#trump-diplomacy

#trump-diplomacy

Sucking up to Donald Trump never works for long. Narendra Modi is the latest world leader to learn this lesson the hard way. Wooing his true friend in the White House, India's authoritarian prime minister thought he'd conquered Trump's inconstant heart. The two men hit peak pals in 2019, holding hands at a Howdy Modi rally in Texas. But it's all gone pear-shaped thanks to Trump's tariffs and dalliance with Pakistan.

"I think I'll know. I think I'll know the attitude of Russia, and, frankly, of Ukraine. It takes two," Trump said when asked what he would do at the end of a two-week timeframe for assessing the state of peace talks. "Then I'm going to make a decision as to what we do and it's going to be a very important decision," he said. "Whether it's massive sanctions, massive tariffs, or both. Or I'll do nothing and say, 'This is your war.'"

In his recent burst of diplomacy, Trump has repeatedly stressed that Ukraine will not join NATO and that no U.S. troops will be on the ground in Ukraine.