“Paper Tiger”: Trump Greenlights Gunning Down Russian Jets

A full-blown war between Russia and NATO is drawing nearer.

Even just a few months ago, that would have seemed far-fetched given President Trump’s relentless criticism of America’s traditional allies and unabashed reverence for Vladimir Putin. 

However, that’s changed rather abruptly these past few weeks. 

Trump pledged to quickly end the war in Ukraine and has been openly angling for the Nobel Peace Prize, but those aspirations have been dashed by the continued belligerence of his “friend” Putin. 

And his frustration is boiling over.

“We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin,” Trump told reporters in July. “He’s very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

Trump also said he was “disappointed with President Putin” during a visit to Joint Base Andrews. 

“I thought he was somebody that meant what he said,” Trump said. “And he’ll talk so beautifully and then he'll bomb people at night. We don’t like that.”

Indeed, Putin has bombed Ukraine almost daily since Trump took office in January. He’s also made it clear he has no real interest in a ceasefire or any kind of pause in hostilities. 

In fact, Russia has been escalating the conflict — most recently, by violating NATO airspace. 

A few weeks ago, NATO jets scrambled to intercept a wave of Russian drones that violated Polish airspace. 

Ostensibly, the drones were on their way to Ukraine. However, it’s also likely that Russia was testing Poland’s air defense systems. 

In any case, four of the 19 drones were shot down and Poland invoked Article 4 of the NATO charter, which calls for an emergency meeting.

Not long after that incident, three Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace. 

Norway also says Russia has violated its airspace three times this year. And just last week, a swarm of Russian drones forced its Oslo Airport to temporarily shut down.

So far, these countries have shown restraint with these encounters, but once again patience is wearing thin with Vladimir Putin. 

During an emergency meeting of the U.N., Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said his country could start downing Russian aircraft.

“If another missile or aircraft enters our space without permission — deliberately or 'by mistake' — and gets shot down, and the wreckage falls on NATO territory, please don’t come here to whine about it,” Sikorski said. “You have been warned.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said shooting down a Russian jet in NATO airspace is “on the table.”

And when Trump was asked if he agreed with that approach, the president bluntly said, “Yes, I do.” 

He went further than that, even. He reversed his long-held position that Ukraine should have to cede territory to Russia, and in a shocking 180, said Ukraine may not only restore its territorial integrity, but seize land from Russia.

“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option. Why not?” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that! Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.”

In short, this could mark a huge turning point for Europe. 

If NATO — and especially Trump — are fed up enough with Putin’s antics… 

If they see Russia’s aerial incursions as a physical manifestation of his desire to not just conquer Ukraine, but also infringe other European states… 

Then — and I’m not overstating this, here — Russia could collapse. 

Vladimir Putin has been crossing red lines for decades. And he’s gotten away with it because of reticence on the part of the United States and Europe to punish him for it. 

He has faced no meaningful consequences for his threats, invasions, and war crimes. 

Economic sanctions and stern lectures have not curtailed his aggression. They’ve only emboldened it. 

But Russia is not strong. 

As Trump said, its economy is frail and its resources are thin.

And if its military were as strong as Putin proclaims, it would have conquered Ukraine in a matter of months, if not weeks. 

It wouldn’t still be grinding out painstaking frontline advances after 3½ years of war and over a million casualties. 

Russia is, as Trump said, a “paper tiger.”

NATO should treat it as such. 

And investors should do what I’ve been telling them to do for the past decade and buy into defense stocks.

The United States and Europe each spend more than $1 trillion on defense this year — to counter not just Russia’s aggression but China’s as well. 

Because make no mistake, that fight is next. 

You can even get my latest report on Trump’s AI Victory Plan right here.

It details the defense tech companies that will uphold American dominance for decades to come — and reap huge fortunes in the process.