President Trump told syndicated conservative radio host Mark Levin on Tuesday that he's no longer worried Russia's invasion of Ukraine will lead to World War III.
“I think it was heading to World War III, and you're not going to have that anymore," the president said after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last week, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Monday.
"That's the nice part. You're not going to have to worry about that,” Trump added.
President Trump is looking to restructure Smithsonian museum exhibits to be less "woke."
"The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of 'WOKE.' The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made. This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums."
WASHINGTON — Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, either one-on-one or alongside President Trump, a top Kremlin official said Tuesday — without committing to a timetable.
“We do not reject any forms of work, neither bilateral nor trilateral. Russian President Putin has repeatedly spoken about this,” Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov told Moscow-owned broadcaster VGTRK.
Putin has rejected attempts by Zelensky to meet face-to-face for the entirety of the 41-month-old war, but the White House insisted Tuesday that talks would happen after Trump met Putin in Alaska on Friday and discussed the way forward with Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House Monday.
Meanwhile, the White House on Tuesday afternoon firmed up Putin's acquiescence.
The Russian dictator "agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process—a meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky," Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a media briefing.
.@PressSec: "Following the encouraging conversations yesterday, @POTUS spoke with President Putin by phone, and he agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process—a meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky... followed, if necessary, by a trilateral meeting..." pic.twitter.com/bddN2ws8VG
We'd watched live as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky and Trump posed "family photo"-style for a historic picture, and saw the group seated around a large table in the East Room on Monday, but had not yet seen images of the nine leaders meeting in the president's office.
The White House released behind-the-scenes photos of President Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders on Aug. 18, 2025. The White House
The European leaders huddled around Trump in the Oval Office as he sat behind the Resolute Desk. The White House
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Finnish President Alexander Stubb listening to Trump. The White House
The world leaders were joined by several of Trump's advisors, including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The White House
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a "narco-terror cartel" leader and said he must be brought "to justice" when asked Tuesday about the deployment of three US warships with 4,000 troops onboard to the coast of South America.
A journalist asked about possible American "boots on the ground" — as Maduro mobilizes defense forces out of fear of an invasion.
"With respect to Venezuela, President Trump has been very clear and consistent. He's prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice," Leavitt said.
"The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela. It is a narco-terror cartel, and Maduro, it is the view of this administration, is not a legitimate president, he is a fugitive head of this cartel who has been indicted in the US for trafficking drugs into the country."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Trump wasn't thinking about tent cities when he threatened last week to raze DC's "slums" where criminals live as part of his federal takeover of law enforcement in the capital.
"When it comes to what you said in the president said — the slums of Washington, DC, he’s referring to the most dangerous communities, neighborhoods and streets in the city where, unfortunately, violence has ravaged these communities and taken the lives of, again, far too many law-abiding DC residents," Leavitt said at a briefing.
A homeless person's tent set up on the sidewalk outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, DC on Aug. 18, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno
Federal law enforcement officers walking past a homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk in Washington, DC on Aug. 14, 2025. REUTERS
The press secretary highlighted the July 5 shooting death of a "3-year-old, beautiful young girl [who] was shot and killed in her car with her family in one of these communities."
Leavitt added that of more than 450 arrests by federal forces, "nearly half of all the non-illegal alien-related arrests have occurred in Wards 7 and 8 in the District of Columbia, where we know there’s the highest rate of crime."
City workers and Metropolitan Police officers dismantling a homeless encampment near the White House on Aug. 15, 2025. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Trump said last Monday as he announced his crackdown that he planned to get rid of city "slums," leading to uncertainty about whether he meant tent cities, which also are being dismantled, or permanent residential dwellings such as a public housing in high-property-value DC.
"We have slums here," the president said at the time. "We’re getting rid of them. I know it’s not politically correct — you’ll say, ‘Oh, so terrible.’ No. We’re getting rid of the slums where they live.”
WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump is considering the US military securing Ukrainian airspace as a form of security guarantee.
"It's an option and a possibility," Leavitt told reporters, pointing to Trump's phone call with Fox News earlier Tuesday in which he said it's a conversation.
US boots on the ground in Ukraine is out of the question, she confirmed.
Karoline Leavitt tells reporters that President Trump wants Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky to meet face to face before the US gets involved because "he wants these two countries to engage in direct diplomacy."
"Both leaders have expressed a willingness to sit down with each other, and so our national security team will help those countries do that," she adds.
Leavitt said President Trump wants Ukraine and Russia to engage in direct diplomacy. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Asked how Trump knows Putin wants to meet with Zelensky soon, Leavitt answers: "He spoke to him yesterday."
More from Karoline Leavitt: "Diplomacy is a delicate process, and instead of reporting the facts about what is happening here at this White House and what is happening between this president and other leaders around the world, many outlets in this room continue to try to actively undermine the president and sabotage the efforts for peace.
Leavitt accused the press of attempting to "sabotage" peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. REUTERS/Al Drago
"That is why I felt the need to set the record straight."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has started her briefing and is giving her opening statement.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaking about President Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Europe leaders during a press briefing on Aug. 19, 2025. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Among her lines: "President Trump is the only president this century, Republican or Democrat, who has held Russia in check and ensured peace in Europe."
Discussing his call Monday with Russia's President Vladimir Putin after a day of meetings with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders, President Trump told "Fox & Friends" Tuesday morning that his goal is to save lives in the war-torn nation — and end up in front of the pearly gates as a result.
Trump: "I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I hear I'm not doing well. I hear I'm really at the bottom of the totem pole." pic.twitter.com/y1izqVGM84