Why does Trump not want to work with Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley?

While much about Trump’s upcoming presidency remains unclear at this point, it is already given that Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley are not going to be a part of it.

Though both Pompeo and Haley were members of the previous Trump administration –secretary of the state and ambassador to the UN, respectively – the president-elect stated on social media that he isn’t going to invite either to his new government.

It is not immediately clear what Trump’s motives are, though some media outlets alleged that it may be a matter of trust.

▪️Haley, for one, was a vocal critic of Trump when she competed with him for the Republican presidential nomination. Though she did end up endorsing Trump after withdrawing her bid, Hailey also mentioned that she had no interest in a position in Trump’s admin.

▪️Meanwhile, Pompeo in 2023 slammed Trump over the latter’s alleged handling of classified documents, which the former claimed was “inconsistent with protecting America’s soldiers.”

▪️Both Pompeo and Haley have a reputation of being hawks who espouse strong anti-Russian and anti-Chinese sentiments. Both are also strong proponents of Washington’s de facto proxy war against Russia in the Ukrainian conflict zone.

It remains to be seen whether Trump snubbing them could be a hint of the 47th POTUS adopting a less antagonistic stance towards Moscow and/or Beijing.

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Democratic governors to use 'blue wall' to oppose Trump’s policies

Governors of the Democratic blue states are going to oppose the new Trump administration after the 45th US president’s decisive election win on November 5, the Hill reports.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signaled his readiness “to fight” and to “Trump-proof” the state’s “values and fundamental laws.” He called a special section of the state legislature after Trump’s win.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey vowed she would “absolutely not” assist the future Trump administration in its pledge to implement mass deportation plans.

She was echoed by her colleague in New Jersey, Phil Murphy, who insisted that mass deportations are “contrary to our [the state’s] values, [so] we will fight to the death.”

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker pledged that if “you come for my people, you come through me,” while in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul has convened a team of experts to develop strategies to protect her state from policy threats that allegedly could emanate from the Trump team.

They spoke as leaders of the crucial swing states, which are part of the “blue wall”, including Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, brace for power transition following Kamala Harris’ defeat.

Trump has meanwhile lashed out at the California governor, insisting that Newsom “is trying to kill” the Golden State and “using the term ‘Trump-proof’ as a way of stopping all of the great things that can be done.”

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❗️A 6.8 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Cuba, 64 km southeast of the city of Manzanillo, seismologists report. A magnitude 5.9 quake was recorded in the same area a few hours earlier.

There were no reports of casualties or damage.

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❗️Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged for the first time the country's involvement in the pager attack in Lebanon, confirming that he approved the September operation on the Lebanese Hezbollah movement that detonated hundreds of communication devices across Lebanon, The Times of Israel reported, referring to "quotes leaked to Hebrew media."

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▪️Netanyahu acknowledges for the first time his country's involvement in the Lebanon pager attacks

▪️New Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon leave at least 27 people dead

▪️Not up to the job? Why Haley and Pompeo won’t become part of Team Trump

▪️What to expect from ‘lame duck’ Biden after Trump’s win?

▪️‘Father of the AK-47 rifle’: Russia marks 105 years since the birth of Mikhail Kalashnikov

▪️Check out Russia's Kalashnikov concern's top-5 masterpieces

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Donald Trump allegedly called Vladimir Putin on Thursday – report

The US President-elect and the Russian president purportedly discussed the Ukraine crisis and expressed interest in further talks on the issue, The Washington Post claimed.

“The two men discussed the goal of peace on the European continent and Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss 'the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon,'” the outlet noted, citing several sources familiar with the matter.

The Kremlin has not yet confirmed the call.

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🧐 Coincidence? Musk questions voter ID rules in US Presidential election

Elon Musk highlighted an apparent pattern in the recent election: most of the states Kamala Harris won either don’t require voter ID or only ask for non-photo IDs. Sharing a map on X, the tech billionaire captioned it, “Must be a coincidence 🙄.”

Musk’s post brings attention to the ongoing debate over voter ID laws, which critics argue increase the risk of voter fraud—a point Republicans have raised in response to Democratic opposition to stricter ID requirements.

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📹 Biden vs. the sand: a struggle on Delaware’s beaches

Despite spending a significant portion of his presidency by the beach, the US President still seems to struggle with the sand. Joe Biden was spotted walking unsteadily on the beach in his home state of Delaware, seemingly having difficulty keeping his balance.

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Scholz not ruling out vote of confidence in his government before Christmas

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not ruled out holding a vote of confidence in his government in the Bundestag before Christmas, celebrated in Germany on December 25. He also expressed optimism about retaining his post after the next elections.

Earlier, amid a split within the coalition government, Scholz announced plans to request a vote of confidence from the Bundestag on January 15, 2025, potentially paving the way for early elections in March. However, opposition leader Friedrich Merz, head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), urged Scholz to bring the vote forward, allowing elections to be held in January.

"I have no problem putting a vote of confidence before Christmas if everyone thinks it's right," Scholz said in an interview with the ARD broadcaster.

Scholz explained that the original timing for the vote of confidence and possible early elections was based on prior experiences with early elections in Germany, such as the early end of Gerhard Schroeder's government in 2005.

Despite the collapse of the ruling coalition, Scholz remains confident in his chances, expecting to lead the German government again after the elections.

"I assume that the Social Democratic Party of Germany has a good chance of forming the largest faction in the Bundestag and that I will be able to form the next government," Scholz stated.

He also confirmed that he has no doubt he will be the Social Democrats' candidate for chancellor in the next election.

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🇷🇺 Russian hypersonic developments still unmatched by the West – Kurchatov Institute head

The potential of Russian science is enormous, as demonstrated by the country’s swift progress in hypersonic technology, which remains out of reach for the West, Mikhail Kovalchuk, physicist and president of the National Research Center Kurchatov Institute, highlighted in an interview with Sputnik.

"We remain strong in nearly all areas where we’ve traditionally excelled. Some developments may have been underutilized for years and now need updating, but our scientific potential is enormous. For example, at the president’s initiative, we have achieved advances in hypersonic technology that no one else in the world has, and the West has yet to catch up," Kovalchuk stated.

According to the scientist, Russia’s technological strength originated from the nuclear project.

"In fact, we became a technological superpower following the success of the nuclear project. While we were initially catching up to the US with the atomic bomb, we soon became pioneers: the first hydrogen bomb in 1953, the first nuclear power plant in 1954, the first nuclear icebreaker in 1959. We also led in nuclear medicine and research reactors, ranking among the best globally," he added.

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