Rob,

I am not informed enough to debate nuances of Trump vis-a-vis Ukrainian / German / Russian relations. I have hit the I-dont-know wall on that.
I can't debate the details of Nordstrum with you. I have little knowledge of it at all and no idea what is fact and what is propaganda.

But I was born in Birmingham Alabama and lived there until I went off to UTexas/Austin. There are people down in Alabama still feeling and living the Civil War.

Similarly,
Imho, prospects for victory for the Nazis in WW2 ended at Stalingrad. Imho WW2 was won at Stalingrad. It was a Gettysgurg/Picketts charge turning point.

Per Google Gemini
800,000 Axis casualties at Stalingrad.
1.1 million Soviet Casualities at Stalingrad
40k civilian casualties at Stalingrad.

All in, 1.9 million casualties. Death beyond belief. Maybe the deadliest battle/campaign in human history.
I'm glad that you and your neighbors get along, but that kinda stuff dont go all the way away. It lurks beneath the surface for a long time.
That is why Putin talks about Nazis in Ukraine in order to rally the Russian people.

When he did that, I thought that was an odd thing to say about a country in the lineage of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth which was one of few European countries not hostile to Jews across the middle ages/ Renaissance...but...Putin said "Nazi" and it got traction.

Our US forefathers warned against foreign European entanglements.
Russia / Ukraine is in the lineage of the prototype of what they meant.

My hopes are that peace is achieved.

As for tariffs, don't count Trump out on making that work.

Marty

https://soundcloud.com/sunset-poet-of-texas