INTERNACIONAL
How Donald Trump tried to court the Atlantic – and why the liberal magazine landed an interview
Hell hath frozen over: At the White House the other day, Donald Trump «was launching a charm offensive, directed mainly at Goldberg,» as in Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief. «There was none of the name-calling or hostility he regularly levels at our magazine.»
That’s according to Atlantic reporters Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, who wrote the magazine’s cover story, which was posted yesterday.
For all the insights gleaned from the interview, nothing is more fascinating than how it came about.
They called the president on his cell phone. (Wha? Who do I have to court to get that? The reporters ain’t saying.)
Trump says he did the initial phone interview to see if the liberal magazine could be fair.
PRESIDENT TRUMP TELLS THE ATLANTIC HE RUNS THE COUNTRY ‘AND THE WORLD’
So I’m here to pronounce that the entire, seemingly endless piece is fair. The president hasn’t taken a shot at it on Truth Social, at least so far.
He has, however, ripped new polls from the «Failing New York Times» and «ABC/Washington Post» as «FAKE POLLS FROM FAKE NEWS ORGANIZATIONS,» saying they should be «investigated for ELECTION FRAUD, and add in the Fox News Pollster while you’re at it.» His lowest approval rating, in the Post-ABC survey, was 39 percent.
Meanwhile, we may now look back on Trump’s 2024 victory as inevitable, but after Jan. 6 it was anything but. On the cell call, «The president seemed exhilarated by everything he had managed to do in the first two months of his second term.»
President Trump recently gave an interview to The Atlantic. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
And then came the transaction: «As ever, Trump was on the hunt for a deal. If he liked the story we wrote, he said, he might even speak with us again.»
Goldberg describes the session: «What I found in this particular meeting was a Trump who was low-key, attentive, and eager to convince us that he is good at his job and good for the country. It isn’t easy to escape the tractor beam of his charisma, but somehow we managed, and we asked him what needed to be asked.
«But squaring Trump the Charmer with the Orcish Trump we more frequently see is difficult…Trump posted on the social-media platform he owns that Ashley is a ‘Radical Left Lunatic’ (she is not) and that Michael ‘has never written a fair story about me, only negative, and virtually always LIES’ (also false). It is our task at the Atlantic not to be bullied by these sorts of attacks.»
STATE OF WAR: HOW TRUMP IS FIGHTING A 9-FRONT BATTLE
The most interesting Trump sound bite is his comparison of the two terms:
«The first time, I had two things to do—run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys. And the second time, I run the country and the world.»
Parker and Scherer did many other interviews, such as with Steve Bannon. «Our reality is that we won,» and he cited the conspiracy theory that the FBI had incited the crowd on Jan. 6. The reporters said that was simply untrue.
«Now, here’s the interesting thing,» Bannon said. «Who’s won that argument? I think we have…
«This time it’s ‘Hey, f**k you, Greenland’s ours…When you’ve come back from such long odds, you clearly feel, ‘I can do anything.’ »
What about the four criminal investigations, including the conviction on the weakest one – Alvin Bragg’s hush money case? Trump says his numbers kept going up.
INTERVIEWING DONALD TRUMP: A LAST-MINUTE BLITZ AND NEW CLOSING MESSAGE
«Shockingly, yes,» Trump said. «Normally, it would knock you out. You wouldn’t even live for the next day. You know, you’d announce your resignation, and you’d go back and ‘fight for your name,’ like everybody says—you know, ‘fight for your name, go back to your family.’ …Yeah, it made me stronger, made me a lot stronger.»
He also said in the phone interview: «I got indicted five different times by five different scumbags, and they’re all looking for jobs now, so it’s one of those things. Who would have thought, right? It’s been pretty amazing.»
After the 2016 election, Trump told oil executives at Mar-a-Lago:
If I’m not president, you’re f***ed. Look at your profit-and-loss statements. You realize what would have happened to you if she was president? What’s wrong with you?») She was Kamala Harris, of course.
Referring to the criminal cases against him – including the charges brought forth by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Trump said «it made [him] stronger.» (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via AP / Trump-Vance Transition Team)
One turning point: When he went to East Palestine, Ohio after the derailment of a train carrying toxic chemicals, while Joe Biden didn’t do squat.
On the Kennedy Center: «I didn’t really get to go the first time, because I was always getting impeached or some bulls**t, and I could never enjoy a show.» So he fired the Democrats and made himself chairman.
All right, enough quotes. Wait, one more that captures the tone of the piece:
«I got 38 percent of the male Black vote. Nobody knew that was possible. That’s a lot. I got 56 percent of Hispanics. How about that one? Every county along the Texas border is Hispanic. I won every one of them.» Though every single number he cited was wrong, the general thrust of his observation was correct.»
The reporters chronicled how things have gone south for the president, especially on tariffs and the economy, and how he pressured Hill Republicans into backing his nominees with primary threats.
SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES
After the March phone interview, the reporters tried Trump’s cellphone again. Just got voice mail. But at 1:38 am, he tried them back. No message.
Trump believes he can win over even his worst enemies. In 2015 or 2016, I watched him make a beeline in the New York green room for Karl Rove, who was very rough on him. At worst, he thinks, he can neutralize the person. Or soften him or her up for the next time. He enjoys the challenge.
The mainstream media almost uniformly can’t stand Donald Trump. He does invite some of his own negative headlines, while providing unprecedented access, but much of the press is back in Resistance mode.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Still, the Atlantic’s original pitch is undeniable, that he’s «The Most Consequential President of the 21st Century.»
Media Buzz,Donald Trump,Media
Defensor principal de las criptomonedas
En la conferencia, el Sr. Trump dijo que la criptomoneda «Es el futuro de nuestros sistemas financieros». Foto Haiyun Jiang para The New York Times
Ilustración de Ricardo Tomás; Foto de George Clerk vía Getty ImagesUna avalancha de inversores
Justin Sun es el criptoejecutivo que más puede beneficiarse de su afiliación a World Liberty. Foto Tamir Kalifa para The New York Times
Eric Trump calificó World Liberty como una de las empresas más exitosas de la familia. Foto Tamir Kalifa para The New York TimesLas estrellas se alinean
Dominik Schiener, un veterano de 14 años en el sector de las criptomonedas que fundó la Fundación IOTA, calificó de «deshonesto» el planteamiento de World Liberty. Foto Axel Schmidt/Reuters
Ondo, una start-up de criptomonedas respaldada por Peter Thiel, ayudó a patrocinar el Crypto Ball, un evento de inauguración. Foto Jason Andrew para The New York TimesAgradéceme después
Ilustración de Ricardo Tomás; Fotografía de Keystone Pictures USA, vía Alamy
El presidente Trump organizó la primera cumbre sobre activos digitales en la Casa Blanca el mes pasado. Foto Haiyun Jiang para The New York Times
One hundred days into his new administration, President Donald Trump has reset negotiations with allies and foes across the globe, and experts say one is certain: it is all transactional.
Gone are the days when the U.S. could be drawn to throw its force around the world solely in the name of defending or spreading democracy. Global leaders are learning to speak a new language with U.S. leadership, one that is less about ideology and more about how their interests benefit U.S. interests.
«There is a lot more transactional engagement rather than I think we’re ideological-based, policy decisions that were sort of the hallmark of the Biden administration,» said Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum.
Here is a round-up of how Trump has changed U.S. foreign policy since taking office:
FOX NEWS POLL: THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, left, and President Donald Trump are working on a nuclear deal. (West Asia News Agency, Reuters | SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Negotiating a deal to avert a nuclear Iran
Former President Joe Biden toyed with reviving a nuclear deal with Iran and criticized Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, but his administration made little progress toward serious negotiations.
Trump has now expressed interest in a new nuclear deal. He told Israel the U.S. would not come to their aid in attacking Iran until diplomatic negotiations played out.
As Trump’s team met with Iranian counterparts in Oman this weekend for a second round of nuclear talks, he issued another threat: if negotiations whither away, the U.S. would not be dragged by Israel into war with Iran but will be «leading the pack.»
Taking Yemen’s Houthis head-on
An offensive campaign against Yemen’s Houthi terrorists launched six weeks ago has struck more than 800 targets and cost nearly $1 billion – a sharp departure from the tit-for-tat retaliatory strikes seen under the Biden administration, when Houthis attacked U.S. naval ships and Western commercial vessels.
«Biden pursued a policy of retaliatory strikes: If you hit us, we’ll hit you,» said Roman. «What Trump is trying to do is what I call a salting the earth strategy. If you dare challenge American military supremacy or the ability for us to conduct free trade to the bottom of or through the Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Yemen, Red Sea, Suez … We will attempt to end your ability to wage war on the United States in its interests.»
US STRIKES KILL HUNDREDS OF HOUTHI FIGHTERS, HIT OVER 800 RED SEA TARGETS: CENTRAL COMMAND
President Donald Trump is taking a different approach when dealing with Houthi fighters. (AP Images/Getty Images)
From funding Ukraine ‘as long as it takes’ to demanding a negotiated settlement
While Biden had promised the U.S. would stand by Ukraine «as long as it takes» in the war against Russia, Trump expressed a desire to see the war come to an end, promising that he could end the war on «day one» of his presidency.
One hundred days in, the war is not over. Negotiations are ongoing, and Trump has jumped between sounding off in frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As Putin continues to strike even civilian regions of Ukraine, Trump questioned on Saturday whether the Russian leader truly wants peace or is «tapping me along.»
He again questioned whether he would need to slap «secondary sanctions» on nations that do business with Russia to starve its war coffers.
On Monday, Russia offered a three-day ceasefire from May 8-10, but the White House was not satisfied. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wants a «permanent ceasefire.»
Trump met face-to-face with Zelenskyy in Rome on Saturday, the first time since their infamous Oval Office spat in February, after slamming Zelenskyy’s latest rejection of his peace proposal, one that would have formally ceded Crimea to the Russians.
President Donald Trump, left, met face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time since their Oval Office spat in February over the weekend. (Vatican and Ukraine Ambassador to Holy See)
Strategic takeover: New pushes for Greenland, Panama
The Monroe Doctrine is back, analysts say, and Trump wants both Greenland and the Panama Canal under U.S. control.
The proposals drew shock across the world, but at least in Panama, Trump’s bold words prompted a proposal to offer the U.S. «first and free» passage for its warships, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier this month. It also spurred the proposed sale of two ports of entry from Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to U.S.-based BlackRock, though that deal has been delayed by Chinese regulatory and political scrutiny.
Efforts to attain Greenland have proved less successful. Tough talk against Denmark and its ownership of Greenland has ratcheted up tensions with the NATO ally and Greenland’s leadership has expressed little interest in becoming a part of the U.S.
However, Trump has called out the threat of Russia and China’s increasing arctic military capabilities – the shortest range for a missile to travel from Russia to the U.S. would be over the icy island’s territory. Trump is also interested in the rare earth mining potential of the massive swath of land.
President Donald Trump wants the U.S. to control the Panama Canal. (REUTERS/Enea Lebrun/File Photo)
Allies step up for their own defense
Trump’s threats to pull out of the NATO alliance – or refuse to come to the defense of allies that do not contribute enough military spending – has left nations across the world planning for the contingency that they may have to defend themselves without U.S. aid.
The European Union announced a plan for its nations to spend $840 billion to «re-arm Europe» after Trump halted all aid to Ukraine in March.
Countries like Spain, Belgium and Sweden have all announced plans this year to increase defense spending to meet NATO’s 2% target, while eastern European states near Russia’s border, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland, have announced plans to increase defense spending to around 5%.
Punishing China for unfair trade practices
Concern over China’s hegemonic ambitions bridges the partisan divide, but the Biden White House never considered such drastic measures as 145% tariffs.
Trump has said the goal of the tariffs is to both bring back US manufacturing after decades of offshore production and punish China for intellectual property theft, a massive trade imbalance, and fentanyl flowing from China to the U.S. A free trade push in the early 2000s had wrongly assumed liberal trade policies would bring democratic values and free markets into Chinese borders, his supporters argue.
Trump has insisted that President Xi Jinping wants to cut a deal to lower the soaring tariffs, even as China has rejected the prospect of talks.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
It is unclear what sort of realistic concessions the U.S. could get out of a deal, perhaps promises to buy more American-made agricultural products, fuel or other specialty goods.
For now, steep tariffs remain, and China is choking off U.S. supply of critical minerals, which could spell deep trouble for everyday electronics, electric vehicles and defense equipment.
Donald Trump,White House,Foreign Policy,Middle East,Russia,Ukraine,China,Greenland
INTERNACIONAL
La mentira imperdonable del cardenal Becciu al papa Francisco que provocó su expulsión del cónclave
Angelo Becciu fue el primer cardenal juzgado y condenado por un tribunal penal del Vaticano por estafa y malversación. Entre sus delitos se encuentra el pago de sobreprecios en la compra de un edificio de lujo en Londres en 2014, donaciones que terminaron en mano de su familia y sobre todo el desvío del dinero del rescate de una monja colombiana que estaba en manos de Al-Qaeda.
Tras amenazar con hacer valer sus derechos como cardenal, Becciu cedió a la presión de sus pares y renunció a participar en el cónclave que comenzará el 7 de mayo para elegir el sucesor del papa Francisco.
Leé también: La carta de Becciu, el cardenal condenado por corrupción y cuestionado por Francisco que renunció al cónclave
Según medios italianos, el cardenal tomó esta decisión tras ver dos cartas que dejó el papa argentino “que aprobaba la decisión de no dejarlo entrar en el cónclave”.
El cardenal Angelo Becciu fue condenado a 5 años y 6 meses de cárcel en 2023. (Fuente: REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane).
Por qué fue condenado el cardenal Angelo Becciu
El derrotero de Becciu comenzó en 2020. Una poco clara operación inmobiliaria en Londres lo puso en la mira de la justicia.
El caso estalló con la compra de un edificio en una antigua sede de las galerías Harrods, en el exclusivo barrio londinense de Chelsea, una operación especulativa que creó un agujero en las cuentas de la Santa Sede de al menos 139 millones de euros.
El edificio en el centro del escándalo financiero del Vaticano. (Foto: Reuters/John Sibley),
Además, durante el proceso surgieron otros delitos financieros cometidos presuntamente por Becciu como las donaciones de 125.000 euros que el cardenal ingresó en la cuenta de una asociación, vinculada a la Cáritas sarda de Ozieri, que en ese momento presidía uno de sus hermanos.
Leé también: Alfajores, muzza con fainá y “salsa caliente”: los favoritos del Papa y su mandamiento sobre la comida
En ese entonces, Becciu era prefecto de la Congregación para las Causas de los Santos. Francisco le soltó la mano. Lo obligó a renunciar y le quitó sus privilegios. Finalmente fue condenado a cinco años y seis meses de prisión por delitos financieros.
Sin embargo, uno de los temas que más revuelo causó fue el desvío de un rescate de más de millón de euros que estaba destinado a la liberación de la monja colombiana Gloria Cecilia Narváez, raptada por Al-Qaeda en Mali en el año 2017.
Según se descubrió, 570.000 euros fueron a parar a una sociedad eslovena controlada por una asesora de Becciu, Cecilia Marogna, supuesta experta en seguridad y relaciones internacionales. El resto del dinero, la mujer se lo gastó en hoteles de lujo, viajes, ropa bolsos, perfumes y otras opulencias.
Qué dijo la exasesora de Becciu
En su defensa, Marogna sostuvo que en una entrevista con el diario Corriere della Sera que ofreció en 2015 a Becciu crear una “red diplomacia paralela en los países del norte de África y Oriente Medio”.
“Yo sabía qué hacer y cómo moverme, también para reducir los peligros para las nunciaturas derivados las células terroristas presentes en esos países”, explicó.
Cecilia Marogna, la ex asesora de seguridad del Vaticano. (Foto: gentileza El Mundo).
Respecto a que muchos de esos fondos se gastaron en artículos de lujo, la mujer lo justificó alegando que: “Quizás el bolso era para la esposa de un amigo nigeriano que pudo hablar con el presidente de Burkina Faso para vigilar los riesgos y peligros de las nunciaturas del Vaticano”.
“Con ese dinero hice el trabajo que me pidieron: entablar relaciones y contactos en países difíciles. Hice informes y análisis, siempre y cuando fuera pagado. No soy un estafadora”, dijo también al diario Domani.
Sin embargo, durante la investigación, se descubrió que Marogna no era ninguna experta en seguridad: su currículum era completamente inventado.
“En torno a esto hay muchas sospechas, pero es seguro que no había ninguna relación carnal entre Becciu y Marogna. Simplemente, ella es una mujer muy lista por la que se deja llevar», contó al diario El Mundo una fuente cercana a la prensa del Vaticano.
Becciu fue el primer cardenal juzgado por un tribunal penal del Vaticano. También fue condenado a inhabilitación “perpetua” para ejercer cargos en la Santa Sede, pero la sentencia se encuentra en proceso de apelación y sin condena efectiva. La nueva etapa del juicio comenzará en septiembre.
conclave, Vaticano, Corrupción
El controvertido auge de la empresa de criptomonedas de la familia Trump
La gente no los odia lo suficiente
Las otras operaciones que se pueden hacer con Cuenta DNI además de comprar y sacar créditos
Marcha de la CGT: cómo funcionarán los bancos, el transporte y los servicios esenciales este miércoles
Fernando Gago dejó de ser DT de Boca Juniors, tras la derrota en el Superclásico
Dónde voto en Salta 2025: cómo consultar el padrón para las elecciones legislativas
Javier Milei recordó que le pidió perdón al papa Francisco: “Me dijo son errores de juventud”
El llanto de Javier Milei y una pelea que desata pasiones
Javier Milei llegó a Roma para el funeral del papa Francisco
El dato llamativo del homenaje al Papa Francisco en la marcha de la CGT del 30 de abril
Imparable: la petrolera Vista incrementó casi 50% su producción gracias a Vaca Muerta
La sorprendente imagen de David Luiz y su pelo que ya se ha hecho viral
Jujuy: Vecinos de La Isla denuncian abandono y manipulación política
Vecinos del asentamiento La Isla, ubicado en el barrio San Martín de Jujuy, volvieron a alzar la voz tras casi...
Lamine Yamal ya tiene su Óscar del deporte
Lamine Yamal ha sido premiado este lunes por la Academia Laureus World Sports como mejor deportista revelación de la temporada....
Martín Ayerbe: “La política argentina es vanidad absoluta”
Durante la entrevista, Martín Ayerbe fue contundente al describir el panorama político y la situación de su espacio: “Hace dos...
