Impasse over Ukraine aid worries Zelensky, emboldens Putin
Jamie McIntyre
‘BIG DIFFERENCES REMAIN’: With just a week to go before a scheduled Senate recess, a compromise on U.S. border security that would unlock funds for Ukraine and Israel remains elusive, with Democrats and Republicans each accusing the other of intransigence.
“Republican demands are unreasonable,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), the lead negotiator for the Democrats, said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “If I were a cynic, I would say that Republicans have decided to tie support for Ukraine to immigration reform because they want Ukraine aid to fail. But I’m not a cynic, and so we are still trying to resolve some pretty big differences that remain.”
“What you hear from so many people is, why would we deal with other people`s national security and ignore American national security?” Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), lead negotiator for the Republicans, said on CBS’s Face the Nation. “Why would we literally allow people across our southern border that this administration labels national security risks by the thousands coming into the country?”
“We are not going to put Donald Trump’s immigration policies into statute. We’re not going to do that. That would be bad for the country,” Murphy said. “But we do need to do something to try to resolve this crisis at the border. We have too many people crossing, too many people that don’t have valid asylum claims. And if Republicans are serious about trying to control that crisis while also still allowing into the country people who are legitimately fleeing terror and torture and violence, then we can come to a resolution.”
“The problem is the administration is trying to be able to figure out how to be able to just slow down a little bit of the flow. We had 12,000 people, for instance, on Tuesday of this last week that crossed the border illegally. They’re trying to figure out some way to be able to say, well, we’ll do a few thousand less but not actually stop the flow,” Lankford said. “They seem to be focused on how many people can we just release into the country and tell them we’ll do a hearing sometime later when, literally, we don’t know these people.”
“It’s time to be able to finish this, make a decision, and do what we can do to be able to help the nation,” he said. “We can’t do everything on the border, but we can do the things to actually begin to control the border so that the United States is in control of our boundaries, not the cartels.”
BIDEN’S BUDGET DIRECTOR CLAIMS AID TO UKRAINE IS AN ISSUE OF ‘NATIONAL SECURITY’
A ‘CHRISTMAS PRESENT’ FOR PUTIN?: “Vladimir Putin is delighting right now in Republicans’ insistence that we get a deal on immigration reform,” Murphy said. “I think this is one of the most dangerous moments that I’ve ever faced in American politics. And I wish Republicans weren’t holding Israel aid and aid to Ukraine hostage to the resolution of immigration reform.”
“I’m by far no fan of Vladimir Putin, and the president knows that full well,” Lankford said. “This is not a Christmas present to him. Actually, the president himself started by saying, if we’re going to deal with national security, we’ve got to deal with Ukraine and we have to deal with the border. We’ve responded.”
“Ukraine is running out of ammunition. And if we don’t solve this in the next few weeks, Vladimir Putin is going to have an opening, an opening to march through the Ukrainian lines to make a move on Kyiv, threatening all of Europe,” Murphy said. “So this has to be resolved right now, which is why Republicans have to be reasonable. We are not going to solve the entire problem of immigration between now and the end of the year, but we can make a down payment.”
CONCERN PUTIN HAS ‘A WINNING STRATEGY’: While Russia has not made significant gains on the battlefield, it’s showing no signs of giving up on its maximalist ambitions, according to the latest analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, which noted it is still seeking “full Ukrainian political capitulation and Kyiv’s acceptance of Russia’s military and territorial demands.”
“There [is] a small cadre of Republicans who are opposed to aid to Ukraine in the Congress. The vast majority of Republicans in Congress support aid to Ukraine,” said Kori Schake, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “What we’re seeing right now is a congressional tussle over knowing that the president needs to pass aid for Ukraine, Republicans wanting to get some other things that they are likewise concerned about, border security, reduction in the national debt.”
There is concern, she said on CNN on Sunday, “that Russia has a winning strategy, stalling for time, and President Biden does not.” Back in October, Putin predicted that as soon as Western funding dries up, victory will be his.
“Ukraine receives $4 billion or $5 billion every month through various channels — loans, grants, etc. Just stop this funding and it’s the end — everything will collapse in one week’s time. Finish!” Putin said. “Just imagine if the [weapons] deliveries were discontinued tomorrow — they would have just one week to go until they used up all ammunition.”
“The world is getting more unstable and more dangerous,” Schake argued. “If Russia is permitted to succeed in Ukraine, first and foremost, it means more war crimes against Ukrainians, more terrorizing of Ukraine. It will make America’s allies in Europe very worried that the United States, despite the president saying we will do everything we can for as long as it takes, that is not what we’re doing, and that is visible to America’s allies and America’s adversaries.”
“I’ve talked to Ukrainians who have recently been to the front line. Their soldiers are outgunned. They have to ration their shots because they don’t have enough ammunition. Putin’s army is killing them every day,” Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, posted on X, formerly Twitter. “The urgency of getting them more ammunition is real. No more politics when lives are at stake.”
On CNN’s State of the Union, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) suggested it’s time for Ukraine to face the reality it’s not going to be able to expel Russian forces from all of its territory.
“What’s in America’s best interest is to accept Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians, and we need to bring this war to a close,” Vance said. “When I think about the great human tragedy here, hundreds of thousands of Eastern Europeans, innocent, have been killed in this conflict. The thing that’s in our interest and in theirs is to stop the killing.”
RAND PAUL SAYS ‘WE DON’T HAVE THE MONEY’ TO HELP OTHER COUNTRIES
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ZELENSKY TO MAKE IN-PERSON PITCH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who canceled a planned video briefing with senators last week after a closed-door meeting on Ukraine aid devolved into a raucous debate on border policy, will make an in-person pitch to senators tomorrow. President Joe Biden invited Zelensky, who was in Argentina yesterday witnessing the swearing-in ceremony of new President Javier Milei, to stop in Washington on his way back to Kyiv.
The invitation was to “underscore the United States’ unshakeable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal invasion,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “The leaders will discuss Ukraine’s urgent needs and the vital importance of the United States’ continued support at this critical moment.”
ZELENSKY TO VISIT WHITE HOUSE AND ATTEND ALL-SENATORS BRIEFING THIS WEEK
BLINKEN: ‘IMPERATIVE THAT CIVILIANS BE PROTECTED’: Secretary of State Antony Blinken continues to urge Israel to do more to minimize the civilian casualties in Gaza in the wake of reports that the death toll could exceed 17,000.
Israel says it is making every effort to avoid killing innocents but that Hamas is using the civilian population as a human shield. Last week, Blinken said there was a “gap” between what Israel was saying and what it was actually doing in regard to avoiding putting civilians at risk.
“Israel needs to be able to deal with this to protect itself, to prevent Oct. 7 from happening again. But as it does that, it’s imperative that civilians be protected. And, here, the critical thing is to make sure that the military operations are designed around civilian protection and to focus on that,” Blinken said on CNN on Sunday. “There needs to be a premium put on protecting civilians and making sure that humanitarian assistance can get to everyone who needs it. And, as I said, I think the intent is there, but the results are not always manifesting themselves.”
UN AGENCY IN GAZA ‘ON VERGE OF COLLAPSE’ AMID ISRAELI MILITARY CAMPAIGN
TRUMP’S ‘DICTATOR FOR A DAY’ DESIRE: On Saturday, former President Donald Trump doubled down on his “dictator for a day” remarks that he first made in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox last week. In a rambling speech before the New York Young Republican Club in Manhattan, Trump did little to clarify what he meant by the remark.
“[Peter] Baker today in the New York Times, he said that I want to be a dictator. I didn’t say that. I said I want to be a dictator for one day. But the New York Times said — and you know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall. Right? I want a wall. And I want to drill, drill, drill.”
“Well, certainly, what he has tried to do in the past and what he’s saying he’s going to do in the future go well beyond conceivable conduct by prior American presidents,” Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton said on MSNBC on Sunday. “Richard Nixon looks like a choir boy next to Donald Trump.”
“Him saying these things publicly, ironically, I have to say, I hope will be helpful because I think people should wake up to the reality,” Bolton said. “So, I think it’s completely accurate and quite consistent for Trump to say he wants retribution against his adversaries. And he will try and use the Justice Department. He may try and use the Defense Department.”
“He just says whatever. I don’t attach an enormous amount of impact to the particular words that come out,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said on NBC. “I do think you can look at his record as president and particularly in the last months of his presidency and say, ‘This is a dangerous approach. It’s an authoritarian approach.’ That gives me far more concern than him playing to the crowd as he did.”
“Trump is, kind of, a human gumball machine, which is, a thought or a notion comes in, and it comes out of his mouth. There’s not a lot of filter that goes on. There’s not a lot of ‘What’s the implication?’”
ROMNEY HITS TRUMP FOR DICTATOR COMMENTS: ‘HUMAN GUMBALL MACHINE’
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: Zelensky to visit White House and attend all-senators briefing this week
Washington Examiner: Biden’s budget director claims aid to Ukraine is an issue of ‘national security’
Washington Examiner: Rand Paul says ‘we don’t have the money’ to help other countries
Washington Examiner: State Department bypasses congressional review to approve tank ammunition sale with Israel
Washington Examiner: US told Israel it would lead response to Houthi attacks: Report
Washington Examiner: Senate considers back pay for military officers whose promotions were delayed by Tuberville
Washington Examiner: UN agency in Gaza ‘on verge of collapse’ amid Israeli military campaign
Washington Examiner: White House condemns Muslim group director’s comments on Oct. 7 Hamas attack
Washington Examiner: Trump ‘needs to stop’ talking about retribution against enemies: Kevin McCarthy
Washington Examiner: Romney hits Trump for dictator comments: ‘Human gumball machine’
Washington Examiner: Maduro’s threat against oil-rich neighbor raises specter of Putin copycat in Venezuela
Washington Examiner: Energy Department to buy 3 million barrels to replenish Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Washington Examiner: Opinion: Defeating Russia is in America’s national interest
AP: Biden and Congress are mulling big changes on immigration. What are they and what could they mean?
Washington Post: U.S. seeking partners to safeguard ships after Red Sea attacks
Politico: US Needs to Respond to Houthis after Red Sea Attacks, Former Middle East Commander Says
Agence France Presse: French Naval Ship In Red Sea Intercepts 2 Drones Launched From Houthi-Held Yemen Port
Reuters: Violence Escalates Between Israel, Lebanon’s Hezbollah
New York Times: What It Feels Like To Be The Target Of China’s Water Cannons
Reuters: As Xi Visits, China Offers Rail Grants To Vietnam, Pushes Digital Silk Road
Navy Times: How The Navy Is Dealing With A Military-Wide Grounding Of Ospreys
Washington Post: How Democratic and GOP Senate veterans stopped Tuberville’s military holds
Wall Street Journal: Alarm Grows Over Weakened Militaries And Empty Arsenals In Europe
Washington Post: Ukraine’s Zelensky appears increasingly embattled as U.S. backing wavers
Washington Post: Ukraine cracks down on draft-dodging as it struggles to find troops
Defense News: Pentagon’s Acquisition Deputy Plumb Talks Stockpiles, Industrial Base
New York Times: Defense Bill Agreement Angers Hard Right, Posing a Threat to Johnson
Breaking Defense: With New Threats, ‘CYBERCOM 2.0’ Must Push Past ‘Status Quo’: Nakasone
Defense One: The 2024 Defense Policy Bill Has a Lot of Cyber
Wall Street Journal: The U.S. Is Defenseless Against a Drone Terror Attack
AP: A Gigantic New ICBM Will Take US Nuclear Missiles out of the Cold War-Era But Add 21st-Century Risks
Inside Defense: New ‘Era of Missile-Centric Warfare’ Has Arrived, Elevating Import of Missile-Defense Systems
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Here Is How Congress Plans to Keep Tight Oversight of New Fighters and CCAs
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force to Start Tracking Why Some Recruits Back Out Before Joining Up
Air & Space Forces Magazine: ‘Presence Matters’: Space Force Activates New Component for Europe and Africa
Air & Space Forces Magazine: US, UK, Australia Agree to New Space Tracking System: What It Means, When It’s Coming
DefenseScoop: Pentagon Unveils First Iteration of Joint Electromagnetic Visualization Tool
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Now Enlisted Airmen Can Stay in Uniform Longer
AP: A military-themed brewery wants to open in a big Navy town. An ex-SEAL is getting in the way
Calendar
MONDAY | DECEMBER 11
9 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “The Israeli-Hamas War: Intelligence, Strategy, and the Day After,” with former Israeli Ambassador to the European Union Efraim Halevy; former Israeli Security Agency Director Ami Ayalon; and Aaron David Miller, CEIP senior fellow https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/12/11/israeli-hamas-war
9 a.m. — Hudson Institute Center for Defense Concepts and Technology and the National Defense Industrial Association Emerging Technology Institute symposium: “Joint Integration and Interoperability Symposium: Technical Innovation for the Future of Joint Warfighting,” with Margie Palmieri, deputy chief digital artificial intelligence officer at the Defense Department; Thomas Browning, performing the duties of assistant defense secretary for mission capabilities; and Dave Tremper, deputy assistant defense secretary for acquisition integration and interoperability https://www.ndia.org/events/2023/12/11/hudson
10 a.m. — Middle East Institute virtual discussion: “Israel’s Moment of Crisis: What are the Prospects for Political Change?” with Rami Hod, executive director of the Berl Katznelson Center; Tal Shalev, political correspondent at Walla News; Yair Zivan, head of opposition Yair Lapid; and Nimrod Goren, MEI senior fellow for Israeli affairs https://www.mei.edu/events/israels-moment-crisis
12 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “5G/6G Technology and the Future of Global Security,” focusing on mitigating cyberattacks on critical infrastructure,” with Sen. John Thune (R-SD); Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr; Keith Krach, founder of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy; Roslyn Layton, senior vice president of Strand Consult; and Clete Johnson, CSIS nonresident senior fellow https://www.csis.org/events/5g6g-technology-and-future-global-security
12:30 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Countering Chinese Influence Operations on American Soil,” as part of the Beyond the SCIF series, with Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), chairman, House Intelligence Committee; Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL); and Craig Singleton, deputy director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies’s China Program https://www.hudson.org/events/beyond-scif-countering-chinese-influence
4 p.m. — Foundation for Defense of Democracies virtual discussion: Beijing’s Latin America Exploitation: Beyond the SCIF,” with Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), chairman, House Intelligence Committee; Rep. Rick Crawford (R-AR); Zoe Liu, Maurice R. Greenberg fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations; Paul Angelo, director, William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies; and Craig Singleton, senior fellow at FDD https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/12/11/beijings-latin-america-exploitation
6:30 p.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. NW — U.S. Institute of Peace discussion: “Perspectives on the Israel-Hamas War,” with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) https://www.usip.org/events/perspectives-israel-hamas-war
TUESDAY | DECEMBER 12
9 a.m. Orlando, Florida — Day one of the Space Force Association’s inaugural Spacepower Conference, with Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations; Gen. James Dickinson, commander, U.S. Space Command; Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander, Space Operations Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander, Space Systems Command; Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, military deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration; and others https://attendspacepower.com
9:30 a.m. 14th and F Sts. NW — Arms Control Association and Embassy of Kazakhstan in Washington discussion: “Reinforcing the Beleaguered Nuclear Nonproliferation and Arms Control System,” with Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Kazakhstan ambassador to the U.S.; Thomas Countryman, chairman of the board of directors of the Arms Control Association; Amb. Elayne White Gomez, president of the negotiating conference for the 2017 Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons; Nomsa Ndongwe, research fellow, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies; and Daryl Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association https://www.armscontrol.org/events
12 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW — American Enterprise Institute discussion: “Great-Power Competition in Africa,” with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH); Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA); Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA); J. Peter Pham, fellow at the Atlantic Council; Katherine Zimmerman, AEI fellow; and Kori Schake, AEI director of foreign and defense policy studies https://www.aei.org/events/beyond-the-scif-a-conversation
12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual book discussion: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History, with author Serhii Plokhy, director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, and Anatol Lieven, director of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft’s Eurasia Program https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register
2 p.m. — Defense Priorities virtual discussion: “What: Rocks, reefs, and resolve? Examining the purpose of U.S. policy in the South China Sea,” with Lyle Goldstein, director of Asia engagement, Defense Priorities; Shuxian Luo, assistant professor of Asian studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and director, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for a New American Security; and moderator Benjamin Friedman, policy director, Defense Priorities https://southchinasea.splashthat.com
WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 13
7:15 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, Virginia — Association of the U.S. Army “Coffee Series” discussion with Gen. James Rainey, commanding general of U.S. Army Futures Command https://www.ausa.org/events/coffee-series/gen-rainey
9 a.m. Orlando, Florida — Day two of the Space Force Association inaugural Spacepower Conference, with Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations; Gen. James Dickinson, commander, U.S. Space Command; Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander, Space Operations Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, deputy chief of space operations, strategy, plans, programs, and requirements, U.S. Space Force; Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, commander, Space Systems Command; Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, military deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration; and others https://attendspacepower.com
9 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “Redefining U.S.-Japan-South Korea Relations in an Era of Economic Security,” with Mira Rapp-Hooper, National Security Council senior director for East Asia and Oceania https://www.brookings.edu/events/redefining-us-japan-south-korea-relations
9 a.m. — Counter Extremism Project webinar: “Houthi Procurement and Terror Finance — The Yemeni Arm of Iran’s Proxy Forces,” with Ari Heistein, author, CEP report series, Yemen specialist and defense technology professional; Raz Zimmt, research fellow, Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies; and moderator Hans-Jakob Schindler, CEP senior director https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
12 p.m. — RAND Corporation virtual discussion: “China, Taiwan, and the U.S.: The Coming War?” with David Ochmanek, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for force development and RAND senior international/defense researcher, and Timothy Heath, RAND senior international/defense researcher https://www.rand.org/events/2023/12/china-taiwan
12 p.m. — Institute for Policy Studies virtual discussion: “The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza and U.S. Obligations under International Law,” with Craig Mokhiber, former director of the New York Office of the U.N. Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights, and Hani Almadhoun, director of philanthropy for the U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency https://ips-dc.org/events/crisisingaza
12 p.m. — Jewish Democratic Council of America and the Democratic Jewish Outreach of Pennsylvania virtual briefing: “The ongoing crisis in Israel and the rise of antisemitism at home and around the world,” with Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), and Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute https://www.mobilize.us/jewishdems/event/593211/
THURSDAY | DECEMBER 14
8 a.m. 1700 Richmond Hwy., Arlington, Virginia — Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Northern Virginia Chapter Air Force IT Day forum: “Data Superiority Across All Domains: A Must for the High End Fight,” with acting Undersecretary of the Air Force Kristyn Jones; Joe McDade, assistant deputy chief of staff for plans and programs at the Air Force; and Maj. Gen. David Snoddy, assistant deputy chief of staff for cyber effects operations at the Air Force https://afceanova.swoogo.com/AirForceITDay2023
8:30 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “The B-21 Bomber and Its Deterrence Mission,” with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Rebeccah Heinrichs, director of the Hudson Institute’s Keystone Defense Initiative https://www.hudson.org/events/senator-mike-rounds-b-21-bomber-its-deterrence-mission
9:30 — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Looking Ahead: Emerging Security Issues in Northeast Asia in 2024,” with retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, former commander of U.S. Forces Korea https://www.csis.org/events/looking-ahead-emerging-security-issues
10 a.m. — Middle East Institute virtual discussion: “The Middle East and Navigating the U.S.-China Tech Cold War,” with Rishi Iyengar, global technology reporter at Foreign Policy magazine; Alicia Chavy, MEI nonresident scholar; Suhayla Sibaai, MEI nonresident scholar; and Mohammed Soliman, director of the MEI Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program https://www.mei.edu/events/middle-east-and-navigating-us-china-tech-cold-war
11 a.m. — Washington Institute for Near East Policy virtual forum: “The Hamas-Israel War: End of the Beginning or Beginning of the End?” with former Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. Assaf Orion, WINEP fellow; Hanin Ghaddar, WINEP senior fellow; and Matthew Levitt, WINEP fellow https://washingtoninstitute-org.zoom.us/webinar/register
12 p.m. — Middle East Institute virtual discussion: “The Israel-Hamas War: The Iran Factor,” with Nasser Hadian, professor of political science at the University of Tehran; Eckart Woertz, director of the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies; Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center; and Alex Vatanka, founding director of the MEI Iran Program https://www.mei.edu/events/israel-hamas-war-iran-factor
2 p.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: “Previewing the 2024 Taiwan election,” with Richard Bush, nonresident senior fellow of foreign policy at the Brookings China Center and the Brookings Center for East Asia Policy Studies; Shelley Rigger, vice president for academic affairs, dean of faculty, and professor of Asian politics at Davidson College; Kharis Templeman, research fellow and project manager of the Stanford University Hoover Institution’s Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region; and Ryan Hass, director of the Brookings China Center, senior fellow of foreign policy at the Brookings China Center and the Brookings Center for East Asia Policy Studies, and chairman in Taiwan studies at the Brookings Institution https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch
FRIDAY | DECEMBER 15
10 a.m. — Asia Society Policy Institute virtual discussion: “Taiwan Elections in 2024: Who is Running and What to Expect,” with Rorry Daniels, managing director of the Asia Society Policy Institute; Simona Grano, senior fellow on Taiwan at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis; and Lyle Morris, senior fellow for foreign policy and national security at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis https://asiasociety.zoom.us/webinar/register
10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution discussion: “U.S.-China Relations,” with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns https://www.brookings.edu/events/a-conversation-with-us-ambassador-to-china
QUOTE OF THE DAY “You know, when I was a kid, there was something called a gumball machine. You could put a penny in and a gumball would come out. It was automatic. There was no filter. Put in the penny, out came the gumball. Donald Trump is, kind of, a human gumball machine, which is, a thought or a notion comes in, and it comes out of his mouth. There’s not a lot of filter that goes on. There’s not a lot of ‘What’s the implication?’ No, no, he just says whatever.” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), on NBC, reacting to Trump’s statement that he would be a dictator for one day, if elected