Rob Schmitz
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
The whole industry has been dealing with a spike in the price of jet fuel since the beginning of the war in Iran.
which has disrupted the supply of crude oil and jet fuel coming out of the Persian Gulf.
That's driven up the price of jet fuel worldwide, even in the U.S., which is a net exporter of jet fuel.
The price has nearly doubled in the past two months.
That is putting pressure on all airlines, really.
But in the case of Spirit, problems really ran much deeper than that.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called the Pentagon's move an expected one, adding that if Germany is to remain transatlantic, it must strengthen the European pillar within NATO.
A spokesperson for NATO said it was working with the U.S.
to understand the details of the troop withdrawal and that it underscored the need for Europe to invest more in defense.
The Pentagon's announcement would still leave more than 30,000 U.S.
troops in Germany, reversing a buildup that began under President Joe Biden.
Germany is undergoing an historic defense buildup and investment in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago.
In an historic election Sunday, voters in the Central European country of Hungary voted out Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Orbán conceded late Sunday.
I congratulated the winning party.
The result of this election has far-reaching implications, not just for Hungary or for the EU, where Orban has been a thorn in the side of regional leaders, but also because his rise as a right-wing nationalist populist provided a playbook for conservative leaders looking to centralize power.
Orban is a close ally of both Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump, who have been big fans of the Hungarians' governance style.
Last week, the Trump administration sent Vice President J.D.
Vance to an Orban election event in Budapest in a last-minute push to rally support.