Bill Kristol: It Always Comes Back to Trump/Russia

Kremlev, a Putin-linked oligarch tied to alleged Ukrainian child abduction, secretly funded Don Jr.'s wedding

Claims he has no idea who Kremlev is and never heard his name

This is routine Trump-era grift, made worse by its Putin/Russia ties and involvement with horrific dictatorial enterprises

It's astonishing that someone allegedly involved in abducting Ukrainian children was at the wedding and paid for it, suggesting the Russians expect something in return

Ukraine should withdraw to Putin's proposed line to enable a deal that ends the conflict for both sides

It's absurd that Kushner frames Ukraine as the demanding party when Russia is kidnapping children and funding the Trumps

Kushner's fake business-negotiator tone falsely treats Russia and Ukraine as equally guilty, which is appalling

Zelensky must stop attacking Russian diesel targets because it's causing a fuel shortage

Diesel prices rose because of Russia's invasion and then Trump's own war of choice in Iran, not because of Zelensky

Trump's rhetoric shows he is sucking up to Putin even as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukrainian civilians and aids Iran

China helped with the targeting of an Iranian attack that killed three American service members

China's involvement isn't a big deal because the U.S. does the same thing

Trump is totally uninterested in challenging China despite its role in American troop deaths, revealing total weakness

Trump is personally in awe of dictators like Xi and Putin, which explains his deference

The touted U.S. strikes on Houthi forces wasted resources and achieved nothing lasting

The Houthi/Yemen operation, including the Signalgate leak, was a failed operation that left Iran's proxy stronger, harming the U.S. and the world while being spun as a Trump/Hegseth victory

Marshall supported an unnecessary war that raised diesel and farm input costs, and acts as Trump's spokesperson rather than a check on him

Trump's tariffs are working to bring manufacturing jobs home and improve exports

Tariffs are broadly felt as an annoyance or hardship, especially in commodity-sensitive Kansas, and Marshall's rebuttal isn't compelling

Hamilton's framing of Marshall as Trump's spokesperson to Kansans, rather than Kansans' voice to Trump, is a more effective personalization of the 'rubber stamp Congress' critique

Roger Marshall sued patients over medical debt and some were jailed for failing to appear in court over unpaid bills

This is a stomach-turning abuse given the lack of rural healthcare access in western Kansas

Corruption and adjacency to troubling behavior permeates the Republican Party beyond just the Trump family

It's alarming that the Ohio GOP's own political director turns out to have neo-Nazi ties, reflecting poorly on the party

Brown is ahead in most polls and Ohio is near the top of the list of Democratic pickup opportunities

Declined to disavow Brandon Herrera despite his recent misogynistic statements, treating it as old news

This Texas seat is winnable for Democrats given declining Trump support among Hispanic border voters

AI labs are racing toward self-improving superintelligence that gambles with human lives, prompting his resignation

Proposes independent watchdogs, industry-wide speed limits, and international coordination to slow the riskiest frontier AI research

Dismisses AI risk concerns, saying he'll be dead before killer robots arrive and wanting companies to keep building

Democrats should loudly criticize AI oligarchs and support tangible measures like criminal liability for reckless AI developers and reinstating chip export bans to China

The AI risk fears are real based on people he's spoken with, and a temporary pause on frontier AI research, similar to how nuclear weapons were eventually managed, is warranted despite being dismissed as unsophisticated

McConnell has given no public update in months, raising unanswered questions about his condition

He has picked up no rumblings about McConnell's status either