President Donald Trump marked his 18th week in office with a whirlwind of diplomacy, sharp rhetoric, and firm policy declarations that rippled across the global stage.
Kicking off the week with a high-stakes call, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin to advance long-stalled peace negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The conversation followed recent in-person talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey—the first face-to-face dialogue since 2022. According to Trump, both sides signaled openness to a ceasefire and an eventual end to the conflict, though he emphasized the U.S. would play a supportive—not central—role in the process.
“The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They know the details no one else would be aware of.”
In follow-up comments to reporters, Trump doubled down on the notion that the conflict remains primarily a European matter. “It’s not our people, it’s not our soldiers. This is Ukraine and Russia. It should’ve stayed that way,” he said.
Tensions rose at the White House midweek when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Washington for a diplomatic meeting that turned unexpectedly combative. Trump, pressing concerns over land seizures and violence in South Africa, aired a video purporting to show approximately 1,000 roadside crosses, which he described as grave markers for murdered White Afrikaner farmers. The footage prompted an incredulous response from Ramaphosa, who questioned the video’s authenticity.
“I’d like to know where that is,” Ramaphosa said. “Because this I’ve never seen.”
“It’s in South Africa, that’s where,” Trump replied.
The White House defended showing the clip, calling it “substantiated,” though reports later indicated the crosses were part of a memorial demonstration—not actual burial sites. Nonetheless, Trump remained firm in his message, stating the images depicted “a terrible sight” and calling the deaths of White South African farmers a humanitarian concern.
Meanwhile, a tragic shooting in Washington, D.C., drew condemnation from Trump and his administration. Two Israeli Embassy employees, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were gunned down outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday. The White House confirmed the pair had plans to get engaged in Jerusalem next week. Authorities later arrested Elias Rodriguez, a 31-year-old pro-Palestinian activist from Chicago, in connection with the killings.
“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end—NOW!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “Hatred and radicalism have no place in the USA.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that sentiment, calling the attack “an evil act of antisemitism” and vowing that the Department of Justice would prosecute the case to the fullest extent of the law. “Hatred has no place in the United States under President Donald Trump,” she told reporters.
By Friday, attention shifted back to global trade as Trump issued a bold new threat to the European Union: a 50% tariff on EU imports beginning June 1, citing longstanding trade imbalances and regulatory barriers.
“Their powerful trade barriers, VAT taxes, corporate penalties, and monetary manipulations have led to a trade deficit of more than $250 billion a year—a number that is totally unacceptable,” Trump said in a post.
The warning follows a landmark trade agreement between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, the first signed since Trump’s April 2 announcement of sweeping tariffs across multiple nations. The administration later refined those measures on April 9, slapping a 145% tariff on Chinese goods while temporarily reducing EU rates to 10%—a grace period now set to expire.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News the EU tariff threat wasn’t just posturing. “We’re hoping this lights a fire under the EU,” he said, citing poor-quality proposals compared to deals made with other trade partners.
From diplomacy to tariffs to national tragedy, Trump’s latest week in office underscored his administration’s unwavering focus on assertive leadership—at home and abroad.
