Wake Up Right - March 3, 2025

Author

Wake Up Right
March 03, 2025

In partnership with

r

Welcome back, Wake Up Right fam! I have good news, and I have bad news.

  • 👍️ The good news is that Zelenskyy didn’t wear his green pajamas to meet Trump on Friday.

  • 👎️ The bad news is that he wore his black pajama… and just about everything else afterward.

We’ll break it all down below.

  • âś… 64% credit Trump for reducing border crossings

  • 🎞️ Anora won 'Best Picture' at the Oscars

  • 📺️ 1 billion+ watch video podcasts on YouTube per month

  • 🤔 Former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo enters NYC mayor race

  • 🇺🇸 On this day in 1931: Star Spangled Banner becomes national anthem

Zelenskyy sabotages peace deal

Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy sabotaged peace negotiations during a press conference at the White House on Friday that devolved into a shouting match with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.

Back up: Zelenskyy showed up to the White House in black pajamas to sign a mineral rights deal, granting the U.S. access to critical rare-earth minerals while indirectly providing Ukraine with tacit security assurances by association meant to be the first step towards negotiated peace with Russia.

The blow-up: Throughout a 50-minute press conference before the deal signing, Zelenskyy was confrontational, arguing with Trump and Vance and showing poor body language with crossed arms, shaking his head, and rolling his eyes.

  • Things went off the rails when Zelenskyy challenged J.D. Vance in front of the world media, saying: “What kind of diplomacy, J.D., you asking about?”

  • Vance responded: “Mr. President… I think it’s disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.”

  • Trump had enough when Zelenskyy suggested the U.S. would soon “feel” the threat of Russian aggression. He shot back, “Don’t tell us what we’re gonna feel. Because you’re in no position to dictate that.”

  • Trump added: “You’re gambling with World War III.”

Go home: After the press conference, Trump reportedly had Secretary of State Marco Rubio tell Zelenskyy to leave the White House without signing the mineral deal. Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after:

  • “It’s amazing what comes out through emotion, and I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.”

Reactions: On both sides of the aisle, politicians reacted as you’d expect. Democrats called Trump a Putin puppet, and Republicans backed Trump’se defense of the United States. But there was one voice that shocked me:

  • Senator Lindsey Graham, who has slobbered over Zelesnkyy for the last two years, wrote on X: “President Trump stood up to being lectured by President Zelensky, whose behavior was beyond unacceptable and whose lectures are wearing thin. The same people who are panicking over President @realDonaldTrump and Vice President @JDVance ’s handling of President Zelensky yesterday in the Oval Office are the ones who allowed Putin to roll through Ukraine.”

The Europeans coalesce: The day after the blowup, Zelenskyy flew back to Europe, where he met with most EU leaders (plus Canada) in London, where they pledged continued support for Ukraine and the U.K. committed to “boots on the ground and planes in the air” to guarantee security. However…

  • U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer added a disclaimer: “To support peace on our continent and to succeed, this effort must have strong U.S. backing.”

I think you missed the point, chap.

What Americans think: 72% of Americans want Ukraine to make a deal with Russia, versus just 28% who want them to continue the war.

Real talk from G: It’s no coincidence that key figures from the Trump administration - Marco Rubio, Scott Bessent, and Trump himself - have all questioned whether Zelensky wants a peace deal at all. Because to this outside observer, it feels like he and his European counterparts are dead set on continuing to wage this war, which is their right to do. But the U.S. taxpayer has no obligation to fund it.

Pay No Interest Until Nearly 2027 AND Earn 5% Cash Back

Some credit cards can help you get out of debt faster with a 0% intro APR on balance transfers. Transfer your balance, pay it down interest-free, and save money. FinanceBuzz reviewed top cards and found the best options—one even offers 0% APR into 2027 + 5% cash back!

Lowest border numbers in recorded history

President Donald Trump took a much-deserved victory lap over the weekend after illegal border crossings dropped to their lowest number on record in February, the first full month of his second term in office.

The details: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released figures for February 2025 showing just 8,326 people tried to illegally cross the southern border.

Back up: Under Joe Biden, border apprehensions peaked in September 2023 at 269,735 — 8,991 per day.

Yes, you read that right. Under Joe Biden, we had more illegals coming to the country in a single day than Trump had in the entire month of February.

Trump reacts: The 47th president wrote on Truth Social: “The Invasion of our Country is OVER… Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation.”

The Trump effect: Droves of would-be illegal aliens are reportedly turning around and going home after learning of dramatically ramped-up border enforcement and the canceling of generous government handouts.

Deportations: Between January 21 and February 27, the Trump administration removed 55,000 illegal aliens from the U.S, according to DHS.

Debunking a Democrat talking point: The left claims deportations were lower under Trump, which is technically true — there were 67,700 removals per month in 2024. But here’s the catch:

  • Under Biden, most "removals" were just turning people away at the border, not ICE deportations from within the U.S.

  • Biden saw 200,000 illegal crossings per month — Trump had just 8,000.

  • With fewer illegal crossings under Trump, there were simply fewer people to remove.

Big picture: It took Trump one month to solve a problem that Joe Biden and Democrats refused to address in four years.

[Source: Fox News]

🇺🇸 President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States. Read more.

🧊 The feds who leaked information about ICE raids have been identified by DHS Sec. Kristi Noem and "will be fired" and face "consequences." Read more.

🔥 South Carolina is in a state of emergency as firefighters battle hundreds of wildfires across the Carolinas. Read more.

🇺🇸 Trump has authorized more discretionary authority to battlefield commanders to conduct airstrikes and special-op raids without executive oversight. Read more.

💻️ Microsoft is shutting down Skype after buying it 14 years ago for $8.5 billion. Read more.

⚾️ President Trump will posthumously pardon baseball legend Pete Rose who received a lifetime ban from the MLB for betting on games. Read more.

⛷️ Vice President JD Vance and his family were moved to an “undisclosed location” after they were met with pro-Ukrainian protesters outside of a ski resort in Vermont. Read more.

đź’‰ HHS Secretary RFK Jr. is urging Americans to take the MMR vaccine in response to a growing measles outbreak. Read more. 

🪙 President Donald Trump announced the creation of a “strategic crypto reserve” that will include Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, SOL, and ADA. Read more.

📦️ Despite calls from Democrats for an "economic blackout" targeting Amazon on February 28, data reveals sales actually increased on the boycott date. Read more. The entire Democrat party is a mirage, made to look bigger by the media.

🎥 This is the moment Trump, JD Vance, and Zelenskyy got into a heated exchange in the Oval Office. Watch.

🎥 Barstool Sports CEO Dave Portnoy sides with Trump over Zelenskyy. Watch.

🎥 Sports Illustrated model Kristen Gaffney tells Jesse Watters why her family is leaving California. Watch.

🎥 Kieran Culkin's pro-family Oscar speech went viral. Watch.

🎥 Legendary actor Bill Murray tells Joe Rogan why he thinks Richard Nixon was framed. Watch.

🎥 Boston's Democrat mayor, DA, and Police Commissioner offer condolences to the ATTACKER who was shot while trying to kill people. Watch. Full story here.

🎥 Ex-Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel [also Obama's Chief of staff] might be a progressive liberal. But he’s one of the few who acknowledges his party’s big problems. Watch.

🎥 Firefly Aerospace's 'Blue Ghost' lander became the first private company to touch down on the moon successfully. Watch.

🎥 JD Vance was right. Ukrainian men don't want to fight in their war with Russia, so Zelenskyy is having them pulled off the streets and forced to fight. Watch. Here’s a BBC report about the conscriptions.

🎥 Go long: The best podcast I tuned into this weekend was Steve Bannon on Tim Dillon’s show. Watch. [1hr 30min]

Shop the Wake Up Right store!

If you love this newsletter and want to rep the Wake Up Right fam, you can do so with the link below!