Phillips OBrien

Thune and the Senate Rs got played badly here.

The Long Con Comes To An End The Trump Administration Takes Off The Mask (Again)

Hi All, just sent out this (mostly free). The Long Con of the Trump administration came to an end yesterday, as it was always going to do. We are back in the Oval Office with Trump and Vance ambushing Zelensky. The whole pivot to Ukraine was a sham to help Putin. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Btw, I do hope people understand what they have seen today. It was a well-planned and deliberate ambush of Ukraine by Trump, to force the Ukrainians to bend the knee to Putin's dictatorship. It was not slip-shod, rushed, impulsive or an accident. It was prepared malice.

BSO

Here is a link if you want to see more. The Violin soloist, Joshua Bell, was also sublime, and the crowd erupted when he was done and he played a Chopin encore. Go. www.bso.org

The whole program was remarkable, and it ended with the greatest performance of Pictures at an Exhibition that I have ever heard. The show is being repeated tomorrow (Saturday) night. If you are in Boston, I would move heaven and earth to go. Some tickets are still available.

Changing tack here. I was in Boston today and went to the matinee at @BostonSymphony . I saw one of the future superstars of classical music, a last minute conductor replacement who had never handled the BSO before named Anna Handler.

Trump is pushing Ukraine to commit strategic suicide by Thanksgiving.

I already have a counterproposal:

Russia pulls forces/proxies out of Ukraine—all of it—and removes offensive weapons from regions bordering Ukraine.

Pays for all war damage—and reconstruction.

All Russians engaged in war crimes stand trial.

And Ukraine can join any alliance it damn well pleases.

It’s not a “peace proposal”. It’s an aggressor’s charter, with the US facilitating the demands of the invader.

Latest @theatlantic.com piece on the Trump deal. bsky.app/profile/phil...

Trump’s Devastating Plan for Ukraine The White House is giving Putin permission to try again.

Latest piece out in @theatlantic.com . Trump's "peace" plan for Ukraine, which he at this very moment trying to force on the country with threats and intimidation, is grotesque. The US president is admitting what too many refused to admit, he wants Putin to win. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

When voices in the media were saying that that the Trump deal was something cooked up by an inept freelancing Witkoff, this source spoke the truth. This is now what this source is saying about about the Trump deal.

“Trump is deadly serious in his plan to force this terrible deal on Ukraine”
Ugh

Zelensky admitting that the pressure Trump is putting on Ukraine to take this grotesque deal is immense.

And the US is openly threatening Ukraine with nasty reprisals if it does not accept Trump’s plan. www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Here is White House spokesperson K Leavitt taking ownership of the plan for the president.

Trump’s 28-point peace proposal for Ukraine would require land concessions and military reduction | CNN Politics A new Trump administration plan for the end of the war in Ukraine would see Kyiv cede territory to Russia, US “de facto” recognition of Crimea and other Ukrainian territory forcibly seized by the Krem...

It’s very surprising that some people are still calling the Trump peace plan the Witkoff plan. Nothing could be further from the truth. The White House has come out and claimed the plan for its own and said it wants it implemented. www.cnn.com/2025/11/20/p...

On "Peace Plans" and Military (Im)Mobility in Europe In this week’s Europe Dispatch, Minna Ålander discusses persisting lack of military mobility in Europe and likely yet another nothingburger, served by Trump.

Fabulous and timely new Europe Dispatch column by @alanderminna.bsky.social just appeared. She not only discusses Trump's latest "peace" plan for Ukraine and Russia (a nothingburger in her eyes) she delves into European military mobility. It’s all free. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Excellent thread. Ukraine gets little out of these 28 points except the possibility of EU membership (still subject to Hungarian veto?); Putin gets plenty, inc a favourable starting point for next assault on Ukraine & return of all but $100 billion of immobilised Russian assets, plus US investment.

Putin hasn’t given up trying to use Trump to seize the parts of Ukraine he can’t take militarily. It reeks of Russian desperation. Pokrovsk is less than 50 km from where Putin launched his invasion in 2022. Put that in perspective after 1.1 million Russian casualties.

Obscene.

If Trump's plan does not wake up European states to the reality that the US under his leadership is an existential threat to freedom on the continent--nothing will.

Very on brand. Putin must be so pleased.

Trump's plan is so grotesque and makes the US such an enemy of European freedom, that European states should have no other option than to tell Trump to shove it where the sun does not shine.

Trump’s plan is to make a democracy that is fighting for its very existence, a vassal to a brutal and oppressive dictatorship. He is making the USA an accomplice to Ukraine’s eventual destruction.

And, of course, it would allow the US to get back to business with Russia.

Trump's full 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace plan The full plan was obtained by Axios and verified by Ukrainian and U.S. officials.

Here is Trump's full 28 point plan for Ukraine. It would destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state and leave it helpless to face a Russian attack in the future. It would also give Putin full vindication and immunity from prosecution.
www.axios.com/2025/11/20/t...

Oh, nothing to see here but the President of the USA calling for the execution of political opponents. Just a normal day in crazy-town.

"Trump wants a peace deal that rewards Putin and punishes Ukraine. He wants a peace deal with no European input and which he can impose on Ukraine. He wants to get back to business with Putin as soon as possible and start making money"

Europeans still in denial stage about our former 🇺🇸 ally - the reality is that we must cut Rusamerica loose from 🇬🇧🇪🇺 defense structures, intel sharing & headspace as a matter of urgency. Or remain paralysed & be carved up by 21st century fascist Axis 🎯👇

Essential reading on Trump’s capitulation to Putin, and his disdain for freedom and democracy. Europe needs to rally behind Ukraine and stand free of the US.