Trump's frayed relationships with Putin and Netanyahu are impeding his foreign agenda
'Very disappointed,' Trump said of his last conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose war in Ukraine is only escalating, despite Trump's efforts to end it.
'It was sort of disappointing,' Trump said Friday of a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose war in Gaza continues amid a dire humanitarian crisis.
With those two conflicts so far unresolved — impeding his chances for a Nobel Peace Prize — Trump is discovering the limitations of his complicated personal ties with Putin and Netanyahu, whose respective wars Trump once insisted he could quickly resolve. And he's clearly grown frustrated he can't seem to solve the crises any better than former President Joe Biden, who he regards as a failure on foreign policy in particular.
In Trump's telling, Putin tells him one thing, then does another. The Kremlin leader, whose relationship with Trump has been the subject of fascination for a decade, has gone 'absolutely crazy' in his relentless waves of missile and drone attacks in Ukraine, Trump insists.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, has tested Trump's patience with airstrikes in Syria and Gaza, where images of starving children have led to international outcry and new divisions within Trump's own party about how much to support Israel. The two men share a tumultuous history, with their relationship running hot and cold as Trump seeks an end to the war.
Trump's challenges in leveraging his relationships extend beyond Russia and Israel. He has found a tough trade negotiator in his friend Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite once being Modi's guest of honor at a 125,000-person rally in Gujarat. And his onetime North Korean pen-pal Kim Jong Un is not currently responding to Trump's overtures; though Kim's sister said this week their relationship was 'not bad,' she said Pyongyang would never abandon its nuclear ambitions.
Trump has always applied a uniquely personal approach to foreign affairs, handing out his cell phone number and encouraging his counterparts to call or text outside the usual diplomatic channels. That has resulted, often, in improved relationships that many diplomats say can yield real results, including Trump's success in boosting NATO members' defense spending.
Yet the approach also has its limits.
From Nobel prize to starvation crisis
At the start of this month, Netanyahu dramatically presented Trump with a letter over dinner in the White House Blue Room nominating him for the Nobel prize. Trump seemed momentarily speechless.
By the end of July, however, Netanyahu's actions in Gaza and Syria — including the bombing of a Catholic Church and the targeting of government buildings — were testing Trump's patience. And this week, Trump openly broke with Netanyahu, who has claimed there was no starvation in Gaza, after seeing images of the crisis on television.
'I think everybody, unless they're pretty cold-hearted — or worse than that, nuts — there's nothing you can say other than it's terrible when you see the kids,' the president said in Scotland, where he was visiting his golf properties.
On the evening before he departed for Scotland, Trump was watching the footage of starving children in Gaza, telling aides he wanted to discuss the horrifying images with Netanyahu and asking what the US could do to help, two White House officials told CNN.
'It had already been on his mind before he left,' one of the officials said, adding Trump was deeply disturbed by the images he saw.
Trump has previously been spurred to action by images of human devastation, and seeing the suffering of the children captured in photos helped motivate him to boost US aid efforts, the officials said.
First lady Melania Trump was particularly affected by the images, they told CNN, and played a key role in Trump's shifting rhetoric. Trump acknowledged as much when speaking with reporters on Air Force One on his trip back to Washington from Scotland on Tuesday.
It's not the first time the first lady has factored into Trump's views of the two intractable conflicts he's so far been unable to end. Trump has also cited his wife when lamenting what he says is Putin's duplicity about the war in Ukraine.
'I go home, I tell the first lady, 'I spoke to Vladimir today, we had a wonderful conversation.' And she says, 'Oh really, another city was just hit,'' Trump said this month in the Oval Office.
The Trump-Putin connection
Trump's exasperation with Putin has been building for months, fueled in part by the US president's inability to leverage what he once believed to be a positive relationship into a successful peace deal.
'We got along very well. And I never, you know, I never really thought this would happen,' Trump said this week. 'I thought we would be able to negotiate something, and maybe that'll still happen. But it's very late down the process. So I'm disappointed.'
That frustration boiled over earlier this week, when Trump abruptly announced he would be moving up the deadline he had given Russia earlier this month — initially 50 days — to either make a deal, or face what the president has characterized as strict secondary sanctions and tariffs. On Tuesday, Trump said Putin had 10 days left to negotiate a ceasefire, after previously sniping that there was 'no reason' to wait when he didn't 'see any progress being made.'
A White House official said Trump personally decided to ramp up pressure on Putin after the initial 50-day deadline failed to draw the Russian president back to the negotiating table. Trump decided a shortened timeline was a good negotiating tactic, they said.
The president's relationship with Putin has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly during Trump's first term when he appeared to side with Putin over US intelligence agencies on the subject of Moscow's meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump has suggested a certain kinship with the Russian leader after enduring investigations into the election interference efforts, saying in February Putin had been 'through a hell of a lot with me.' Trump's aides, including his foreign envoy Steve Witkoff, cited the two men's existing connection as a reason for optimism as he was seeking a negotiated settlement this spring.
While Trump has insisted he wasn't 'played' by the Russian president, he isn't the first US leader to find that working with Putin is easier said than done. George W. Bush once described gleaning 'a sense of his soul' after looking into Putin's eyes, finding him 'very straightforward and trustworthy' — seven years before Russia invaded Georgia. Barack Obama ordered up a 'reset' with Russia, complete with red prop button presented by his secretary of state to her counterpart, five years before Russia invaded Crimea.
Exerting pressure on Netanyahu
So, too, have Trump's predecessors discovered that personal ties to Netanyahu only go so far in shaping the longtime Israeli prime minister's approach to the region. Biden had known Netanyahu for four decades when he became president in 2021. By the start of his final year in office, Biden was complaining to advisers and others that the prime minister was ignoring his advice and obstructing efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Last fall, some Biden administration officials even believed Netanyahu was prolonging the Gaza conflict in the hopes Trump would win the election.
Trump did lift some restrictions on weapons transfers to Israel when he entered office. But his attempts to pressure Netanyahu and Hamas into a permanent ceasefire have so far fallen short. And a relationship that has seen its ups and downs — including a falling-out over Netanyahu's acceptance of Biden's victory in 2020 that Trump has never fully forgotten — has been tested.
Just this summer, Trump heaped praise on Netanyahu, calling for Israeli authorities to drop corruption charges against the prime minister after the US and Israel joined together to strike targets in Iran.
'Bibi and I just went through HELL together,' Trump wrote, echoing his description of the experience he shared with Putin.
But it was only a matter of weeks until Trump was on the phone with Netanyahu to demand an explanation for the church bombing in Gaza and the targeting of sites in Damascus, which caught Trump by surprise, according to the White House.
This weekend, Trump's ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denied any rift between the men, saying on Fox News the relationship was 'stronger than it's ever been.'
Some of Trump's other counterparts hold out hope he may employ his leverage on Netanyahu to do more to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in Gaza.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose decision to fly to Scotland and meet directly with Trump this weekend was largely due to the unfolding humanitarian crisis, worked to persuade Trump to use his influence to help, including calling on the president to apply pressure on Netanyahu, sources familiar with the discussions said.
Trump said Monday he had spoken directly with the Israeli prime minister regarding the issue, adding that he told Netanyahu he may need to approach the war 'in a different way.' White House officials did not divulge the substance of their call, but told CNN the president is dedicated to working with Israel to help solve the famine.
Over the weekend, Israel's military said it began 'humanitarian pauses' in densely populated parts of the enclave and opened corridors for UN convoys to make aid deliveries. However, it said fighting would continue elsewhere.
While the president's comments condemning the lack of resources being made available to the people of Gaza served as a major break with Netanyahu — who stated over the weekend that there 'is no starvation in Gaza' — one White House official told CNN that the divisions between the two leaders are being 'far overblown' by the media.
'I don't think having POTUS acknowledge that children are clearly starving represents some major break with Bibi,' they said, adding that Trump is still committed to fully supporting Israel in their efforts to end their war with Hamas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
15 minutes ago
- CNN
Analysis: Trump's tariffs are as unpopular as ever, but the GOP's tolerance is growing
Donald Trump TariffsFacebookTweetLink Follow There has been something of a shift in the conventional wisdom about President Donald Trump's tariffs of late. On the one hand, economists and political analysts have warmed to the idea that Trump is more or less getting what he bargained for out of his threats of a global trade war. This has come as a number of foreign nations come to the table and, in a few cases, cut apparent deals. On the other, that's different from saying Trump's tactics will ultimately work. And the picture there certainly got more complicated this week, including with yet more judges suggesting they could rein in Trump's tariff authorities and the increasingly troubling economic numbers highlighted by another bad jobs report Friday. Many have been wondering when (and if) the economic pain many economists predicted would actually arrive, and signs are increasing that it might be upon us. In other words, we seem to be at an inflection point, particularly with Trump signaling Thursday that he'll finally press forward with global tariffs (probably!) next week. But how is all of this playing? Are people reevaluating their previous positions? It's too soon to gauge public opinion on Trump's latest moves this week. But the short answer is that we haven't seen many shifts of late in the already pretty dismal views of Trump's trade war at the macro level; if anything, views appear to have gotten slightly worse. But there have been some key shifts that suggest his base is more on-board than it used to be, which could allow Trump to press forward. Overall, foreign trade and tariffs remain some of the president's worst issues, and it continues to look like the policy that very few people (besides Trump) are asking for right now. Gallup polling shows Trump's approval on 'foreign trade' dropping from 42% in February to 36% in mid-July. Fox News polling around the same time showed Americans disapproved of Trump on tariffs by a 26-point margin, virtually the same as in April (25 points). And CBS News-YouGov polling shows people increasingly dislike that this is a priority for Trump. Its most recent data, from mid-July, show 61% say Trump is too focused on tariffs, similar to April but up from March. It also showed a new high in the percentage of people who say Trump isn't focused enough on lowering prices (70%). (This also ties into the tariffs, because tariffs are often inflationary.) The CBS data also show a slight drop in the percentage of Americans who think Trump's policies are making them better off financially (23% in March versus 18% today), and an increase in perceptions that his policies are making food prices increase (52% in March versus 62% today). Overall, Americans went from opposing the tariffs by 12 points in March to opposing them by 20 points today. So if there is a vibe shift on Trump's tariffs, it hasn't really shown up in the polls – at least yet. But as with most things Trump, overall views probably don't matter as much as how his base feels. The president has proven over and over again that he's happy to plow ahead as long as his supporters are on board. And those supporters might be growing in their tolerance for this gambit. The percentage of Republicans who say Trump is focused too much on tariffs in the CBS poll actually fell from 34% in April to 28% today. And polling from Quinnipiac University suggests Republicans are also less pessimistic about economic pain from the tariffs. Republicans were already much more patient with Trump's gambit. More than 8 in 10 said in that polling in both April and today that the tariffs were likely to help the economy over the long term. That's been consistent. But there has been a shift in Trump's favor in views of their short-term impact. While Republicans back in April were about evenly split on whether the tariffs would help or hurt in the short term, they now say by about a 2-to-1 margin that they'll help over the short term. While Republicans in April said 46-44% that the tariffs would help in the short term, they now say that 62-30%. Republicans also overwhelmingly express confidence in Trump's strategy on tariffs, saying it's working, 84-9%, in Quinnipiac's July polling. All of which suggests Trump's leash on this has lengthened with his base, which matters a great deal. It means GOP lawmakers who might feel compelled to try and check Trump on this gambit will probably be less likely to do so. But all of this is subject to change, particularly if the economic numbers look suspect like many economists predicted they will. How Republicans respond to that is when the rubber will really meet the road and the White House could face some really hard choices.
USA Today
16 minutes ago
- USA Today
What does TACO mean? What to know when Trump issues new tariffs after 2 delays
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to issue a new slate of tariffs on July 31, the latest in a long saga of policy changes for imports from countries around the world. Reciprocal tariff rates for 70 countries will range from 15% to 41%, set to go into effect seven days from the order. Trump also separately raised the tariff rate on imports from Canada from 25% to 35%, which is set to go into effect Aug. 1. Tariffs are a tax on goods from other countries that importers pay, and economists generally agree it leads to higher prices for consumers. Trump began imposing tariffs on imports from the U.S.'s top trade partners in February, only to change their effective date, scope or rate over the following months. The on-again-off-again tariffs have been a theme of Trump's second term, leading to the creation of the term TACO. Here is what to know: Live updates: Trump fires head of labor statistics bureau after weak jobs report What does TACO mean? Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong coined "TACO trade" in May, describing how some investors anticipate market rebounds amid Trump's on-again, off-again tariff policies. The acronym stands for "Trump always chickens out." Armstrong describes TACO trade as many investors' strategy to buy into the market that dips when Trump announces steep tariffs on the assumption that he will back off his tariff order, and the market will rebound. Trump hit back at a reporter who asked about the term on May 28, saying, "you ask a nasty question like that. It's called negotiation." Trump's tariffs have been on-again-off-again Back in February, Trump announced a 25% tariff on goods from top trade partners Mexico and Canada and 10% on goods from China. Such was the start of a series of delays and negotiations that left Canada and Mexico relatively untouched when Trump expanded steeper tariff orders to the rest of the world in April. China and the U.S. were caught up in an intense trade war where the economic powerhouses retaliated until both sides issued tariffs in the triple digits. They reached a truce in May and have discussed extending the 90-day pause while they work out a deal. Trump on April 2 announced widespread tariffs in what he called "Liberation Day." Shortly after, he paused the climbing rates for 90 days. That pause was set to expire on July 9, but instead of the tariffs going into effect, Trump extended the deadline. That deadline was Aug. 1, and Trump had said the deadline would not change, but the recent order gives it another week. Mexico remains at 25% while it continues to work on a trade deal for the next 90 days, Trump said. Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@ Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @
CNN
16 minutes ago
- CNN
White House monitors coverage of Epstein controversy and can't make it disappear
President Donald Trump has begged his base to stop thinking about Jeffrey Epstein. But 25 days after his Justice Department declared it had nothing more to say on the convicted sex offender, the drumbeat for action continues. Some officials acknowledge, at least privately, that the administration will have to release more information on Epstein in an attempt to quiet accusations of a coverup. Administration officials told CNN that they believe the best antidote to the intense public interest in Epstein is time. But they also acknowledge that without the release of more tangible details, the attention may never fully subside. 'Either we release more documents and it's a confirmation of suspicions, or there is some gap between what people think and what we actually have,' a White House official said. 'And you have to address it directly.' The White House has been intensely monitoring cable news and media coverage of the controversy, sources said. Since Attorney General Pam Bondi sparked public uproar by declaring that Epstein's so-called 'client list' doesn't exist, the administration has scrambled to quell the outrage by moving to interview Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and release sealed grand jury transcripts related to both her and Epstein's criminal cases. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and is likely one of the only living people who could shed more light on the extent of Epstein's crimes, was moved from her Florida prison to a lower-security facility in Texas on Friday. The Justice Department has not said why Maxwell was transferred. Nor has Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said anything about his two days of closed-door meetings with Maxwell, aside from promising in a statement that the DOJ would share more information about what they learned 'at the appropriate time.' Trump has not been accused of legal wrongdoing related to Epstein. The White House acknowledged but did not provide a response to a request for comment on this story. The story's staying power has partly been an issue of the president's own making. Trump is clearly frustrated by reporters who have him asked Epstein-related questions, but the small snippets of responses he does give — such as saying this week that he fell out with Epstein after the financier 'stole' a young woman, Virginia Giuffre, from working at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort — only serve to reignite the public interest and sow further questions about what Trump knew about Epstein and when. That statement shocked the family of Giuffre, who died by suicide in April. 'She wasn't stolen, she was preyed upon at his property, at President Trump's property,' Giuffre's brother Sky Roberts told CNN. A Trump administration official acknowledged the president's statements have been unhelpful in tamping down the Epstein-related furor but added they are just manifestations of his intense anger about the situation. The posture within the administration, officials said, has been to reassure the public that it is still committed to sharing more information that has been collected and reviewed by the Justice Department. But that could present another dilemma for the administration: any document dump would likely require extensive redactions to protect the identities of children who were victims of Epstein's crimes. And pages full of black ink may serve only to raise the specter of a coverup, administration officials said. The administration is also being careful not to repeat history by overpromising, which would further upset the many high-profile figures in the president's base who have expressed their frustration over the issue. 'The frenzy and criticism we saw has abated somewhat since the first two weeks. That's in large part thanks to the administration making clear this isn't cased closed like they initially said,' a person close to Trump told CNN. 'But the idea that this can be buried, or will go away thanks to some bigger news story, is a fantasy,' this person said. 'Even if a news story sucks up the oxygen for a time, it will pop up again. It won't die until people get some real answers.' Friday was a prime example of the issue popping back up with Maxwell's surprise transfer. And there will be more court filings next week. In theory, August could bring some relief to an aspect of the Epstein news cycle with Congress on recess for the month, limiting actions from Democrats to force Republicans to take a public stand on the matter. And an attempt by House Republicans to interview Maxwell has failed for now. Maxwell made a list of demands, including requesting immunity and to be provided with a list of questions in advance. The House Oversight Committee on Friday rejected those demands. It did agree, however, to delay any deposition until after the Supreme Court weighs her pending appeal, which won't happen until the end of September. Meanwhile, while officials believe Trump's directive to Bondi to move to unseal grand jury transcripts related to the investigations of Epstein and Maxwell, as well as the Justice Department's interview of Maxwell in prison, are steps in the right direction, multiple people inside and outside of the administration maintain there's still recognition that the fury around Epstein will not abide until more substantial material is released. The limits of that information are well-established. For instance, the grand jury transcripts the Justice Department is asking to unseal from its investigation include testimony from only two witnesses, both law enforcement officials, according to a DOJ memo submitted this week. In an order Thursday evening, federal Judge Richard Berman asked for more information from the government regarding their motion to unseal grand jury transcripts from Epstein's case. Berman made several requests, including verifying the dates of all grand jury presentations in the case, providing exhibits shown to grand jurors and stating whether the government wants exhibits unsealed in addition to transcripts. Those answers are due Monday. Tuesday, meanwhile, is the deadline for Epstein's victims and Maxwell to respond to the DOJ's request to release grand jury files. The judge then has pledged to rule quickly. In the White House's version of a perfect world, the American people would be celebrating Trump's trade war successes, the record-low number of migrants crossing the southern border or the renewal of a society that is being shaped to the president's expansive vision. That may happen, but the Epstein story will remain no matter what. 'There is an acknowledgement that this isn't just going to go away,' one White House official told CNN. CNN's Annie Grayer and Casey Gannon contributed to this report.
