Matthew J. Bera, Editor

In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump reportedly plans to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin as a surprise guest speaker during his address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday, sources say. The unannounced plan to invite the Russian leader is leaving lawmakers and political observers stunned.

The surprise appearance will come on the heels of a contentious meeting between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office just days earlier. Though Trump invited Zelenskyy, many analysts have rightly noted that Trump and Vance verbally berated Zelenskyy before kicking him out of the White House.

One left-wing pundit remarked, “After the president and vice-president ruthlessly badgered Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, I can’t say I’m surprised,” referencing the president’s decision to invite Putin to his congressional address.

The report, leaked by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, revealed startling details about President Trump’s plans for his upcoming address to the joint session. According to Maddow’s sources, the president’s decision to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to speak before Congress was not just a spur-of-the-moment decision, but part of a larger strategy that’s been taking shape over the past few months. Maddow, known for her sharp investigative reporting and deep dives into the intricacies of political machinations, wasted no time connecting the dots.

“Who is this good for?” Maddow inquired, implying that Trump appears to be more interested in Russia’s interests than in America’s. “This is the president who sends love letters to Kim Jong Un.”

“Never, in the past few decades at least, has a president engaged in such an angry, scathing attack on a visiting foreign leader in the Oval Office,” said New York Times reporter Peter Baker.

Meanwhile, former President Joe Biden took to X, typing, “We need to be unified, not divided. I saw eye-to-eye with Zelenskyy, not foreign dictators. I wish the current president could do the same.”

This wouldn’t be the first time Trump and Putin have sided with one another. Sources note that it is clear Trump’s campaign benefited from Russian assistance, another indicator of the friendship between Trump and Putin. In fact, an investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller concluded definitively that Putin ordered an intelligence operation to tilt the election eight years ago to Trump. Despite the fact that there was never enough evidence to hold up in court, Mr. Mueller is confident that Trump’s campaign benefited from Russian assistance.

At press time, there are no official details on what Putin plans to say during his speech. Regardless, given Trump and Vance’s shocking move to ambush and bully Zelenskyy with Russian talking points in front of the press, the move reflects a growing partnership with Russia that risks destabilizing all of Europe.