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Trump-Zelensky Meeting Explodes, Pope Suffers Setback | Afternoon Update | 2.28.25
Fri, 28 Feb 2025
Trump calls Zelensky disrespectful in Oval Office and sends him packing, Pope Francis suffers a setback and Mexico hands over top drug cartel operatives.Get the facts first on Morning Wire.Beam: Head to https://shopbeam.com/WIRE and use code WIRE at checkout for up to 40% off.
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Trump calls Zelensky disrespectful in the Oval Office and sends him packing. And Mexico hands over top drug cartel operatives. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Friday, February 28th, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.
President Trump met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky at the White House today for a high-stakes meeting that rapidly turned heated. Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan has the details.
Chapter 2: What triggered the heated exchange between Trump and Zelensky?
Zelensky made the visit to the White House today to finalize a deal giving the U.S. rights to rare minerals. But during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, Zelensky suggested he was not ready for a ceasefire with Russia. The meeting quickly devolved into a heated and combative exchange between Zelensky, Trump and Vice President Vance. Here's some of that exchange.
I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems.
Chapter 3: What were the key points of contention in the Trump-Zelensky meeting?
You're gambling with World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country, that's backed you far more than a lot of people said they should have. Have you said thank you once?
A lot of times. No, in this entire meeting, you said thank you. You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who's trying to save your country.
Your country is in big trouble. I know. You're not winning. You're not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out okay because of us.
Mr. President, we are staying in our country, staying strong from the very beginning of the war. We've been alone, and we are thankful. I said thanks in this cabinet.
We gave you, through this stupid president, $350 billion. We gave you military equipment, and you met a brave, but they had to use our military equipment. If you didn't have our military equipment, If you didn't have our military equipment, this war would have been over in two weeks. I think it's good for the American people to see what's going on. I think it's very important.
That's why I kept this going so long. If you could get a ceasefire right now, I'd tell you you'd take it so the bullets stop flying and your men stop getting killed.
Of course we want to stop the war. But you're saying you don't want a ceasefire. I want a ceasefire.
The problem is I've empowered you to be a tough guy at war. I don't think you'd be a tough guy without the United States. And your people are very brave. But you're either going to make a deal or we're out. And if we're out, you'll fight it out. I don't think it's going to be pretty, but you'll fight it out. But you don't have the cards.
But once we sign that deal, you're in a much better position. But you're not acting at all thankful. And that's not a nice thing. I'll be honest. That's not a nice thing. All right. I think we've seen enough. What do you think? Yeah. This is going to be great television. I will say that.
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Chapter 4: Why did Trump ask Zelensky to leave the Oval Office?
He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he's ready for peace.
Pope Francis has experienced another setback in his ongoing serious health struggles. The Vatican announced today that the Pope suffered a respiratory crisis that has required him to be placed on non-invasive mechanical ventilation, which appears to have helped. He has been in critical but generally stable condition with pneumonia and other ailments for several days now.
Mexico has handed over nearly 30 top cartel operatives to the United States. It's part of the new bilateral cooperation against drug trafficking. One of the prisoners is notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, a founding member of the Sinaloa cartel. He's wanted for the 1985 murder of a DEA agent. The high profile transfer comes as Mexican officials meet with their U.S.
counterparts to negotiate a new security agreement. American law enforcement is hailing the handover as a significant victory in the decades-long fight against organized crime.
For the first time ever, English is now the official language of the United States. President Trump signed an executive order today declaring the fact for federal agencies, saying a common language fosters national cohesion, helps newcomers engage in communities and traditions, and enriches our shared culture. The move rescinds a requirement from then President Bill Clinton back in 2000.
The Clinton mandate required federal agencies and entities receiving federal funding to provide language assistance for non-English speakers. But Trump says that while agencies can do so, they no longer have to. Before the order, America was one of the few countries in the world without a declared official language.
A new study from the Pew Research Center suggests the decline of Christianity in the U.S. is slowing and may have stabilized. Daily Wire's senior editor Ash Short has the news.
The Pew survey of nearly 37,000 Americans over the past two years finds that 85% of adults believe in God or a universal spirit. About 62% or 6 in 10 Americans identify as Christian. That's after years of decline, but the numbers are now holding steady since 2019. In 2007, 78% of Americans identified as Christians, but by 2014, that number dropped to 71%.
The study shows that 29% are religiously unaffiliated, including atheists, agnostics, and those who say they're, quote, nothing in particular. And there's a major age gap. Less than 5 in 10 young adults under 25 identify as Christian, compared to 8 in 10 of older adults age 74 and up. Non-Christian religious groups now make up 7.1% of the population, up from 4.7% in 2007.
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