Monday was just another normal day in Trump’s second term.
An American hostage proved the taste of freedom after a surprising advance with Hamas. An unprecedented ethical storm shook the presidency. It was announced one that, in practice, seemed more a classic surrender. And the US President, in an attempt to reduce drug prices for Americans, challenged the old republican economic doctrine.
With all this in the curriculum, Donald Trump has set out for a trip to the Arab states of Gulf () on a mission to attract investment to the US – a story that mirrors both its management -obsessed as a new global power center.
Trump ignores Israel – and releases the last American hostage in Gaza
The way Donald Trump has reconciled global and internal critical issues defines a presidency that is always looking for “victories” to feed the day with opportunities for photographs. But the show is often erratic, reflecting its volatile and disrespect for constitutional barriers. And no one can predict what follows the whirlwind of Washington – one of the reasons why so many supporters remain faithful.
However, Trump’s flexibility and his willingness to drop everything for an agreement open ways that could be closed to more conventional presidents.
This Monday, Trump approved an agreement that circumvented the ally Israel and negotiated with Hamas, responsible for the attacks of October 7, 2023. The initiative, with the involvement of Egypt and Qatar, resulted in the release of Edan Alexander. The images of the reunion with the family would move to the hardest hearts – though thousands of Palestinians killed in Israeli bombing or facing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza will never know something similar.
The measure also increased the pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – which gives priority to the Islamist group’s defeat over hostage release – to act similarly. Trump has been despising Netanyahu often. It surprised Israel by opening nuclear negotiations with Iran. And despite visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week, it does not plan to stop in the Jewish state.
Alexander’s liberation was a very necessary victory for Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, whose attempts at global peace had little or nothing had achieved so far.
But it may have been an isolated episode, as there is no sign of a realistic US plan to end a war that has already killed tens of thousands of civilians. Trump’s previous proposal, completely unreasonable, was to “clean” Palestinian Gaza to build the “Riviera do Middle East.” And Hamas did not accept to give up the destroyed enclave security control – the only point that perhaps led Israel to accept ending the conflict.
Brett McGurk, a former top employee for the Middle East in administrations of both parties, told CNN that the liberation – seemingly timed by Hamas to coincide with Trump’s trip – was “a great moment, a big day.” He added: “I give management to management for continuing to insist; never give up.”
An ethical scandal of gigantic proportions
If Alexander’s return has demonstrated compassion and diplomatic ability, a growing storm about Trump’s plan to replace the used planes as Air Force One evidenced his history and blatant contempt for ethical norms.
His defense of the idea of Qatar donating to the Defense Department a luxurious 747 of $ 400 million, which would pass to his presidential library after leaving the presidency, ignored the fears that he could be compromised by a foreign government. And he stressed concerns that he used his second term to enrich his business-from the expansion of his luxury real estate abroad to his lucrative meme currency ‘$ Trump’.
“It would never be one of those who refuses such an offer. I mean, could be a stupid person and say, ‘No, we don’t want a free and very expensive plane,” Trump said, completely ignoring the ethical chaos that the agreement with Qatar can cause.
To begin with, this “flying palace” may violate the Constitution’s fees clause, which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts or payments from foreign governments.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that all Americans knew Trump “only works to think about the interest of the American people.” A bold statement, given that its first major international trip of the second term goes through a region where your family is launching new golf projects and hotels.
Most presidents may consult the ‘federalist papers’ for guidance on these issues. But Trump resorted to the late Slammin ‘Sam Snead – not a jurist, but a golfer who won seven major tournaments in the 1940s and 1950s.
“He was a great golfer. And he had a motto: when they offer you a ‘Putt’, you say ‘thank you’, you get the ball and you will go to the next hole,” Trump said. “A lot of people are stupid. They say, ‘No, no, I insist on playing it,’ and then fail, and the partner gets angry with them,” he explained during a moment of irritation in the White House.
Moral of History: Accepts what they give you, even if it is not in conformity.
To make the new plane able to transport the president, Trump would have to spend millions of taxpayers on military and communications updates. And the secret service would have to dismantle the piece to ensure that it has no listening. There is no guarantee that the plane was ready before the two 747 already planned, with multibillionaire budgets and years late. But Trump’s vanity in wanting to replace the 1990s jumbos is totally in line with his personality.
It is also embarrassing that the world’s biggest superpower depend on an ally to get a new plane – on top of an American company.
But Trump’s ambition for a new Air Force One can become a political problem. Former Mayor Kevin McCarthy, he advised him to give up. “Let’s let the boeing finish the new planes,” he told CNN. “I think America can afford and build its own Air Force One.”
Agreement forged in “Garden Sofas”
Trump began Monday to boast of a breakthrough in commercial negotiations with China, Switzerland. “We got a total reset with China,” he said. In fact, both sides retreated in the confrontation that could have devastated the global economy – and that Trump himself caused.
In a typical movement, there was another 90 -day deadline to negotiate concessions, while mutual tariffs are reduced by 115 percentage points.
The US Commerce Representative, Jamieson Greer, said the deal, negotiated at the Swiss ambassador’s residence next to the UN in Geneva, “under a beautiful tree, in a set of garden sofas,” is a first step to balance the trade.
Still, the agreement, led by the influential Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, looks more like a withdrawal – just a week after Trump warns parents that their children would have to be content with fewer toys due to new restrictions on China. Beijing, so far, has not made significant concessions. And Trump retreated at 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, still maintaining a 30% charge for US consumers.
“It is very clear that it was President Trump who blinked his eye,” said former treasure secretary Larry Summers. “Sometimes it’s good to back down; when you make a mistake, it’s best to fix it, even if it’s a little embarrassing.”
Trump justifies the use of tariffs – an instrument that aggravated the great depression almost a century ago – with the need to reverse the globalization that left many American workers behind.
This same argument served as the basis for another measure taken on Monday, which shows how a populist president can break with republican economic orthodoxy. Trump has signed an executive order to align drug prices in the US with those practiced abroad, where governments can negotiate lower values.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said the president’s political boldness. “It’s an extraordinary day. I grew up in the Democratic Party, and all the great Democratic leaders have promised this to the people for 20 years,” Kennedy said. “It’s one of those promises made knowing that they will never fulfill it.”
“Now we have a president who is a word man who has the courage,” he added.
But Trump can fail. A similar initiative in its first term was fought by the courts. And the power of pharmaceutical lobbyists in Congress makes a permanent legal change unlikely.
Even so, it continues to challenge republican orthodoxy. He even suggested that the rich should pay more to finance their ambitious tax cut plan, which aims to exclude tips from taxable income.
Part of this can be just a political maneuver. But after three months of falling polls, a Trump voter may well consider that a hostage release, an attempt to lower drug prices and a trade agreement with China make a very productive day Monday.
But perhaps it is best to say as little as possible about Qatar’s jet.
