How has President Donald Trump – the ‘dealmaker’ – done on foreign policy?
The 30-day pause in airstrikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that Donald Trump got Vladimir Putin to agree to lasted perhaps a few hours.
The White House had claimed “we’ve never been closer to a peace deal” before the phone call between the two leaders yesterday.
Instead, Mr Trump appears to have achieved little in his conversation with Mr Putin, whose ‘red lines’ seem very much intact as his troops continue to hammer the Ukrainian frontlines and with Volodymyr Zelenskyy accusing him of hitting Ukrainian energy infrastructure overnight
It’s been a whirlwind first couple of months of the second Trump administration, both stateside and abroad.
As the fallout from the latest development in the Ukraine war continues, let’s look at how the dealmaker-in-chief has fared in his various international interactions.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone. File pic: Reuters
Cutting Ukraine out of negotiations
Mr Trump famously promised to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of being sworn in as commander in chief for a second time (he now says he was being sarcastic), but certainly, a swift peace is firmly on his wishlist.
In the last few weeks he has cut off and resumed military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine, berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy in public and started peace negotiations with Russia without Kyiv’s involvement.
Now the 30-day pause on attacks on energy facilities that Mr Putin agreed to on the phone appears to have been abandoned the same day, with drone strikes launched against Ukraine overnight.
What is clear, however, is that Mr Trump’s comments (and those of his associates) around NATO allies not spending enough appear to have galvanised Europe.
Countries including the UK have pledged to boost defence spending and shoulder more of the security burden – though potentially pivoting away from lucrative American arms sales at the same time.
Empty shelves in the American whiskey section of a shop in Vancouver. Pic: Reuters
Trade war with Canada
Mr Trump’s signature economic policy – tariffs on imports – have opened up what essentially amounts to a trade war with America’s biggest trade partner: Canada.
His comments on making the Great White North into the “51st state” have not helped, with new Canadian PM Mark Carney vowing his country will “never ever be part of the US”.
The American president has slapped 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium and is threatening sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products from 2 April.
Mark Carney has hit out at Donald Trump and called for Canada to be shown respect. Pic: Reuters
Canada, which is the biggest foreign supplier of steel and aluminium to the US, announced 25% retaliatory tariffs on those metals along with computers, sports equipment and other products worth $20bn in total.
That’s on top of tariffs imposed on 4 March worth a similar amount on US goods in response to broader tariffs by Mr Trump.
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Impact of tariffs elsewhere
Canada is far from the only nation to be hit with sweeping trade tariffs by the Trump administration.
Mr Trump also imposed tariffs on Mexico – a key US trade partner – due to the fentanyl crisis in the US and illegal immigration. Mexico, along with Canada, hit back with retaliatory tariffs.
Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to appease Mr Trump, including by sending 10,000 national guard soldiers to the border with the US – a win for Mr Trump, though it only amounts to an extra five guards per mile of the border.
The EU’s Ursula von der Leyen criticised new US tariffs on steel and aluminium, and the bloc pledged to raise its tariffs on American products.
China, which has been hit by a 20% tariff by Mr Trump, said it was “ready” for “any type of war” with the US.
The trade escalation between the two countries also spooked markets, contributing to a widespread stock market sell-off.
What’s more, there’s a possibility that China could benefit from the global tariffs regime in the long run.
End of the Gaza ceasefire?
Despite it being signed during the final days of US President Joe Biden’s time in office, Mr Trump took a great deal of credit for the ceasefire deal signed between Israel and Hamas back in January.
It seems that his impending inauguration served to spur things on and help get the deal over the line.
In December, he made a public demand for the release of the hostages, threatening “ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East”, while his envoy put pressure on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
The eventual deal did bring some success – around 30 hostages were released along with more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
But Israel launched airstrikes on Gaza this week, bringing the fragile ceasefire to an end without moving to phase two, which would have seen conversations around a permanent ceasefire.
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Why does Trump want Greenland?
Greenland and Panama
Mr Trump has also spoken repeatedly about his desire to annex Greenland, despite protests from Denmark and Greenlanders themselves.
“I think that will happen,” he said earlier this month when asked about the US taking over the territory – something around 85% of Greenlanders oppose.
He said the US already has a military presence in Greenland and added: “Maybe you’ll see more and more soldiers going there.”
The row has caused tensions between America and Denmark, which is a US ally and a member of NATO.
Mr Trump has also promised to take over the Panama Canal, a key trade route for international shipping.
He expressed a desire for America to “take back” the crucial waterway from alleged Chinese control.
Earlier this month, a Hong Kong firm sold two major ports on the Panama Canal to a US firm. Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings said the move was “wholly unrelated to recent political news” but the development was nonetheless welcomed by Mr Trump.
A former FBI director has been interviewed by the US Secret Service over a social media post that Republicans say was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.
James Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was fired in 2017 by Mr Trump during his first term in office, shared a photo of seashells appearing to form the numbers “86 47”.
James Comey later removed the Instagram post. File pic: AP
He captioned the Instagram post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Some have interpreted the post as a threat, alleging that 86 47 means to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including by assassination.
Mr Comey later removed the post, saying he thought the numbers “were a political message” and that he was not aware that the numeric arrangement could be associated with violence.
“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down,” Mr Comey said.
Mr Trump rejected the former FBI director’s explanation, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant… that meant assassination.”
Donald Trump Jr accused Mr Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered”.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Mr Comey had been interviewed as part of “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether he might face further action.
The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Mr Comey had put out “what can clearly be interpreted as a hit on the sitting president of the United States”.
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Mr Budowich wrote on X.
Another White House official James Blair said the post was a “Clarion Call (…) to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East”.
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Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017 for botching an investigation into 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the White House said at the time.
While Mr Comey was the director of the FBI, the agency opened an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia to help get Mr Trump elected.
The Trump administration is considering a TV show whereby immigrants compete for the prize of US citizenship, the Department for Homeland Security has confirmed.
It would see contestants compete in tasks across different states and include trivia and “civic” challenges, according to the producer who pitched the idea.
Participants could battle it out to build a rocket at NASA headquarters, Rob Worsoff suggested.
Confirming the administration was considering the idea, Department for Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said: “We need to revive patriotism and civic duty in this country, and we’re happy to review out-of-the-box pitches. This pitch has not received approval or rejection by staff.”
It comes amid hardline immigration measures implemented by President Donald Trump on his return to office in January.
Since being back in the White House he has ordered “mass deportations” and used the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members to countries in Central and South America.
Rob Worsoff in 2013. Pic: AP
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Mr Worsoff, who is a Canadian-American citizen, said his pitch was inspired by his own naturalisation process.
He cautioned that those who “lost” the gameshow would not be punished or deported but said the details of how it would work would be down to TV networks and federal officials.
The producer said the US was in need of “a national conversation about what it means to be American”.
He said the show, if accepted by a network, would “get to know” contestants and “their stories and their journeys”, while “celebrating them as humans”.
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Behind the scenes of Trump trip
Meanwhile, the Department for Homeland Security has asked for 20,000 National Guard troops from various states to assist with its efforts rounding up illegal immigrants.
Currently, the federal Enforcement and Removals Operations agency only has around 7,700 staff – but the boost would help fulfil Mr Trump’s inauguration promises.
The Trump administration has already recruited 10,000 troops under state and federal orders to bolster the US-Mexico border.
Some have now been given the power to detain migrants within a newly militarised strip of land just adjacent to it.
At least 21 people have died after tornadoes hit two US states, according to local officials.
Fourteen people have died in Kentucky, its governor Andy Beshear said, while seven have died in Missouri.
The weather system also saw tornadoes tear through Wisconsin, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.
In the city of St Louis, five people were confirmed dead and more than 5,000 homes were damaged, mayor Cara Spencer said on Saturday.
The storm system originally hit Scott County, 130 miles south of St Louis, on Friday, killing two people, Sheriff Derick Wheetley said.
The devastation that ensued saw roofs torn off buildings, blown-out windows, toppled trees, and power lines.
A house completely collapsed in St Louis, Missouri on Friday. Pic: Reuters
A map of the most impacted areas
St Louis mayor Cara Spencer said: “Our city is grieving tonight. The loss of life and the destruction is truly, truly horrendous.”
Dozens of people are believed to have been injured and in hospital, but the exact numbers in Missouri have not been confirmed.
Kentucky officials described the situation there as a “mass casualty event” after the weather system tore across Laurel County late on Friday.
The side of a house ripped off by storms in St Louis, Missouri. Pic: Reuters
Several people were taken to hospital, buildings were damaged, and a car flipped over on a busy highway, local officials reported.
Laurel County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Gilbert Acciardo said rescuers had “been on the ground all night looking for possible survivors”.
Kentucky governor Mr Beshear wrote on X that the number of dead in the state was likely to increase from 14 “as we receive more information”.
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People sit outside their destroyed homes in St Louis, Missouri late on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Further devastation expected in other states
The National Weather Service warned of further devastation hitting Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma on Saturday.
“Severe thunderstorms producing large to very large hail, damaging gusts, and a couple of tornadoes are expected across the southern Plains,” it said on its website.
The Midwest tornadoes were also expected to hit Illinois, eventually stretching to New Jersey and the Atlantic coast.
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