The Morning Sixpack - February 19, 2025

Trump blames Ukraine for starting the Russian war against Ukraine. Gaslighting is a full-contact sport, I guess?

Editor’s Note: I have been permanently kicked off Facebook, so don’t expect any of my newsletters to get shared there. Please subscribe right here on Substack. Below is a handy “Subscribe” button.

Go ahead, try it. It’s free. (Of course, you can become a paid subscriber to support the work I do here. THAT would be much appreciated!

Listen to the pod here:

---

Trump's Envoy Keith Kellogg Visits Kyiv Amid Rising Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday for high-stakes meetings with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky.

His visit follows Ukraine's exclusion from key U.S.-Russia discussions in Saudi Arabia, which aimed to set the stage for potential peace negotiations. Kellogg, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, emphasized that his mission was to "listen" and assess Ukraine’s security concerns firsthand.

"We understand the need for security guarantees. We understand the importance of the sovereignty of this nation," he stated upon arrival, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.

During his three-day visit, Kellogg is expected to meet with top Ukrainian leaders and possibly travel to the eastern frontlines. His arrival coincides with escalating tensions, as Zelensky forcefully rejected any peace deal brokered without Ukraine’s involvement.

Meanwhile, former President Trump, speaking at Mar-a-Lago, dismissed Zelensky’s concerns, asserting that Ukraine had "three years to negotiate a deal to end a war he should never have started."

Note that Trump is blaming Zelensky for starting the war. Keep that in mind when consuming ANY news about this Russian war against Ukraine.

Before reaching Kyiv, Kellogg engaged in diplomatic discussions in Warsaw and Brussels, meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and EU leaders to stress the importance of European participation in resolving the conflict.

Kellogg’s visit comes amid renewed Russian aggression, with a massive drone strike on the southeastern port of Odessa leaving four civilians injured and plunging much of the city into darkness. The attack has intensified calls for a stronger Western response.

"European engagement will be vital to resolving the conflict and maintaining lasting peace. America First does not mean America alone," the U.S. Mission to the EU stated in a post on X.

As Kellogg relays Ukraine’s concerns back to Washington, the world watches for any shift in U.S. policy on the ongoing war.

Don’t you worry: Trump has this under total and complete control (imagine waving hand gestures and pursed lips). He’s only missed his “I’ll end the war in Ukraine” in a day (what day?) by a month.

Source: UPI

Zelensky Slams Trump: ‘He Lives in a Disinformation Space’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired back at Donald Trump on Wednesday, accusing the U.S. president of spreading disinformation about the war with Russia.

The remarks came after Trump falsely claimed that Ukraine had "started the war" and criticized Zelensky for not ending it sooner.

“Unfortunately, President Trump… lives in this disinformation space,” Zelensky said.

His response marks one of the most public and direct confrontations between Kyiv and Washington since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.

Trump's comments, made during a speech at Mar-a-Lago, echoed Kremlin talking points and were warmly received in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised Trump for recognizing that NATO expansion had "caused" the conflict, a narrative long pushed by Putin.

Adding to tensions, U.S. and Russian officials held direct peace talks in Saudi Arabia this week—without Ukraine at the table.

Zelensky denounced the meeting, warning that excluding Ukraine "helped Putin out of his long isolation."

Meanwhile, Trump suggested the U.S. should demand access to Ukraine’s natural resources in exchange for military aid, a proposal Zelensky flatly rejected: “I cannot sell our state.”

With Trump’s rhetoric in lockstep with Moscow, Ukrainian officials and citizens voiced concerns about his reliability as an ally.

In Kyiv, psychologist Valeria Valevska dismissed Trump as "a narcissist" who cannot be trusted, while pensioner Oleksandr Mykhailov warned that if America withdraws support, "Europe must intervene and set its own conditions."

As Russia intensifies its attacks, launching a massive drone assault on Ukrainian cities just hours before the Riyadh talks, the divide between Trump and Zelensky continues to grow.

Ukraine is toast.

Source: CNN

Trump's Ukraine Claims Get a Reality Check—And It’s Not Pretty

Donald Trump’s latest tirade on Ukraine from Mar-a-Lago was a masterclass in Kremlin fan fiction, complete with the false claim that Ukraine “started the war.”

Speaking just hours after U.S. officials met with Russia in Riyadh—without Ukraine—Trump declared that Kyiv had “three years to end it” and should have “never started it” in the first place.

Never mind that Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022 after annexing Crimea in 2014, backing proxy forces, and fabricating claims of “genocide” to justify its actions. As BBC Verify quickly pointed out, Trump’s version of events reads like a Putin-approved bedtime story, not historical fact.

Not content with just rewriting history, Trump also claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s approval rating had cratered to 4%.

The problem? No credible data supports this. And so what if it did? Dude has been a force in keeping Ukraine free.

In reality, a recent poll from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found Zelensky’s trust rating at 57%—a drop from earlier wartime highs but still nowhere near Trump’s imaginary number.

Meanwhile, Russian media gleefully amplified Trump’s claim, citing a dubious poll from an MP accused of working for Russian intelligence. Zelensky wasted no time in responding, accusing Trump of “living in a disinformation space.”

Trump also echoed another favorite Russian talking point: questioning Ukraine’s legitimacy due to its lack of elections since 2019.

Of course, he conveniently ignored the fact that Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia invaded, making elections impossible.

Even Kyiv’s parliament and the majority of Ukrainians support postponing a vote until the war ends.

But none of that stopped Trump from parroting Kremlin rhetoric and insisting his take was “not a Russian thing.” It was because his second sugardaddy is the wee man, Putin.

I mean, when your talking points make Moscow cheer, it might be time for some self-reflection. Of course, Trump isn’t capable of introspection: He’s a sociopath.

Source: BBC

Who’s Running DOGE? Nobody Seems to Know—But Definitely Not Elon Musk (Apparently)

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) somehow is leaderless, or at least that’s what the White House claims.

With its previous administrator, Mina Hsiang, stepping down in January, no official successor has been announced, fueling speculation and legal challenges.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, the billionaire who actually does run DOGE (a fake federal department) continues to play a highly visible role—just not an official one, according to the Trump administration.

Oh, well, okay then!

While Musk has been answering Oval Office questions about DOGE’s efforts, White House officials insist he is merely an “adviser,” a distinction that may not hold up in court.

So, who is in charge? Republicans have pointed to a vague mix of temporary advisers and agency staffers overseeing DOGE operations, but no clear leadership structure exists.

Vivek Ramaswamy was previously named as a co-head but left to pursue a gubernatorial run, leaving even more obvious that Musk was the ONLY man standing at the head of DOGE.

The Congressional Research Service recently admitted it “[is] not aware that a USDS administrator has been named publicly.” In other words, the government’s own watchdogs can’t figure out who’s running this thing.

The gaslighting of America is in full bloom. Don’t believe your lyin’ eyes and ears, children!

Despite the absence of an official named leader, DOGE is actively working across federal agencies, with political appointees onboarding to “identify waste, fraud, and abuse.”

Soon, I will publish a piece on how much these guys waste in taxpayer dollars on their own operations, all the while watching “waste, fraud, and abuse” happen right before their eyes. Did any of them say one word about Trump and his little NASCAR wet dream-cum-true? No. Not a fucking peep.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (a verified idiot and liar) assured reporters that DOGE “does not have statutory authority,” which is a fancy way of saying it’s making recommendations rather than enforcing policy.

When pressed on who exactly is in charge, Leavitt dodged the question.

Meanwhile, the executive order Trump signed on Inauguration Day stated that DOGE’s administrator would report directly to the White House Chief of Staff—but conveniently left out a name. So, until further notice, DOGE appears to be Schrödinger’s agency: it both has a leader and doesn’t, depending on who you ask.

Except we all know that Musk IS its leader and is pulling all the strings.

Source: SEMAFOR

Oops! USDA Accidentally Fires Bird Flu Response Team, Now Scrambling to Rehire Them

Oopsie! Hey, we all make mistakes. Dozens of them that affect millions every single day. Give me another chance!

In a bureaucratic blunder that sounds like the setup to a bad joke, the U.S. Department of Agriculture admitted Tuesday that it accidentally fired several officials responsible for managing the federal government’s response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak.

The firings, which happened over the weekend, came as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping federal workforce cuts—but apparently, someone forgot to double-check the list before hitting send.

Now, as bird flu continues to ravage poultry farms and drive egg prices through the roof, the USDA is frantically trying to undo its mistake.

"Although several positions supporting [avian flu] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," a USDA spokesperson confirmed.

The agency insists that food safety roles were supposed to be exempt from the cuts and that efforts to combat the highly pathogenic avian influenza remain a top priority.

Meanwhile, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already confirming 68 human cases in the U.S., the timing of this bureaucratic faceplant couldn’t be worse.

While the USDA scrambles to rehire the very people it just fired, critics are questioning how such an essential team was put on the chopping block in the first place.

The incident highlights the risks of sweeping government downsizing without safeguards in place. A smart guy, unlike the dummy Musk, would bring in auditors to assess the situation, make a plan, and work the plan in a pragmatic way. Not Musk! Slash and burn, baby!

In the meantime, consumers facing skyrocketing egg prices can take comfort in knowing that, yes, the people who were supposed to help fix the problem are now being asked to come back to work—hopefully before their positions are accidentally deleted again. LOL. But hey, egg prices are down, right? Right?

Source: NBC News

Bolsonaro Indicted for Coup Plot—Because Apparently Overthrowing Democracy Is Frowned Upon

…in some places.

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president and wannabe dictator, has been hit with criminal charges for leading an alleged plot to seize power, assassinate political rivals, and strong-arm the military into keeping him in office.

Two years after his supporters stormed government buildings in a riot eerily reminiscent of January 6 in the U.S., Brazil’s attorney general formally accused Bolsonaro and 33 others of attempting to overthrow the state.

According to the indictment, “The responsibility for the harmful acts against the democratic order lays with the criminal organization led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro.”

In short: he wasn’t just throwing a tantrum over losing an election—he was planning a full-scale coup.

Sound familiar?

The indictment, which follows a federal police investigation, alleges Bolsonaro had been setting the stage for his power grab as early as 2021.

His plan? A relentless disinformation campaign to delegitimize Brazil’s electoral system, followed by attempts to “prime the international community for a coming power grab.”

But things really escalated after his loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Prosecutors claim Bolsonaro greenlit a plot to poison Lula, assassinate Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and take out Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The military, which was supposed to back the takeover, ultimately refused to play along—thankfully for democracy.

Bolsonaro, already banned from running for office for eight years, is now facing decades in prison if convicted.

His defense team called the charges “weak, incoherent, and absent of facts,” and Bolsonaro himself labeled the case a “fantastical narrative.”

While Bolsonaro prepares for trial, Brazil’s crackdown on insurrectionists stands in stark contrast to the U.S., where Donald Trump—who pardoned nearly all January 6 rioters—continues to lead the Republican Party and the fucking United States of America!

One thing’s for sure: Bolsonaro may soon find out just how “fantastical” a prison sentence can be.

Source: WaPo

---

I’ve begun writing a book and you can be a part of it! My gameplan is to publish ALL the “stories” right here on Substack and then, in about a year, publish an actual bound book with all the stories inside. By becoming a paid subscriber to American Nightmare, you will get advance notice of all the stories and other insider goodies, including a signed copy of the book if you become a Founding member!