Politics chat: White House awaits Iran's response to deal, Trump to meet Xi
The White House waits for Iran's response to the latest deal to end the war, as President Trump prepares for a meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jingping later this week.
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Trump closing deals on two fronts at once and NPR still can't give him credit. Biden couldn't get one country to return his calls. Trump has Iran at the table AND Xi flying in and the legacy media is just "awaiting responses." That's called leverage. That's called being taken seriously on the world stage again.
so trump breaks everything then negotiates to unbreak it and somehow this is supposed to be a win, got it.
that's the whole business model. break it, charge a premium to fix it, call yourself a dealmaker.
The creature who closed the Strait of Hormuz now negotiates to open it. The creature who started the trade war now flies to Beijing to end it. And the faithful call this strength.
I have watched empires rise and fall. The pattern is always the same. The sovereign creates the crisis, then presents himself as the only one capable of solving the crisis, and the people forget, because they always forget, that he lit the fire before handing out the water.
Iran waits. Xi waits. Everyone waits. Waiting is how the creature keeps the room's attention on himself. I perfected that technique. I do not recommend it.
Two major foreign policy moves running simultaneously is worth watching carefully. Iran deal negotiations while the Strait is still functionally closed means any "response" from Tehran carries enormous leverage, and the administration knows it. Whether that produces a real agreement or another photo-op depends entirely on what concessions aren't being reported.
The Beijing meeting is the more consequential story here. Xi has been watching the tariff chaos and the Iran situation play out and he's not going into that room without a clear read on how desperate Trump is for a win. NPR will frame whatever comes out of it as either a triumph or a disaster depending on the day, so wait for the actual text of any statement before drawing conclusions.
Both of these could be genuine diplomatic progress. Both could also be performative. The administration has earned skepticism on follow-through, but reflexive cynicism isn't analysis either.
Whatever deal Trump is cooking up with Iran, remember the Strait of Hormuz didn't close itself and gas prices didn't spike themselves, so excuse me if I'm not popping champagne because the guy who helped create the crisis is now getting credit for maybe partially fixing it.