Latest news with #Nobel-worthy
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion: We Already Know the Outcome of Trump and Putin's Next Summit
The big question on the mind of geopolitical experts in anticipation of Friday's pre-baked Alaska summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump: Whether Trump will once again be a sniveling suck up in Putin's presence, or whether he will be somewhat less of a sniveling suck up. Despite what you might read elsewhere, there is absolutely no chance that Trump actually stands up to Putin or displays anything much other than the curtsying servility that is his signature move in the presence of the Russian dictator. Combine that fact with the absence of Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky from the meeting and it is pretty clear that there will be no real breakthrough for peace or an end to Russian aggression against its brave neighbor. In other words, the meeting's outcomes are very limited. One possibility, the best-case scenario from Trump's perspective, is that it tees up another get-together, perhaps this time one that actually involves Zelensky. In my view, announcing that they are working toward such a goal—even in vague terms—is what is most likely. This would allow Trump to save face, even to present himself as the Nobel-worthy peacemaker he is currently cosplaying as. (It's hard to be considered a genuine candidate for the Nobel Prize, however, when you actively support genocide in Gaza, launch attacks on Iran, turn troops against those seeking refuge in your country and cut U.S. support for the battered people of Ukraine.) This outcome is the one that Zelensky and Europe are also banking on. The Ukrainian leader and those from top European countries got together Wednesday to establish their five principles on which any deal must be based. They also spoke to Trump in a conversation all described as productive. Their primary message was that there be adequate security protections for Ukraine in any deal and, per Zelensky, that Russia not be allowed to veto Ukraine having a relationship with NATO, but it was just as clear that the purpose of their discussions was to send Trump a message that the Europeans are aligned with Ukraine and would resist being bullied into a private deal struck between the U.S. and Russia. Whether Putin will go along with any of that is another matter—he has shown no inclination to be flexible thus far. As a result, the summit could end with little more than a little pouting from Trump that he is 'disappointed' by Putin's intransigence. Who would ever expect a war criminal who has broken every agreement he has entered into to be hard to deal with? That is as tough as Trump is likely to get in the presence of a guy he admires, who has helped him get elected, who he might need in the future and, who knows, may possess some information about him that he would rather not have made public. In this instance, will Trump storm out and announce real penalties with teeth on Russia—the transfer of Russian assets currently held by the U.S. to Ukraine; the imposition of secondary sanctions on Russia's number one customer for its oil, China? Sure, he has tried to portray himself as being willing to stand up to Putin, and even some commentators have bought this charade. But there is no real evidence to support it. In fact, the primary evidence—that he has not shifted his long-held pro-Russian stance—is that he has not imposed any real sanctions despite six months of Russia ignoring his pleas for peace and pounding Ukraine mercilessly. Trump has, meanwhile, cut U.S. support for Ukraine dramatically and shows no sign of reversing that stance. (Indeed, Trump's entire 'I can solve this war in 24 hours' campaign was based on his idea that he could squeeze Ukraine by stopping U.S. support, and that they would have to settle on Russian terms.) And he appears to have completely internalized his long-repeated lies and misstatements about the conflict; that both sides are equally responsible for the war and that many of the people of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine are really Russian and want to be Russian. Trump often peddles the idea that Russia would never have started the war were he in the White House. The problem with this is that Russia started the war with its invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Hostilities raged throughout Trump's last presidency and he did very little to stop it. Does that sound like an honest broker or credible peacemaker to you? Finally, of course, the terms that Trump seems to be most comfortable with for settling the war are, more or less, the ones Putin has dictated: Russia will get to keep most of the land it has illegally seized. Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO. Ukraine will not be allowed to develop robust military defenses. And any other big issues to be resolved will be punted far off into the future. Not only are these terms unacceptable to Ukraine, they are neither in the interest of the European Union or the U.S. They create a circumstance (and set a precedent) in which Russia's aggression has been rewarded and its threats to its neighbors in the West will be greater not less. The White House is already trying to lower expectations for the summit because they too realize real progress toward peace is likely to remain elusive. A ceasefire is the likely best outcome—this works just fine for Putin, whose army is battered and who has big economic problems at home he wants to get to. More than that? Unlikely. Which suggests that absent something really ugly happening —say, Trump's fawning publicly on Putin as he did in Helsinki in 2018—at the summit, it is likely to produce very little progress or evidence that Trump's position has much changed or that the U.S. really has any leverage it is inclined to use to force a shift in the Russian position. In other words, while the event will be interesting to watch because who doesn't love a bromance we can pretty well predict the outcomes now because they have been pre-baked into the more or less unchanging and seemingly unchangeable positions of Trump and his political Daddy.
NBC News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump administration live updates: President to sign UK trade deal; House to vote on 'Gulf of America' renaming
IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The trade agreement with Great Britain is America's first since President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners. President Trump departing the White House on May 1, 2025. Alex Brandon / AP Trump will return to familiar ground in Saudi Arabia next week, choosing the kingdom as the destination for his first major foreign trip of his second term, just as he did in 2017 — once again bypassing the traditional allies who have usually hosted presidents. The decision underscores a broader Trump White House strategy, prioritizing the Middle East's economic and strategic influence over North America's deep-rooted trade and security ties. With an eye on blockbuster deals, a Nobel-worthy diplomatic breakthrough and the Middle East's role as a geopolitical fulcrum, Trump is chasing defining moments in a region that he has treated as a diplomatic and economic cornerstone. Meanwhile, his unpredictable tariffs and diplomatic approach has cast a shadow over partnerships with Canada and Mexico. Read the full story here. Reporting from Washington The Republican-led House is expected to vote today on legislation that would make Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America federal law. The GOP bill, authored by Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene, follows an executive order signed by Trump in January that ordered Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to 'take all appropriate actions to rename the Gulf' and update a database of the 'official names for geographic features in the 50 states.' While Trump does not need congressional approval to ensure the name change is reflected across the federal government, the bill would prevent a future president from easily reversing the move through executive action. 'As the previous administration made it painfully clear, executive orders can be undone and overwritten, and that's why we have to move it through the legislative process — and we are,' House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters on Tuesday. 'We're going to pass Marjorie Taylor Greene's bill to permanently rename the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America.' Read the full story here. Trump said this morning that he will sign a trade deal with Britain that will be America's first since he announced sweeping global tariffs that hammered markets and threaten to upend the global economy. In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote: 'This should be a very big and exciting day for the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Press Conference at The Oval Office, 10A.M. Thank you!' Read the full story.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump snubs traditional allies and marks Gulf power with his first major foreign trip
President Donald Trump will return to familiar ground in Saudi Arabia next week, choosing the kingdom as the destination for his first major foreign trip of his second term, just as he did in 2017 — once again bypassing the traditional allies who have usually hosted presidents. The decision underscores a broader Trump White House strategy, prioritizing the Middle East's economic and strategic influence over North America's deep-rooted trade and security ties. With an eye on blockbuster deals, a Nobel-worthy diplomatic breakthrough and the Middle East's role as a geopolitical fulcrum, Trump is chasing defining moments in a region that he has treated as diplomatic and economic cornerstone. Meanwhile, his unpredictable tariffs and diplomatic approach has cast a shadow over partnerships with Canada and Mexico. This marks the second time Trump has chosen Saudi Arabia over the U.S.' closest neighbors, diverging from a long tradition. Until Trump, Mexico and Canada had been the first or second foreign destination of nearly every U.S. president in the post-World War II era, according to the State Department. Two presidents, including Joe Biden, traveled first to another NATO ally, the United Kingdom, while America's 37th president, Richard Nixon, made Belgium his first stop for NATO meetings. Otherwise, presidents of both parties have stuck to the path trod by the likes of Ronald Reagan, who made his first foreign trip to Canada in March 1981, after traveling two months earlier to Mexico as president-elect. The changing trend also underscores an evolution in U.S. priorities, with the visit building on prior U.S.-Saudi engagements under both Trump and Biden. (Trump also made a brief visit to the Vatican last month for Pope Francis' funeral, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But the stop was not a preplanned diplomatic trip with the groundwork and pageantry surrounding a state visit.) During an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, Trump told the room he would make two more stops on the trip, with visits to the neighboring United Arab Emirates and Qatar, nations involved in mediating conflicts he has sought to address. Adding a layer of intrigue to the visit, Trump's family's business ties in the Gulf have drawn attention at home, as his namesake company signals that it is not going to withhold from foreign business. Last month, the Trump Organization struck a deal for a Trump-branded golf course to be built north of the Qatari capital by a Saudi Arabian firm. Analysts noted the Gulf is now a swing region pivotal to global economic stability, connecting the U.S., China and Europe. Among other major events, it has hosted ongoing U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, with Saudi Arabia playing a mediating role since Russia's invasion, including by facilitating talks. 'It's a strategic linchpin,' said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, 'which is a different and new way to think about it than Americans have thought about the Middle East, which is typically associated with endless wars and terrorism.' And, he added, 'there will be bling' — observing a lavish aesthetic alignment between the Gulf states and a president who this week remarked how the Oval Office had grown more beautiful with the addition of 'great love and 24-karat gold.' A White House official said about the trip that a 'secure and stable Middle East means greater prosperity for our partner nations and the United States. President Trump will discuss investment and economic cooperation with these foreign leaders, among other topics.' Still, the slight to Canada and Mexico, both cornerstones of North American trade and security, has not gone unnoticed. 'It does signal the fact that he does not believe in how critically important the North American relationship is,' said Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican ambassador to the U.S., while highlighting both countries' role in addressing economic competition with China. 'You can't press control-alt-delete, and erase Canada or Mexico from your northern or southern border.' Canada and Mexico, having lived through Trump's first-term playbook and the opening of his second, may not be openly stung: 'They probably expected this,' noted Tizoc Chavez, a historian of American presidential diplomacy and a visiting assistant professor at Colby College. Still, the approach could strain relations with longtime allies. 'It's the second time that he basically gives the middle finger to both Canada and Mexico,' Sarukhan said. 'It's not written in stone. There's no rule. But it has been the case that since Reagan, U.S. presidents have usually gone to either Canada or Mexico, or, in some cases, the U.K.' By contrast, Saudi Arabia offers Trump a glittering stage free of the political friction that might hang over visits to Ottawa, Mexico City or London, where the president's tariff proposals and rhetoric have stirred unease. Those tensions were clear in the president's meeting with Carney, amid a trade war and Trump's provocations over the threat of annexation. Carney later told reporters that he had asked Trump in the meeting to stop calling Canada the '51st state,' a reference to the president's proposal of a 'wonderful marriage' that would incorporate Canada into the U.S. 'If you're Mexico or Canada, you've got lots more to be snubbed about than a historic protocol nicety,' one foreign diplomat remarked. In recent months, protests have flared in Canada over Trump's policies, echoing widespread anti-Trump demonstrations in Mexico in 2017. Similarly, during Trump's 2019 visit to the United Kingdom, tens of thousands of demonstrators had taken to the streets. 'Saudi Arabia and some of the other countries in the Middle East, they don't have that same problem,' Chavez said, highlighting the Gulf's warmer reception as an easier lift for Trump's deal-making optics. The author of a book on the president's role as diplomat in chief, Chavez added that while 'presidents like to use foreign travel to project the image of a statesman ... traveling abroad can also provide a kind of refuge from domestic controversies.' A well-connected Trump ally with business in the region said that the Gulf states, with vast wealth from sovereign funds, oil, and gas, are attractive to Trump and his interest in deal-making. 'They're all economic power players,' the person said. 'They are people who are transactional in terms of the economy, and want to get things done, and want to create jobs, and expand and invest.' After Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became the first foreign leader to hold a call with Trump this term, the president said he would ask the kingdom to increase its investment in the U.S. by upping a promised $600 billion to around $1 trillion. Lately, senior U.S. administration officials have engaged with Gulf counterparts to explore economic and energy investments, as well as security cooperation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that the administration's first 100 days focused on 'setting the table' for peace, trade and tax agreements, adding that 'the next 100 days will be harvesting.' 'They feel very comfortable that it's going to be a complete recognition and acknowledgment of the unique relationship between the two countries, and especially between the president and the royal family,' another Trump ally with ties to Saudi Arabia said, noting 'a spirit of optimism and goodwill' about the trip. Defense agreements and CEO engagements are also on the agenda, this person said, offering more promise of a deepening relationship across the board. Meanwhile, Trump heightened anticipation for the trip, teasing a 'very, very big announcement' before his departure, describing the outcome 'as big as it gets' — while withholding specific details. 'I'm not necessarily saying it's on trade,' Trump added, further stoking speculation. Katulis said Trump's recognition of the region's role beyond energy was partially echoed by Biden's policies, as geopolitical events and higher energy prices amid the war in Ukraine forced Biden's hand after he had deprioritized the region upon entering office. While Trump is expected to receive a lavish welcome in Riyadh, his Middle East pivot does have its own undercurrents of tension, as Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, privately grapple with his unpredictable tariff policies and governance, exemplified by the abrupt dismissal of Trump's national security adviser last week. The president has also not named an ambassador to Saudi Arabia after dismissing the diplomat who had served in the role under his predecessor. 'Beneath the surface, there are deep concerns about the direction Trump is taking America's position in the global economy,' Katulis said, which threatens new risks and spillover into lower energy prices that could hit energy producers hardest. 'It's kind of ironic that many Gulf officials look with trepidation at the political risk and policy uncertainty coming from the United States,' Katulis added. 'It used to be the other way around, and it still is in many ways: U.S. officials worried about what the big surprise is going to come from the region.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
08-05-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Trump snubs traditional allies and marks Gulf power with his first major foreign trip
President Donald Trump will return to familiar ground in Saudi Arabia next week, choosing the kingdom as the destination for his first major foreign trip of his second term, just as he did in 2017 — once again bypassing the traditional allies who have usually hosted presidents. The decision underscores a broader Trump White House strategy, prioritizing the Middle East's economic and strategic influence over North America's deep-rooted trade and security ties. With an eye on blockbuster deals, a Nobel-worthy diplomatic breakthrough and the Middle East's role as a geopolitical fulcrum, Trump is chasing defining moments in a region that he has treated as diplomatic and economic cornerstone. Meanwhile, his unpredictable tariffs and diplomatic approach has cast a shadow over partnerships with Canada and Mexico. This marks the second time Trump has chosen Saudi Arabia over the U.S.' closest neighbors, diverging from a long tradition. Until Trump, Mexico and Canada had been the first or second foreign destination of nearly every U.S. president in the post-World War II era, according to the State Department. Two presidents, including Joe Biden, traveled first to another NATO ally, the United Kingdom, while America's 37th president, Richard Nixon, made Belgium his first stop for NATO meetings. Otherwise, presidents of both parties have stuck to the path trod by the likes of Ronald Reagan, who made his first foreign trip to Canada in March 1981, after traveling two months earlier to Mexico as president-elect. The changing trend also underscores an evolution in U.S. priorities, with the visit building on prior U.S.-Saudi engagements under both Trump and Biden. (Trump also made a brief visit to the Vatican last month for Pope Francis' funeral, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But the stop was not a preplanned diplomatic trip with the groundwork and pageantry surrounding a state visit.) During an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, Trump told the room he would make two more stops on the trip, with visits to the neighboring United Arab Emirates and Qatar, nations involved in mediating conflicts he has sought to address. Adding a layer of intrigue to the visit, Trump's family's business ties in the Gulf have drawn attention at home, as his namesake company signals that it is not going to withhold from foreign business. Last month, the Trump Organization struck a deal for a Trump-branded golf course to be built north of the Qatari capital by a Saudi Arabian firm. Analysts noted the Gulf is now a swing region pivotal to global economic stability, connecting the U.S., China and Europe. Among other major events, it has hosted ongoing U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, with Saudi Arabia playing a mediating role since Russia's invasion, including by facilitating talks. 'It's a strategic linchpin,' said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, 'which is a different and new way to think about it than Americans have thought about the Middle East, which is typically associated with endless wars and terrorism.' And, he added, 'there will be bling' — observing a lavish aesthetic alignment between the Gulf states and a president who this week remarked how the Oval Office had grown more beautiful with the addition of 'great love and 24-karat gold.' A White House official said about the trip that a 'secure and stable Middle East means greater prosperity for our partner nations and the United States. President Trump will discuss investment and economic cooperation with these foreign leaders, among other topics.' Still, the slight to Canada and Mexico, both cornerstones of North American trade and security, has not gone unnoticed. 'It does signal the fact that he does not believe in how critically important the North American relationship is,' said Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican ambassador to the U.S., while highlighting both countries' role in addressing economic competition with China. 'You can't press control-alt-delete, and erase Canada or Mexico from your northern or southern border.' Canada and Mexico, having lived through Trump's first-term playbook and the opening of his second, may not be openly stung: 'They probably expected this,' noted Tizoc Chavez, a historian of American presidential diplomacy and a visiting assistant professor at Colby College. Still, the approach could strain relations with longtime allies. 'It's the second time that he basically gives the middle finger to both Canada and Mexico,' Sarukhan said. 'It's not written in stone. There's no rule. But it has been the case that since Reagan, U.S. presidents have usually gone to either Canada or Mexico, or, in some cases, the U.K.' The new stage By contrast, Saudi Arabia offers Trump a glittering stage free of the political friction that might hang over visits to Ottawa, Mexico City or London, where the president's tariff proposals and rhetoric have stirred unease. Those tensions were clear in the president's meeting with Carney, amid a trade war and Trump's provocations over the threat of annexation. Carney later told reporters that he had asked Trump in the meeting to stop calling Canada the '51st state,' a reference to the president's proposal of a 'wonderful marriage' that would incorporate Canada into the U.S. 'If you're Mexico or Canada, you've got lots more to be snubbed about than a historic protocol nicety,' one foreign diplomat remarked. In recent months, protests have flared in Canada over Trump's policies, echoing widespread anti-Trump demonstrations in Mexico in 2017. Similarly, during Trump's 2019 visit to the United Kingdom, tens of thousands of demonstrators had taken to the streets. 'Saudi Arabia and some of the other countries in the Middle East, they don't have that same problem,' Chavez said, highlighting the Gulf's warmer reception as an easier lift for Trump's deal-making optics. The author of a book on the president's role as diplomat in c hief, Chavez added that while 'presidents like to use foreign travel to project the image of a statesman ... traveling abroad can also provide a kind of refuge from domestic controversies.' A well-connected Trump ally with business in the region said that the Gulf states, with vast wealth from sovereign funds, oil, and gas, are attractive to Trump and his interest in deal-making. 'They're all economic power players,' the person said. 'They are people who are transactional in terms of the economy, and want to get things done, and want to create jobs, and expand and invest.' After Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became the first foreign leader to hold a call with Trump this term, the president said he would ask the kingdom to increase its investment in the U.S. by upping a promised $600 billion to around $1 trillion. Lately, senior U.S. administration officials have engaged with Gulf counterparts to explore economic and energy investments, as well as security cooperation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said that the administration's first 100 days focused on 'setting the table' for peace, trade and tax agreements, adding that 'the next 100 days will be harvesting.' 'They feel very comfortable that it's going to be a complete recognition and acknowledgment of the unique relationship between the two countries, and especially between the president and the royal family,' another Trump ally with ties to Saudi Arabia said, noting 'a spirit of optimism and goodwill' about the trip. Defense agreements and CEO engagements are also on the agenda, this person said, offering more promise of a deepening relationship across the board. Meanwhile, Trump heightened anticipation for the trip, teasing a 'very, very big announcement' before his departure, describing the outcome 'as big as it gets' — while withholding specific details. 'I'm not necessarily saying it's on trade,' Trump added, further stoking speculation. Katulis said Trump's recognition of the region's role beyond energy was partially echoed by Biden's policies, as geopolitical events and higher energy prices amid the war in Ukraine forced Biden's hand after he had deprioritized the region upon entering office. While Trump is expected to receive a lavish welcome in Riyadh, his Middle East pivot does have its own undercurrents of tension, as Gulf allies, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, privately grapple with his unpredictable tariff policies and governance, exemplified by the abrupt dismissal of Trump's national security adviser last week. The president has also not named an ambassador to Saudi Arabia after dismissing the diplomat who had served in the role under his predecessor. 'Beneath the surface, there are deep concerns about the direction Trump is taking America's position in the global economy,' Katulis said, which threatens new risks and spillover into lower energy prices that could hit energy producers hardest. 'It's kind of ironic that many Gulf officials look with trepidation at the political risk and policy uncertainty coming from the United States,' Katulis added. 'It used to be the other way around, and it still is in many ways: U.S. officials worried about what the big surprise is going to come from the region.'
