Beltway Insider: Trump/Persian Gulf, Military Parade, Ukraine/Russia, James Comey/8647, CHOP/Gene Editing, Original Sin

Details

Category: Beltway Insider

Published on Sunday, 18 May 2025 05:40

Written by Janet Walker

President Trump traveled to the Persian Gulf this week, for a whirlwind trip through Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, meeting with leaders and securing over $2 trillion in investment commitments and commercial deals.

The President's job approval rating, according to The New York Times for the period ending May 11, 2025,  increased by 1% to 45% of those polled who approve of his effectiveness as President and those who disapprove of his effectiveness as president decreased by 1% to 51%. A slight 3% of the population polled have no opinion. Ratings are calculated weekly.

Beltway Insider: Trump Film Tariffs, Church Quickly Elects Pope, Biden Media, Jeanine Pirro

Trump Visits Middle East

President Trump spent a week touring several nations in the Persian Gulf, and received a grand welcome in each, without a protestor or detractor in sight, Trump was celebrated, treated with the honor befitting a hero.

The high stakes Middle East summit, of which more than thirty CEOs of America's leading corporations, from technology to energy to defense, were included in the opportunity to meet with Saudi Arabian officials and become a part of an unprecedented partnership with these gulf states, that have unlimited resource and are rich with desire to enhance their position through partnerships with leading U.S. business and corporations.

President Trump released a statement which can be seen here that includes statements from those in attendance. Below represent three of the deal made just with Saudi Arabia over this whirlwind trip. The press release also includes impressive partnerships with Qatar with companies such as Boeing, GE Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Quantinuum, Parsons Corporation, and Lockheed Martin and McDermott International, and companies that entered into deals with the United Arab Emirates include Saildrone, Occidental, Oracle, Baker Hughes, and others. Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger also announced a new theme park to be built in Abu Dhabi.

Lockheed Martin Chairman, President, and CEO Jim Taiclet: "At Lockheed Martin, we build the world's best air defense systems, powerful radars, and most lethal fighter aircraft and we thank President Trump for including us in this groundbreaking defense partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We look forward to working with his administration to support a pathway to fifth generation air dominance capabilities while further strengthening the Kingdom's defenses against air and missile threats."

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy: "We appreciate President Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman convening business leaders in Saudi Arabia to strengthen economic ties and drive innovation between our two countries. Amazon is excited to partner with HUMAIN, Saudi Arabia's newly created AI innovation company, to collectively invest more than $5 billion to build a groundbreaking 'AI Zone' there, which will bring multiple innovative AWS AI capabilities to Saudi Arabia along with skills training for 100,000 citizens from the Kingdom."

Intelligent Security Systems Chairman Richard Burns: "We were delighted to close our deal at the Summit. No question at all that President Trump's visit was the major accelerant. Our deal is proof that you don't need to be Fortune 500 to do well in Saudi if you have the right products and services."

Qatar Gifts Trump a 747

The Royal Family of Qatar gifted President Trump with a $400 million dollar 747, which Trump has said can be retrofitted to perform as his new Air Force One.

In a surprise turn, many of his loyalists have voiced an opposing opinion on his ability to accept the gift, as it violated the emolument clause in the constitution. Congress, which Trumps holds the majority in both houses, according to the clause would need to vote on the gift before Trump could receive it.

Senator Bernie Sanders, (I-VT) wrote on X, "Not only is this farcically corrupt, it is blatantly unconstitutional." "Congress must not allow this over-the-top kleptocracy to proceed." Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said on Fox Business on May 13, "The Constitution specifically says you can't take gifts from foreign leaders," reported Poytner.com.

The emolument clause forbids the acceptance of gifts from leaders from other nations so to stop any undue influence.

Trump has indicated it would be "stupid" not to accept the plane.

World News: Istanbul Bully Putin Skips Ukraine Cease Fire Negotiation

Trump's Military Parade

Trump wants a parade, and he wants a big parade. He wants a big military parade, one that includes 6,000 members of the U.S Army marching down Pennsylvania avenue followed by tanks, a grand display of might, befitting the leader of the free world and celebrating the strength of the U.S.

"The parade, to commemorate the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, will be held June 14, the same day as President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, and will include representation from all active Army divisions, said Steve Warren, a spokesman for the branch," reported The Washington Post.

The parade will also include an all day event, with music, fitness tests, and capping the evening with a firework display.

While this is a day to celebrate the strength of the U.S. Army, and every nations needs a strong defense, it is expected that protestors, who are disgruntled and disapprove of the current administrations policies will also be out in force.

Russia and Ukraine Peace Talks Fizzle

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin were both no shows at the peace talks, held this week in Istanbul, Turkey, instead each sent a team of negotiators and a list of demands setting the tone for a contentious and unproductive meeting.

As the Ukraine has the support of the European Union, nations on the continent are heavily invested in the peace process. Ukraine was prepared for an immediate ceasefire and demanded the same from Russia. Unfortunately, Putin is not yet prepared to concede loss and after the talks ended bombed a bus of Ukrainian citizens, killing nine, and wounding dozens.

"Diplomacy has travelled a long distance this week to essentially return to zero – back where it started on Saturday. Then, in Kyiv, Ukraine, France, Germany, the UK and Poland demanded an unconditional ceasefire for a month and published a picture of the five countries' leaders on the phone to President Trump. They trumpeted his backing for the truce, but also what France called "massive sanctions" if Russia rejected the demand," reported CNN.

Trump has stated this war must end, and he is confident that Putin will respond to him. The Kremlin stated they are preparing a list of demands for Zelensky, and also indicated that conversation between Trump and Putin will be necessary before a ceasefire can be enacted.

World News: Bucharest, the European Thorn

James Comey and his Cryptic Social Media Post

Former FBI Director James Comey is facing blowback over a recent social media post that pictured a common numeric meme, "8647," arranged in seashells on the sand. The picture which many Trump trolls interpreted as a coded calling to an unknown legion of covert assassins awaiting instructions from Comey to move ahead in a planned assassination attempt.

After Comey was notified that this meme, which can be ordered from many online retailers in T-shirt form, was associated with violence he took down the post. As Mr. Comey has no history of violence, the meme should be considered protected speech and as the meme is a form of expression, it should be covered under the First Amendment.

However, "Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem also accused Comey of calling for Trump's assassination, writing on X on Thursday that her department and the Secret Service were "investigating this threat and will respond appropriately." FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency would "provide all necessary support" as part of the investigation," reported The Washington Post.

Coronavirus Total

At the order of the President of the United States, the U.S. no longer recognizes the value of The World Health Organization. The CDC has recommended every person from age six months, including senior citizens should receive at least one shot of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, annually.  The death toll from Covid-19 has dramatically decreased, as has transmission of the virus. Even as confirmed new cases continue each week, fewer are dying from the newer variants.

For the seven days ending May 17, 2025, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported by the World Health Organization increased by 18,540 to 777,745,434. The total worldwide death toll increased by 424 to 7,095,349 deaths. The United States has stopped providing Covid data to the World Health Organization. (Data updated April 27, 2025, from the World Health Organization).

CHOP DNA Breakthrough

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia announced this week a breakthrough in gene editing using CRISPR gene editing technology, that saved the life of KJ Muldoon who had been born with a genetic defect that stopped his liver from producing enzymes that would remove pollutants from his body.

For the many, the idea of gene editing is a lot like coding. The DNA is a string of unique code, and in the case KJ Muldoon, he was missing a single letter in his DNA strand. So, by editing the code, like software code editing, except this was the child's DNA strand, and without the perfect sequence change, this baby would die.

And while it is simply written, the process took many months, and fortunately the tools, CRISPR gene editing technology, had been developed five year ago and won a Nobel Peace Prize. The pieces were all in place. Gene editing medicine, at this stage is a one of a kind treatment, as no two DNA strands are identical, so the process must be tailored made for the individual.

After KJ was born doctors immediately realized something was wrong, once the tests confirmed, they had two choices, and explained to his parents also, seek a liver donor, prepare for end of life care, or allow us to try gene editing. The Muldoon's decided to try gene editing.

"By February, researchers felt a jolt of astonishment — KJ's drug had gone from a concept to a medicine in a syringe. Encased in a tiny fat bubble was one component that would act like GPS, guiding the drug to the specific part of KJ's genome that needed to be fixed. The other component was a form of CRISPR, a "base editor," that would fix the misspelling in his gene," reported The Washington Post.

This success story is the beginning for millions of individuals everywhere who have a gene mutation that results in a debilitating and deadly disease, including Sickle Cell Anima, Huntington's Disease, and CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to correct mutations in specific genes, such as the C9ORF72 gene, which is the most common genetic cause of ALS. 

A Health Savings Account Could Save Your Life

Original Sin Hides Truths Behind 2024 Election

After reading several reviews of the book Original Sin, by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, I realized it is just another attempt by those who were sure they could force the American people into a decision that would finally break the glass ceiling and by utilizing an active media push and dedicated campaign, coupled with Biden's low polling numbers, which can always be manipulated by segmenting populations, and his poor debate performance to placate their own culpability in the disaster they have created.

Granted his poor performance at the first debate was reminiscent of his poor performance during the 2020 first debate, the two debates so mirrored each other, I thought it was a strategy.

Forcing Biden to resign, and pass the torch to Vice-President Kamala Harris, certainly energized the campaign, however, those who control the political spectrum, never even once considered the idea that a large swell of the republican population still believed the 2020 campaign was stolen and were bent on retaliation and the same handlers who donated so heavily to Biden's success, energized these individuals, with a new found zeal, to destroy Harris. With Biden as a candidate, they felt dejected, sure of his victory, with Harris they felt a resurging vengeance.  

What many failed to realize as they took to editorials to voice their beliefs, were the facts of the population: there was only one possible avenue for Harris to become the president and that was as a Vice-President who assumed the office. Keeping Biden in place, for a second term, virtually guaranteed her the office; for the same reason he passed the torch, for Party. The mirror of truth cracks each time they try to find another way to blame the debacle of the election on Biden.

Once the tide turned and Biden became persona non grata, those who forced the party's hand believed they were destined for victory and would secretly celebrate their ability to direct politics. However, as the election went the opposite the one element that the secret group of political activists failed to consult, during their conclave was patterns. The patterns of voters, in critical electoral states. There was never a chance for Harris to be elected, the pattern of electoral votes proved it.

Even as I was hoping to influence my small following, before the day began, I knew it would not turn out the way we had hoped. Bullying the president now, with lengthy yarns of loss of cognizant, seems more like once again finding a scapegoat to hide one's liability in the current political bloodbath and demise of the America we thought we could tempt with a shiny apple of change.

For more information on President Donald Trump: Whitehouse.gov.

Sources: Various © Articles covered by Copyright protection.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is completing the non-fiction narrative, "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," which is expected to be released in early 2025. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a former member of the International Federation of Journalists.