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It’s Donald Trump’s second full day as president.

It feels like rather longer. Plenty has happened. This is the future.

He promised he would get down to business and so he did. It’s been hard to know which way to look; what to focus on.

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President Biden preferred short days. President Trump chooses unpredictable days. He thrives on them; he thrives on surprise.

So here are a few observations from this whirlwind week, three days in.

Accessible

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First, accessibility.

For all his seeming hatred and vilification of the media, President Trump has given the press far more access and opportunities to question him than his predecessor ever did.

That doesn’t mean the answers he gives to the many questions thrown at him are always particularly meaningful, satisfactory or honest but we’ve already had two free-flowing news conferences.

There’s been no aide selecting reporters to ask their questions.

It’s just been Trump fielding the rowdy reporters’ quickfire queries.

Last night, inside the White House, he responded to plenty of issues.

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Inside Trump’s White House

On the Ukraine question – he’s talking to Zelenskyy he said and will meet with Putin “anytime he wants”. Still, he offered no further detail on how he’d end the war.

On tariffs – he hinted how China and Mexico could avoid 25% levies on their goods.

He said the tariffs are “because they are allowing fentanyl into our country”.

Stop the fentanyl and the tariffs go?

On the release of the January 6 convicts including the leader of the far-right Proud Boys – he suggested they could have a place in the political conversation.

On Elon Musk buying TikTok – “If he wanted to buy it, yeah.”

He looked like he was enjoying the back and forth. He was providing an open forum to probe him and, maybe, expose him.

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Fact-checking

Second observation – fact-checking is still very much required for Trump.

On Monday he claimed that American warships must pay double tariffs to travel through the Panama Canal – not true, and that Chinese soldiers are ‘operating’ the canal – also not true.

In defending his decision to pardon the January 6 protesters, he claimed that murderers in America don’t go to jail.

“They should not have served, and they’ve served years in jail. And murderers don’t even go to jail in this country,” he said.

This is a wildly misleading sidestep designed to distract from his decision to pardon 1,500 people.

Different shades

Third observation – we are already seeing the different shades of Trump.

Deeply controversial announcements have come, with dizzying speed, but mixed with policy decisions many will see as pragmatic and sensible.

The investment in AI, combined no doubt with minimal regulation, could help scientists in healthcare research make America much more competitive and boost the American energy sector.

Positives and negatives there.

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His intentionally unpredictable foreign policy is already yielding results, like the Gaza ceasefire, but his red lines are obscure to adversaries making miscalculations a risk.

And his domestic agenda is proving already to be deeply controversial and perhaps even constitution-defying, setting a dangerous precedent.

American dominance

Final observation. Trump’s unpredictability, volatility and transactional instincts are having immediate profound consequences.

Far from being an increasingly irrelevant, declining nation, America feels – in just a few (long) days – to have become more powerful and more dominant than it has been for a very long time.

The necessity to dance to America’s tune has never been greater.

Donald Trump would have it no other way.

We must watch now for when someone chooses to test him.

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Trump says he hopes to get ‘prime territory’ back for Ukraine as he prepares for Putin summit

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Trump says he hopes to get 'prime territory' back for Ukraine as he prepares for Putin summit

Donald Trump has said he would try to return territory to Ukraine as he prepares to meet Vladimir Putin and lay the groundwork for a deal to bring an end to the war.

“Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They’ve occupied some very prime territory. We’re going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine,” the US president said at a White House news conference ahead of Friday’s summit in Alaska.

Mr Trump also said: “There’ll be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody, to the good of Ukraine.”

He said he’s going to see what Mr Putin “has in mind” to end the three-and-a-half-year full-scale invasion.

Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House. Pic: Reuters

And he said if it’s a “fair deal,” he will share it with European and NATO leaders, as well as Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who have been liaising closely with Washington ahead of the meeting.

Asked if Mr Zelenskyy was invited to the summit with Mr Putin in Alaska, Mr Trump said the Ukrainian leader “wasn’t a part of it”.

“I would say he could go, but he’s gone to a lot of meetings. You know, he’s been there for three and a half years – nothing happened,” Mr Trump added.

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The US president said Mr Putin wants to get the war “over with” and “get involved” in possible talks but acknowledged Moscow’s attacks haven’t stopped.

“I’ve said that a few times and I’ve been disappointed because I’d have a great call with him and then missiles would be lobbed into Kyiv or some other place,” he said.

Mr Trump said he will tell Mr Putin “you’ve got to end this war, you’ve got to end it,” but that “it’s not up to me” to make a deal between Russia and Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin is set to meet Donald Trump in Alaska. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Vladimir Putin is set to meet Donald Trump in Alaska. Pic: Reuters

Zelenskyy says Russia ‘wants to buy time’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia “wants to buy time, not end the war”.

“It is obvious that the Russians simply want to buy time, not end the war,” he wrote in a post on X, after a phone call with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Pic: Reuters
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Pic: Reuters

“The situation on the battlefield and Russia’s wicked strikes on civilian infrastructure and ordinary people prove this clearly.”

Mr Zelenskyy said the two “agreed that no decisions concerning Ukraine’s future and the security of our people can be made without Ukraine’s participation”, just as “there can be no decisions without clear security guarantees”.

Sanctions against Russia must remain in force and be “constantly strengthened,” he added.

European leaders meet ahead of call with Trump

Meanwhile, European officials have been holding meetings ahead of a phone call with Mr Trump on Wednesday.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, has been speaking to foreign ministers virtually, saying on X that work “on more sanctions against Russia, more military support for Ukraine and more support for Ukraine’s budgetary needs and accession process to join the EU” is under way.

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‘Russians want to carry on fighting’

Over the weekend, European leaders released a joint statement, welcoming Mr Trump’s “work to stop the killing in Ukraine”.

“We are convinced that only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed,” read the statement.

It was signed by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“We underline our unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” they said.

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Attacks continue

Despite Donald Trump’s efforts to convince Vladimir Putin to commit to a ceasefire and negotiations, Russian attacks on Ukraine have only intensified in the past few months.

Ukraine’s president has said that, in the past week, Russia launched more than 1,000 air bombs, nearly 1,400 drones and multiple missile strikes on Ukraine.

On 9 July, Russia carried out its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since the start of the war, launching more than 740 drones and missiles, breaking its records from previous weeks.

Furthermore, Mr Zelenskyy has said Russia is preparing for new offensives.

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Trump gaffe reveals how central Putin is to his narrative – with Zelenskyy left out in the cold

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Trump gaffe reveals how central Putin is to his narrative - with Zelenskyy left out in the cold

And then there were two.

It will be a Trump-Putin bilateral summit in Alaska.

Ukraine latest: Trump details talks with Putin

The US president has ruled out a trilateral meeting including Volodymyr Zelenskyy and is framing the talks as low stakes.

He described it as a “feel out” meeting “to see what the parameters” are, and stressed “it’s not up to me to make a deal.”

A strategic preemption perhaps, setting expectations low, and preparing the public for failure.

But he remains wedded to the notion that “land swapping” will shape any deal to end the war in Ukraine.

“Good stuff” and “bad stuff” for both sides, he said, positioning himself as the pragmatic mediator between the two.

He expressed irritation with Mr Zelenskyy’s assertion that he doesn’t have the constitutional power to concede land, though did say he hopes to get “prime territory” back for Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not be attending the summit. Pic: AP
Image:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not be attending the summit. Pic: AP

The dealmaker-in-chief

Mr Trump promised to brief the Ukrainian president and European leaders immediately after his meeting with Mr Putin.

And he voiced confidence in his ability to quickly assess the potential for a deal, boasting his business acumen.

“At the end of the meeting, probably the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” he said.

Asked how he would know, he replied: “That’s what I do, make deals.”

Members of his cabinet nodded in approval.

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Putin ‘wants war to be over’

A law-and-order crackdown in the US capital seems timed to bolster his diplomatic stance.

He branded crime in Washington “a national emergency”, took federal control of police and deployed the National Guard.

It may seem strange that Mr Trump is talking about “taking back” Washington, ahead of a rare summit with Mr Putin.

But he’s positioning himself as bold and uncompromising before he faces a man deemed bold and uncompromising.

A telling gaffe

And he conflated the two, saying: “This is a tragic emergency, and I’m going to see Putin, I’m going to Russia on Friday.”

He isn’t going to Russia. He’s going to Alaska. But that gaffe revealed how central Mr Putin is to his narrative, even domestically.

Vladimir Putin has been reluctant to meet his Ukrainian counterpart. Pic: Sputnik/Reuters
Image:
Vladimir Putin has been reluctant to meet his Ukrainian counterpart. Pic: Sputnik/Reuters

Mr Putin wants to lock in the gains Russia has made since invading Ukraine, while Mr Trump presses for a ceasefire.

But it’s hard to envisage any ice-breaking peace deal emerging from Friday’s summit in Alaska.

How could there be when Mr Zelenskyy is out in the cold?

For now, this is a Trump-Putin power play.

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Donald Trump will deploy National Guard troops to Washington DC to ‘re-establish law and order’

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Donald Trump will deploy National Guard troops to Washington DC to 're-establish law and order'

Donald Trump has announced he is going to deploy National Guard troops to Washington DC to make the US capital’s streets safer.

At a White House news conference on Monday, the president said the city’s police would come under federal control as he said the murder rate in DC was “higher than” in some of the “worst places on earth”.

He said he was sending in the troops to “re-establish law, order, and public safety”.

Members of the National Guard outside the US Capitol. File Pic: AP
Image:
Members of the National Guard outside the US Capitol. File Pic: AP

Mr Trump said he was announcing a “historic action to rescue our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse.

“This is liberation day in DC and we are going to take our capital back.”

The president continued: “So today we are declaring a public safety emergency in the district of Columbia.”

He added it is not just about safety but also the “beautification” of the city.

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“Washington DC should be one of the safest, cleanest and most beautiful cities anywhere in the world and we’re going to make it that.”

Last week, the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option “to extend as needed”.

A member of the National Guard patrols the area outside of the US Capitol in 2021.
File pic: AP
Image:
A member of the National Guard patrols the area outside of the US Capitol in 2021.
File pic: AP

On Friday night, federal agencies including the Secret Service, the FBI and the US Marshals Service assigned more than 120 officers and agents to assist in Washington.

National Guard troops usually belong to individual states and personnel in many cases are trained to help with emergencies that those states have to deal with, such as natural disasters.

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Since they are the reserve force of the US military, National Guard troops are usually part-time, meaning that they have other jobs as well.

Minority leader of the US House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, responded to Mr Trump’s announcement on Monday with a post on X which read: “Violent crime in Washington, DC is at a thirty-year low.

“Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order.

“Get lost.”

In a social media post on Sunday, Mr Trump emphasised the removal of Washington’s homeless population, though it was unclear where the thousands of people would go.

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“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,” Mr Trump wrote.

“We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.”

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