Michael Whatley, RNC chairman endorsed by Trump, launches Senate bid in North Carolina
The contest is expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive 2026 races. Speaking at an event held at an old textile mill near Charlotte, Whatley pledged his allegiance to the president, who will be a major focus for both sides in a swing state where Trump had one of his smallest margins of victory last year.
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Winnipeg Free Press
22 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump's pursuit of meeting with Chinese leader reveals the complex web of US-China relations
WASHINGTON (AP) — China, the adversary. China, the friend? These days, maybe a bit of both. From easing export controls to reportedly blocking the Taiwanese president's plans to travel through the United States, President Donald Trump is raising eyebrows in Washington that he might offer concessions that could hurt U.S. interests in his quest to meet, and reach a deal with, the Chinese leader. There is no firm plan for Trump to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. But it's widely believed that the men must meet in person, likely in the fall, for the two governments to ink a trade deal, and some are worried that Xi is leveraging Trump's desire for more giveaways. 'The summit mismatch is real. There's a clear gap between Trump's eagerness for a face-to-face with Xi and Beijing's reluctance to engage,' said Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies. There are concerns that Trump may throttle back on export controls or investment curbs to preserve summit prospects, Singleton said, warning the risk 'isn't just in giving away too much' but also 'in letting Beijing set the tempo.' China-U.S. relations have pinballed often since Washington established relations with communist-led Beijing in 1979. They've hit highs and lows — the latter in the aftermath of the 1989 massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, after a 2001 incident involving a U.S. spy plane, during the COVID pandemic and right now. Both countries have struggled to understand each other, which has sometimes gotten in the way of deeper partnerships. And this time around, there's a wild card: the anything-might-happen second presidency of Trump. Disputes often accompany potential US-China leader meetings Efforts by a U.S. president to meet the head of the authoritarian Chinese government have often met with partisan outcries — which happened when former President Joe Biden hosted Xi in California in 2023. But Trump's case is peculiar, partly because he is willing to break with conventional political restraints to make deals and partly because his own party has grown hawkish towards China over national security. 'With President Trump, everything seems to be open for negotiation, and there are few if any red lines,' said Gabriel Wildau, managing director of the global consultancy Teneo. 'The hawks worry that if Trump gets into a room with Xi, he will agree to extraordinary concessions, especially if he believes that a big, beautiful deal is within reach.' While most Republican lawmakers have not voiced their concerns openly, Democrats are vocal in their opposition. 'President Trump is giving away the farm to Xi just so he can save face and reach a nonsensical trade deal with Beijing that will hurt American families economically,' said Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. On Tuesday, Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said the Trump administration 'has not wavered — and will never waver — in safeguarding our national and economic security to put America first.' 'The administration continues to have productive conversations with China to address longstanding unfair trade practices,' Desai said, adding that export controls on cutting-edge technology and many tariffs remain in place. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, after his latest round of trade negotiations with the Chinese in July, told CNBC that the team was 'very careful to keep trade and national security separate.' And Secretary of State Marco Rubio, appearing on Fox News Radio, said the U.S. remains 'as committed as ever to our partners … in places like Taiwan' but also spoke of the strategic need to keep trade ties with China steady. 'In the end, we have two big, the two largest economies in the world,' Rubio said. 'An all-out trade conflict between the U.S. and China, I think the U.S. would benefit from it in some ways, but the world would be hurt by it.' There's worry over Taiwan Taiwan is concerned that the self-governing island could be 'trade-able' when Trump seeks a deal with Beijing, said Jason Hsu, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former legislator in Taiwan. 'Our concern is that, will any of the trade deals lead to concession on political support for Taiwan?' Hsu said, citing the case last month where the White House allegedly blocked a request for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te to transit through the United States. The U.S. maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and has always allowed such transits in the past. Experts are worried that the Trump administration is setting a bad precedent, and Democrats have seized on it to criticize Trump. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on China, called the move 'both a sharp break from precedent and another example of the Trump administration caving to China in hopes of reaching a trade deal.' He said the policy decision 'sends a dangerous signal' that Taiwan's democracy is negotiable. Hsu said Taiwan fears that Trump could be coerced or compelled to support the one-China principle, as espoused by Beijing, that acknowledges Beijing's sovereignty claim over the island. There are also concerns that Trump might utter anything in support of 'unification.' That was a request Beijing raised with the Biden administration, though it failed to get a positive response. Now, it's upon Taiwan to persuade Trump to think of the island as 'an economic partner rather than something that he can trade when he negotiates with China,' Hsu said, suggesting that Taiwan step up defense commitments, increase energy procurement, open its market to U.S. companies and invest more in the U.S. But Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said Trump is bound by the Taiwan Relations Act, a domestic law that obligates the U.S. to maintain an unofficial relationship with the island and provides it with sufficient hardware to deter any invasion by China. 'He can dial the (U.S.-Taiwan) relationship up and down,' Sun said, 'but he can't remove the relationship.' Export controls have been instituted, to mixed results In April, the White House, citing national security, announced it would restrict sales of Nvidia's H20 computer chips to China. The ban was lifted about three months later, when the two governments had climbed down from sky-high tariffs and harsh trade restrictions. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The decision upset both Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on China, wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to stress that the U.S. cannot let the Chinese Communist Party 'use American chips to train AI models that will power its military, censor its people, and undercut American innovation.' In Stockholm, Bessent pushed back at the concern that national security might be compromised. 'We are very diligent,' Bessent said, adding there's an interagency process that involves the National Security Council and the Defense Department for decisions. 'There's nothing that's being exchanged for anything,' Bessent said. Addressing H20 chips specifically, Bessent said they 'are well down' Nvidia's 'technology chips stack.' U.S. companies are banned from selling their most advanced chips to China. That might not be persuasive enough. Teneo's Wildau said China hawks are most worried that the H20 decision could be the beginning of a series of moves to roll back export controls from the Biden era, which were once considered 'permanent and non-negotiable.'
Winnipeg Free Press
22 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Several states consider redrawing congressional maps after Texas kicks off fight
Texas Republicans' push to redraw congressional maps to secure five more GOP seats in the U.S. House has kicked off a no-holds-barred battle between blue and red states, each threatening to redraw their own House seats. The process of changing congressional maps to ensure one party's victory over another — called gerrymandering — has typically been done more furtively, with parties fearing a backlash from voters wary of a rigged system. But President Donald Trump's call for Texas to blatantly redraw the maps to better ensure that Republicans retain control of the House in the 2026 elections has blown the lid off of the practice. Gerrymandering, once a feared accusation, has now become a battle cry. Here are the states now considering early redistricting. Texas kicked it off, but Democrats fled the state Dozens of Democrats left Texas in a Hail Mary to halt a vote on redistricting, leaving the legislature without enough lawmakers present — called a quorum — to proceed. Democrats, who didn't show up for a second day Tuesday, wouldn't have the votes to stop the bill otherwise. In response, Gov. Gregg Abbott and fellow Republicans are threatening the Democrats who left with arrests, fines and removal from office. The state Attorney General Ken Paxton warned he could ask the courts to vacate their seats if they don't show up when the House convenes on Friday. Trump and Texas Sen. John Cornyn have also asked the FBI to get involved. Still, past efforts by Democrats to abscond and deny Republicans a quorum only delayed the passage of bills, but didn't quash them. Through it all, Abbott has been adamant that redrawing districts with political bias is legal. California Democrats propose retaliation In response to events in Texas, Democrats in California are considering a draft proposal to reshape their own district maps and cut away five Republican seats while securing more precarious seats already held by Democrats. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has been outspoken about wanting partisan redistricting if Texas moves ahead with its plans. Unlike Texas, however, California has an independent commission that handles redistricting after the census every decade, which is typically when districts are reshaped to account for population shifts. Any changes would first need the approval of state lawmakers and voters. Newsom said he'd call a special election in November for California residents to do just that. Missouri's governor under pressure from Trump The Trump administration wants Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special legislative session for congressional redistricting in favor of Republicans. Kehoe has expressed interest in doing so, discussing it with Republican legislative leaders, but has not made a decision. Republicans now hold six of the state's eight U.S. House seats, and the GOP could pick up another by reshaping a Kansas City area district held by a Democrat. New York Democrats try to change state law New York, similar to California, has an independent commission that redistricts only after the census. Last week, state Democrats introduced legislation to allow mid-decade redistricting. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said if Texas proceeds, 'we must do the same.' The proposal, however, would require an amendment to the state constitution, a change that would have to pass the legislature twice and be approved by voters. That means the soonest new maps could be in place would be for the 2028 elections. Wisconsin Democrats try a different tact While Republicans control the legislature in the battleground state, Democrats turned to the courts to try to force a redrawing of congressional district boundary lines before the 2026 midterms. A pair of lawsuits were filed in July after the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court previously declined to hear challenges directly, without saying why. Maryland Democrats promise a response to Texas The House Majority leader, David Moon, a Democrat, says he will sponsor legislation to trigger redistricting in Maryland if Texas or any other state holds redistricting ahead of the census. Florida's governor hints at support for redistricting Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he was considering early redistricting and 'working through what that would look like.' Ohio must redraw its maps before the 2026 midterms That's because a law in the Republican-led state requires it before the 2026 midterm elections. The GOP holds 10 of its 15 House seats already, and could try to expand that edge. Indiana's governor will speak with the Vice President J.D. Vance Republican Gov. Mike Braun told reporters Tuesday that Vance will visit Indiana to discuss several matters, including redistricting in the solidly GOP state. Braun, who would have to call a special session to draw new maps, said he expects a 'broad conversation' with legislative leaders on the constitutionality of such a move and said no commitments have yet been made. 'It looks like it's going to happen across many Republican states,' Braun said in a video by WRTV in Indianapolis. ____ Associated Press writers Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report.
Calgary Herald
an hour ago
- Calgary Herald
Trump says he's readying more tariffs on Russian energy buyers
(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump suggested he would impose increased tariffs on additional countries buying energy from Russia — including China — after saying earlier Tuesday that he would be raise levies on Indian exports within 24 hours. Article content 'We'll be doing quite a bit of that,' Trump said when asked if he would follow through on a previous threat to impose tariffs on additional countries, including China. 'We'll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time.' Article content Article content Article content Trump also claimed that he 'never said a percentage' that he would impose on Russian trading partners. Earlier this month, Trump told reporters he planned to do 'very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100%.' That rhetorical retreat suggests Trump may not intend to follow through on the full extent his previous threats. Article content Article content 'We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow,' Trump said. 'We're going to see what happens. We'll make that determination at that time.' Article content US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Russia for meetings this week with Russian officials, ahead of Trump's Aug. 8 deadline for Moscow to reach a truce with Ukraine. Article content Ukraine's allies have said energy purchases by countries, including China and India, have helped to prop up Russian leader Vladimir Putin's economy and undercut pressure on Moscow to end a war that is now in its fourth year. Article content In an interview with CNBC earlier Tuesday, Trump indicated he would push forward with escalated tariffs on India in particular. Article content 'We settled on 25% but I think I'm going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they're buying Russian oil,' Trump said. 'They're fueling the war machine. And if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy.' Article content
