Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025 (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty)
In a 12-minute discussion, I joined Dublin NewsTalk’s Pat Kenny Show on Thursday morning on analyze the latest developments in US and international politics.
We begin with a chat about Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, cutting through the misleading headlines about a “trade deal” to assess the tactical maneuvers. Working on Trump’s ego, Beijing has maintained its leverage over rare earth minerals while cutting a slight reduction in tariffs and a lifting of US sanctions on Chinese companies.
I summarize Trump’s approach:
You set the house on fire. While it’s burning, you throw a couple of buckets of water on it and say, “Hooray for me. I’ve rescued everybody.”
The Chinese have by and large called his bluff. They have given him his photo opportunity, but we are still in that zone of uncertainty over whether we have long-term stability.
I compare the Chinese photo opportunity with Trump’s rambling statement about his 50% tariffs on India, mimicking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and unsettling relations.
I examine Trump’s threat to renew US nuclear testing, suspended in the 1990s, in response to Vladimir Putin’s bluster over Russia’s stagnant invasion of Ukraine.
I take apart the idea of a “fragile ceasefire” in Israel’s mass killing in Gaza, noting why 104 Gazans were slain early Wednesday and why aid is still limited into the Strip.
And I consider how the “rubber is hitting the road” on a US Government shutdown about to enter its second month, with effects felt on basic services from food assistance to income support to healthcare to transport.
