Trump's time for choosing

Politico

2 days ago

DIPLOMACY IS A TEAM SPORT — Donald Trump has made no secret of which world leaders he admires, and which ones he's content to ignore. But as he embarks on a solo mission to end conflicts from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, America's traditional allies — many of whom have been sidelined until now — are hoping to convince him diplomacy is a team sport.
A closed-door meeting between the U.S. president and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday will be a test of Trump's much-vaunted deal-making, and of his personal relationship with a man he once hinted he could see as a 'friend.' Anxious at the fact Ukraine was shut out of the talks, European countries have launched a major lobbying effort to ensure Trump doesn't give everything away.
Along with Vice President JD Vance, Trump sought to reassure partners in a virtual summit hosted by Germany on Wednesday, insisting he wouldn't force Ukraine to surrender territory as part of an agreement brokered with Moscow. After the meeting, Latvia's Prime Minister Evika Siliņa — one of Kyiv's staunchest allies — told me Vance 'was very clear that it is up to Ukraine, and only Ukraine, to decide on its territory.'
'President Trump is an excellent and unique negotiator, so I believe he will aim for the best possible outcomes of the upcoming talks,' she said, while revealing Eastern European nations had warned the White House of their own experiences with Russian leaders, 'including that they often fail to keep promises in the long term.'
Officials in Brussels and capitals across Europe are hoping a recent warming of relations between the Trump administration and NATO members will continue, and that his historic affinity with authoritarian strongmen is fading. As POLITICO's Felicia Schwartz and Eli Stokols first reported, the lead-up to the Alaska summit has seen an unprecedented uptick in Trump talking to, briefing and even strategizing with the EU, even if diplomats aren't certain he'll ultimately listen to them.
Members of the bloc are also trying to prise him away from another long-time friend — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — as Europe hits a turning point in condemnation for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with growing international support for recognition of Palestinian statehood.
'Until last year the only European state that recognized Palestine was Sweden — now you even have players like France and the U.K. announcing an intention to recognize statehood,' said Mouin Rabbani, a Palestinian scholar and founder of the Jadaliyya news site. 'And a country like Germany saying it will suspend the export of weapons that could be used in Gaza. These things are unprecedented.'
'It's clear Israel is being hit by a diplomatic, cultural and economic tsunami,' said Ahron Bregman, a former Israeli military officer and war studies researcher at King's College London. 'The Israelis put all the eggs in one basket — the Trump basket — but he can see what's happening in [European] countries and there might be a point where, even for Trump, it will be too much.'
Foreign policy is at the heart of the latest charm offensive toward Trump — led by leaders like Britain's Keir Starmer, Germany's Friedrich Merz and Poland's populist new president, Karol Nawrocki. But whether they can replace Putin and Netanyahu in Trump's good graces may only become clear later this week.
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What'd I Miss?
— Trump floats circumventing Congress to maintain control of DC police: President Donald Trump today suggested that he could avoid congressional approval to extend his 30-day federal takeover of Washington's police, amid his efforts to wrest control of the capital's law enforcement. Trump this week invoked the Home Rule Act, effectively handing the executive branch control over Washington's police for up to 30 days. Beyond that, Trump would have to go through Congress for an extension authorization. But during his speech announcing the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees on Wednesday, Trump repeatedly floated circumventing Congress to maintain his hold over the city's law enforcement. 'If it's a national emergency we can do it without Congress, but we expect to be before Congress very quickly,' Trump said.
— Trump warns Putin ahead of Alaska summit: President Donald Trump warned today that Russia would face 'very severe consequences' if he determines during Friday's summit with Vladimir Putin that the Russian leader is still not serious about ending the war with Ukraine. Trump, who did not specify what those consequences might be, has been reluctant to increase economic sanctions or tariffs on Russia despite his mounting frustration with Putin's intensifying attacks on Ukrainian cities, civilians and indifference to peace talks. Lowering expectations that the sit-down with Putin in Alaska would yield a breakthrough, Trump said that he's hopeful this initial meeting could lead to another that includes Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and, potentially, Trump.
— Humanitarian groups cannot challenge Trump's impoundment of foreign aid grants, appeals court rules: A federal appeals court today rejected a bid by humanitarian groups to challenge the Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid grants. The ruling overturned a district judge's injunction that had directed the administration to restore the flow of the grants. In the split decision, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals didn't consider the merits of the aid groups' arguments that President Donald Trump illegally impounded congressionally appropriated funding. The majority instead vacated the injunction on procedural grounds. It found that the grantees couldn't bring a constitutional claim that hinged on an alleged violation of law.
— Trump leaves his mark on the Kennedy Center Honors: President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced this year's Kennedy Center honorees — the first since his takeover of the institution — further molding Washington's iconic performing arts center in his image. Trump announced at a press event at the Center that he would host this year's annual event where musician George Strait, actor and comedian Michael Crawford, actor Sylvester Stallone, singer Gloria Gaynor and rock band KISS will all be awarded. It was an unusually public role for a president, who has focused early in his term on remaking the Kennedy Center. Earlier this year he fired multiple members of the board of the art institution and installed himself as chair.
AROUND THE WORLD
REAFFIRMING ALIGNMENT — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call to discuss their deepening ties and war efforts against Ukraine, the countries' state media said Wednesday, ahead of Putin's planned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska. Putin during the call on Tuesday praised the 'bravery, heroism and self-sacrificing spirit' displayed by North Korean troops as they fought with Russian forces to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk border region, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said.
Putin also shared with Kim information about his upcoming talks with Trump scheduled to take place Friday in Alaska, according to Russia's TASS news agency, citing the Kremlin. The North Korean reports did not mention the Trump meeting.
TICKING CLOCK — Iran has less than three weeks to resume talks on its nuclear program or face the reimposition of sanctions, France, Germany and the U.K. said in a joint letter sent to the United Nations.
The so-called E3 countries said they would trigger the 'snapback mechanism should no satisfactory solution be reached by the end of August 2025,' in a letter sent last week and shared by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot today.
Snapback mechanisms were included in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — which the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from three years later under Donald Trump's first presidency. They allow for crippling sanctions against Tehran — which were lifted as part of the agreement — to be automatically reinstated if Iran violates key nuclear commitments.
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RADAR SWEEP
A TRIP HOME — Decades after his parents fled Vietnam, Tony Ho Tran returned with them this year on the 50th anniversary of the war's end. As a kid, Tran formed an image of the country as he obsessed over Vietnam War movies and listened his parents' horror stories from their life before they immigrated. As an adult, he felt a shift in how Vietnamese people saw themselves, as Anthony Bourdain ate his way through Hanoi and shows like The Sympathizer entered the mainstream. Greeted with celebrations and National Liberation Front flags, Tran was confronted with a country that looked nothing like the Vietnam he thought he knew. He reflects on his recent family journey through Vietnam for Slate.
Parting Image
Jacqueline Munis contributed to this newsletter.
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