MAGA maximalism: Trump's base loves Wisconsin judge arrest

Tal Axelrod

The FBI's arrest of a Wisconsin judge shocked the establishment. But it's exactly the kind of escalation the MAGA base has been agitating for.

• "This is not the time for summer soldiers or sunshine patriots," MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec told Axios, invoking founding father Thomas Paine.

Why it matters:Friday's arrest of Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan, on charges of obstructing an immigration arrest, is astunning escalation of President Trump's battles with political opponents. (WTF, they are breaking the law, not necessarily “political rivals”)

But listen to the reaction from influential voices in MAGAworld, and you can see why you can expect more moves like it.

• "I wouldn't necessarily say that what we've seen out of the DOJ so far, rises to the level of full wrath when you're talking about accountability for people who waged lawfare," Natalie Winters, a correspondent for Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast, said Friday after the arrest. "We haven't had any names released."

The backstory:When Trump took office, his diehard fans were craving a pedal-to-the-metal offensive against the "deep state." Trump delivered a shock-and-awe series of first-100-day actions and executive orders.

• But MAGA podcasts and social-media posts showed the true believers wanted more: arrests of political foes. (These arrests are not for being political foes, but those who gotten away with crimes and never punished. Axios is accusing the right, for the exact thing the left, Bidan et al, did to Trump and Trump supporters, at a level of persecution no one has seen in America.)

On Day 1, supporters got a dose of Trump maximalism when he blanket-pardoned most of those charged over the Jan. 6 riot — including those accused of violence.

• The movement then expected a wave of arrests of bureaucrats. It never came.

• "I don't know about you, but I'm still waiting for prosecutions," Judicial Watch head Tom Fitton said earlier this month.

Behind the scenes: Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have urged patience, insisting to the base that they're hard at work targeting "deep state" provocateurs and other enemies of MAGA. Friday's arrest took some pressure off.

• Patel has "been taking a little heat from our base, actually," Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said on Charlie Kirk's podcast. "Kash and Pam both — [Trump faithful] want to know: What are they doing? They need to get started. This just shows you they do a lot of stuff behind closed doors and they can't do it in public, but they're acting fast on it."

• "Just because you're not seeing something in the news does not mean that it's not happening," Mike Davis of the Article III Project, and a top Trump ally, added on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast. "There's a lot going on. There's a lot more that's coming. I can assure you … we're firing on all cylinders in the Trump administration."

Catch up quick: Dugan was arrested Friday for allegedly obstructing the arrest of a man who was in the country illegally, but was appearing in her courtroom on different charges. Dugan allegedly told FBI agents they needed to go see the court's chief judge before ushering the defendant out through a side door.

• The defendant was ultimately apprehended after a brief foot chase.

Duggan's arrest came after a former judge in New Mexico was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Thursday on evidence-tampering charges.

• Jose Cano, a former Doña Ana County magistrate judge, and his wife were allegedly allowing alleged Venezuelan gang members to stay on their property. Their arrest similarly sent MAGA into an uproar, combining immigration, crime and the "deep state" into one rallying cry.

(Hey Axios what about Bidan, his Admin, leftists press and Democrats when you were all happy as Hell, saying daily and hourly about Trump’s arrests and prosecutions,“No one is above the law”! All this to justify Trump’s sham arrests and false charges by Bidan DOJ, with the intent to prevent him from winning 2024 election? BTW, judges of all people, should adhere to the law,your argument is predictably stupid.)

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/26/maga-maximalism-trump-base-wisconsin-judge-arrest

Eric Daugherty

@EricLDaugh

🚨 YOU'VE GOTTA HEAR THIS: Frank Luntz gets a panel of Trump voters and is shockedwhen he finds out they aren't jumping ship because of a market correction/dip in response to tariffs.

There's too much reason and logic in this frame for any single Democrat to handle!

LUNTZ: "That has crashed your 401ks! Most of you! Tariffs. Stock market is WAY down."

•"It needed a correction."

=LUNTZ: "Oh, so you support it?"

•"You bet!"

• "Yes!"

"My 401k wasn't impacted at all."

😂😂

• "The Biden administration I lost more money… by far."

• "In 2022, they crashed it by 25%. For the whole year."

LUNTZ:"NO ONE is upset over this?"

• "Mm-mm."

• "No."

• "There's not a single 4-year period in the history of the stock market where the stock market hasn't appreciated an average rate of about 7%. Yeah, there's ups and downs and corrections, people are foolish and they jump out - buy high, sell low - but if people get in, and stay the course, they'll be just fine."

• "I'm not a day trader… I also trust that Trump and all of his advisors involved with the tariff issue know what they're doing… I know it'll correct at some point."

LUNTZ: "How much more are you willing to pay for products and services that come out of China?How much do prices have to go up before you say, is not that crazy?"

•"I'd rather not BUY from China!"

• "Same!"

• "Prices only go up if demand is inelastic and if there's no alternative supplies.They're doing a brilliant job. They're surrounding China… and we do need to bring stuff back."

(I’m sure this really disappointed the GW Bush Cartel and all the NWO Globalists!)

Last edited

8:24 AM · Apr 26, 2025

·565.9K

Views

3:34

https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1916106062609973377

All I can say, his name is Luntz, that explains it all

>>22960507

This is fucking genius, these people crashed and burned Luntz’s fear mongering. Bush tool 100%, GWB had more complaints than almost any other of the economy. Both Bush’s

Viral Teen Only Trains One Side Of His Body, Claims It Helps Him Avoid Female Attention

Lei RVApr 17, 20251/2

In an internet era obsessed with self-improvement and picture-perfect symmetry, one 19-year-old man is flipping the script in a bizarre, unique way—by “ruining” his appearance on purpose.

Going by “The Crooked Man,” the influencer has skyrocketed to viral status by showcasing his “progress” in becoming as asymmetrical as possible bytraining only one side of his body.

Calling himself the internet’s first-ever“LooksMinimizer,”the 19-year-old has been rigorously training his left trapezius muscle in abizarre and deliberate attempt to rebel against the internet’s obsession with beauty and perfection.

“People were like, ‘Do this, do that. You’ll look more attractive. You’ll get more women,’” he explained when questioned by his viewers. “I have the opposite problem. I get so many DMs that I don’t even have time to get through them all. I need the opposite solution.”

19-year-old man goes viral for purposely training only one side of his body to become as asymmetrical as possible

Ever since launching his social media accounts in October 2023, the 19-year-oldhas been regularly posting his workouts, isolated to just his left trapezius muscle, documenting its growth and the lopsided appearance it has given him.

Viewers have constantly questioned his methods, with many being both baffled and curious as to what motivates the influencer to distort his body in such a way. Refusing to answer in a serious manner, the Crooked Man has only replied with jokes, saying that he’s on a mission to “LooksMinimize.”

The term, as coined by the influencer,is a satirical inversion of an online subculture known as “LooksMaxxing.”

Popularized among groups of primarily young men self-described as “incels”(short for involuntary celibate), LooksMaxxing is the act of obsessively optimizing one’s physical appearance through a combination of gym routines, fashion makeovers, and even cosmetic surgery.

While the idea of self-improvement sounds good on paper, these groups are characterized by using the concept to shame themselves and others, believing that only select individuals who pass a certain threshold of physical attractiveness are deserving of love and companionship.

“What’s the opposite of looksmaxxing? Looksminimizing,” he explained in one of his now-famous TikToks. “What was the best way to looksminimize? Become more asymmetrical. Work out one trap. It solved my problem. And man, it has worked like a charm.”

His workout routines have gone viral, with one of his videos reaching 17 million views

The teen now boasts a wildly developed left trap that protrudes so far above his collarbone, he says it’s even started to affect his everyday life—if only slightly.

“People no longer question when I park in the handicap parking spot, little kids point at me in the grocery store,” he joked in a Q&A video. “Shirts fit a little awkwardly. My backpack also feels a little awkward. Stiff slightly. But in terms of pain? Zero.”

https://www.boredpanda.com/19-year-old-called-the-crooked-man-viral-for-only-working-out-one-side-of-his-body/

>>22960568

2/2

Far from being deterred by his audience’s pleas to start “LooksNormalizing,” the 19-year-old has resolved to going beyond distorting his upper body.

In a video posted earlier this week, he revealed he’s 30 days into working out only one leg. Focusing on Bulgarian split squats using 30-pound dumbbells,he has taken special care to make sure only one side of his body gets to grow.

While his followers are amused and impressed by the 19-year-old’s dedication to his “brand,” many have started to become worried about the long-term physical consequences of the man training only one side of his body.

“This is funny and all, but it can lead to chronic pain and a lot of other bad stuff, so be careful,” one of his viewers warned.

“Are you not at all concerned with the potential risks of only working out one side of your body? Surely, at some point, you’d notice your body acting funky to compensate?”

The influencer risks long-term injuries as his body struggles to compensate for his lopsided physique

“One of the most important aspects that someone who’s beginning to train needs to understand is proper form,” explained personal trainer Franco Betancourt to Bored Panda. “This is because most people do come with a degree of imbalance produced naturally via daily use.

“Some of this imbalance comes from muscle development, but it has a lot to do with nerves and the brain,” he added. “Most right-handed people have trouble brushing their teeth with their left hand, and that has very little to do with muscle strength.”

For Betancourt, training not only strengthens the muscles by making them grow, but it also helps the body work better by teaching the body to use all muscle groups in harmony, prioritizing some over others for maximum efficiency.

“Someone purposely training only one side of the body is putting their long-term health at risk, as they are teaching their body to damage itself essentially,” he added.

“Their body will grow accustomed to putting extra strain on weaker muscles, incurring a higher risk of injury, and even bones changing over time to adapt to the imbalance.”

Whether The Crooked Man is trolling the internet or making an ironic statement about modern beauty culture, the price he’ll end up paying in exchange for viral fame may be more than just awkward shirt fits and uneven squats.

In becoming a caricature of internet absurdity, his body might end up carrying the burden of a joke that outlived its punchline.

“Not a good idea.” Viewers kept pleading with the influencer to stop, but their words fell on deaf ears

How do you feel about the influencer's decision to work out only one side of his body?

It's an interesting social experiment

It might cause long-term health problems

It's a funny but temporary meme

https://www.boredpanda.com/19-year-old-called-the-crooked-man-viral-for-only-working-out-one-side-of-his-body/

>>22960573

He or the call him an incel, that’s the first time I’ve heard about a real one. And he seems proud about it

>>22960579

Apparently 17 million people kind of cared. He doesn’t want female attention, but he’s getting it in a different way. Weird, a lot concerned about him, so he does want attention

>>22960556

Sauce please

>>22960556

Why would NATO not invite Trump, and invite Obama, this proves NATO only wanted the US to keep the money flowing; and only have NWO freaks in the org

>>22960552

sauce

It’s really not that hard to provide sauce

>>22960550

Sauce

>>22960550

You all thought grammar Nazi was bad, now comes the Sauce Nazi, until you respect the boards rules!

>>22960519

Obvious troll

>>22960503

sauce

>>22960498

PETER HITCHENS: You've been fed propaganda nonsense about Ukraine and the invented Russian menace. These are the lies you've been told

By PETER HITCHENS1/2

PUBLISHED: 16:53 BST, 26 April 2025

In my trade I have long grown used to the way governments lie and get others to lie for them. It is what they do.But I have seldom seen such a cloud of lies as we face now.

Hardly anyone in this country knows the truth about Ukraine. There has been nothing like it since we were all lied to about the Iraq invasion, with bilge about fictional ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’. The liars were caught out. And they learned from it. They learned to lie more skilfully.

Meanwhile, many of those in our society who knew how to challenge such lies died off or retired and were not replaced.

We have never had a debate about the Ukraine crisis which started from the beginning.Did anyone in power ever tell you truthfully how, when or why this war began? No. Did anyone in power explain why Britain, crime-blighted, decrepit, rubbish-strewn, rat-infested, broke Britain, had to get involved in it? Never.

You have just been fed propaganda rubbish about ‘democracy’, freedom and an invented Russian menace. Here are some of the lies you have repeatedly been told.

The war, they say, was not provoked.Seldom in history has a war been more provoked.

'You have just been fed propaganda rubbish about ‘democracy’, freedom and an invented Russian menace,' writes Peter Hitchens. Pictured: Russian president Vladimir Putin

Russians, nice ones like the liberal, democratic politician Yegor Gaidar, and nasty ones like the bloody despot Vladimir Putin, begged the West to stop trundling its military alliance, Nato, eastwards towards Russia.

All Russians, including the great anti-Communist author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, had been shocked and angered when Nato in 1999 abruptly gave up its defensive posture and launched attacks on Yugoslavia –which had not attacked a Nato member.

These protests reached their peak in February 2007, when Putin made a dramatic speech in Munich.He said Nato expansion was ‘a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust. We have the right to ask: against whom is this expansion intended?’

Look, if someone as gaunt as Putin spoke to you like that in a pub late in the evening, you’d take it as a warning that he was seriously riled. And unless you wanted a fight, you’d back off. But we didn’t back off.

US President George W. Bush, the genius who invaded Iraq, deliberately raised the temperature the following year. Can it be that Bush likes wars?

In April 2008, Bush said that Ukraine should be placed on the path towards joining Nato. Even the Guardian, the Liberal Warmonger’s Gazette, conceded that this was ‘likely to infuriate the Kremlin’. And so it did. I suspect we were on the path to war from that moment.

'Protests reached their peak in February 2007, when Putin made a dramatic speech in Munich' (pictured)

https://archive.is/u4qut

>>22960702

2/2

I am always accused, when I say that, of making excuses for Putin. I am not. I think he was stupid as well as wrong to be provoked. Wise men ignore provocations. But to claim he was not provoked is just to lie.

Another lie we are repeatedly told is that Russia attacked Georgia later in 2008.But anyone can find, on the web, a 2009 Reuters news agency story headlined ‘Georgia started war with Russia: EU-backed report’.

The dispatch summarises an inquiry by the respected Swiss diplomat Heidi Tagliavini. She had been asked by Brussels to look into that war. That is what she said. But, somehow or other, a lot of Western media outlets failed to find space for it.I still meet supposedly informed people who have never heard of Ms Tagliavini or her report.

And then there is the claim that this is about democracy and freedom. It isn’t. The more the West claims to care for these things, the less it does to help them.

Some examples: Ukraine’s elected president was lawlessly overthrown by a mob in 2014. Britain and the USA condoned this shameful event because they preferred the illegal rebels to the elected government. You just can’t do that and pretend to be the guardian of democracy. But then, we aren’t anyway.

You will search in vain for protests against the treatment of Romania’s presidential candidate, in a country that is in the EU and Nato.

Calin Georgescu’s election was annulled by judges in December when he looked like winning the first round. And he has been banned from standing in the second round –all because he has the wrong kind of politics. And if that’s not enough, look at the West’s deep, shaming silence over the frightening, thuggish behaviour of Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan.

A few weeks ago, this Turkish Putin arrested and jailed Ekrem Imamoglu, an opposition politician who looked likely to beat him at the polls.

Mr Imamoglu joined the many journalists and democrats who already rot in Turkish prisons.

Erdogan has crushed free media, free speech and the freedom to protest. But his country is still allowed to stay in Nato, and Western states have made less noise than an angry vole guarding its nest. They’re scared of Erdogan.

I won’t even try to explain how Germany recently recalled its old, dead parliament to push through laws the newly elected parliament would not pass. This was done to allow the spending of extra billions on the Ukraine war. But I hope you get my drift.

Demand proper debate. Demand the truth. Don’t be dragged into more stupidity, or we will end up with bomb craters as well as potholes.

https://archive.is/u4qut

26 Apr, 2025

Estonian president reveals what Trump told him about Ukraine

The US leader believes a deal between Kiev and Moscow is “quite close,” according to Alar Karis

US President Donald Trump has promised not to walk away from the Ukraine peace process, stating that an end to the hostilities was “quite close,” Estonian head of state Alar Karis has claimed.

The Estonian president revealed that he’d had a conversation with Trump at Pope Francis’ funeral on Saturday, where the two were seated together. Ahead of the ceremony, Trump also had a brief meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.

Karis said he had urged Trump to keep the Ukraine peace process moving and not to “walk away at some point.” The US president allegedly pledged to stay engaged in the negotiations, “saying we are quite close because he had just met Zelensky. I didn’t ask for many details about what that meeting brought,” Karis told Estonian broadcaster ERR.

The two leaders also discussed strained transatlantic relations, with Trump insisting he valued them too, according to Karis.“These are important to both of us,not only from a European perspective but also from the American perspective, andPresident Donald Trump agreed with that. Now we have to see how to make these relations better than they currently are,” he said.

Shortly after the Zelensky meeting and the Pope’s funeral, Trump accused Russia of “shooting missiles” into Ukraine for “no reason”and threatened the country with new sanctions.

Moscow has maintained that it targets only military installations and facilities used by Kiev’s forces, rejecting accusations of deliberately striking civilian sites. Following a brief lull in fighting during the Easter ceasefire announced by President Vladimir Putin last weekend, the Russian military carried out multiple long-range strikes against Ukrainian military and industrial targets over the week.

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities, and towns over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions’?” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The warning came just as the Russian president reiterated Moscow’s readiness for unconditional talks with Kiev. The president reaffirmed the commitment during talks with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

https://www.rt.com/news/616377-trump-ukraine-peace-close/

There was sure a lot of European leaders lining up to greet PDJT and Melania yesterday, so it seems the EU is creating the division.

27 Apr, 2025 13:57

Macron snubbed during Trump–Zelensky meeting in Vatican

The US president and Ukraine’s leader met ahead of the Pope’s funeral in their first face-to-face encounter since their White House clash

French President Emmanuel Macron was sidelined when his US counterpart Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky met before the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday.Footage from the Vatican showed him being left out despite the Ukrainian leader’s apparent expectations that he would join.

Trump and Zelensky last met in February in the Oval Office. The meeting, where they’d intended to finalize a US-Ukraine minerals agreement and discuss a potential ceasefire with Russia, ended abruptly amid a heated exchange involving Vice President JD Vance, which led to the Ukrainian leader’s early departure from the White House.

Video footage from the Vatican showed Zelensky walking toward the seating area with Trump. He glanced back several times, reportedly expecting Macron to join. Three chairs were set up, suggesting plans for a three-way discussion. As the French president approached, Zelensky greeted him warmly with a smile and a hand gesture, inviting him to join.

However, just moments later, a staff member discreetly removed the third chair before the meeting began. Footage shows Trump gesturing openly while maintaining a firm posture, signaling the conversation would be strictly between him and Zelensky.Macron eventually stepped back as the two engaged directly.

Visuals captured Zelensky’s expression changing from confident to visibly tense upon realizing he would face Trump alone. The 15-minute meeting took place against a backdrop of growing tensions; the US president has pressured Kiev to accept what media outlets have termed his “final offer” to end hostilities. Reports suggest that Washington’s proposal involves freezing the conflict along the existing front lines and recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, a condition the Ukrainian leader has firmly rejected.

Trump stated in an interview with Time magazine on Friday that “Crimea will stay with Russia.” Before 2014, the peninsula was part of Ukraine, but it joined Russia after a referendum which followed a Western-backed coup in Kiev. Trump also recently reiterated that Zelensky “has no cards to play,” echoing what he told him during their last White House meeting.

Macron has been among Zelensky’s most steadfast supporters, and has consistently emphasized that any peace agreement must ensure Ukraine retains its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Russia has stressed, however, that any deal to end hostilities must not only acknowledge territorial reality but also address the conflict’s root causes, including Ukraine’s NATO aspirations.

Trump voiced satisfaction with negotiations between Washington and Moscow after Russian President Vladimir Putin held lengthy talkswith US envoy Steve Witkoff at the Kremlin on Friday.

https://www.rt.com/news/616389-macron-snubbed-during-trump-zelensky-meeting/

That meeting was weirdly public, was it to keep the convo private and not recorded or did Zelenskyy set it up to include Macron and try to embarrass Trump. Both Zelensky and Macron think they can trap Trump. They are never going to get what they want.

Von der Leyen says Trump has agreed to meeting after brief Vatican chat

EU officials have been trying for months to set up a full bilateral meeting between the two.

Alexandra Brzozowski and Joshua PosanerEuractiv Apr 26, 2025 12:22

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen finally met US President Donald Trump in Rome on Saturday, with plans now underway for a formal meeting between the two.

A video posted by Italian daily La Stampa on Saturday shows Trump, flanked by his wife Melania and other leaders, shaking hands with von der Leyen and appearing to hold a short, cordial conversation on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral.

The meeting was their first in-person conversation since Trump’s return to the White House.

Senior Commission officials have been trying for months to arrange a bilateral meeting between von der Leyen and Trump without success. Until Saturday, the two hadn't formally met since Trump returned for a second term as president in January.

"In their brief exchange, President von der Leyen and President Trump agreed to meet," said a Commission spokesperson on Saturday afternoon, adding that a full discussion would take place at a later date and not in Rome. They declined to comment when asked whether a formal invitation to Brussels has been issued.

In advance of von der Leyen's trip to Italy for the funeral of Pope Francis, the Commission said that if "opportunities arise" to get face time with Trump they would be "seized."

The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, was recently snubbed by US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, during a visit to Washington DC.Rubio's team said that “last-minute scheduling issues” meant a meeting had to be scrapped.

Pope Francis' funeral has drawn scores of world leaders to Rome for the Saturday events around St. Peter’s Square, creating opportunities for informal discussion. This past week, Trump has continued to insist he's closing in on a deal with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

Earlier on Saturday, Trump held talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome, the first time the two have met in person since a testy exchange in the Oval Office at the White House back in late February.

(https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/von-der-leyen-says-trump-has-agreed-to-meeting-after-brief-vatican-chat/

The picture of Ursula they use, is embarrassing, like she’s a happy child. KEK

27.04.2025, 16:12

"Clear message": France reveals the meaning of Trump's gesture at the Vatican

MOSCOW, April 27 — RIA Novosti. American leader Donald Trump has sent a clear signal to all warmongers in Ukraine byeffectively expelling French President Emmanuel Macron from a meetingwith Vladimir Zelensky at the Vatican,French Patriots Party leader Florian Philippotsaid on the social network X.

Earlier, a video clip of the conversation between the head of the White House and the French leader in St. Peter's Basilica before the meeting with Zelensky was distributed in the media. The recording also shows that initially there were three chairs, but in the end there were only two left — for Trump and Zelensky.

"It was a fantastic scene in the Vatican when Trump literally drove Macron away. This is a clear message.: save the world and drive away the hawks who are fomenting war in Ukraine," Philippot wrote.

On Saturday, before the funeral of the Roman couple, Trump held a 15-minute meeting with Zelensky at the Vatican. As reported by Sky News,they agreed to continue the conversation after the ceremony, but the meeting never took place.

https://france.news-pravda.com/en/france/2025/04/27/31318.html

Trump and Zelensky 10 seats apart

Trump was in a front-row seat near Francis' coffin, alongside his wife Melania Trump, across the aisle from Macron and his wife Brigitte.

Intriguingly, he and First Lady Melania were sitting between two staunch supporters of Ukraine. Estonia's President Alar Karis was to Melania's left, and Finland's Alexander Stubb to Trump's right.

Estonia and Finland are both staunch allies of another man of the moment in attendance - Zelensky, who looked sombre-faced at the Vatican.He was sitting on the same row as Macron, separated by a few other dignitaries.

Zelensky, who has been locked in negotiations and public arguments with Trump in recent weeks,was just 10 seats and one aisle away from him, on the same row.

Shortly before the funeral started, the pair were pictured sitting locked in deep discussion.

The White House described the 15-minute meeting as "very productive," while Zelensky said it was "very symbolic" and had "potential to become historic".

The seating plan

The VIPs were in a separate sectionfrom the hundreds of thousands of members of the public who have descended on Rome for the event.

Dignitaries were sitting on the the right-hand side of the square, next to St Peter's Basilica.

Those with the best seats were Javier Milei, president of Francis' native Argentina, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Italian President Sergio Mattarella,representing the country that surrounds the Vatican City state.

Behind them were reigning sovereigns, and other delegations were seated in alphabetical order in French, the official language of diplomacy, on other benches.

Representing British royalty, thePrince of Wales was sitting next to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz several rows back from the front, and some distance away from Starmer.

Starmer himself sat in the fifth row with his wife Victoria.

Behind the British leader was the World Health Organization's (WHO) director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Former US President Joe Biden was seen hand in hand with his wife Jill. He was sitting four rows behind Trump.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y6rg6wpvgo

>>22961002

2/2

European leaders and royalty

Many European leaders, as well as royalty from European countries, were in attendance.

The Macrons watched the service closely from their front row position, and the French president shook hands with Trump.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was at the proceedings, and was seen chatting with Macron.

Other political figures and royals attending the Pope's funeral included:

Poland President Andrzej Duda

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader

Belgium King Philippe and Queen Mathilde

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier

Croatia President Zoran Milanovic

Ecuador President Daniel Noboa

Ireland Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin

Moldova President Maia Sandu

Latvia President Edgars Rinkevics

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon

Sweden King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

Queen Mary of Denmark

Jordan King Abdullah II and Queen Rania

Hungary President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban

European Council President Antonio Costa

(https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y6rg6wpvgo

Trump and Biden sit rows apart, president meets with Zelensky: Pope Francis funeral takeaways

Jack BirleApril 26, 2025 10:30 am

Trump and Biden both pay respects, four rows apart

President Donald Trump and his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, were both at St. Peter’s Square for the funeral, marking the first time they were at the same place since the Jan. 20 inauguration in Washington, D.C.

While Trump was seated in one of the front rows with top world leaders, Biden was seated further back with his wife Jill — four rows away from the president.(Joe looks a little jealous)

The former president had an additional reason to attend the funeral, aside from having met with Francis during his lone term, as he is Catholic himself. Trump is not Catholic, and in 2020, he said he considers himself to be a “non-denominational” Christian.

When Francis died, Biden offered his condolences and called him “unlike any who came before him.”

Biden had a much warmer relationship with the pope than Trump did. The latter was the subject of harsh criticism from the Argentinian pontiff during both of his administrations, largely over his border policies and stance on illegal immigration.

Trump and Zelensky meet in St. Peter’s Basilica

While Trump was at the Vatican to mourn Francis, he also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time face-to-face since their disastrous Oval Office meeting earlier this year.

The White House shared an image of the discussion, while Zelensky called it a “good meeting” and thanked Trump for it.

“Good meeting. We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you @POTUS,” Zelensky posted on X.

The meeting came after Trump took a harsher tone with Russian President Vladimir Putin over attacks Russia conducted on Ukraine earlier this week, after previously being more critical of the Ukrainian side. Trump and U.S. officials have been working on a peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, but have warned they could walk away from the process if there is no progress…

Leaders from around the world mourn Francis

Along with Trump, Biden, and Zelensky, several other world leaders took to St. Peter’s Square to attend the funeral mass for Francis.

From the United Kingdom, Prince William and Prime Minister Keir Starmer were in attendance. They were joined by French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Argentinian President Javier Milei, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Estonian President Alar Karis, among others.

As Francis’s body was taken out of Vatican City and into Rome toward his final resting place at St. Mary Major Basilica, crowds gathered around the route to bid farewell to the pope.

The papal conclave to select a successor to Francis is set to begin in the coming weeks, as cardinals from around the world gather in Vatican City to help select a new pope.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/3392482/trump-biden-zelensky-pope-francis-funeral-takeaways/#google_vignette

26 Apr, 2025 16:40

‘Ukrainian agent’ involved in Russian general’s assassination detained – FSB(VIDEO)

The high ranking military official was killed by a car bomb on Friday morning in the suburban Moscow town of Balashikha

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has reported that it detained a Ukrainian operative who is suspected of planting a bomb that killed a Russian two-star general serving as deputy operations chief of the General Staff on Friday.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Russian authorities said the explosive device, which was hidden in a parked car, was activated remotely from Ukraine.

The man, identified as Ignat Kuzin, who has a residence permit in Ukraine, purchased the Volkswagen Golf used in the assassination of Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, the FSB said. According to the officials, the suspect retrieved the components for the bomb from a cache and planted the explosive device inside the vehicle.

Moskalik, the deputy chief of operations of Russia’s General Staff, was killed outside his residence in Balashikha, a suburb east of Moscow. Russia’s Investigative Committee said that the explosive device was packed with metal fragments for additional lethality. The news agency TASS reported that investigators estimated the yield of the bomb as the equivalent of 300 grams of TNT.

Along with the statement, the FSB released a video depicting the suspect’s apprehension, as well as his subsequent interrogation.In it, the 42-year-old man said that he had been “recruited by Ukrainian special services, by a handler, Vadim, in Kiev Region in April 2023.”According to the testimony, Kuzin arrived in Moscow in September of the same year.

“In February 2025, I bought the Volkswagen on [Vadim’s] orders,” the suspect recounted, adding that later that month he received the coordinates of the cache containing the explosive materials and a camera.

The man said that the “explosion itself was carried out remotely by Vadim the handler.”

On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the “Kiev regime once again shows its essence” by continuing to “engage in terrorist activities” on Russian soil.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova similarly stated that should Ukrainian involvement in the assassination of the general be confirmed, it would demonstrate the “barbarian and treacherous nature of the Kiev regime.”

Ukraine is betting on escalating the conflict and “irresponsibly ignoring constructive proposals” to settle it through diplomacy, the diplomat noted.

Last December, a bomb that Russian authorities similarly linked to Ukrainian special services killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who served as the commander of the Russian Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces. He was assassinated alongside an aide as they were coming out of a building in Moscow.

The attack involved an explosive device hidden inside an electric scooter, which was placed next to the entrance and monitored through a camera set up in a parked car, which enabled the perpetrators to detonate it remotely.

https://www.rt.com/russia/616371-fsb-detains-suspect-general-assassination/