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Rubio Says U.S. to Decide in Days if End to War in Ukraine Is ‘Doable’ “If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said as he departed meetings in Paris............. It was not entirely clear from Mr. Rubio’s remarks whether he meant that the United States would merely abandon its effort to reach a 30-day cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, President Trump’s immediate focus, or abandon Washington’s commitments to Ukraine altogether. ........... But his remarks ratcheted up pressure on both sides to end the war and appeared intended to inject urgency into European efforts to prod Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, toward compromise. ........... Trump said on Thursday that he was “not a big fan” of the Ukrainian leader. By contrast, speaking of his relations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia during his first term, Mr. Trump said that “I was the apple of his eye.” ............. Responding to Mr. Rubio’s comments, the Kremlin signaled that it was in no hurry for a cease-fire, a consistent message from Moscow throughout Mr. Trump’s attempts to end the war. .............. it appeared clear that Mr. Trump was losing patience. .......... Putin has balked, setting various conditions even for a 30-day cease-fire. The Russian bombardment of Ukraine continues. .............. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said ending the war was “not a simple topic” and that Russia was seeking a settlement that would “ensure its own interests.” ................. an American exit from peace talks would mean an open acknowledgment of Mr. Trump’s “powerlessness regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.” .............. Rubio indicated he might participate, but not if the meeting was just an exercise in further talking. He said he hoped Europeans would remain engaged in the efforts to secure a peace in Ukraine. Mr. Putin’s demands — among them that Ukraine cede territory that Russia has occupied and abandon its attempts to join NATO — have been rejected outright by Ukraine.
Trump Has Botched His Tariff War With China some of the basic principles of business negotiations: Have a clear and attainable goal, know your adversary’s pain points (and don’t reveal your own), and make sure you don’t box them in so aggressively that they have no choice but to dig in their heels and retaliate........ His ill-conceived and amateurishly executed tariff war with China has now spiraled out of control, threatening world trade and badly damaging America’s global image. And it is far from certain that he will prevail. .......... In 2017, before Mr. Trump began imposing tariffs, 21.6 percent of goods imported into the United States came from China. That fell to 13.4 percent last year. .......... Some of that may be because of the rerouting of Chinese products and components through third countries before they reach the United States .......... The value of direct Chinese exports to the United States last year was roughly the same as a decade ago; its exports to the European Union, meanwhile, soared in that period. China also has reduced its overall reliance on trade: Exports as a percentage of China’s gross domestic product declined from 36 percent in 2006 to 19.7 percent in 2023 ............ China under President Xi Jinping has spent years preparing for this expected trade confrontation with the United States, through its messaging at home and by prioritizing technological self-sufficiency, economic security and industrial retooling. In recent months it has taken additional steps to strengthen the economy and promote domestic consumption and is once again embracing China’s leading private sector entrepreneurs, whose dynamism and prominence faded in recent years as the government pursued more state-led industrial development. ............. So far, it is Mr. Trump who has blinked. Last week he declared a 90-day pause in the steep “reciprocal” tariffs he imposed on other countries after they sparked fears of a recession, crashed global financial markets and caused American business titans to publicly question the president’s approach. His admission that he backed off because investors were getting “yippy” was unwise, showing that he might waver again if the standoff with China persists. ............ Trump’s negotiating position will weaken by the day as U.S. consumers feel the sting of rising inflation, investors watch their stock portfolios suffer and chief executives see the business outlook darken.
........... China’s leaders are simply not as vulnerable to domestic pressure as Mr. Trump. This has deep historical, cultural and social roots. Recurring periods of hardship in Chinese history have embedded in the nation’s psyche a capacity for endurance and fortitude. The phrase for this is “chi ku,” or to “eat bitterness.” Younger Chinese today are accustomed to more comfortable consumer lives than previous generations, but chi ku still runs strong. ............ As a child, I lived in a cramped 200-square-foot single-room apartment with my parents; kitchen and restroom areas were shared with more than 20 other households. Our family was considered better off than most. .......... China produces too much and wants to shift toward more consumption; the United States consumes too much and wants to produce more.
......... What it has done is raise the risk of a world recession and make China appear like the more stable and reliable economic partner. ........ So much for the art of the deal.
What’s Happening Is Not Normal. America Needs an Uprising That Is Not Normal. In the beginning there was agony. Under the empires of old, the strong did what they willed and the weak suffered what they must......... But over the centuries, people built the sinews of civilization: Constitutions to restrain power, international alliances to promote peace, legal systems to peacefully settle disputes, scientific institutions to cure disease, news outlets to advance public understanding, charitable organizations to ease suffering, businesses to build wealth and spread prosperity, and universities to preserve, transmit and advance the glories of our way of life. These institutions make our lives sweet, loving and creative, rather than nasty, brutish and short. ..... Trumpism is threatening all of that.
........ Trumpism is about ego, appetite and acquisitiveness and is driven by a primal aversion to the higher elements of the human spirit — learning, compassion, scientific wonder, the pursuit of justice. ....... In one lane they are going after law firms. In another they savaged U.S.A.I.D. In another they’re attacking our universities. On yet another front they’re undermining NATO and on another they’re upending global trade. ......... So far, the only real hint of something larger — a mass countermovement — has been the rallies led by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. ....... Right now, Trumpism is dividing civil society; if done right, the civic uprising can begin to divide the forces of Trumpism. ............ I have seen it over and over: A kid comes on campus as a freshman, inquisitive but unformed. By senior year, there is something impressive about her. She is awakened, cultured, a critical thinker. The universities have performed their magic once again.
