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Posted by Matt Kiser

https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/12/09/day-1785/

Today in one sentence: Trump called Europe "weak" and “decaying,” warning that some countries may no longer be “viable”; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out ceding any territory to Russia, rejecting a core part of Trump’s peace plan; Trump reversed his public pledge to release the full video of the Sept. 2 U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, instead saying “whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is OK with me"; a federal judge granted the Justice Department permission to release grand jury transcripts and investigative records from the sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell; a federal judge rejected Trump’s effort to block permits and leases for new wind energy projects on federal lands and waters; Trump authorized Nvidia to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China in return for 25% of the revenue; the Trump administration agreed to a proposed settlement with seven Republican-led states that would shut down the SAVE student loan repayment plan; and Texas announced a partnership with Turning Point USA to establish “Club America” chapters in every high school in the state and warned schools not to block the clubs.

1/ Trump called Europe “weak” and “decaying,” warning that some countries may no longer be “viable” while praising authoritarian leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In an interview with Politico, Trump argued that immigration and political correctness, not Russia, are Europe’s real threat, bragged that “NATO calls me ‘Daddy’,” questioned further NATO expansion, and said Ukraine is losing the war and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy must “start accepting things.” At the same time, Trump gave his economic performance an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade, made support for immediate interest rate cuts a litmus test for his next Federal Reserve chair, floated more targeted tariff carveouts while promising higher duties elsewhere, and refused to say whether he will back extending expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies that would prevent premium hikes. Democrats, meanwhile, accused Trump of “dishonor[ing] the decades-long bipartisan commitment” to NATO and Ukraine and of misunderstanding that “Putin is driving this war.” (Politico / The Guardian / New York Times / Axios)

2/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out ceding any territory to Russia, rejecting a core part of Trump’s peace plan. Zelensky said Ukraine has “no right to give anything away, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law,” and added that there is “no moral right either,” even as Trump insists Ukraine is “losing” and should “play ball” because Russia has the “upper hand.” Ukrainian and European officials have treated the plan as favoring Russia, and have pushed to strip out what Zelensky called “explicitly anti-Ukrainian provisions.” Zelensky is now working with European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, on a counter-proposal that centers on firm security guarantees and rejects locking in territorial concessions to Russia. (Associated Press / CBS News / The Guardian / Politico / Washington Post / Axios / Wall Street Journal)

3/ Trump reversed his public pledge to release the full video of the Sept. 2 U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, instead saying “whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.” Trump also denied that he ever promised to make the footage available, despite saying on Dec. 3, 2025, “I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have, we’d certainly release, no problem.” Following months of limited disclosure about at least 22 boat strikes that have killed around 87 people, Congress is using its must-pass defense bill to force the Pentagon to give the armed services committees the execute orders and unedited videos. The bill would also freeze 25% of Hegseth’s travel budget until it does so. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / ABC News / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / CBS News / NBC News / Associated Press)

4/ A federal judge granted the Justice Department permission to release grand jury transcripts and investigative records from the sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell. Judge Paul Engelmayer said the new Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the department to disclose Epstein and Maxwell records by Dec. 19. He modified an earlier protective order so that “voluminous discovery” such as search materials, financial records, and victim interviews can be made public with redactions. He ordered Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to “personally certify” that all released material has been “rigorously reviewed” to ensure it doesn’t identify victims. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CBS News / CNN / Associated Press / Politico / CNBC / Axios)

5/ A federal judge rejected Trump’s effort to block permits and leases for new wind energy projects on federal lands and waters, vacating what she described as the administration’s blanket “wind order.” Judge Patti Saris ruled that Trump’s Jan. 20 directive, and the follow-on actions by federal agencies, were “arbitrary and capricious” and “contrary to law” because officials provided no reasoned explanations beyond carrying out the president’s instructions, which she said violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The decision came in a case led by New York and joined by 16 other Democrat-led states, Washington, D.C., and outside groups, which argued that Trump’s ban threatened investments, grid reliability, and state climate goals. (New York Times / Axios / Associated Press / CNBC / The Hill)

6/ Trump authorized Nvidia to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China in return for 25% of the revenue, in a deal that Trump said will also apply to AMD and Intel. The policy allows only Commerce Department–vetted commercial buyers to receive the H200 while Nvidia’s more powerful Blackwell and upcoming Rubin chips remain blocked. The Institute for Progress estimates the H200 is almost six times as powerful as the H20 model that China was previously allowed to buy, and researchers at Georgetown University say its performance is nearly 10 times the old export limit on chips for China. Greg Allen of the Wadhwani Center told the Senate that access to advanced chips is “almost certainly the largest single advantage” the U.S. has over China, warning that easing controls on H200s could weaken that edge as Chinese firms race to build large AI data centers. Democrats and national security experts, meanwhile, argued that the move risks strengthening China’s AI and military capabilities, noting that analysts at the Center for a New American Security estimate Chinese chips currently provide at most about 2% of the computing power of foreign rivals and saying the shift could be a “colossal economic and national security failure” if it helps Beijing close the gap in high-end computing. (Semafor / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNBC / Axios / Politico / Bloomberg)

7/ The Trump administration agreed to a proposed settlement with seven Republican-led states that would shut down the SAVE student loan repayment plan and require roughly 7 million borrowers to move into other, generally more expensive options if a federal court in Missouri approves the deal. The Education Department said it will stop all new SAVE enrollments, deny pending applications, and transition current participants into other repayment plans under the agreement. Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent claimed the move ends a “deceptive scheme,” while borrower advocates warned that it would “strip borrowers of the most affordable repayment plan.” The settlement also requires the department to give the Missouri attorney general at least 30 days’ notice before canceling more than $10 billion in federal student loans, a condition that will last for the next decade. (Washington Post / CNBC)

8/ Texas announced a partnership with Turning Point USA to establish “Club America” chapters in every high school in the state and warned schools not to block the clubs. Gov. Greg Abbott said he expects “meaningful disciplinary action” against “any stoppage of TPUSA in the great state of Texas” and told supporters that “any school that stands in the way of a Club America program in their school should be reported immediately to the Texas Education Agency.” Civil rights groups, student and parent organizers, and some educators have criticized Turning Point for what they describe as racist, homophobic, and sexist rhetoric, and have questioned whether state-backed promotion of the organization in public schools is constitutional given that Texas has banned LGBTQ+ student clubs and opened investigations into teachers over comments about founder Charlie Kirk’s killing. State leaders say more than 500 Texas high schools already host Club America chapters, and the group is pushing for 20,000 high school chapters nationwide. (Texas Tribune / The Guardian / The Hill)

⏭️ Notably Next: The 2026 midterms are in 329 days.

• Today last year: Day 1420: "Can’t guarantee anything."
• Five years ago today: Day 1420: "That might not go over well."
• Six years ago today: Day 1054: Justified.

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https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/12/09/day-1785/