Every Trump statement and action regarding the Russia-Ukraine war has been consistent. The war should not have happened and would never have happened had Trump been in the White House; too many people have been killed and wounded; too many people have been displaced and hurt; the cost of rebuilding the great country of Ukraine with its historical masterpieces is already astronomical and is rising by the minute; it doesn’t matter who started the war but it has to stop.
Trump’s detractors among the global elite find many truths in his assertions but disagree on the last point. It matters that Russia violated established UN protocols by invading a sovereign country and capturing land in battle. It matters that Russia has committed serious war crimes against civilians. Russia is an evil power and should never be allowed to act in this manner again. So, Russia has to be punished even if it means that continuing a conflict of this kind will hurt Ukrainians more as even more territory is lost.
But philosophical differences must ultimately yield to practical considerations. Without America’s funding––Washington has provided more than a third of all monies sent to Ukraine since the war––and military support, Ukraine has no chance of reversing Russian successes. Trump has repeatedly ruled out any more funding of the war, although he has restored intelligence and Starlink support to Ukraine.
Trump’s critics pounced on his moves when Marco Rubio, his Secretary of State, kicked off talks with his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to take steps to normalize relations between the two great powers. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has visited the Kremlin multiple times and held discussions with senior leaders, including Putin himself. Rubio and Vice President JD Vance have both said publicly that any peace agreement would probably freeze territory along the current battle lines, giving Russia control of Crimea and the four oblasts that it mostly controls in Eastern Ukraine. America would lift its sanctions on Russia and would neither invite Ukraine to NATO nor agree to provide security guarantees to Kyiv.
Each of Trump’s offers above is indeed kowtowing to Russian demands. And each concession is pure anathema to Ukrainian leader Zelensky and the European Coalition of the Willing. The differences between the warring sides and their supporters are so stark that in the last two weeks, the Trump team has repeatedly indicated that it is getting frustrated with the lack of progress and is willing to walk away from mediating the peace agreement.
To Trump’s detractors who see his threats as placing undue pressure on Zelensky to agree to a peace deal––the two leaders famously met one-on-one in an open courtyard at the Vatican during Pope Francis’s funeral––what happened at the United Nations on Tuesday was an eye-opener. Trump’s public comments prior to Tuesday had opened the salvo not on Ukraine but on Russia.
The trigger was Russia’s recent battlefield actions, where high-profile strikes had “caused needless loss of life, including of innocent civilians.” John Kelley, a senior U.S. diplomat, wore his honest-broker hat at a Security Council meeting where the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom hold veto power, saying: “Right now, Russia has a great opportunity to achieve a durable peace..it is up to the leaders of both these countries to decide whether peace is possible. If both sides are ready to end the war, the United States will fully support their path to a lasting peace.”
Trump proved publicly that the Left’s charges—that he was a dishonest broker who favors Russia—were baseless. Trump was leaning heavily on both parties, not just Ukraine, to settle. If both parties do not float “concrete proposals to end this conflict,” as State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce quoted Rubio as saying, Trump could decide that “we would step back as mediators in the process.”
The next two weeks are likely to be crucial. If a peace deal is not reached, America could pull back entirely from the conflict. Russia could be secretly hoping that such an American move would strengthen its position, encouraging Ukraine to capitulate further. However, it is a high-risk move given Ukraine’s increasingly sophisticated kamikaze drone war tactics and solid statements of support from Europe, especially the United Kingdom and France, to support Kyiv militarily. A united Europe, even without America’s support, could slow Russia’s progress as a war-weary Russian population wants normalcy to return.
The world knows that Putin is a wily chess player attempting to maximize his outcomes in a complicated conflict. But even wily chess players lose.
At the Security Council, both France and the United Kingdom praised Trump’s actions to help broker peace. It is the clearest sign that the elite world recognizes Trump’s honest intentions. Democrats in Congress should acknowledge Trump’s leadership here by joining with the GOP to pass a non-binding resolution, even if it means it would hand Trump a political victory. It would go a long way to force Ukraine and Russia to stop fighting.
TIPP Picks
Selected articles from tippinsights.com and more
1. 4 Big Accomplishments Of Trump’s First 100 Days—Jarrett Stepman, The Daily Signal
2. Trump’s First 100 Days Have Exposed The Left—David Bossie, DCNF
3. The Making Of A Golden Age—Emily Johnson, The Daily Signal
4. RIP: Remembering David Horowitz—Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal
5. Court Upholds Majority Of Trump’s Executive Order On Election Integrity—Hans von Spakovsky, The Daily Signal
6. Ballot-Counting Case Could Be On Way To Supreme Court—Fred Lucas, The Daily Signal
7. Shocking Data Shows Far Higher Risks Of Mifepristone Than FDA Claimed—Thomas Jipping, The Daily Signal
8. The Canada Delusion—Editorial Board, TIPP Insights
9. Don’t Make Ukraine Another Vietnam—Daniel McCarthy, The Daily Signal
10. Trump Orders Global Halt To Iranian Oil Purchases—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
11. Who Is Mark Carney, The Newly Elected Liberal Prime Minister Of Canada?—Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal
12. Miller: Tariffs Saved The U.S. Auto Industry From Extinction—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
13. Tesla Refutes Claim Of Musk Replacement Talks—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
14. Embracing MAHA, PepsiCo To Chip Away At Artificial Dyes In Snack Foods—Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal
15. States May Have To Adjust To Medicaid Reforms, Speaker Johnson Says—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
16. Trump To Sign Executive Order Providing Automakers Tariff Relief—Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal
17. Trump Border Czar Tom Homan To Illegal Immigrants: Go Home—Debra Saunders, The Daily Signal
18. Trump’s Transportation Department Cut $9.5B Of Waste In 100 Days—Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal
19. Oklahoma Case Offers Supreme Court Chance To Benefit Families—Andrea Dill, The Daily Signal
20. Governor’s Surprise Veto Sinks School Choice Opportunity For North Dakota—Jason Bedrick, The Daily Signal
21. Why Elon Musk’s Lawyer Thinks He Is Allowed To Continue Running DOGE—Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal
22. Trump Backers Push Back On Pritzker’s Call For ‘Disruption’ To ‘Punish’ Republicans—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
23. Africa's Minerals Will Shape The Future Of Global Power—Otaviano Canuto & Sabrine Emran, Project Syndicate
24. Trump Names Marco Rubio As Interim National Security Advisor—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
25. Bessent Hails ‘Historic’ U.S.-Ukraine Economic Deal—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
26. Trump Invoking Alien Enemies Act Was Unlawful, Rules Judge—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
27. Waltz And Wong Set To Leave Trump White House: CBS—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
TIPP Market Brief – May 2, 2025
Your Morning Snapshot
📊 Market Snapshot
- S&P 500: 5,658.91 – ▲ 0.63%
- 10-Year Yield: 4.23% – ▲ 5 basis points
- Crude Oil (WTI): $58.98 – ▲ 1.32%
- Bitcoin (BTC): $96,640.62 ▲
- US Dollar Index (USD): 99.84 – ▼ 0.36%
- Gold: $3,239.05 – ▼ 1.03%
Bigger Charts: $SPX | $TNX | $WTIC | $BTCUSD | $USD | $GOLD
📈 Featured Stock
Our pick for today’s featured stock
📰 News & Headlines
Earnings Estimates Moving Higher for K12 (LRN): Time to Buy?— Zacks Equity Research
Why Stride Inc (LRN) is Surging in 2025 — Omor IE, Insider Monkey
⭐Recent Featured Stocks
Netflix (5/1)
Palantir (4/30)
Guardant Health (4/29)
Verisign, Inc. (4/28)
Marex Group PLC (4/25)
Sportradar Group, AG (4/24)
Sprouts Farmers Market (4/23)
Kroger Company (4/22)
🧠 Macro Insight
U.S. futures are pointing higher as signs of renewed trade talks between the U.S. and China ease tensions and lift investor sentiment. Focus turns to today’s jobs report, a key read on labor market strength amid Trump’s aggressive tariff policy.
Apple and Amazon posted strong earnings, but cautious guidance and supply chain concerns weighed on tech sentiment. Meanwhile, Trump’s upcoming budget proposal, featuring steep non-defense cuts and new DOGE-led efficiency measures, will likely ignite debate on Capitol Hill.
Oil edges up on trade optimism but remains on track for steep weekly losses.
📅 Key Events Today
- 08:30 AM ET – Average Hourly Earnings (April)
A key measure of wage growth is closely watched for its impact on inflation and consumer spending. - 08:30 AM ET – Nonfarm Payrolls (April)
The most important monthly read on U.S. job creation and overall labor market health. - 08:30 AM ET – Unemployment Rate (April)
Tracks the percentage of Americans actively seeking work, offering a broad gauge of labor market strength.
