President Trump’s school yard brawl with Elon Musk provided excellent cover for the fact that he flopped in getting Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire in his war on Ukraine.

Rather than appearing as a strong leader and negotiator standing up to Putin, Trump took on the role of being his message boy.

After the June 4 phone call with Putin, Trump said Russia was going to act “very strongly” in response to to Ukraine’s drone attack on its bombers. Duh! Russia unleashed one of its biggest missile and drone attacks on Ukraine on June 6.

Trump went on to say that peace between Russia and Ukraine isn’t going to happen any time soon, and that both sides feel like they have to fight it out so more. How weak!

He likened Russia and Ukraine to children who hate each other. During his June 5 Oval Office meeting with German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pull them apart.

Merz, who had expected more of a spine from his American counterpart, told Trump that he is the “key person in the world” who can really put pressure on Russia.

Trump though has abdicated that role, failing to stiffen sanctions against Russian, and threatening to pull the plug on military and intelligence support for Ukraine. He seems to have a thing for Vladimir.

Famously, Trump told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky during his trip to the White House that he “didn’t have the cards” to negotiate the end of he war.

Trump has cards to use against Putin. He just refuses to play them.

Fighting the good fight…Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen says companies that folded to Trump’s pressure to roll back DEI programs are guilty of appeasement.

Ending DEI programming “just encourages bullies,” he told the Financial Times.

He said Corporate America jumped on the DEI bandwagon after the murder of George Floyd though “they didn’t really believe in it.”

Cohen and his partner Jerry Greenfield are trying to buy back Ben & Jerry’s from Unilever, which bought the brand 25 years ago.

Unilever wants to spin off Ben & Jerry’s with the rest of its ice cream business by the end of the year. Good luck to Ben and Jerry in getting back their company.

Target still celebrates Pride Month despite reports on right-wing media outlets that it has abandoned the LGBQ community.

NewsGuard outed those bogus claims that Target has replaced its LGBQ collection with American First offerings.

The retailer’s website features its “Pride Collection” (apparel, party supplies, music, books and stationery) that are available in stores and online.

The conservative platforms mistakenly showcase Target’s “Summer Coastal Collection," which have US-themed items, as supporting Trump’s America First agenda.

Target in January announced that it would end diversity, equity and inclusion programs for employees.

The company though says it continues to provide “products that delight our customers for an array of occasions and holidays,” such as Pride Month.