Trump is the world’s greatest showman – and the weakest strongman it has ever seen | Jonathan Freedland
His capitulation to Putin over Ukraine reveals a pattern. He’s the patsy: giving everything away, getting little in return
He parades as a strongman, but in fact he’s weak, weak, weak. In the face of America’s adversaries Donald Trump is, as he might put it, a patsy, a sucker, a pushover. He folds like a pack of cards. He’s a human doormat. A loser.
Just consider the gifts he has handed Vladimir Putin this week. He has brought Russia in from the diplomatic cold after three years of ostracism following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, whose anniversary is nearly upon us. Sergei Lavrov, Putin’s foreign minister, was meant to be persona non grata; he remains under international sanctions. Nevertheless, this week in Riyadh he met Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in so-called peace talks.
Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...
Read more at The Guardian
-
‘The World Is There for the Carving’: Two Columnists on the Trump-Putin Alliance
We’ve never seen anything like this: a president who appears aligned with a Russian dictator in targeting the weak and the vulnerable.The New York Times - 11h -
Trump: Zelensky 'has no cards,' 'shouldn't be at meetings' with Russia
President Trump on Friday lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he did not think it was important for Zelensky to attend negotiations about the war in Ukraine. Trump in an ...The Hill - 14h -
Developing world urges rich nations to defy Trump’s ‘climate nihilism’
Poorer countries want rapid emission cuts and more financial help in face of US leader’s stance on global heating. Developing countries are calling on the rich world to defy the US president, ...The Guardian - 2d -
Senate Republican: Putin a 'cancer,' 'greatest threat to democracy'
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "cancer" not long after President Trump stepped up his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky amid the ongoing ...The Hill - 16h -
Trump Administration Has Fired Health Inspectors at Some Border Stations
Scientists worry that the losses may open the door to human, plant and animal diseases that would otherwise have been caught.The New York Times - 2d -
With Truth Social, Trump Has Official Mouthpiece and a Channel for Revenue
The president’s company, Trump Media & Technology Group, represents a clear mingling of his official duties and his business interests.The New York Times - 1d -
Andrew Tate’s alliance with Trump has been in the making for a long time
Trump’s attempts to intervene in Tate’s rape and human trafficking cases in Romania might seem strange, but their worlds are intimately linked. Ever since I began reporting on Andrew Tate four ...The Guardian - 21h -
The EU has real leverage to counter Trump’s tariff threats
The EU is not a superpower in the traditional sense, but it continues to have significant power in the area of foreign trade.The Hill - 10h -
President Trump is losing the stock market war to the rest of the world so far. Here's where investors are taking advantage
Emerging market stocks, China and European stocks are beating U.S. indexes since the inauguration of Donald Trump.CNBC - 16h
More from The Guardian
-
Middle East crisis live: Israel says body of Shiri Bibas handed over as Hamas prepares to release six more hostages
Hamas says six captives expected to be freed from Gaza on Saturday in swap for about 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. A convoy of Red Cross vehicles is now heading to a hostage handover ...The Guardian - 17m -
US envoy to Ukraine hails Zelenskyy as ‘embattled and courageous leader’
Keith Kellogg takes different tone from Trump, who contrasted ‘very good talks’ with Putin with cooler relationship with Ukraine’s leader. The US envoy to Ukraine, Gen Keith Kellogg, has praised ...The Guardian - 6h -
Trump fires Black joint chiefs chair Hegseth accused of promoting diversity
US secretary of defense had questioned whether history-making air force general CQ Brown Jr got job because of race. Donald Trump abruptly fired the air force general CQ Brown Jr as chair of the ...The Guardian - 4h -
Brazilian city in Amazon declares emergency after huge sinkholes appear
In Buriticupu, about 1,200 people risk losing their homes, and residents have seen the problem escalate in 30 years. Authorities in a city in the Brazilian Amazon have declared a state of ...The Guardian - 9h -
Man stabbed at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial days before crucial election
German police have arrested a suspect after attack on Spanish tourist and say they have not yet found a motive. German police have arrested a man suspected in a stabbing attack at Berlin’s ...The Guardian - 11h
More in World
-
Live Updates: Hamas Is Set to Release 6 More Hostages
The exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel appeared likely to go ahead, despite Israeli anger over Hamas’s handover of a misidentified body.The New York Times - 11m -
Middle East crisis live: Israel says body of Shiri Bibas handed over as Hamas prepares to release six more hostages
Hamas says six captives expected to be freed from Gaza on Saturday in swap for about 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. A convoy of Red Cross vehicles is now heading to a hostage handover ...The Guardian - 17m -
Toxic Town: Jodie Whittaker is absolutely flawless as she battles real-life injustice
The hasty regeneration of Corby’s old steelworks poisoned a generation. Now the story of how it came to court is told in a harrowing, if slightly melodramatic, new Netflix series. Jack Thorne ...The Guardian - 39m -
Trump says he will end the war in Ukraine – but how, and who will benefit? Our panel responds | Olga Chyzh and others
The US president is breaking every negotiating rule in the book, to the bewilderment of his allies. Europe is now at a crossroads Continue reading...The Guardian - 39m -
Plastic bags and chicken bones: the fossils scientists believe will become our eternal legacy
Fast fashion and drinks cans among technological-age matter most likely to endure as fossils, say scientists. As an eternal testament of humanity, plastic bags, cheap clothes and chicken bones are ...The Guardian - 39m