Donald Trump brought to heel by Putin in 24 hours since King Charles left White House

Donald Trump brought to heel by Putin in 24 hours since King Charles left White HouseHere's a roundup of everything that's gone on in Trumpworld that you need to know - including how the most powerful person in the world at any given time is the last person who spoke to TrumpCommentsNewsopinionMikey Smith Deputy Political Editor22:36, 29 Apr 2026View ImageTrump has already been on the phone to Putin(Image: AP) By the end of the King's visit to Washington DC, Donald Trump was practically glowing. ‌ There followed 24 hours or so of hopeful positivity that maybe, just maybe, King Charles' thoughtful interventions might have hit home - and there might be some changes to Trump's approaches to Iran, Ukraine and maybe even America. It didn't take long for another world leader to bring him to heel. Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin this afternoon, and by the sound of it, swallowed everything old Vlad had to say hook line and sinker. ‌ Meanwhile in Trumpworld ‌ Bondi will testifyHegseth won't rule out troops at polling stationsTrump's arch nemesis is sticking aroundTrump believes Comey was threatening his life with seashellsThe blockade is here to stayHere's what you need to know 1. Bondi will testifyPam Bondi, the former Attorney General responsible for the release of the Epstein Files will testify before the congressional panel investigating them after all. ‌ The announcement that she would appear on May 29 to answer questions came just minutes after Democrats on the panel filed a contempt resolution against her for failing to appear for a deposition scheduled for earlier this month. "Well look at this…" House Oversight Democrats tweeted. "45 minutes after we file contempt charges against Pam Bondi for defying her subpoena to testify, @GOPoversight finally announces a date for her appearance." 2. Trump isn't getting rid of his nemesis just yetJerome Powell, the outgoing chair of the Federal Reserve, whom Trump hates with a fiery passion, announced he's planning to stick around for a while. He plans to remain on the board of the Fed after his term as chair ends next month “for an undetermined period of time,” saying the “unprecedented” legal attacks by the Trump administration have put the independence of the nation's central bank at risk. "I worry these attacks are battering this institution and putting at risk the things that really matter to the public," Powell said in remarks at a press conference after the Fed announced its decision to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged. ‌ 3. Trump says he's keeping the blockade going until Iran gives upTrump says he's going to keep the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz going until Iran gives up. told Axios he doesn't want to lift the blockade until Iran addresses its nuclear ambitions. "The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing," Trump said. "And it is going to be worse for them. They can't have a nuclear weapon." He was asked about it again in the Oval Office this afternoon, where he said all Iran had to do was pick up the phone. ‌ If I were a car owner in America, I wouldn't be planning any long trips for a while. Content cannot be displayed without consent4. Trump says he genuinely believes James Comey was threatening his life with Insta snap of seashellsTrump was asked if he genuinely believed the Insta post for which James Comey has been indicted for two federal crimes were actual threats to his life. ‌ The post was a photo of a beach with "86 47" written using seashells. The FBI and Justice Department claim that "86" in this context didn't just mean "remove or expel", as most people understand it, but actually to kill, something Comey has always denied. But Trump, you see, has seen some gangster movies. "Well if anybody knows anything about crime, they know '86' is a mob term for 'kill 'em.'," he said. "You ever see the movies?" Content cannot be displayed without consentIn case you were wondering whether there's any more to this indictment than the picture, there isn't. Apparently Kash Patel had career FBI agents investigating a daft Instagram post for 11 months. So how did it produce an indictment? Well, as the old saying goes, in America a prosecutor could secure an indictment for a ham sandwich. About 95% of cases brought before a Grand Jury are indicted, because only the prosecution gets to make its case. There aren't even any defence lawyers in the hearing. And the bar for indictment (probably cause) is lower than that for conviction (reasonable doubt.) ‌ This case is, as it were, a ham sandwich. 5. Putin wants his hands on Iran's nuclear materialTrump said Putin during a phone call this afternoon, renewed his offer for Russia to serve as a third country that could deal with Iran’s 970 pounds of enriched uranium that the US leader is demanding Tehran must surrender. To which the entire world responded "Yes, I bet you would, Vlad." “He told me he’d like to be involved with the enrichment — if he can help us get it,” Trump said Putin told him. “I said, ‘I’d much rather have you be involved with ending the war with Ukraine.’ To me, that would be more important.” On the subject of which... ‌ 6. In case you were wondering whether The King's message about Ukraine landed...The other thing that happened on the call is that Putin convinced Trump that Russia was winning the war. He told reporters in the Oval Office: "Ukraine, militarily, they're defeated. You wouldn't know that by reading the fake news" "I suggested a little bit of a cease-fire and I think he might do that. There's so many people being killed, it's so ridiculous," Trump added. ‌ I suspect it's not a coincidence that Putin called the day after the King's visit. Once again, the most powerful person in the world at any given time is the last person who spoke to Donald Trump. 7. Hegseth won't rule out deploying troops to polling stationsAppearing before a congressional committee today, Trump's "Secretary of War", Pete Hegseth swung from evasive to outright lies on the subject of whether he'd carry out an order to deploy troops to polling stations in November's midterms. Avoiding the question a number of times, he eventually shot back: "I will note that in 2024, Joe Biden deployed troops to polling locations in 15 states. Explain that to me…" ‌ I'd be glad to, Pete. It's not true. About 250 National Guardsmen were mobilised on election day 2024 across 15 states, but none were deployed to polling stations. They were largely used in support roles - mainly cybersecurity - at the request of state authorities. All of this came after bomb threats to polling stations in multiple states, which appeared to originate from Russia. They were later found to not be credible. Of course this didn't happen in the way Hegseth implies, because it would have been a federal crime. Article continues belowContent cannot be displayed without consent