NEW YORK– He makes threats, travels abroad and negotiates with world leaders.
Donald Trump still has more than a month and a half to go before he is sworn in for a second term. But the Republican president-elect is already moving aggressively, not just to fill his cabinet and outline policy objectives, but also achieve them those priorities.
Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff over goods from Canada and Mexico, prompting emergency calls and a visit by the Canadian prime minister, resulting in what Trump said were commitments from both U.S. allies on new border security measures.
The next president has done that warned that there will be “ALL HELL TO PAY.” if Hamas does not release the hostages held in Gaza before its inauguration on January 20, 2025. He has threatened to block the purchase of US Steel by a Japanese company, with the warning “Buyer beware!!!”
And this weekend Trump returned to the world stage, joining a host of other foreign leaders for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after it was destroyed by fire. On Saturday he met with French President Emmanuel Macron – joined at the last minute by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – and had plans to meet Britain’s Prince William also in Paris.
Absent from Paris: Lame duck President Joe Biden, who has largely disappeared from the headlines except when he made a forgiveness of his sonHunter, who was convicted of gun crimes and tax evasion. First lady Jill Biden will attend in his place.
“I think you’ve seen more happen in the last two weeks than you have in the last four years. And we’re not even there yet,” Trump said an exaggerated boast during an awards ceremony Thursday evening.
However, for all of Trump’s bold statements, it is unclear how many of his efforts will bear fruit.
The pre-inauguration threats and deal-making are highly unusual, like much of what Trump does, said Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Princeton University.
“Transitions are always a bit complicated this way. Even though we talk about one president at a time,” he said, “the reality is one president plus. And that plus person can sometimes act assertively.”
Zelizer said this is especially true for Trump, who previously served as president and already has relationships with many foreign leaders such as Macron, who invited both Trump and Biden to Paris this weekend as part of Notre Dame’s celebration.
‘At the moment he is somewhat governing, even though he is not yet president. He has public meetings with foreign leaders, which are not just introductions. He sets policy and negotiates on matters, from drug trafficking to tariffs,” Zelizer said.
Trump has already met with several foreign leaders, in addition to a long list of phone calls. He was a host Argentinian president Javier Milei in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago club in November. After the tariff threat, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago for a three-hour dinner meeting. Canadian officials later said the country is ready to make new investments in border security, with plans for more helicopters, drones and law enforcement.
Last Sunday, Trump dined with Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli prime minister.
The incoming Trump aides also met with their future foreign counterparts.
On Wednesday, several members of Trump’s team, including new national security adviser Mike Waltz, met with Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelenskyy, in Washington, as Ukraine tries to win support for its ongoing efforts to defend itself against the Russian invasion . a person familiar with the meeting. Yermak also met with Trump officials in Florida, he wrote on X.
This comes after Trump’s new Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Qatar and Israel for high-level talks on a ceasefire and hostage agreement in Gaza, a US official familiar with the efforts said at a meeting with the prime ministers of both countries.
There is no prohibition on incoming officials or nominees meeting with foreign officials, and it is customary and fine for them to do so—unless these meetings are intended to undermine or otherwise influence current U.S. policy.
Trump aides are said to be especially aware of potential conflict given their experiences in 2016, when interactions between Trump allies and Russian officials came under scrutiny. That included a phone call in which Trump’s new national security adviser, Michael Flynn, discussed new sanctions with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, suggesting things would improve after Trump became president. Flynn was later accused of lying to the FBI about the conversation.
Trump’s new press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said: “All transition officials have followed applicable laws in their interactions with foreign nationals.”
She added: “World leaders recognize that President Trump returns to power and will lead the way with force to put the interests of the United States of America back first. That is why many foreign leaders and officials have reached out to correspond with President Trump and his new team.”
Nevertheless, such efforts can cause complications.
For example, if Biden has productive conversations on a thorny foreign policy issue and Trump voices his opinion, that could make it more difficult for Biden “because people are hearing two different voices” that may be in conflict, Zelizer said.
Leaders such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Netanyahu can also anticipate a more favorable incoming administration and wait for Biden, hoping for a better deal.
It also remains unclear how extensively the Biden administration has been kept informed of Trump’s transition efforts.
While there is no requirement that a new administration coordinate talks and meetings with foreign officials with the State Department or National Security Council, this has long been considered standard practice. That’s partly because transition teams, especially in their early days and weeks, do not always have the most up-to-date information about the state of relations with foreign countries and may not have the resources, including interpretation and logistical capabilities, to conduct such meetings. to act. efficient.
Still, the Biden and Trump teams have spoken, mainly on the Middle East, with the incoming and outgoing administrations agreeing to cooperate on efforts to free hostages still held in Gaza, according to a US official, who , like others, was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
That includes conversations between Witkoff and Biden’s foreign policy team, as well as Waltz and Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
Last month, Biden administration officials said they had kept Trump’s team closely informed of the efforts to mediate ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah at the border between Israel and Lebanon.
“I want to be clear to all our adversaries that they cannot play the incoming Trump administration off the Biden administration. I talk to the Biden people regularly. And so this is not a moment of opportunity or trouble for them,” Waltz said in an interview with Fox Business on Friday.
But when it comes to immigration, Biden administration officials have not been fully up to date on discussions about how to fulfill Trump’s promise to deport millions of migrants, according to four administration officials with knowledge of the transition, who spoke at condition of anonymity. That’s not very surprising, given the teams’ different views on migration.
Trump’s team, meanwhile, is already taking credit for everything from stock market gains cryptocurrency markets to a decision Walmart needs to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion policies that Trump opposes.
“Promises kept – and President Trump hasn’t even been inaugurated yet,” read a press release claiming in part that both Canada and Mexico have already promised “immediate action” to “help stem the flow of illegal immigration and human trafficking.” and deadly drugs entering the United States.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has not said Trump mischaracterized their call in late November. But she said Friday that Trump “has his own way of communicating, like when we called and he wrote that we were closing the border.” This was never discussed during the telephone conversation.”
Earlier this week, Mexico carried out what it said was the largest ever seizure of fentanyl pills. Seizures during the summer amounted to just 50 grams per week, and after Trump’s call, more than a ton was seized.
Security analyst David Saucedo said that “under pressure from Donald Trump, President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration appears willing to increase the arrests of drug traffickers and drug seizures that Washington is calling for.”
Biden also tried to take credit for the seizure in a statement on Friday evening.
___ Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Colleen Long and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.