Trump's irresistible force flattens immovable objects
In a stunning display of political disarmament, the NATO member nations (except for Spain) capitulated to Trump's demands for a massive increase in their defence spending as a percentage of each country's GDP. NATO chief Mark Rutte wrote to Trump, 'You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done'. Trump got that one up immediately on Truth Social. Trump had mellowed further by the time he went home. 'These people really love their countries. It's not a rip-off, and we're here to help them.'
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If anything, Trump is an irresistible force. But he has not yet met an immovable object – not in Congress, not in the courts, not in the media, not in the bureaucracy and not in NATO or in Denmark's Greenland, or at the Panama Canal. Trump has reopened his massive trade war with Canada. Trump has not given up on those imperial acquisitions he hungers for.
In the wake of all this, how will Trump treat Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Australia when they meet in person? Trump will be fully briefed on Albanese's posture against NATO's percentage-of-GDP number for defence, on Australia's votes against Israel in the United Nations, on Australia's support for the International Court of Justice, on the PM's equivocation on whether the Iran strikes violated international law. Trump knows Musk, Meta, Google and Amazon are infuriated by Australia's social media controls and local news content payment laws, and want them scrapped.
It would never occur to Trump, if he wants more success in his trade wars, to say to those countries who are not playing ball, 'You want a better deal with me? Well, take a look at Australia. They have a trade deficit with us. I reward them with minimal tariffs. You want to escape the weapons I use on trade? Be more like Australia.' Trump is incapable of saying that. He will prefer instead to put tariffs on Australia's pharmaceuticals.
At week's end, the Supreme Court further ratified Trump's extraordinary executive powers. The court has now barred federal judges from imposing nationwide injunctions on suspect executive orders. The court is likely to reinterpret the precise words in the constitution that provide citizenship on anyone born in the United States. States may well be able to say whether a child born in their borders is a US citizen – or stateless.
Trump's assaults on the media are more brutal than ever. He hated CNN's Iran coverage. 'Natasha Bertrand should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should immediately be reprimanded, and then thrown out 'like a dog'.'
Trump is demanding that Congress defund public media – PBS and NPR, 'the radical left monsters that so badly hurt our country'. The Senate will vote on that in July.
Trump is injecting a sepsis-like infection of political expression. Trump shocked the world with his F-bomb. It capped a decade of his resort to obscenities, denigrations and defamatory rants. The United States now lives in a race to the bottom of an echo chamber of vulgarity. California governor Gavin Newsom last week attacked Trump's 'one big, beautiful bill' pending in Congress: 'The Republican One Big Bullshit Bill proves that we've known all along. They don't care about you.' So the BS word is now lingua franca with the F-bomb.
That legislation – which embodies Trump's entire domestic policy agenda – really is too big to fail. Losing his megabill in a Congress controlled by his Republican Party would be a political catastrophe for Trump. Musk headbutted Trump: the bill is 'utterly insane and destructive'. Up to a dozen Republicans in both chambers are not prepared to vote yes. If they actually hold out to the end, that would be Trump's Waterloo.
This July 4 is the 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. One thing is clear to Americans: King George III and the British Redcoats did not know what the F--- they were doing. You understand?
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West Australian
3 hours ago
- West Australian
EDITORIAL: Penny Wong the wrong person to win American's favour
Australian steel and aluminium exports to the US face punishing 50 per cent tariffs. From July 9 every single other item sent to our third largest trading partner will be subject to levies of 10 per cent. AUKUS, once touted as the 'once-in-a-generation' opportunity to foster international co-operation and boost peace and stability in the Pacific, is at risk with the Americans undertaking a 30-day review of the submarine deal — seemingly in retaliation for Australia's military budget intransigence. And US President Donald Trump has made it clear where Australia stands in his list of priorities, standing Anthony Albanese up and making no effort to schedule a make-up session. Australia's relationship with its No.1 security ally is at its lowest ebb in memory. And into this fray we are sending . . . Penny Wong. The Foreign Minister is off to Washington to meet with her counterparts in the Quad strategic partnership, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The fact that it is Ms Wong, whose procrastination in backing the US's recent strike action against Iran and repeated conflation of Israel with Hamas's terrorist leadership has won her few friends in the Republican administration, who is being deployed at this critical juncture is deeply worrying. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister is seemingly no closer to securing a long awaited meeting with Mr Trump. The earliest opportunity for a sit-down is believed to be in September, when Mr Albanese is scheduled to travel to the US to address the United Nations. That would make it 10 months since Mr Trump's election, and eight since his inauguration, that the Prime Minister and the President have gone with just a handful of phone calls between them. All the while tensions continue to simmer — over AUKUS, over tariffs and over whether Australia is pulling its weight in our military alliance. It's a worrisome situation and one Mr Albanese appears content to play out, unwilling to risk further damage to his ego after Mr Trump blew him off having left the G7 summit in Canada early to deal with the conflict in the Middle East. Mr Albanese says Australia is continuing to lobby for an exemption to Mr Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs, with diplomats working behind the scenes on making the nation's case. No doubt that's true. But it's clear that those efforts have so far entirely failed to secure any traction. This is not a problem that will be resolved through diplomats — particularly if those diplomats are Kevin Rudd, who Mr Trump has a public, personal dislike for. Nor is it likely that Ms Wong will secure any meaningful wins. Australia's best chance of repairing our relationship with our most important ally comes will come at the highest level. That means Mr Albanese needs to get to DC sooner rather than later to meet with Mr Trump. And when he does so, he needs to be armed with arguments stronger than those already tried and failed.
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Israel steps up Gaza bombing ahead of ceasefire talks
Palestinians in northern Gaza have reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders, while Israeli officials are due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration. A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals. But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up. "Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes," said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City on Monday. "In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions." Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of the suburb of Zeitoun in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said. The Israeli military said it struck militant targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centres, after taking steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians. The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. Health officials in Gaza said at least 38 people had been killed on Monday. Medics said most of the casualties were hit by gunfire, but residents also reported an airstrike. A day after Trump called to "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back", Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu's, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said. In Israel, Netanyahu's security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza. On Friday, Israel's military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks. A Hamas official said progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel has agreed to a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage deal, and put the onus on Hamas. "Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza," Saar told reporters in Jerusalem. The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians. Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees ending the war. The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that was Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, has displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis. More than 80 per cent of the territory is now an Israeli-militarised zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations. Palestinians in northern Gaza have reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders, while Israeli officials are due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration. A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals. But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up. "Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes," said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City on Monday. "In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions." Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of the suburb of Zeitoun in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said. The Israeli military said it struck militant targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centres, after taking steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians. The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. Health officials in Gaza said at least 38 people had been killed on Monday. Medics said most of the casualties were hit by gunfire, but residents also reported an airstrike. A day after Trump called to "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back", Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu's, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said. In Israel, Netanyahu's security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza. On Friday, Israel's military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks. A Hamas official said progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel has agreed to a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage deal, and put the onus on Hamas. "Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza," Saar told reporters in Jerusalem. The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians. Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees ending the war. The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that was Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, has displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis. More than 80 per cent of the territory is now an Israeli-militarised zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations. Palestinians in northern Gaza have reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders, while Israeli officials are due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration. A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals. But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up. "Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes," said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City on Monday. "In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions." Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of the suburb of Zeitoun in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said. The Israeli military said it struck militant targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centres, after taking steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians. The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. Health officials in Gaza said at least 38 people had been killed on Monday. Medics said most of the casualties were hit by gunfire, but residents also reported an airstrike. A day after Trump called to "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back", Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu's, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said. In Israel, Netanyahu's security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza. On Friday, Israel's military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks. A Hamas official said progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel has agreed to a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage deal, and put the onus on Hamas. "Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza," Saar told reporters in Jerusalem. The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians. Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees ending the war. The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that was Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, has displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis. More than 80 per cent of the territory is now an Israeli-militarised zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations. Palestinians in northern Gaza have reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders, while Israeli officials are due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration. A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals. But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up. "Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes," said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City on Monday. "In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions." Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of the suburb of Zeitoun in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said. The Israeli military said it struck militant targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centres, after taking steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians. The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. Health officials in Gaza said at least 38 people had been killed on Monday. Medics said most of the casualties were hit by gunfire, but residents also reported an airstrike. A day after Trump called to "Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back", Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu's, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said. In Israel, Netanyahu's security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza. On Friday, Israel's military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks. A Hamas official said progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel has agreed to a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage deal, and put the onus on Hamas. "Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza," Saar told reporters in Jerusalem. The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians. Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees ending the war. The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that was Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, has displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis. More than 80 per cent of the territory is now an Israeli-militarised zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations.
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
The Project has gone. Does its ‘serious news' replacement deliver?
Ten officially entered its News+ era on Monday night – and when you add that symbol to the name of your news service, it invites the critical question: News plus … what? From 6pm, we got the answer. We'd been promised evening news with a difference, and this was certainly that. In some ways, you might call it Ten News Minus: minus sport, minus weather, minus the traditional 6pm news fare of car crashes and suburban crime waves. In the opening, co-anchor Denham Hitchcock declared: 'We're not here to tell you what to think. We're not here to scare or depress you.' And in the fright-fest wasteland that commercial TV news often becomes in the early evening, this sounds like a welcome change for those viewers tired of the fear-mongering. So that's the subtraction; what's the plus? Quite a lot, in that 10 News + resembles neither its commercial news rivals on Nine and Seven, nor its predecessor The Project. There is not a comedian in sight. Instead, it's a tightly curated mix of news and current affairs that featured only seven stories on debut – the first, a lengthy investigation helmed by Hitchcock into the case of Debbie Voulgaris, convicted in Taiwan of drug smuggling. It was about 6.30pm before we moved to the second story, a wrap of July 1 cost-of-living measures, which segued into a by-the-numbers chat with Anthony Albanese, who was beamed in, beaming, from Canberra to give the new show his blessing. We learnt the PM would not call Donald Trump 'daddy'; that the NATO leader who did so is 'a bit of a character'; and that Albo would not be discussing his intelligence briefings on Iran – 'even on the first edition of your new show'. It was 6.43pm before we got to the ' mushroom murders ' jury deliberations from a reporter in Morwell, followed by a quick look at a former Greens candidate's claims of police brutality at a pro-Palestine protest. Then came the only story that resembled standard TV news fare – a teen surfer attacked by a shark at the weekend. The show wrapped with an interview with astronaut Chris Hadfield, in Australia on a speaking tour.
