Great article by @juliaioffe from a few weeks ago in @PuckNews "What Does the Kremlin Really Think of Steve Witkoff?" (link in replies) Key points here: 1. A video of Witkoff heaping praise on Putin, referring to "incredible memories," emerged shortly after their ninth meeting concluded. People back in America were understandably outraged. But the video was released for a reason. It was a display of who "holds the cards" (as Trump likes to say) 2. Witkoff is liked within the Kremlin because of his "warmth," but he's also disorganized and imprecise. For ex. after the Alaska summit, Witkoff told Trump that Putin was willing to do a trilateral meeting with Trump and Zelenskyy. But meeting with Zelenskyy is quite literally the last thing Putin wants to do. So this mix up bothered him. 3. "Witkoff is a big, breezy, 30,000-foot-view thinker, and the lifelong Kremlin servants tasked with dealing with him are operating on a much more bureaucratic, granular, legalistic level. They’re used to working with diplomats, people who are used to speaking diplomatic language, especially when they’re talking about documents...." 4. Ultimately, Putin continues to stall for time. The people he includes on his side of the negotiating table speaks volumes about how seriously he's treating the process. One person who has frequently been sat across from Witkoff is Kirill Dmitriev. He's a shitposter on Twitter more so than a serious negotiator. You can find him frequently tweeting out dove emojis 🕊️and fantasizing about a new reality where Russia and the United States work together to "crush the globalists." He's hated within the Kremlin. Having him in those meetings tells you everything about how seriously Putin is taking them.

Guys, I hate to disappoint you but, Trump is not an "agent of Russia." Let me explain my reasoning. First, the Russians are pretty experienced in this area. They've been doing this shit, spreading propaganda and infiltrating political parties for most of the 20th century, and now in the 21st. For example, in the 1960s, the Soviets ran propaganda efforts out of Czechoslovakia, in attempt to hurt Barry Goldwater. Fast forward to today, the Russians have their hands in the cookie jar of Europe's right wing parties, especially AfD in Germany. Second—and this is really the most important point—there is simply no reason for the Russians to attempt something this brazen, and Trump's already the ideal American leader in their eyes. As a former advisor to former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told @juliaioffe back in 2018, "He's a wrecking ball. He's doing all our work for us."

Considering the stunt his campaign pulled this morning, I think it's safe to say that Vivek Ramaswamy is a piece of shit, and I hope Amy Acton wins in a landslide, regardless of her politics.