May 14, 2026

Trump in China -- the Opera Buffa.

The New York Times is live-updating Donald Trump's little excursion to China. From the pinned item at 5:00 am ET: “China’s leader, Xi Jinping, delivered a warning on Taiwan to ... [Donald] Trump as the two leaders began their summit in Beijing on Thursday, saying that the issue, if handled poorly, could lead to conflict and 'an extremely dangerous situation.'... Forcing major U.S. policy shifts on Taiwan would be a long shot. But Mr. Xi has a powerful card to play: China’s economic leverage over Iran, and the prospect that it could potentially help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.... One of China’s related priorities is persuading the United States to curtail its arms sales to Taiwan. Aside from Taiwan, Mr. Xi and Mr. Trump discussed trade, the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean Peninsula, according to Xinhua....

[Xi and Trump] met in the Chinese capital in a ceremony laden with pageantry and pleasantries.... Mr. Xi greeted Mr. Trump on Thursday morning outside the Great Hall of the People. They shook hands before walking together past an honor guard and rows of cheering children.... A question looming over the summit is whether China will agree to an extension [in the pause to a trade war that concerns China's export of rare earth minerals]. A number of top executives, including Jensen Huang of the chip giant Nvidia, have joined the president in China. American business leaders have been pushing for measures that would further open the Chinese market, though analysts say that a major deal is unlikely..”

Keith Bradsher of the New York Times: “Beijing granted permission on Thursday for hundreds of American slaughterhouses to resume beef shipments to China, 15 months after Chinese officials had signaled displeasure with ... [Donald] Trump’s initial tariffs by allowing the industrial facilities’ licenses to expire. The approval came before the start of Mr. Trump’s talks with Xi Jinping, China’s top leader. [Mr.] Trump is expected to press Mr. Xi to buy more American goods and reduce a trade imbalance in which China has long sold the United States three to five times more goods than it buys from America.... However, these [licensing] approvals do not guarantee that China will resume buying large quantities of American beef. Beijing manages imports through state-controlled purchasing associations that favor geopolitical and trade allies.”

John Hudson of the Washington Post: “A confidential U.S. intelligence analysis details how China is exploiting the war in Iran to maximize its advantage over the United States across military, economic, diplomatic and other fields, said two U.S. officials who have read the report. The assessment, the officials said, was produced this week for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, and has raised alarm within the Pentagon about the geopolitical costs of Washington’s standoff with Tehran as ... Donald Trump enters high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.” Hudson goes on to outline some of the details of the report to Caine.

New York Times Editors: “When Mr. Trump first won the presidency a decade ago, he correctly labeled China a threat to American interests and criticized past U.S. presidents for their naïveté. In both his terms in office, however, Mr. Trump has weakened the United States relative to China. The damage has been especially bad in his second term. His failed tariffs have been the central example, setting off a humbling chain of events.... He has also diluted instruments of American power that have long been crucial to constraining foreign adversaries. He has alienated partners that can help counter China, including Japan, Australia, India, the European Union and Canada. He has cut funding for scientific research, diminishing American prowess in A.I., green energy and other realms.... The biggest risk of this week’s summit is that Mr. Trump will trade short-term American gains, such as the exporting of more soybeans and other agricultural goods, for long-term Chinese advantages.”

Rubio on AF1 yesterday. Maduro during capture.

~~~ Joe Sommerlad of the Independent: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio posed in a tracksuit aboard Air Force One Tuesday - the same outfit worn by deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro when he was captured in January. Rubio had arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to board ... Donald Trump’s flight to China wearing a suit, only to make the unusual costume change after take-off. 'Secretary Rubio rocking the Nike Tech “Venezuela” on Air Force One!' posted White House Communications Director Steven Cheung on X, alluding to Maduro.... Cheung’s photograph was subsequently picked up by the official White House account....” Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I could be convinced otherwise, but to me the snapshot of Rubio looks like a hostage photo. Whether this was Trump's idea of Steven Cheung's, I don't think Rubio figured he had a wardrobe choice. The fact that White House bully Steven Cheung took the photo, then posted in on the White House account is evidence of my theory. Also, Chris Hayes said last night that the tracksuit Rubio was wearing didn't seem to fit him right. There may be a racist element to it, too: "All Latinos look alike"?? I'm surprised whoever put Rubio up to this cosplay didn't make him wear a Maduro mustache, too.

“No Comment.” Greg Jaffe of the New York Times: “In nearly 14 hours of congressional testimony in recent weeks, Gen. Dan Caine was repeatedly asked versions of the same two questions: How had the world’s most powerful military allowed the Iranians to cut off the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and what could it do to get ships moving again? The answers General Caine delivered highlighted the tightrope he walks. As the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he is obliged to stay out of the political fray inflamed by the war in Iran. But he works for a president who demands absolute loyalty. In public, General Caine has defined the military’s mission in narrow terms, an approach he took on Tuesday as frustrated Democratic and Republican lawmakers pressed him and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to explain their plans to open the strait and end the war.”

Slouching Toward Autocracy. New York Times Editors: Donald “Trump’s war with Iran is the most significant military action in American history that a president has undertaken without any form of congressional authorization.... Over the past two and half months, Mr. Trump has ordered thousands of strikes against another country and killed its leader. The war has roiled global energy markets and drained American munitions stockpiles. Yet despite its scope and stakes, the president continues to show disdain for members of Congress who ask questions about the war and has not even provided a coherent rationale for it. Congressional Republicans deserve significant responsibility for the situation.” The editors raised one factor on their “autocracy scale.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Megan Mineiro of the New York Times: “The Senate on Wednesday blocked Democrats’ seventh attempt to halt the war in Iran, as Republicans banded together almost unanimously to beat back the first such effort since ... [Donald] Trump blew past a 60-day deadline to seek congressional authorization to continue the fighting. But another Republican who had opposed earlier attempts defected from the party line on Wednesday, in a sign of growing cracks in the G.O.P.’s patience with the conflict and the president’s handling of it. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for the first time joined Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky in voting with Democrats to advance the measure. The effort failed on a vote of 50 to 49, with Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania again joining Republicans in opposition.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Sarah Blaskey & Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration planned to start work at the site of the president’s proposed Triumphal Arch by piggybacking on an existing, unrelated contract for engineering services at the White House grounds more than a mile away, emails obtained by The Washington Post show. The move would allow the administration to bypass a potentially lengthy public bidding process, and experts said it was unusual because the arch site is on National Park Service land across the Potomac River and is not part of the White House complex. 

“Park Service acting director Jessica Bowron wrote to White House officials last month asking whether the agency could extend a contract between the White House and engineering firm AECOM Services for an environmental assessment for the proposed 250-foot arch.... An hour later..., Heather Martin, an official in the Executive Office of the President..., [wrote back,] 'Yes of course.'... It’s not clear ... whether the Park Service ultimately followed through with the plan to use the White House contract. But site testing was to begin this week, according to a timeline laid out by the Trump administration in federal court last week. Heavy machinery was at the site Monday. A spokesperson for the Department of Interior, which oversees the Park Service, responded to a detailed list of questions about the proposed arrangement by saying The Post’s 'assertion on contract sourcing is incorrect.'”

Dan Diamond & Aaron Schaffer of the Washington Post: “A group of Miami residents sued ... Donald Trump, Florida officials and trustees of Miami Dade College on Tuesday over Trump’s planned presidential library, claiming that the college’s decision to hand over a coveted parcel of land for the project constitutes an illegal benefit for the president. The litigants — who include a current Miami Dade College student — allege that the land transfer violates the Constitution’s domestic emoluments clause, which bars states from attempting to influence a president by giving him gifts. They argue that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his handpicked board of trustees at the state-operated college were wrong to give a nearly three-acre parcel in downtown Miami to Trump’s library foundation last year in exchange for $10. The county’s property appraiser had said the land was worth more than $67 million.... The lawsuit also cites Trump’s public comments in March that he expects to use his future library, which is being run by a nonprofit foundation, as a hotel. The land 'is no longer available to serve MDC’s student community and Downtown Miami,' the litigants write, calling for the transfer to be nullified. 'Instead, the land will house a Trump hotel that brings riches to the President.'” (Also linked yesterday.)

Thomas Edsall of the New York Times: “On the day our oil-stained president returned to the White House, he began an all-out assault on clean energy. Today, 16 months later, he and his party are paying a significant political price while American consumers are stuck with the bill. That bill, according to one scholarly estimate, totals $1,508 per household since ... [Donald] Trump took office for the second time (in after-tax dollars).... As if that were not enough, these same voters, when they fill up their cars, are confronting the costs of Trump’s choice to go to war with Iran, at a national average of $4.52 a gallon — that’s $90.40 for a 20-gallon tank. Trump has severely, but not fatally, wounded the American renewable energy industry, which is falling further behind China. At the same time, he is doling out tax dollars by the millions to keep dilapidated coal-fired power plants open.”

 

Colby Smith of the New York Times: “The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Kevin M. Warsh to become the next chair of the Federal Reserve, marking the start of a new era for an institution that ... [Donald] Trump has repeatedly attacked for not lowering interest rates as aggressively as he would like. Mr. Warsh, whom Mr. Trump nominated for the top job at the central bank, was approved on a 54-45 vote. He will replace Jerome H. Powell, whose term as chair ends May 15. All but one Democrat in the upper chamber voted against Mr. Warsh, reflecting lingering concerns about his willingness to uphold the longstanding political independence of the central bank. Mr. Trump has taken direct aim at that autonomy since returning to the White House last year.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Who is that one Democrat? Smith won't tell you (at least in this initial report), but I will tell you it's John Fetterman. Of course. (Also linked yesterday.) 

     ~~~ Marie: If you still are wondering what to think about Fetterman, maybe this clip RAS linked Wednesday will help. Referring to Fetterman & Bill Maher, RAS wrote, "What misogynistic assholes.... The fact that they can't tell the difference between uttering unvarnished truths versus a bigoted old man losing his filter tells you all you need to know about the intelligence of these two losers." I'll endorse that.

Sarah Kliff of the New York Times: “The Trump administration will withhold $1.3 billion in federal Medicaid payments from California, Vice President JD Vance announced on Wednesday, saying the state had failed to combat fraud in the public health insurance program.... The vice president also announced an audit of state-level watchdog agencies called Medicaid fraud control unit.... The announcements were part of the administration’s growing focus on fraud in public health insurance programs.... So far, the actions have focused on Democratic states.” MB: Gosh, that's a surprise.

Pranav Baskar of the New York Times: “A federal judge [-- Richard J. Leon --] ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration had most likely violated the law by deporting a Colombian woman to the Democratic Republic of Congo in April despite that country’s refusal to take her. The judge ordered the administration to return the woman, Adriana Maria Quiroz Zapata, 55, to the United States, a rare instance of a judge doing so amid the administration’s deportation campaign.... Congo had agreed to accept some deportees, but refused on medical grounds to accept Ms. Zapata, court records show. Ms. Zapata has diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hypothyroidism, according to her lawyer, Lauren O’Neal. Because of those conditions, the Congolese Interior Ministry told I.C.E. in a letter that it could not accept her because it could not provide adequate medical care.... Federal law allows the government to deport people to countries other than their own. But that law requires that the new country agree to accept them.”

⭐Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: “The immediate consequence of the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais is that Republican-led states in the South can destroy their majority-minority districts and, in turn, deprive their Black residents of federal representation by politicians of their choosing. Within days of the ruling, in fact, lawmakers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama rushed to do just that, practically gloating over the opportunity to purge Democrats — most of them Black — from their congressional delegations....To watch this whole spectacle is to put the lie to the idea — seen in the court’s opinion as well as among the court’s apologists — that the South has changed so much since 1965 that a strong Voting Rights Act is no longer necessary.... The main consequence, however, might be to undermine American democracy altogether and push this nation’s politics to an even more dangerous place of high partisan tension and ideological Balkanization.... The effect of [the redistricting] arms race is a House that looks something like the Electoral College.... A system in which political parties can rewrite the rules to keep themselves in power indefinitely ... is not a democracy in any meaningful sense.” The link is a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: I don't know how to evaluate this: a MAGA guy -- we'll call him "Rich Wanker," which seems like a good name for a GOP VIP -- quits for a good reason, but he is completely oblivious to what a terrible president* Trump is. ~~~

~~~ Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: “The chief spokesman for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resigned on Wednesday in protest over the administration’s push to allow major tobacco companies to begin selling flavored vapes that appeal to children. His departure came one day after the head of the Food and Drug Administration quit for the same reason. In a letter to Mr. Trump, obtained by The New York Times, the spokesman, Rich Danker, did not blame the president, whom he said had 'twice restored our prosperity and national security against all odds.' But he warned that authorizing flavored e-cigarettes would draw more children into vaping and increase their risk for a number of health issues, from addiction to cancer.” (Also linked yesterday.)

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Georgia Redistricting. Rick Rojas of the New York Times: “Gov. Brian Kemp [R] of Georgia on Wednesday called lawmakers back to the capital next month to redraw the state’s legislative districts for the 2028 election cycle, and to work on changes to the state’s voting system. The call for a special session, which will begin on June 17, comes as Southern lawmakers have been rushing to reconfigure congressional maps to be more favorable to Republicans for this year’s midterms in response to the recent Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But in Georgia, where early voting for next week’s primaries has already begun, lawmakers will instead consider new maps for 2028, taking action now in case Republicans lose control of the governor’s office or the State Legislature in November.”

Nebraska House Primary Election. Kellen Browning of the New York Times: “Denise Powell, a political organizer, won the Democratic primary election in a key Nebraska House district, according to The Associated Press. She will face Brinker Harding, a Republican city councilman, in the general election, a pivotal contest in a battleground district that comes as Democrats try to recapture control of Congress this fall. Representative Don Bacon, the Republican incumbent in the district and a frequent critic of ... [Donald] Trump, chose not to run for re-election.... Ms. Powell narrowly triumphed in a competitive Democratic primary that centered on an unusual argument: that electing her chief rival, State Senator John Cavanaugh, could make it easier for Republicans to win the White House in 2028.” The idea is that if Cavanaugh won the House race, he would have to leave the state senate. That might leave the state senate unable to oppose continuing GOP efforts to turn Nebraska into a winner-take-all state in the Electoral College. The district around Omaha -- a/k/a the “blue dot” -- often votes for the Democratic presidential candidate and gets the Democrat one Electoral College vote. 

South Carolina Redistricting. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: “Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina, a Republican, plans to call the state legislature back for a special session that will be focused on redrawing the state’s congressional maps, lawmakers said on Wednesday evening. The effort could eliminate the state’s sole Democratic district, held by Representative James E. Clyburn. Mr. McMaster’s decision came one day after five Republican state senators voted with Democrats to block a resolution that would have brought the legislature back to the State Capitol to consider redistricting. That vote had seemed to close the door on the matter. Republican lawmakers had considered an agreement to extend their session only when it became clear that Mr. McMaster would not immediately call a special session himself. But Mr. McMaster, who cannot seek re-election because of term limits, now appears willing to thrust South Carolina into the redistricting battles that have reached fever intensity, particularly in the South, ever since the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the Voting Rights Act last month.”

South Carolina. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: “South Carolina’s top court on Wednesday undid the murder convictions against Alex Murdaugh, the lawyer a jury had found guilty of murdering his wife and one of his sons in a trial that captivated the country. In a unanimous opinion, the State Supreme Court said that “shocking jury interference” by a court clerk who oversaw jurors during the 2023 trial meant that Mr. Murdaugh’s convictions and life sentence must be overturned. Mr. Murdaugh, 57, will remain in prison because he is also serving decades-long prison sentences after pleading guilty to stealing millions of dollars from his law firm and his former clients. While he has admitted to embezzlement, he has long maintained — including during testimony at his trial — that he did not kill his wife, Maggie, 52, and their younger son, Paul, 22. The South Carolina attorney general's office, which prosecuted the case, will retry Mr. Murdaugh for the killings.” (Also linked yesterday.)