While President Donald Trump deals with the government shutdown and upcoming elections at home, we’re also keeping you posted on the latest foreign policy news from the administration.
Comments on Taiwan: Trump refused to say whether he would order US forces to defend Taiwan if China launched a military move against the island, maintaining strategic ambiguity in a clip released from an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” which is set to air tonight.
“I can’t give away my secrets,” Trump said, adding that Taiwan was not among the topics he discussed during his recent meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump claimed Beijing would never move on the island while he was president, “because they know the consequences.”
Claims about Nigeria: Trump said yesterday he’d ordered the Defense Department to prepare for possible military action in Nigeria as he accuses the nation of allowing widespread persecution against Christians — an accusation Nigeria has repeatedly denied.
Violence in the country is driven by varying factors and affecting both Muslims and Christians. Some incidents are religiously motivated, while others arise from disputes between farmers and herders over limited resources, as well as communal and ethnic tensions.
Another strike in the Caribbean: The US military carried out another deadly strike on alleged drug traffickers at sea yesterday, continuing a monthslong campaign by the Trump administration that has been widely criticized as likely illegal and is causing increasing alarm in South America.
Potential meeting with Putin: The Kremlin has said there is “no need” for an imminent meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, state news agency TASS reported today.
Trump called off an expected Budapest meeting with Putin last month, just days after announcing it, saying he didn’t want it to be a “waste of time.”
Sources have told CNN both sides had divergent expectations about a possible end to the war in Ukraine.
