TRUMP: ‘RUSSIA HAS THE UPPER HAND’: President Donald Trump was in a prickly mood as he sat down for an interview with Politico, which he made clear he was only doing because Politico had named him “the most influential person shaping Europe.”
“Why would I talk about that to Politico? I’m doing this because you picked me as the man for Europe, and I thought it was an appropriate thing to do,” Trump harumphed. The resulting story was headlined, “The Most Influential Man in Europe Thinks Europe is Full of Losers.”
One of those losers, in Trump’s view, is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who he warned is running out of time to make peace with the uncompromising Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has yet to make a single concession.
“Well, he’s gonna have to get on the ball and start accepting things,” Trump said of Zelensky. “You know, when you’re losing, ’cause he’s losing.’”
Asked by Politico’s Dasha Burns if his son Donald Trump Jr. was correct in telling a reporter Trump might “walk away from Ukraine,” Trump responded, “No, it’s not correct. But it’s not exactly wrong.”
“It’s not easy with Russia, ’cause Russia has the upper hand. And they always did. They’re much bigger. They’re much stronger in that sense,” Trump said. “I give the people of Ukraine and the military of Ukraine tremendous credit for the, you know, bravery and for the fighting and all of that. But you know, at some point, size will win, generally.”
London’s Financial Times, quoting unnamed officials, reported that in a phone conversation Saturday, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner gave Zelensky days to accept the proposed peace plan that would require Ukraine to cede additional territory to Russia, something Zelensky says he won’t do, and can’t do under Ukraine’s Constitution. “A person with knowledge of the timeline proposed to Kyiv said Trump was hoping for a deal agreed ‘by Christmas,’” the newspaper reported.
TRUMP UPS ATTACKS ON ‘WEAK’ AND ‘POLITICALLY CORRECT’ EUROPEAN LEADERS
ZELENSKY SCRAMBLES TO RESPOND: As Trump was trashing Zelensky as a “P.T. Barnum” who sold the U.S. a bill of goods and insulted Putin in his first meeting with the Russian leader, Zelensky was on a plane to Brussels, holding an impromptu group chat with reporters via WhatsApp.
“When Zelensky first went in and first met Putin, he said I want two things. I want Crimea back, and we’re gonna be a member of NATO,” Trump told Politico. “He didn’t say it in a very nice way either.”
Guilty as charged, Zelensky responded in a voice memo. “I did say this at our first meeting. And I will repeat this at my last meeting with Putin,” Zelensky said, while adding, “We know that neither the United States nor several other countries, honestly speaking, currently see Ukraine in NATO. And Russia will certainly never accept us there.”
“Regarding Crimea, we lack the strength to reclaim our Ukrainian peninsula,” Zelensky said. “I’ll be honest: yes, we don’t have the powers for all this today.”
“Putin had … no respect for Zelensky, didn’t like Zelensky. They really hate each other,” Trump said, blaming the “level of hatred” for the failure of his peace initiatives.
In responding to another of Trump’s criticisms, that Zelensky is using the war as an excuse to avoid elections, Zelensky accepted the challenge.
“I think it’s time. I think it’s an important time to hold an election,” Trump said, repeating a Kremlin talking point. “Maybe Zelensky would win. I don’t know who would win. But they haven’t had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore.”
“I’m ready for election,” Zelensky told reporters on the group chat. “I ask the U.S., along with European partners, to help me ensure security for the elections. If that happens, Ukraine will be ready to conduct elections in the next 60 to 90 days.”
“To hold elections, two issues must be addressed: primarily, security — how to conduct them, how to do it under strikes, under missile attacks; and a question regarding our military — how they would vote,” Zelensky said.
A poll reported by the Kyiv Independent suggests that only 20% of Ukrainians would vote for Zelensky following the country’s corruption scandal. Former top military commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi, now Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.K., polls at 19.1%, representing a 3% increase from the previous survey.
‘IT IS INDEED PAINFUL, BECAUSE … IT’S JUST SIMPLY NOT TRUE’: Trump’s grim assessment that Ukraine is losing — coming two months after he suggested Ukraine could “fight and win” and regain all its lost territory — was met with dismay by Ukrainians and their backers in the U.S. Congress.
“It’s not only American people who are watching this. There are people fighting at the front line, risking their life for democracy, for Europe, who are hearing such a harsh thing from the president of the United States, one of our strongest allies,” Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, said on CNN.
“It is indeed painful, because … it’s just simply not true,” Rudick said.
Trump’s critics say he’s falling for exaggerated Russian claims of inevitable victory even as his forces struggle on the ground and suffer horrific battlefield losses.
Russia has repeatedly claimed to have captured the key eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, but as the BBC reports, it has not fallen yet. In its latest assessment, the Institute for the Study of War says Putin is trying to achieve his war aims through “cognitive warfare.”
“ISW continues to assess that the Russian campaign to militarily seize the rest of Donetsk Oblast, including Ukraine’s heavily fortified Fortress Belt, would likely take at least two to three years, pose a significant challenge, and result in difficult and costly battles that the Russian Federation may not be able to sustain.”
“Ukraine is holding strong at the moment, despite what Russia is doing,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said on CNN. “But the biggest impediment for the last, gosh, almost year now has been President Trump consistently undermining Zelensky.”
“If we had a clear statement of support, if Putin didn’t sit there thinking, well, if I just wait for another month or week or however long, then maybe the U.S. will abandon Ukraine, that would put us in a much stronger position to help negotiate an end to this war,” Smith said.
ZELENSKY TRYING TO KEEP US PEACE PLAN ALIVE AS TRUMP LAMBASTES UKRAINE AND EUROPE
Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE
NOTE TO READERS: Daily on Defense will be on holiday break beginning the week of Monday, Dec. 22, and continuing through Jan. 1, 2026. We’ll be back in the new year.
HAPPENING TODAY: Despite speculation she has been smuggled out of the country and whisked off to Oslo, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will not be at today’s ceremony to accept her Nobel Peace Prize.
Machado has been in hiding in Venezuela for 11 months, and the director of the Nobel Institute said today that her daughter will accept the award on her behalf, while cryptically suggesting Machado might show up in Oslo later today. “Unfortunately, she won’t arrive in time to attend today’s ceremony or other events,” director Kristian Berg Harpviken told public broadcaster NRK.
‘HIS DAYS ARE NUMBERED’: In his Politico interview, President Trump repeated his veiled threat that one way or another, the illegitimate rule of President Nicolas Maduro will soon come to an end.
“His days are numbered,” Trump said, while refusing to say whether he is considering using ground troops or special forces commandos to remove Maduro from power. “I don’t want to rule in or out. I don’t talk about it.”
“So we’ll see how it all works out. But I can’t talk about strategy,” Trump said.
The interview was published as a U.S. defense official confirmed that a pair of Navy F/A-18 fighter jets flew over the Gulf of Venezuela in what was described as a “routine training flight,” but had all the earmarks of a show of force.
Asked by Politico’s Dasha Burns what his goal in Venezuela was, Trump replied, “I want the people of Venezuela to be treated well. I want the people of Venezuela, many of whom live in the United States, to be respected. I mean, they were tremendous to me. They voted for me 94% or something.”
“I own a big project, Doral. It’s a great place, Doral Country Club … very large, beautiful place, right in the middle of, they call it ‘Little Venezuela,’ he said. “And I got to know the Venezuelan people very well because, uh, that I’ve owned it for a long time. And they’re unbelievable people … And they were treated horribly by Maduro.”
DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH: President Trump has left the decision of whether to declassify the video showing the killing of two survivors of a Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat to Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Hegseth is not making any promises, telling lawmakers yesterday he’s weighing whether the video would reveal sensitive techniques, tactics, and procedures.
Hegseth, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, briefed congressional leaders behind closed doors.
“His answer: We have to study it,” said Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) after the meeting. “Well, in my view, they’ve studied it long enough.”
“I just confronted Secretary Hegseth and demanded that he release the unedited video of the September 2nd strikes immediately,” Schumer later posted on X. “What is he hiding?”
“The American people are entitled to see the unedited videos. Last week, Trump said he’d have no problem releasing the videos, then yesterday he walked back his statement, claiming he said it was fake news. You know, this guy’s amazing. He said it. It’s on the air, millions saw it, and now he says it’s fake news, even though he said it,” Schumer said before the meeting. “Let’s be clear, the only way to bring clarity is to release the full, unedited tapes. That’s why the NDAA included a provision requiring the Pentagon to hand the tapes over; if they don’t, Pete Hegseth’s travel budget gets slashed 25%.”
“And this proposal had the support of Democrats and Republicans, including Wicker, including Republicans in the House and Senate. It shows you that both parties are united, that these videos ought to be released so the American people can see them.”
DOUBLE TAP: DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS WANT HEGSETH IMPEACHED AND REMOVED
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump ups attacks on ‘weak’ and ‘politically correct’ European leaders
Washington Examiner: Zelensky trying to keep US peace plan alive as Trump lambastes Ukraine and Europe
Washington Examiner: Trump says he has watched Venezuela boat strike video, floats further action
Washington Examiner: Double tap: Democrats and independents want Hegseth impeached and removed
Washington Examiner: Hegseth announces Google AI program to deliver on Trump’s ‘mandate’ to spearhead technology
Washington Examiner: Top US political figures lend legitimacy to Qatari forum allied with array of anti-American groups
Washington Examiner: New Jersey twins arrested for threatening to kill DHS spokeswoman and ICE officers
Washington Examiner: Sadiq Khan responds to Trump dig that he’s a ‘disaster’
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Europe needs less emotion in assessing Trump’s strategy
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Europe absolutely does not have freer speech than the US
Politico: Trump thrashes European leaders in wide-ranging interview: ‘I think they’re weak’
BBC: Ukrainians raise flag to show BBC the fight goes on in city claimed by Russia
NBC News: Advocacy groups sue Trump administration seeking release of legal memo justifying boat strikes
Bloomberg: US Navy Turns to Palantir in Push to Speed Shipbuilding
Bloomberg: Adm. James Stavridis: Five Reasons Why the Boat Strike Debate Matters for the US
AP: Hegseth Tells Congressional Leaders He Is Weighing Release of Boat Strike Video
New York Times: Inside the Pentagon’s Scramble to Deal With Boat Strike Survivors
NBC News: Trump Doesn’t Rule Out Troops in Venezuela, Says President Nicolás Maduro’s ‘Days Are Numbered’
The War Zone: F/A-18 Super Hornets Were Just Tracked Flying Deep Inside the Gulf of Venezuela
Financial Times: Trump gives Zelenskyy ‘days’ to respond to peace proposal
Wall Street Journal: Inside Ukraine’s Daring ‘Operation Spiderweb’ Attack on Russia
New York Times: Targeted Bioweapons. Drones That Kill on Their Own. This Is the Future of War.
Defense News: Congress Supports Bare Minimum on Navy’s F/A-XX, While Fully Backing Air Force’s F-47
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Congress Poised to Save E-7 Wedgetail in New NDAA
Breaking Defense: China Threat Still Drives Pentagon R&E Despite Counternarcotics Focus: Emil Michael
Air & Space Forces Magazine: USSF Eyes More Space-Based Interceptors to Take Missiles Out Midcourse
DefenseScoop: Pentagon Plans to Publish Zero Trust Strategy 2.0 in Early 2026
DefenseNews: Pentagon Taps Google Gemini, Launches New Site to Boost AI Use
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Former CYBERCOM Commanders Urge Caution on Push for New Military Cyber Service
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Australian MQ-28 CCA Downs Drone in Milestone Air-to-Air Test
War on the Rocks: Opinion: Grounded by Red Ink: The Hidden Chokepoint in U.S. Air Force Readiness
THE CALENDAR:
WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 10
9 a.m. 2300 N St. NW — The Aspen Institute “Aspen Security Forum: D.C. Edition,” with Radmila Shekerinska, deputy NATO secretary-general; Mulambo Haimbe, Zambian foreign affairs minister; Robert Kupiecki, Polish national security adviser; Kersti Kaljulaid, former Estonian president; Olof Skoog, deputy secretary-general for political affairs, European External Action Service; Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA); Stephen Biegun, vice chairman, National Endowment for Democracy; retired Adm. Mike Mullen, former Joint Chiefs Chairman; retired Gen. David Berger, former Marine Corps commandant; Rep. Michael Turner (R-OH); Yehor Cherniev, MP and head of the Ukrainian Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly; Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO); Rep. John Moolenaar, chairman, House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, ranking member, House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party; Oliver Linz, director policy of planning, German Federal Foreign Office; Anja Manuel, executive director, Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum; Michael Pillsbury, senior advisor, Heritage Foundation; Kiron Skinner, School of Public Policy, Pepperdine University, https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/aspen-security-forum/2025-asf-dc/
9 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Middle East Institute conference: “Syria and the Global Community Post-Assad,” with former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford; former Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf; and Charles Lister, MEI senior fellow https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies Project on Nuclear Issues launches new report, “Project Atom 2025,” focusing on managing escalation with China, with Heather Williams, director, CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues https://www.csis.org/events/report-launch-project-atom-2025
10 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “The UN Without the United States: The Impact of U.S. Retreat on Global Human Rights,” with former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International organization Affairs Allison Lombardo; Bruno Stagno Ugarte, chief advocacy officer at Human Rights Watch; and Martin Kimani, president and CEO of the Africa Center https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/12/the-un-without-the-united-states
12:30 p.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group lunch and discussion with Benedetta Berti, NATO parliamentary assembly secretary-general RSVP: [email protected].
1:30 p.m. — Middle East Institute virtual briefing on a recent trip to Syria and recommendations to advance U.S.-Syria relations,” with former U.S. Central Command Commander retired Gen. Joseph Votel, MEI senior fellow on national security https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
2 p.m. 2358-C Rayburn — Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe briefing: “From Production to Procurement: How Europe and Ukraine Are Transforming Defense Supply Chains,” with Maj. Gen. Karsten Jensen, defense attache at the Royal Danish Embassy in the United States; Kateryna Bondar, fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies’s Wadhwani AI Center; and Sophia Besch, senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Europe Program https://www.youtube.com/live/i8W5tE8eQSU
3:30 p.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security discussion: “U.S. hypersonic capabilities,” with Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN); and Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ); and Matthew Kroenig, vice president and senior director at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/representatives-messmer-and-norcross
THURSDAY | DECEMBER 11
9:30 a.m. G50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “The administration’s deployment of the National Guard across the United States,” with testimony from Joseph Humire, acting assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and America security affairs, Charles Young, principal deputy general counsel, Department of Defense; and Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander, U.S. Northern Command. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
11 a.m — Peterson Institute for International Economics virtual discussion: “Rebuilding and Realignment: Economic Future for Ukraine and Russia,” with Yuriy Gorodnichenko, professor at the University of California at Berkeley; Maurice Obstfeld, PIIE senior fellow; Elina Ribakova, PIIE nonresident senior fellow; and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, PIIE nonresident senior fellow https://www.piie.com/events/2025/rebuilding-and-realignment-economic-future-ukraine
12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual discussion: “Trump’s Gaza Plan and What It Means for Palestinians,” with Carol Daniel-Kasbari, non-resident fellow, Quincy Institute; Mouin Rabbani, co-editor, Jadaliyya; Muhammad Shehada, chief of communications and program, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and visiting fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations Middle East and North Africa Program; and Khaled Elgindy, senior research fellow, Quincy Institute https://quincyinst.org/events/trumps-gaza-plan-and-what-it-means-for-palestinians/
2 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Building U.S.-Taiwan Defense Supply Chain Collaboration: Opportunities for Co-development and Co-production,” with former Taiwan General Staff Chief Adm. Lee Hsi-Min; Betsy Shieh, consultant at Barbet Insights; Brandon Tseng, co-founder and president of Shield AI; and Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council https://www.hudson.org/events/building-us-taiwan-defense
FRIDAY | DECEMBER 12
9 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute event: “Antisemitism as a National Security Threat,” with Michael Doran, senior fellow and director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East; Bernard Haykel, non-resident senior fellow, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East; Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow and director, Keystone Defense Initiative; Can Kasapoglu, non-resident senior fellow, Hudson Institute; Liel Leibovitz, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; and Michael Sobolik, senior fellow, Hudson Institute Invite only: [email protected]
10 a.m. — National Institute for Deterrence Studies virtual seminar, “Peace Through Strength: Renewing America’s Nuclear Deterrent, A Proposed Nuclear Posture Review for 2026,” with James Petrosky, NIDS president; Curtis McGiffin, NIDS co-founder; and Kirk Fansher, NDSs senior fellow https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/peace-through-strength
10:30 a.m. Doral, Florida — Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey relinquishes his duties as commander of U.S. Southern Command to Air Force Lt. Gen. Evan L. Pettus at the command’s headquarters. Holsey will retire after more than 37 years of service in the U.S. Navy.
10:30 a.m. 2401 M St., NW — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security a Defense Writers Group coffee and discussion with Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence RSVP: [email protected] a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual event to launch a report titled “Russian economy in 2025: Between stagnation and militarization,” with Alexandra Prokopenko, fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center; Elina Ribakova, nonresident senior fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Charles Lichfield, director of economic foresight and analysis and senior fellow, Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center; Mikhail Zygar, nonresident senior fellow, Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center; and former United States Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, senior director, Atlantic Council Eurasia Center https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/report-launch
