Q: Is there a hard truth that Trump needs to hear to be able to soften his stance?

Merz: Well, there is an old, I think, African saying, which means: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." And that's my answer.

We want to go far. And if we want to go far, and we could go far, then we should go together.

Germany's Chancellor Merz on Ukraine:

The U.S. are no longer contributing to the defense of Ukraine in terms of paying for weapons and for equipment.

So this shows that we are able to do that on our own. We are doing this now almost since two years.

It's really a big effort for our budgets. It's really a big thing for the European Union. But we are doing that, and we are trying to keep on doing that until this terrible war ends.

JD Vance:

We're not scrutinizing Abdul El-Sayed because of his religious faith or because of his ethnicity.

We are scrutinizing him because he says a lot of crazy stuff.

JD Vance on Iran:

This could be over very quickly if Trump decided to give up and allow the Iranians to control the world oil supply.

I don't think any American would actually want him to do that.

JD Vance:

Do a lot of people in Washington try to get rich from politics? Absolutely. Is it gross? Yes.

JD Vance:

Has Donald Trump Jr. made some money in business? Yeah, he has.

But I, I guess I don't think the standard should be the president's son, who's not involved in politics, should not be able to live his life.

I think the standard should be the president's son should not be selling access to the president, and I see no evidence that's happened.

Q: Trump endorsed Netanyahu. Do you endorse Netanyahu?

JD Vance: I endorse American candidates. I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections.

Q: Is Ukraine an ally of the U.S.?

JD Vance: They're certainly a partner in some ways.

NEW: Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday to meet Netanyahu, eight days before Israel’s election, amid discussions about potentially resuming major military operations against Iran.

Source: Axios, Barak Ravid

JD Vance on Ukraine:

Ukraine should stop bombing Russian energy.

JD Vance on Ukraine:

I don't think Ukraine should be in NATO.

BIG: The Trump administration is delaying approval of Patriot missile transfers to Ukraine, leaving the country increasingly vulnerable to Russian attacks.

The move comes amid worsening tensions between Trump and Zelensky, particularly over Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil facilities.

Source: WaPo

JD Vance:

I still don't know what happened with Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle.

JD Vance on Ted Cruz:

Ted Cruz is also a guy who says some weird things about me to donors, and I push back on it when he says those things.

Otherwise, I don't have a problem with him.

Q: If you run in 2028, Trump would endorse you right away, right?

JD Vance: I don't know, man. But my attitude is, if I run, I think Trump would endorse me, but we haven't talked about it.

JD Vance:

I think Trump is allowed to earn a living.

I don't see any evidence he's profiting off of his office.

JD Vance:

I haven't seen any evidence that the Trump family is selling access to Trump or other public officials.

Are Eric and Donald Jr. selling access to their dad? I just don't think they are.