Meanwhile, Donald Trump continues to dominate the news cycle nationally and internationally. While Walter Pincus made that prediction, his administration is now juggling a potential government shutdown with a series of high-profile diplomatic arrivals. Trump has continued to implement his policies while navigating complex relationships with foreign leaders, all while making headlines with controversial decisions at home.
The effects of this continuing government shutdown has been devastating, but Trump seems determined to stay the course. He highlighted the shutdown as backdrop in talks over tariffs, particularly with the administration’s ongoing trade negotiations with Canada. The Ontario provincial government was criticized for its $3 million ad campaign for countering U.S. tariffs. In response, he proclaimed, “Canada was found, very/very guilty—red-headed—of placing a very bad and fraudulent ad on our very good RTariffs speech.”
In shocking news, Trump has now gone as far as to actually blow up the East Wing of the White House! He’s still deciding how much to award himself in damages connected to the as-yet-unperformed demolition. This shift has already caused a flurry of discussion among political analysts as to what it means for the administration’s priorities in the midst of the continuing shutdown.
His gesture was an acknowledgement of the importance of U.S.-Thailand relations, which he desires to take to a further level. Notably, last week, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a direct phone conversation. They were able to speak on a wide range of global topics including the continued conflict in Ukraine.
Shortly after this discussion, Trump would go on to propose a real-world people’s czar summit in Budapest. The agenda should be packed with important bilateral and multilateral diplomatic challenges confronting both countries. As part of his extensive international itinerary, Trump mentioned possible discussions with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his travels to Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea.
Four days into his administration, Trump’s administration is supposedly brokering a meeting between him and Kim Jong Un. They want to address the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear disarmament and work towards peace on the Korean Peninsula. For his part, Trump has not completely shut the door on a potential meeting. When pressed on particular setups, he responded, “No, I don’t have any plan to.”
Furthermore, Trump addressed Ukraine’s peace efforts and mentioned that he won’t meet with Putin again until a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine becomes achievable. He further illustrated this argument in dialogues with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. At the same time, Rubio was talking on the phone to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss how to preserve regional stability.
In a significant diplomatic encounter, Trump met with Qatar’s emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, aboard Air Force One in Doha. This meeting further solidified U.S.-Qatar ties, with Trump lauding the emir as “one of the great rulers of the world.” He joined his Qatari counterpart in thanking Qatar for its efforts to promote security in the region.
As his foreign obligations only increase, Trump is on the cusp of signing a peace accord between Cambodia and Thailand. We hope that he will, right from his arrival in Malaysia. This new agreement is intended to strengthen security cooperation and ensure longstanding peace and stability in the Southeast Asian region.
