Trump Reverses Course, Pentagon Scrambles to Save Face

Done, for now.

They just can’t accept defeat.

Can they?

After abruptly halting the flow of military aid to Ukraine—a move that led many of us, including this publication, to question whether proper protocols were followed and due process observed—Congress began to stir. A growing number of lawmakers started scrutinizing the decision, and soon, evidence began piling up that the halt had not moved through the appropriate channels.

At some point in the last 48 hours, it became clear to me: the shipments would resume. And they will—now.

Speaking during a dinner Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of their respective staffs, Trump was asked if he planned to send more weapons for use by Kyiv.

“We're going to send some more weapons.”

“We have to, they have to be able to defend themselves,” the president said.

“They're getting hit very hard. Now they're getting hit very hard. We're going to have to send more weapons, defensive weapons, primarily, but they're getting hit very, very hard.”

Hours after President Trump made the statement, the Pentagon reversed course.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement:

“At President Trump's direction, the Department of Defense is sending additional defensive weapons to Ukraine to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace and ensure the killing stops. Our framework for POTUS to evaluate military shipments across the globe remains in effect and is integral to our America First defense priorities.”

I want you to take a pause here.

Look again at the second sentence: “Our framework for POTUS to evaluate military shipments across the globe remains in effect and is integral to our America First defense priorities.”

That’s the Pentagon trying to save face—using ideological language to paper over a catastrophic error. It’s a political smokescreen, meant to cover up the damage their decision caused not just for Trump, but for the United States, for Europe, and for the broader global balance.

Even major sections of the Western media didn’t buy the spin. I especially appreciated the title The Economist chose—they got it exactly right.

I liked it because that’s exactly what happened here. It was an embarrassment at the highest level. And they deserved every bit of it.

You may have also noticed the term “defensive weapons”—used both by President Trump and the Pentagon when confirming the resumption of aid. It might make you question the judgment behind the move. But truth be told, that part is fine. If the U.S. wants to keep ATACMS or F-16-fired air-to-surface missiles off the list for now, so be it. That’s not where Ukraine needs American help most.

There are enough offensive munitions for F-16s already in Europe. And France just made the picture even clearer: yesterday, it announced a ramp-up in production of AASM Hammer glide bombs. Since early this year, France has been supplying around 50 of them per month—bombs the Ukrainian Air Force routinely uses to strike Russian targets near the front. Paris didn’t say how many more they plan to send, but increased production means more will be delivered. The Russians hate them. France will send them anyway.

Europe, in short, has already put a great deal in motion to support Ukraine’s offensive firepower. What Ukraine still lacks—critically—is air defense. And that’s where it remains heavily dependent on the United States.

Much of the reporting has focused on what specific weapons were withheld. That’s a useful data point—especially since the Pentagon’s justification that these shipments were critical to U.S. readiness was later debunked by an internal Joint Staff assessment.

But the real issue was never just which weapons were paused. It was the stoppage itself—and the directional consequences it risked triggering in Ukraine’s war effort. If the halt had dragged on for weeks, it would’ve reshaped battlefield momentum. Every single day of delay makes it politically harder to restart. That’s the nature of the strategic trap this created.

A quick fix was needed. Thankfully, large parts of Congress erupted in fury. Senators fired off letters. GOP members began publicly questioning the logic laid out by Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby. And as time passed, the brickbats landed on Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary, as well.

All of this was happening in the background as Trump personally spoke with Putin, Macron, Zelensky—and Merz. Reports suggest the German Chancellor urged Trump to support additional air-defense purchases for Ukraine.

And then Trump made the call.

He overruled the Pentagon. He reversed the decision to stop the flow of weapons to Ukraine. Just like that, the crisis was defused—for now.

But the real story isn’t just that aid resumed. It’s what comes next.

Because the Colby-Hegseth faction just got burned. Badly. The next time they think about pulling a stunt like this—freezing weapons, undercutting Ukraine, tipping the battlefield—they’ll think twice. They’ll start with fear. Fear of the backlash they just triggered. Because this wasn’t just some polite disagreement inside a think tank. This was a full-spectrum revolt: from within the GOP, from key Senate voices, from the press, from European allies, and eventually from Trump himself.

And when GOP members move, media follows. When both move, the oxygen vanishes. Their spin collapsed under scrutiny. The spotlight hurt. And it will hurt even more the next time.

Trump’s speed also mattered. He didn’t wait, he overrode the Pentagon. This doesn’t mean they’ll stop trying. They wont surrender; they will regroup. They always do.

But they’ve learned something: they can’t act with impunity anymore. They can’t quietly sabotage a war effort, hide behind bureaucratic process, and expect no one to notice.

Not anymore.

That will do—for now.

We fought—and we won this round against the pro-Putin faction operating inside the United States. I’m proud that The Concis played a small part in that outcome. And I want to thank every one of you who took the time to send an email, make a phone call, or push your representative to act. Every effort mattered. Every voice helped shift the pressure.

This was a win. A real one. It saved humans.

And Robert Jaffee— I accept your Mea Culpa.

"I will remain hopeful, yet skeptical. However, if this does work out, you will have my sincerest Mea Culpa!"

It worked out.

Let’s keep fighting.

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