Trump said somebody else should negotiate for Ukraine.

WASHINGTON — On Monday, before he boarded Marine One for Kansas, President Trump told reporters on the South Lawn that someone other than President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should negotiate for Ukraine. “Maybe it's time for Zelensky to get somebody else to negotiate,” he said, in an account carried by Reuters. He said Russia has been “fine” on Ukraine and that “they haven't been doing much.” The Associated Press led Tuesday's file with the break. The alliance is at a new low after Trump rejected new sanctions on Russia and after disruptions in the satellite support Ukraine uses for its drones. He has been insulting Zelenskyy for more than a week. Zelenskyy has said he feels betrayed.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, asked Tuesday, said nothing had changed in the weapons pipeline. “When things are available for sale, it's sold for the Europeans who, in turn, transfer to them,” he said. “There has not been some deliberate political directive to go out and harm Ukraine.” He said a country that does not receive interceptors is not being denied them, and that the United States has minimums to meet for its own forces. The wire did not say where he was standing. This desk is not inventing a room.

Maybe it's time for Zelensky to get somebody else to negotiate.

Trump is still offering $5,000 checks to lift Republican turnout on Nov. 3. The Associated Press said even some of his supporters do not expect the money. Jamie Alvarez, who went to a recent rally in Alaska, said, “I mean, I guess it's good for some people. I really don't care,” and, “I don't feel like your vote should be bought.” Earlier promises of $2,000 from tariff revenue, and of refunds from spending cuts, did not arrive. The New York Times reported Tuesday that the Republican National Committee is sending more than $50 million to its House and Senate committees: about $44 million already moved between mid-August and mid-October, and another $6 million expected by Election Day.

The photograph is Monday, on the South Lawn. Trump is speaking, one hand up, reporters and cameras in front of him, Marine One behind. It is the gaggle before Kansas. It is not a walk back to the door on Tuesday, and Zelenskyy is not in the frame.