US vice president accused of 'erasing from history' sacrifices of British soldiers

JD Vance has been accused of insulting British soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan with his comments on Europe’s contributions to Ukraine peace talks.

The US Vice President dismissively described a proposed peacekeeping force suggested by European leaders as ‘20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years’.

France and the UK are the only two countries that have currently committed to putting soldiers on the ground in Ukraine to help avert a threat from Russia.

Critics pointed out that Vance’s ’30 or 40 years’ covers the time British forces fought alongside their US allies in the Middle East.

Liberal Democrat MP Helen Maguire, a former Captain in the Royal Military Police who served in Iraq, said: ‘JD Vance is erasing from history the hundreds of British troops who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

‘I saw firsthand how American and British soldiers fought bravely together shoulder to shoulder.

‘Six of my own regiment, the Royal Military Police, didn’t return home from Iraq. This is a sinister attempt to deny that reality.’

Former Defence Minister Johnny Mercer described Vance as a ‘clown’ and said: ‘By his own admission he spent his time in the Marines “writing articles and taking pictures”.

‘Perhaps if he had got his hands dirty serving his country like so many of his fellow American and British veterans, chasing his own country’s crazy foreign policy ideas, he might not be so quick to dismiss their sacrifice.’

Despite the UK and France being the only two countries that have made the commitment, Vance described the suggestion he was referring to them in his comments as ‘absurdly dishonest’.

He wrote in a post on X: ‘I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond.’

The comment came as President Donald Trump paused all US military aid shipments to Ukraine just days after clashing with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.

There has not yet been any indication how long the pause will last, nor has there been any comment from Ukraine.

This afternoon, Downing Street revealed that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called Trump last night before the President made the decision.

A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: ‘President [Trump] has been clear that he is focused on peace.

‘We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.’

The decision came just hours after Trump publicly berated Ukrainian president Zelensky for suggesting that any notion of a peace plan with Russia ‘is still very, very far away’.

Reacting to his remarks on social media, Trump described Zelensky’s words as the ‘worst statement that could have been made.

‘It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the US – probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia.

‘What are they thinking?”

He later said European countries had ‘acted very well’ and were ‘good people’.

‘We’re going to make deals with everybody to get this war (finished), including Europe and European nations. And they’ve acted very well. You know, they’re good people … they want to work it out,’ Mr Trump said at the White House.

Mexico says it will impose retaliatory measures as US tariffs kick in

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced retaliatory measures following new US tariffs on imports from Mexico that took effect on Tuesday.

Sheinbaum said the Mexican response would include import duties and other measures which she would reveal on Sunday.

"We need to keep calm and think clearly," the president said during her daily morning press conference at the National Palace, the president's official residence.

The US began levying 25% duties on imports from Canada and Mexico at midnight (0500 GMT Tuesday), while raising tariffs on Chinese goods from 10 to 20%.

Beijing and Ottawa have both announced retaliatory tariffs.

Trump had announced the sweeping tariffs against Mexico and Canada - the two largest trading partners of the United States - at the start of February.

But he then agreed to a 30-day pause after Mexican and Canadian leaders took steps to appease his anger about border security and drug trafficking.

Mexico recently extradited 29 individuals convicted of drug-related offences to the US. According to the US Department of Justice, these included former infamous cartel leader Rafael Caro Quintero.

More than 80% of Mexican exports go to the US, with thousands of companies and millions of jobs depending on the trade partnership.

Economists believe that Trump's tariff policy is likely to harm both economies, expecting higher inflation and job losses.

As you can see Trump like me can't count the number of time he has flip flopped on the dates he will impose tariffs. Maybe Canada, Mexico and the rest of world should surprise him and put the tariffs on American goods first. Maybe that will open up his eyes to see how the world really works.

It's the "boiling a frog" approach we've heard here before. No wonder he's so pally with Putin, they're of a like mind. 

This should come to you Tommy as no surprise because the Brits and I had warned you almost daily what would happen for years now. We picked it up the moment he came down that golden staircase. The American people have always been fascinated with the mob, gangs, crooks of all kinds and bad people. Many have been looked on as almost super stars in the 20's and 30's.

Time to stop and be honest with ourselves Tommy and look in a mirror and ask the person in it, what fool on earth would ever vote 3 times in row for a crook who wishes out loud for supreme power and becoming an unchallengeable dictator.

What did the person in the mirror say back to you Tommy?

Just got another tank of propane Pete. Cost the same as last time, $2.29 per American gallon.

About $2.66 Cdn. So it would be cheaper in American dollars by roughly $1.00 or about $1.66 a.dollars

Trump vows harsh punishments for students involved in protests

US President Donald Trump said he would cut off federal funding for educational institutions that allow illegal protests. He also warned that agitators would be deported or imprisoned, The Cradle reports citing his post on Truth Social.

US President Donald Trump made a sharp statement in which he announced serious measures against educational institutions that allow illegal protests on their territories.

“All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests,” the president said.

He added that agitators who participate in such protests will be imprisoned or deported back to their countries.

The president emphasizes that American students who participate in the protests will also be subject to serious sanctions. They can be expelled from educational institutions permanently or arrested, regardless of the severity of the crime.

Democrats in Congress are actively preparing for a protest during Trump's speech. Several representatives of the Democratic Party are discussing various ways to express dissatisfaction with his policies, including plans to disrupt the president's speech.

Well there goes you right to free speech and your right to assemble. Doesn't leave much, does it. 

It reminds me when a group of well to do Rebels silenced the people who were opposed to a government take and who murdered, robbed them of their wealth and their businesses, Then  burnt them down or sold them to friends. Their voice in the form of their newspaper was removed and made illegal to print for the majority of people to read.

America better put some salt down on that slippery slope before someone falls and hurts themselves.

This should come to you Tommy as no surprise because the Brits and I had warned you almost daily what would happen for years now. We picked it up the moment he came down that golden staircase. The American people have always been fascinated with the mob, gangs, crooks of all kinds and bad people. Many have been looked on as almost super stars in the 20's and 30's.

Time to stop and be honest with ourselves Tommy and look in a mirror and ask the person in it, what fool on earth would ever vote 3 times in row for a crook who wishes out loud for supreme power and becoming an unchallengeable dictator.

What did the person in the mirror say back to you Tommy?

I took a good look in the mirror at myself after I got out of the shower this morning, Pete. I'M NOT DOING THAT AGAIN!!!

Were you looking up for down?

I hope so. It will give the Ukraine the money, that it needs to rebuild. 

Breaking news from Newsmax, Grey. We shall see, eh?

I agree with Tommy. Seeing is believing and don't hold your breath Grey waiting.

We will see. It is possible, that Zelensky wants the war to continue, because he does not want to hold elections. He would lose his job, if elections were held. 

Boy the Trump sure know hope to United a Country. Too bad it's ours country and not his.

Our Provinces don't always agree on all matters but this time American products are being left on the store shelves. All 10 and 3 have just taken over a billions dollars of American booze off their selfies. 4 American States will be paying 25% more for electricity. If Trump turns around and raises the tariffs again then they the will stop any power at all to those four States. Canada is also looking at creating more trade agreement with Mexico and any southern country for fresh fruit, vegetables and things like sugar teas and coffees. We won't put tariffs on any of their produces or them on ours.

Canada also remember supplies 40% of your toilet paper and paper towels.

Things will turn to shite and we can all remember the last time with everyone at each others throats wrestling in the aisles of Walmarts over one roll of arse wipe. Sad I know but funny when you don't have a shortage.

Let's get serious for a moment, you don't have really anything that we can't do without but on the other hand you do rely on a lot of things we have.

We will see. It is possible, that Zelensky wants the war to continue, because he does not want to hold elections. He would lose his job, if elections were held. 

He is in the middle of a war Grey. Countries don't hold elections during one and America is a good example of that.

Look no further than the second war. If they had of ,how do you get millions of servicemen and women to a voting booth who are in different theatres of war. Even if you could actually prove they voted did someone vote for them after they were dead or were missing.

Or are you saying we wouldn't worry about the service people just count the votes at home where every gets to sleeps still in a nice warm bed.

FDR was elected 4 times. 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944. Whaddya talkin bout. Service member overseas vote absentee ballots.

They sure do Tommy as ours do but the situation is in an all out war with many men are at the front and many more men and women are in different countries around the EU. Britain and Canada right now. Besides remember the last election before this last one was fixed by Putin and what's to say he wouldn't try it again.

Hope you watched the show tonight with Trump doing a repeat campaign speech. After it was finished the fact checkers pointed out it was lie after lie after lie as usual. Said the economy was terrible and in the hole when he took it over from Biden when the checker said no it was the highest it had been since the Obama years.

Then Trump goes on to say it was Biden's fault for the high price of eggs when it was the bird flu that caused the shortage and now of all things RFK Jr under orders from Trump and crew cut the very people who should be addressing it.

We will see. It is possible, that Zelensky wants the war to continue, because he does not want to hold elections. He would lose his job, if elections were held. 

He is in the middle of a war Grey. Countries don't hold elections during one and America is a good example of that.

Wrong! The US does hold elections during war.

This is very true. 

Can potash be a trade war weapon for Trump tariffs? Experts urge caution

Canada is vowing to fight back against U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs that went into effect Tuesday, and potash could become a potent weapon in the growing trade war — but economists are urging caution.

Potash is a key ingredient in fertilizer, and roughly 85 per cent of the supply used by American farmers comes from Canada — particularly Saskatchewan, where potash is a major export market.

U.S. farming groups and even some Republicans aligned with Trump have called for potash to be exempted from the blanket tariffs out of concern for the agricultural industry.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters Tuesday that Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe should consider no longer selling potash, uranium and oil to the United States and instead find different markets.

"We need to make sure America feels the pain," Ford said. "Without potash down there, (the U.S.) doesn't have a farming system."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, while announcing a first round of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, said Canada would also look at non-tariff measures if necessary but did not answer directly when asked whether Ottawa might curb exports of potash or crude oil.

Moe has previously pushed back on the idea of restricting Canadian material exports to the U.S., and that Canada's countermeasures should not disproportionately hurt any one province.

He said in a statement Tuesday that his cabinet would meet Wednesday to "consider all options" to respond to the U.S. tariffs, and reiterated calls for reduced interprovincial trade barriers and the promotion of pipelines and other infrastructure.

"American farmers need Canadian fuel and fertilizer to grow their crops," Moe said. "Trump's tariffs will drive up the cost of oil, potash and uranium and that will drive up the cost of groceries for every American family."

Video: Saskatchewan premier Moe says Trump ‘wrong’ as punishing U.S. tariffs kick in

Even with a decline in potash prices in 2023, Saskatchewan exported over $11.5 billion worth of potash that year. Nearly all of it goes to other countries, representing a full third of global production. The next largest producers, Russia and Belarus, make up another third combined, followed distantly by China.

The Canadian fertilizer industry said U.S. tariffs not just threaten food production and security on both sides of the border, but will also push American farmers toward those countries.

"Imposing U.S. tariffs on Canadian fertilizer imports will distort the U.S. market in favour of countries such as Russia and China, who do not operate under the same environmental, human rights and trade practices, undermining the critical trade goals of each of our countries," a statement from Fertilizer Canada said.

But Corey Rosenbusch, president and CEO of the Fertilizer Institute in Denver, Colo., said those countries won't fill the gap left if the American agricultural industry moves away from Canadian potash.

"There would not be (enough) supply globally to completely replace that," he said in an interview. "Even with tariffs we still will need Canadian potash."

Nutrien, one of the largest potash producers in Saskatchewan, has warned the cost of tariffs would ultimately be felt by U.S. farmers. The company told Global News it has been engaging with policymakers and stakeholders in the U.S. and Canada to make the case against tariffs.

Other companies that mine potash in Saskatchewan — many of which are foreign-owned — declined requests for an interview or comment Tuesday.

Rosenbusch said farmers were able to import enough potash and other fertilizer products during February, when tariffs were temporarily paused, to prepare for the spring planting season that's already underway in some states.

But he said importers saw price increases due to the uncertainty, and some had to turn to Russian potash due to the high demand.

He added 60 per cent of potash used annually in the U.S. is applied in the fall, meaning farmers will soon feel the impact of tariffs in the coming months.

Farming industry groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation say farmers have suffered losses on most major crops for three straight years amid high global inflation and supply chain constraints, with tariffs further adding to those woes.

"This is not a great time for them to see increased input costs," Rosenbusch said.

Video: B.C. farmers worry about U.S. tariff impact

In February, after Trump first announced the tariffs on Canada and Mexico but before he temporarily halted them, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa — a major agricultural state — said he was pushing for potash to be exempted from the additional levies, something also pushed by fertilizer and farming groups.

Asked Tuesday if he was still looking for a potash exemption, a spokesperson for the senator pointed to a comment Grassley made to reporters where he said he was taking a wait-and-see approach to Trump's tariff policy.

"I'm still a free and fair trader," he said. "The president won the election based upon the fact he was going to impose tariffs, and maybe it will work (to reduce or eliminate global tariffs).

"If he's successful I'll say 'amen,' and if he's not successful I'll say 'I told you so.'"

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters Sunday that she had raised the issue of increased potash import costs with Trump and other administration officials "and will continue to."

Economists say cutting off potash exports to the U.S. would be unnecessarily escalatory and threaten food supply in both countries.

"I see significantly more risk for negative repercussions, but also in terms of public perception in the United States, as well as sort of indirectly here in Canada, that would make me hesitate thinking about using potash," said Werner Antweiler, a professor and international trade policy research chair at the University of British Columbia.

"We don't want to create a situation where the Americans hate us. ... You want to have Americans kind of rally around us and make our case."

Even curtailing oil and gas exports, which Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have strongly resisted, would be a less extreme move than cutting off potash, Antweiler said.

Canada imported $32 billion in agricultural products from the U.S. in 2023, and many of those items are now subject to Canadian counter-tariffs.

Carol McAusland, a professor of land and food systems at the University of British Columbia, said a better tactic would be to put an export tax on potash sold to the U.S. That would further raise prices for American farmers but ensure Canada collects some of that money, she said.

"What we want to do is let them know that we're not just going to accept this," she said.

She agreed that an export ban would be "kind of like going to the nuclear option."

She added consumers may not see the impact of higher prices related to potash for some time, as the import cost increases work their way into the food supply chain. That will make it important for both Canadian and American stakeholders to make clear why consumers are paying more.

Growing domestic unrest may convince Trump to lift the tariffs or at least exempt agricultural products, UBC professor and global policy research chair Kristen Hopewell said.

"There is no question that Trump’s trade wars will severely hurt American farmers, one of his key constituencies," she said in an email.

"American farmers are going to be squeezed on both sides.  Their growing anger will put considerable pressure on Trump to remove his tariffs."

Isn't that what Canada's end game is?

We will see. It is possible, that Zelensky wants the war to continue, because he does not want to hold elections. He would lose his job, if elections were held. 

I can't believe that Zelensky wants the war to continue just to keep himself in power. He's already said he'll step down if it'll bring peace. Anyway it would be impossible to hold elections in a war zone, that's just common sense. How would voters in areas occupied by Russia be allowed to vote freely? We postponed ours due in 1940 once the war began.  

We will see. It is possible, that Zelensky wants the war to continue, because he does not want to hold elections. He would lose his job, if elections were held. 

I can't believe that Zelensky wants the war to continue just to keep himself in power. He's already said he'll step down if it'll bring peace. Anyway it would be impossible to hold elections in a war zone, that's just common sense. How would voters in areas occupied by Russia be allowed to vote freely? We postponed ours due in 1940 once the war began.  

The US had elections during WWII. Zelensky has sent Trump a letter. He is willing to come back

and work out a deal. Also, Russia is interested in working on a peace treaty.

https://nypost.com/2025/03/04/us-news/trump-announces-he-received-letter-from-zelensky-asking-to-come-to-negotiating-table-again-after-ukraine-prez-was-booted-from-white-house/ .