Trump Warns of Swift Policy Shift if Russia and China Don’t Fall in Line

Trump Warns of Swift Policy Shift if Russia and China Don’t Fall in Line

In the 19th week of his presidency, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a direct warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin and made strong remarks about ongoing trade negotiations with China.

On Tuesday morning, in a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:

“Putin doesn’t realize that without me, something truly terrible would have happened to Russia—really terrible! He’s playing with fire!”

In response, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council and former President, replied to Trump’s comments:

“Regarding Trump’s talk about ‘playing with fire’ and ‘something terrible happening’ to Putin, the only truly terrible thing I know is World War III. I hope Trump understands what that means!”

Trump’s comments come at a time when Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, while the U.S. has tried to maintain some distance from the conflict.

However, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump stated that Putin’s time to come to the peace table is limited.

“We’ll see if he’s just stalling us. If he is, then we’ll respond very differently. That will take about a week to a week and a half,” Trump said.

What Else Happened This Week:

Tariffs, Tariffs, and More Tariffs

Regarding ongoing trade negotiations with China, Trump accused Beijing of violating the terms of an initial agreement.

According to the deal, the U.S. was supposed to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, and China was to reduce tariffs on American goods from 125% to 10%.

But Trump claimed China had failed to uphold its end of the deal—though he didn’t specify how.

“The bad news is that China—which will surprise no one—has completely broken the deal,” Trump posted on social media Friday. “Couldn’t be ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ anymore!”

Following Trump’s remarks, U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer told CNBC:

“The United States has done its part, but China is implementing the deal far too slowly, which is completely unacceptable.”

In response, China called on the U.S. to correct its “wrong actions.”

“China once again urges the U.S. to correct its mistakes, stop imposing discriminatory restrictions on China, and honor the understandings reached at the high-level talks in Geneva,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement on Friday.

Does Canada Want ‘Golden Dome’ Protection?

Canada may also be interested in joining Trump’s so-called “Golden Dome” defense system—if it becomes part of the United States.

Trump has long expressed interest in incorporating Canada as the 51st U.S. state, and has even talked about purchasing Greenland and the Panama Canal.

In a social media post on Tuesday, he wrote:

“I told Canada—if they want to be part of our amazing Golden Dome system—that staying a separate and unequal country will cost them $61 billion. But if they become our beloved 51st state, the cost will be zero dollars!”