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Ex-Trump Officials Warn on Putin After Poland Strike as Critics Rip Trump

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Two former top Trump officials from his first administration sounded the alarm after Russia attacked Poland Tuesday night, as several critics assailed the President for years of insisting Putin would never have dared attack Ukraine if he were in office.

Russia launched more than a dozen drones into Poland, which “prompted NATO forces to launch warplanes overnight,” according to The New York Times.

But NATO reportedly did so without help from the U.S.

“It’s notable that the NATO response to Russia’s drone incursion across the border into Poland makes no mention of US military assistance to defend Poland,” reported Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin. NATO Secretary general Mark Rutte “mentions Polish F16s, Dutch F35s, Italian AWACS, and German Patriots. Russia’s testing of NATO airspace to test NATO’s response comes just days after the Pentagon informed NATO Allies bordering Russia that the US will halt training and security funding to them.”

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The attack occurred as President Trump was dining at Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in D.C., with his Secretary of State and his Secretary of Defense. He was besieged by protestors caught on camera (video below).

Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton slammed President Putin and invoked Trump’s Alaska Summit as well.

“Putin has acted like he has a free hand since the Alaska summit,” Ambassador Bolton wrote on Wednesday. “He’s ignored any further conversation on a ceasefire, the Russian military is expanding its operations, and he’s received the political support of his friends Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, and Kim Jong Un.”

Political science professor Maria Popova responded: “American weakness always fuels russian aggression.”

Former Trump Vice President Mike Pence urged U.S. action.

“As Russian drones violate Polish and NATO airspace and Russia continues to escalate it’s brutal attacks on civilian populations across Ukraine, it’s time for renewed military support for Ukraine and allies in Eastern Europe and harsh new sanctions on Russia. Peace comes through strength,” Pence wrote.

His remarks also came days after the Pentagon announced it will no longer be supporting programs that help America’s European allies stave off attacks from Russia, as The New York Times reported last week.

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Meanwhile, critics are blasting President Trump for what they see as weakness and a lack of action.

Alexander Vindman, a former Director of European Affairs for the United States National Security Council (NSC), wrote: “Trump right now getting ready with: if I were president Russia never would have attacked Poland/NATO. @realDonaldTrump‘s weakness has been encouraging Russian aggression.”

Attorney George Conway, a well-known Trump critic, wrote: “None of this would have happened on any day if virtually anyone other than Donald Trump were president.”

Russian expert Julia Davis, a Daily Beast columnist, responded: “It will get worse,” to which Conway agreed.

So far, Trump has said nothing on his Truth Social account about Russia attacking Poland, but the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, wrote: “We stand by our @NATO Allies in the face of these airspace violations and will defend every inch of NATO territory.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

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‘He Was the Only One’: Trump Mocked for Declaring Iran’s Moves ‘Shocked’ Him

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9 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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President Donald Trump is facing criticism and mockery after admitting he was “shocked” that Iran fought back against Operation Epic Fury.

“Trump just admitted publicly that his administration underestimated the Iranian response to his attack,” The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin reported.

During a meeting of the board governing the Kennedy Center, Trump said, “look what happened. In the last two weeks, they weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East. Those missiles were set to go after them. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”

Focusing on Trump’s “shocked” remark, some critics blasted the president, once again, for what many have previously said is a Commander-in-Chief who was unprepared to go to war against Iran.

The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser called Trump’s comments a “Remarkable admission.”

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Former Republican U.S. Rep. Justin Amash declared, “We are governed by complete morons.”

Podcaster Clint Russell noted, “Just FYI, this is the EXACT reason our generals have consistently advised against a war with Iran. Even Charlie Kirk had laid this all out on his show a couple years ago. Iran was no threat to America but they were fully capable of destroying the global economy by striking oil facilities and transit throughout the region.”

Robert Manning, a Distinguished Fellow in Global Foresight at the nonpartisan Stimson Center, wrote: “If so, he was the only one surprised. Strategic planners have war games this for 40 years. Hard to believe JCS [Joint Chiefs of Staff] didn’t advise Trump this was likely.”

“I’m pretty confident every war plan US has ever done in last 30 years gaming out this conflict was based on expectation that Iran could in fact [and] would in fact do this,” noted The Nation’s Jeet Heer.

“Every institution built to prevent exactly this outcome existed, was bypassed, and we are now watching the president express shock at conclusions that were already written in the classified assessments he didn’t read,” observed Christine Villaverde, the chairwoman of Anchoring Democracy.

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‘Lazy and Unstrategic’: GOP Senator Slams ‘Republican on Republican Violence’

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11 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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A prominent Republican senator is denouncing his own party while lamenting the lack of an official presidential endorsement in the highly contentious Texas Republican Senate runoff election.

Agreeing that it is a mistake for President Donald Trump to withhold his endorsement of either Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton or U.S. Senator John Cornyn, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned, “I think the more time we spend millions of dollars with Republican-on-Republican violence, Democrats are in the marketing department, loving the idea of a competitive runoff.”

“I get tired of Republicans being lazy and unstrategic,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju, appearing to suggest there are other ways for one of the candidates to pull ahead.

“People on my side of the aisle, and people at the far right of the political spectrum, are trying to swing for the fences, and they’re not gonna succeed,” he warned.

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A runoff election between Cornyn and Paxton will take place on May 26, and the president has yet to endorse either contender.

Reports suggest a Cornyn endorsement is more likely, although Paxton has been a reliable MAGA supporter. Trump has even suggested that whichever candidate does not get his backing should quit the race entirely, clearing the way for the presumptive nominee to battle the Democratic nominee, James Talarico.

“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, on March 4, “cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!”

He vowed to make his endorsement “soon,” but has yet to do so.

Each passing day gives Talarico more time to campaign and build his war chest as the two GOP contenders spend their time and money battling each other.

READ MORE: Gas Prices Near $4 in These Five States

 

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Gas Prices Near $4 in These Five States

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14 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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Gas prices are continuing to substantially increase, with five states now hovering near $4 a gallon and several others seeing sharp increases as President Donald Trump’s war in Iran enters its 17th day.

“Big gas price hikes just now starting to happen in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri today, which will likely push the national average to $3.75-$3.80 by mid-week,” reports Patrick De Haan, the head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy.

But, he also notes that Michigan and the Chicago area are already seeing $3.99 per gallon as of Monday. Indiana drivers are seeing $3.89, and Ohio and Kentucky are seeing $3.79 per gallon.

De Haan directly attributes the increases to the summer gasoline changeover and the ongoing Iran situation.

“The national average is up 80.0 cents from a month ago and is 66.1 cents per gallon higher than a year ago,” WANE reports, citing GasBuddy’s data.

Drivers should not expect to see prices come down significantly anytime soon.

“Until we see a meaningful resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, upward pressure on fuel prices is likely to persist,” De Haan said. “At the same time, seasonal forces are beginning to intensify as several regions complete the transition to summer gasoline, creating a double headwind that could continue driving pump prices higher in the weeks ahead.”

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