Gallgo, the Senatorial campaign Committee has withdrawn its support, the main Democratic Party. So there's really not a whole lot left. So what is your sense of what happens here in the next few hours today Well, I mean, first really, I think there's just to correct the one thing you said a second ago, there's two stages to this, right? where Platatter has to decide by Monday if he's going to drop out. If he doesn't drop out by Monday, he's on the ballot. If he decides that between now and Monday, this party then has two weeks after that to figure out who their nominee is going to be. And there is nothing in in in Maine law or in the way the Democratic party works that tells them how to do that. So I think one of the questions is going to be is the practical matter of what's the process by which you would select another candidate? Strong sense that that Graham Platter is going to drop out. Some people think that he may drop out as soon as this morning And and that will throw it. It's a very important decision, obviously that the main Democratic partarty has to make. The one thing that the partarty has ruled out is the notion of doing of having a kind of the party itself select someone from the closed kind of ranks of the party. they have just they're saying that they're not going to do that even though again, by law, they would be able to if they if they chose to. I think that's in keeping with lot of the kind of sentiment up in Maine. I don't think a party that a Democratic party that was attracted to Graham Platner's candidacy, the outsider nature of it, the populist nature of it is probably not one that would be all that inclined to accept or rally behind a nominee that was chosen by party insiders. there's a possib there's been discussion about the possibility of calling a party convention in that two week time to scre talk about candidates and take some kind of a vote. There's also been talk about holding a snap us putting together a quick Democratic caucus to kind of redo the results from the primary. I'm not sure where they're going to come down on that. I will say U and I know there's a lot of things to discuss here, but When it comes to the timing of this story, Republicans Broadly speaking, we're kind of licking their chops over the notion that Graham Platner looking at their chops with the notion that they feel like they have very, very heavy opposition opposition research dossers that they were waiting after the deadline, after the deadline of next Monday, where the Democrats would be locked in with Graham Platinner to drop what they think of as being very damaging material on him. I don't know what that material is, but there's been a lot of scuttle about that. And so if it were Republicans who were driving the timing of this disclosure, they would have waited until after the deadline. They were very happy to campaign against Graham Platinner with the material that they feel like they have in their bags. This I think that argues against the notion that a lot of progressives have immediately reacted, which was, well, this is obviously Republicans who are responsible for this. This is the establishment trying to take Graham Platinner out. I think that whatever the motivations are that Jenny Rasicott was driven by to come out when she did And you know, there's no reason not to believe the things that she said to Politico. Certainly her conduct with with having put out kind of a bveiled reference to this in the New York Times story suggests that she that there's some credibility to the notion she shares his politics. didn't want to be identified as a rape victim. that rings true to a lot of women that I've spoken to. I don't think though that the argument that this is obviously a Republican the doings of Republicans or platinum opponents rings true again, given that if you really wanted to take him out, you probably would have let him still have him stay on on the ballot and then gone after him later with the material you have And of course, there was the governor of Maine, Jet Mills was in this race, you know, but there doesn't seem to be much momentum there that she could jump back in. There are some other candidates though who have made it clear, some state officials who have said, yes, I'd still like to get in this. So we'll see where it goes, Han. But let's take a step back here. I You know, first of all, it should be noted again, just how resilient Platinner's campaign has been up u to this point that it took this to finally put him you know on the brink of having to drop out. It speaks to his talent, but also to where the electorate is And it's also though, a Democratic party that looks at the Senate map you know, and eight months ago, nine months ago would have been unthinkable. They had a chance to flip it. Now they really do, but it's going to be really tight. So they got to make this choice right. Susan Collins a survivor. So just give us your sense here as to like what role Washington may try to play here, you know, whether it's L leader Schumer How you see this playing out next couple of days and weeks Well, Jonathan for sure, and this is a state that people think because of the fact that There's a rare state for Democrats They're defending a state here or taking on is trying to challenge a Republican here in a state where that was carried by Hillary Clinton Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And so in a lot of respects, Meane is almost there Susan Collins is essentially a Republican who's been a very resilient, as you say, a resilient incumbent in a state that is increasingly blue at the statewide level and again, has a Democratic governor and so on. So this was supposed to be the easiest pickup. for Democrats. And so the notion that that this might be in jeopardy now is something that leaves a lot of people very uncomfortable and wondering, you know how this all went wrong Um I do think that that, you know, Chuck Schumer Kind of I already waded into this race once in a way that proved to be very much adverse to the to the state of mind of the electorate because of course, DSCC put all of its weight behind Janet Mills, in fact scared away some other candidates who might have been compelling candidates, who might now be back in consideration, Dan Kleber, the guy who founded the main er company had apparently been thinking about running a kind of kind of anti Wall Street populist campaign and was told by the DSCC that if he did that, they would effectively would come after him and not support him. And so the kind of the ways in which Washington has played in this race already haven't been particularly effective. But obbviously the DSCC has a huge interest in this. so the discussions The main Democratic partarty and the National partarty about how to proceed process wise, I think they are going to be really important over of course the next few days Graham Platter does drop out. But I can' imagine that what's going to happen is that the end just like the main party is not going to behind closed doors select a candidate. I think it would be a terrible look for the party and not again in line with where the mood of the electorate is up there if the Democratic partarty in Washington were to try to hand pick a successor to Graham Platinner So many great points, John Humman, thank you very much for your analysis this morning. We appreciate it. And still ahead on morning Joe, we'll get a live report from Turkey ahead of President Trump's arrival at the annual NATO suummit. plus, what we're learning about a phone call between Trump and Vladimir Putin just days ago right before Russia launched a massive New attack on Ukraine And now as we go to break a look at the traraveler's forecast this morning from Acu Bothers Bernie Reno. Bernie, how's it looking Mka it's very murky this morning along the East cooast. You're accurate with the forecast Also it's a wet forecast in Boston, rains all day. Morning rain, New York City, Philadelphia, some afternoon thunderstorms in Washington, DC. Enjoy the sunshine Chicago and Detroit. some strong thunderstorms in the Carolinas elsewhere from Florida toward Texas. It's warm, it's humid, let's call it hot and humid b, thunderstorms, travel delays. We're going to have them all day in Boston and New York City. Watch Miami this afternoon To help you make the best decisions and be more in the know, download the Au weather app today Have you ever considered surrounding your house with a moat to keep it safe Would you hire a professional wrestler as a bodyguard for your car Okay, maybe you wouldn't go that far, but if you'd go to great lengths to avoid dealing with your insurance company You might have insoranoia And if you have insuranoia, you should have NJM insurance They go to great lengths to do what's best for their policyholders Start relieving your insureanoia today. at njM. com Monday AI agents took over my work. And I absolutely love it. Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders. agents handle the daily grind now. They live inside Monday dot comot so they see the full picture. My work, my team, the whole company. And I don't have to worry about the data. It's safe, which means I'm free to focus on the big stuff and knowing everything runs smoothly in the background. It's completely shifted the way we work Create your own AI agent in mininutes on Monday. com better help add. Have you ever had so many tabs open that your computer starts slowing down Life can feel like that too. The Better Help's twenty twenty six state of Stigma report found that seventy four percent of Americans believe society still discourages asking for help Therapy can help you sort through what's taking up space and quietly affecting you With better H, Connect with a licensed therapist online and switch anyt time. Maybe it's time to close a few tabs. Visit betterhelp. com All right, live pictures there that you see, this is the Tarmac, momoments from now, President Trump will land in Turkey for the annual NATO summit. And you see, preparations are being made there for his arrival. Once he touches down, he will participate in a state arrival ceremony and honor Guard review before moving into a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Erdman Trump will later. haveave dinner with Fellllow NATO leaders, leaders who he has repeatedly criticized even just days ago for their levels of defense spending In what is likely to be an effort to combat that criticism, NATO, Secretary General Mark Ruda told reporters yesterday The Alliance will showcase a series of new military projects worth billions of dollars Meanwhile, the New York Times is reporting Trump, who had suggested he would bring a Gift. T one is expected to tell the Turkish president he is prepared to restore the country's access to F thirty five fighter jets, a move that would reverse a ban Trump himself imposed Seven years ago, on national security grounds Let's bring in President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. Richard Has. He's the author of the sububstack. home and away. And also with us, EmmS now international reporter Innest Elequuitera, who joins us live from Ankarat, Turkey. In Nest, what are you watching for today Well hey, good morning, Mika. O on that last point on the F thirty five fighter jets, worth pointing out that the Israelis oppose that. We heard from the Israeli prrime minister saying that that would upend the balance of power in the Middle East. So that's going to be something to watch going forward. But here you know as the summit is just about to get underway, there is certainly a mood of uncertainty. This summit comes at a time Transatlantic relations have really been strained. And just to recap how strained they've been, just in the last year, you've had President Trump threatening to take Greenland from NATO ally Denmark. You had Trump launching a war on Iran without consulting NATO allies and then lashing out at NATO allies for not doing more to support the US in that war. You had Trump picking fights with the British Prime Mister Kir Starmer, more recently picking a fight with the Italian prime Minister Georgia Maloneoney saying Obsessed with taking pictures of him at the G seven, which of course, she denies. You had the US announcing it would be withdrawing some troops from Germany and launching a review of the US's military presence in Europe. So all of that has NATO officials really on edge. There are concerns there could be additional troop withdrawals announced here. In terms of the presresident's message, we are expecting him to focus on getting NATO allies to ramp up their defense spending. That was really a big win for him at last year's summit, getting NATO allies to commit to spending five percent of their GDP on defense And so I think this time around, we're going to see NATO allies going out of their way to show that they are taking steps to do just that. I think that's why you're seeing today NATO showcasing those new military deals, know worth billions of dollars to show that they're taking steps to ramp up their spending. So yeah, So that's going to be something to watch And we're watching Air Force One now pulling up to Tarmac. The presresident will be discending those steps shortly. MS now interternational reporter, Ines de Coterra, reporting live from Ecara, Turkey, Ines. thanks so much. So Boy Richard the dynamics here at this NATO summit with President Trump just in the last few days, again calling NATO a paper tiger, questioning why it exists, saying, Europe, you're on your own effectively. you should be responsible for your own defense. He's complaining still about the fact that none of these countries joined him in the war he began in Iran. They say, that's your war. We're not interested in that. of course The war with Ukraine, which creeps closer to their border attacks inside of Kyiv just a couple of days ago What are you going to be watching for here in these next couple of days couple of things. One is whether the whether there's any sense that the Europeans have confidence in the United States Quite honestly the biggest issue is a lot of Europeans will tell you privately,illy They think if there's a crisis if Russia want to do a probe into some European country They're not confident we're going to be there So that's one thing. And there's nothing this presresident has done to reassure Second all, very specifically, will he provide Ukraine Some of the air defense systems they need. They are getting pummeled by Russian missiles and will we provide patriots? to what extent do we have them and will we provide them? Thirdly, I actually find this whole conversation about how much the Europeans are spending really old. The real question in defense is not how much you spend, It's how you spend it. That applies to us. It applies to them. So I would be really good if someone on the US side who knew something about defense policy made that pivot. Be again, the Europeans spend a lot on defense. The problem is they don't spend it in the right ways. By the way, same thing applies to us. That'd be a much more productive conversation. In fact, John, the Secretary General, Mark Ruda was in the Oval Office, put up those Kink' billboards for the president, calling it the Trump trillion. Since twenty seventeen, when you came into office, we, the Europeans, have spent one point two trillion dollars. Thank you, sir, for that. The President dismissed it and say, why didn't you help me in Iran. But clearly money, a financial transaction is how the president views this relationship with NATO. Yeah. And some even foreign leaders have given Trump some credit for the pressure he's applied to get more defense spending This particular seecretary and general really likes buttering up the president of the United States. He decided that's the The best avenue to improve that relationship, we'll see if it works. know, But Richard, let's talk in particular about the Trump Zelensky relationship. There's an expectation they'll meet here in Turkey in the coming days. Their last couple meetings have gone better. and by better, I mean, like Trump didn't throw them out of the oval office, which happened last February. But you've hit on a key point here. the U S. sure still sharing intel, but has not done much else for Ukraine. And even over the weekend, White House officials previewing this trip, still insisting that Russia has the momentum in this war that it was a matter of time before Ukraine would have to come to the table to make a deal. When the facts on the ground seem the opposite. sureure, Russia iss able to still strike Ukraine with long range missiles, Well, Ukraine's able to do the same. And Ukraine's been able to steal back some of that territory of late. Ukraine is taking the war to Russia in Crimea where their whole Russian position for twenty fourteen is somewhat vulnerable. obbviously going after Russia's energy infrastructure, going after Moscow, humiliating Putin there. I don't know where the administration is getting its take The entire thrust of the Witkof Kushner diplomacy has been Ukraine has no choice but to swallow a bad deal Zero chance they will, zero chance they should It shows a real misreading of the battlefield and the momentum. It shows a real misreading of Ukraine politically and psychologically I don't yet sense that the administration has come around to the idea that Russia needs an end to this war, at least as much as Ukraine. because then we'd see a whole revamping of the U. S. position.ndeed. thing to look for, will we go back to calling for a ceasefire Rather than trying to impose a pro Russian outcome on Ukraine, if the administration simply said, noobody's going to win this war. let's just have a ceasefire in place and kick down the road all the territorial le issues, that would be a smart position. And I would hope to see that. I'm not confident we're going to see it now, but the sooner we see that, the better. And in fact, President Trump had a long ninety minute call with President Putin On Saturday, he said it was productive. He said Putin wants the war to end. and then literally the next day, Putin attacked inside of Kyiv with drones, with missiles, killing people, injuring dozens more. Here's how President Trump characterized that phone call yesterday Vladir Putin shortly after speaking Ja july fourth struck Kiv and killed innocent civilians. Why is that he feeling any pressure after speaking with you? Well, I think he does feel pressure. He wants to end it And Ukraine wants to end it and we're in talks and we'll see if we can get it ended. It's a terrible thing President Putin wants it to end. I will tell you that very strongly on a good call President Zelenskyy actually wants it to end now And we're going to be going to NATO and we're going to be talking about it. And I think we're going to get it I think we're going to get it ended. I had a very good call and I think we'll I think we're getting close to getting it done So Richard, he continues to say, Putin wants this war to end. That's just not true. is it I think it's slightly more true than it was because Putin's paying a price for the war. Economically, the casualties, over a million casualties since this war began, most of them dead He's not winning the war. Certainly not winning it on the ground and he's now paying a price for it. But no, I think you're right. Putin hasn't pivoted Putin wants this war to end, by the way, Willie, it would end in a New York minute. He would simply say, let's have a ceasefire in place. That's all he has to do. So the president Yeah where the president is getting the idea that Vladimir Putin wants the war to end. What he may be sensing is a little bit less confidence. It's harder for Putin to say But now The trend is our friend. The time is on on our side. So maybe they're picking up on that, but no, it hasn't yet translated into it, but I do think If the U. S changed its approach, there's more to work with now than any time over the last four years. If we stop trying to jam a pro Russian peace deal down Ukraine's throat. The other thing we've got to do is help Ukraine. again What better way to signal to Putin that he's not going to have his way if the U. S makes some patriots available to Ukraine. That would send a powerful message. And as you say, Zelensky, at this point, given the state of play and the war and how well they're conducting themselves isn't going to have a deal jam down his throat. thinks they're doing well. Stay with us Richard coming up. President Trump continues to defend himself against critics who say he's profiting off the presidency. He is. Our next guest has spoken with several investors who've lost billions of dollars on Trump related stocks and crypto. That's straight ahead on morning Joe This is a Monday. com ad, the same Mondayot com designed for every team. The same Mondayot com with built in AI, scaling your work from day one. The same Mondayot com with an easy and intuitive setup. Go to Monday. com and try it for free better help add. Have you ever had so many tabs open that your computer starts slowing down Life can feel like that too. The Better Help's twenty twenty six state of Stigma report found that seventy four percent of Americans believe society still discourages asking for help Therapy can help you sort through what's taking up space and quietly affecting you With better H, Connect with a licensed therapist online and switch anyt time. Maybe it's time to close a few tabs. Visit betterterhelp dot comot Can I just quickly say hello to you? For me, being a part of this place has always been about the people, not about the politics. Are why you holding this sign? You ever been to a protest before? P save people that we cover who allow us to enter their lives. How's everybody doing? Ebody doing okay? How long has been in lifeine I love human beings. too spend time connecting with them is the biggest blessing that I could ask for. From the field to the studio, Jacob is finding the heart of the story. Connect with Jacob Soberoff. weekends at ten AM Eastern on MS now So yeah, I'm very much for crypto because I don't it's not a question of U personal thing. because I let my kids do whatever the hell they do they can do. I don't talk to them. ever talk to them about it. I'm allowed to I think I'm allowed to But I don't bother becausecause this is a much higher this office is a much higher calling. To me, crypto is a very powerful. A lot of people are using it. Bitcoin They're using it at levels that nobody I don't think anybody understands J help power And if we didn't do it China would do it in a minute President Trump once again defending his investments yesterday after a recent disclosure revealed he made one point four billion dollars from crypto related ventures last year Trump continued to tie his legacy to the stock market, even as public opinion of his handling of the economy has dropped He rg the opening bell yesterday for the first time ever from the Oval Office, surrounded by lawmakers and investors of Trump accounts, a federal savings initiative for children under the age of eighteen Present at the event was CEO Michael Dell of Dell Technologies and his wife who have pledged to donate more than six billion dollars to the program Trump whoses financial disclosure shows he purchased anywhere between three hundred thousand to a million dollars worth of Dell Stock last year praised the delves and urged Americans to buy their computers, which then sent the stock soaring yesterday. It's another example of how Trump's personal investments have benefited from his work in the presidency Joining us now senior editor at Forbes, overseeing money in politics coverage, Dan Alexander. He's the author of the twenty twenty book titled The White House Incorporated How Donald Trump turnurned the Presidency into a business Dan's out with a new piece today in Forbes entitled Meet the Investors Wh Lost Billions buying Trump stocks and crypto. And Dan I'll read a part of the piece in which you detail the steps Trump took to cash in on his name in and out of office. And you write Throughout the president's life, his most remarkable creations, whether casinos in Atlantic City, public offerings on the New York Stock Exchange or political movements across America all relied On one thing. Believers, in twenty twenty one, Trump left the White House with an abundance of them and quickly got to work monetizing To do so, he followed a process with three distinct stages. First the invention, come up with a business concept, invest almost nothing, takeake a big chunk of equity. Second The sale, stir up a frenzy among the faithful. cash out what you can. and third The mess Watch the assets collapse, salvage the scraps From twenty twenty one to twenty twenty five Five Trump family ventures reached public investors. Trump media World Liberty Financial Trump's meme coin, Melania Trump's meme coin, and American Bitcoin. and now they're all hitting the messy stage. Is there something different now or is this something that keeps repeating itself Well, it does keep repeating itself, but One of the things that's different is that Donald Trump has taken advantage of a particular moment in both the business world and the political world. Obviously the political world, now he's president And so he has the ability to hype things like nobody else on the planet But there's a second component of this, which is that There are two sort of buckets into which those five ventures fall. The first are companies that went public via special purpose acquisition corporations. and the second are cryptocurrency offerings. Both of those things became huge sort of fads on Wall Street over the last handful of years And both of them rely mostly or largely on salesmanship Donald Trump is perhaps the greatest salesman in American history. And so he's used that particular skill of his to apply to this moment and again leverage the presidency All of it when you add it up gets due to a tremendous amount of money. The amount of sort of net worth increase that we've seen from those five ventures across the first family, three point one billion dollars. Now, a lot of that is because they cashed out a lot already one point nine billion dollars. So even as these assets have collapsed They're still sitting pretty. But meanwhile, their investors collectively are down, we estimate seven billion dollars So Dan, can you describe a little bit what this meme coin is? I think it's confusing to people. In lot of ways, it was access to President Trump. If you bought enough of the meme coin, you could go to Mar aago or his golf club in Virginia. You maybe meet the president if you're lucky, you get a bag of goodies to take away at least But was there ever any real value for someone who bought that meme corn or was it just a fun thing to own