War-Free Weekend – It’s not the end of the US-Israeli war on Iran. It’s not a ceasefire. It’s a break.
President Trump over the weekend paused US strikes on Iran for the weekend following two straight weeks of attacks, according to Semafor. Trump had wanted a major escalation against Iran but held off because of concerns the US military has a dwindling supply of interceptor missiles, The New York Times has scooped.
It’s not that the US military is running short on interceptors, but rather that Iran is very interested in talks with the Trump administration, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told Fox News Sunday. He said the president is “giving talks some space. He’s giving it a little bit of room. We’ve had both Oman and Iran, and a number of our other negotiators, engaged at every level in the past few weeks, and particularly in the past few days.”
Again.
Tuesday’s visitors … Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy both are scheduled to visit with President Trump at the White House Tuesday.
“Our key priorities are air defense, maritime security, and joint defense production – our cooperation that strengthens both countries,” Zelenskyy says (Kyiv Independent).
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Pricier Gas – National average of unleaded regular is $4.11 per gallon Monday according to AAA, unchanged from Sunday, but 1.9 cents higher than last Thursday and $1.308 costlier than February 27. Diesel is $5.296, up 8.7 cents per gallon over Thursday and +$1.572 over late February.
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Another Prog Dem – The Maine Democratic Party made it official Saturday morning and chose in a special convention former state Sen. Troy Jackson as its US Senate candidate to try and deny Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) a sixth term (per Politico). Jackson, a progressive fifth-generation logger replaces scandal-plagued progressive oyster farmer Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race over a former girlfriend’s allegations of sexual assault.
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Meanwhile, at the WHCD – President Trump presided over the White House Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Waldorf Astoria Friday night, rescheduled some three months after a gunman interrupted at the Washington Hilton, with the same sort of duality he displayed early in his celebrity real estate developer career, when he would call reporters posing as “John Barron” to praise Donald J. Trump.
“What do we do here? Is this supposed to be fun? Am I supposed to be serious? Am I supposed to be a comedian?” he began, according to The New York Times coverage Sunday.
He shook hands with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and The Wall Street Journal’s Josh Dawsey as they crossed the stage to accept awards for their tough coverage of the White House.
Trump “mocked the appearance and careers of individual reporters, some of whom were in the room,” and gave Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rosie O’Donnell, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Cristie (R) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) the MAGA rally treatment.
And after he apparently lost the room completely by the end of his speech, the president pulled out a “Trump 2028” hat and placed it on his head. –Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa