FRIDAY 5/15/26
What Hath Trump-Xi Wrought? – Not much, according to most reports and analyses. In his final remarks before departing Beijing Friday, President Trump claimed “fantastic trade deals” between the US and China. Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping settled “a lot of different problems.”
China’s warning shot at the beginning of the summit that the US must leave Taiwan’s fate to China was not one of the problems settled, The Guardian reports. Trump said “nothing’s changed” about US policy toward Taiwan, though he said he might not approve a major arms sale to the independent, democratic island northeast of Hong Kong.
Even the Murdoch-owned New York Post concluded “pomp and pageantry reigned supreme.” The NYP began its five-takeaway news piece with a much-quoted clip from Murdoch-sibling Fox News’ interview with Trump telling eponymous host Sean Hannity China’s leaders from Xi on down “are a very organized people.”
The Fox News clip ends after one-minute, 58 seconds without revealing much else.
NYP takeaway #2, however, says Xi has shown willingness to help Trump on Iran.
“Anybody that buys that much oil has obviously got some kind of relationship with him,” Trump said. “He’d like to see the Hormuz Strait open. He said, ‘If I could be of any help whatsoever, I would like to help.’”
But if China lets the war with Iran continue to deplete US arms stockpiles, might that make it less likely the Trump administration will complete the arms deal with Taiwan?
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Less Gassy – The national average for a gallon of unleaded regular dropped by half a cent Friday to $4.528, according to the AAA, while diesel also dropped a half a cent, to $5.662. That’s up $1.546 for gasoline and up $1.865 for diesel since February 27.
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About Those Skydance-CBS Weasels – Stephen Colbert began the last Late Show on its penultimate week with a shot at how CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil failed to get a Chinese visa in time for the Trump-Xi summit and had to host the CBS Evening News 100 miles off the Chinese coast in Taiwan. CBS news chief Bari Weiss was collateral satirical damage in the cold open.
Colbert ended Thursday joining The Late Show founding host David Letterman dropping CBS assets from the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater. (Colbert noted that CBS barred him from the theater’s roof when he took over from Letterman, who regularly dropped watermelons and other smashable items onto the street below.)
But on Thursday’s show, Letterman and Colbert took great delight in dropping what Colbert said were the show set's custom-made guest chairs and the host’s Eames office chair from the roof, hitting and breaking a large CBS eyeball badge placed on the sidewalk. They followed that up with a couple of watermelons and a cake embossed with “The Late Show – 1993-2026.”
Letterman thanked Colbert for “everything you’ve done for this country.” Colbert returned the compliment and asked his predecessor if he had anything else he wanted to say.
“Well, not necessarily to the audience but to the folks at CBS,” Letterman replied. “In the words of the great Ed Murrow, ‘Good night and good luck, you motherf***ers'” (CBS’ censorship). –TL
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THURSDAY 5/14/26
President Trump in Beijing – As President Xi Jinping dazzles President Trump with his country’s pomp & circumstance without public protest that lesser authoritarians sometimes suffer, the Chinese government has gone straight to the point of its number one goal of this historic two-day summit.
Taiwan.
This is the fifth paragraph of China’s readout of the first in-person meeting of Xi and Trump since 2017:
“President Xi stressed that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-US relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy. ‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the US. The US side must exercise extra caution in handling the Taiwan question.”
Pump up the pomp … President Trump told President Xi months ago he wanted the biggest display in the history of China, and he got it, according to NPR’s Tamara Keith. Trump and his entourage of 17 corporate leaders/oligarchs, plus Melania director Brett Ratner, who reportedly is scouting locations for his Rush Hour 4, stepped off Air Force One onto a red carpet while a military band played.
The entourage was greeted by China’s vice president and 300 Chinese teens in matching outfits colored in Air Force One’s iconic livery, who were waiving US and Chinese flags in-sync. Trump would look forward to bilateral talks, about trade in the wake of the president’s Liberation Day tariffs from April of last year, plus teas and a grand banquet.
Trump is hoping for announcements of big Chinese purchases of US goods, including possibly oil, US access to China’s rare earth resources and a crackdown on fentanyl coming into the US. Melanie Hart, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub told Keith on All Things Considered this adds up to the type of made-for-TV gala Trump relishes.
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YOUR COMMENTS on President Trump’s historic visit to China are, as always, welcome. Email editors@thehustings.news
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Trump’s Fed Chief Confirmed – The Senate Wednesday confirmed President Trump’s nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, by 54-45 vote, The Hill reports. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the only senator to cross the aisle and vote with the 53 Republicans.
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Uh-oh – We assiduously cover the Consumer Price Index and the monthly jobs reports issued by the US Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. But Wednesday evening APM’s Marketplace alerted us to another monthly number reported by the BLS, the Producer Price Index, that deserves attention. This is the inflation rate for producers that typically, eventually, get passed on to consumers when their goods come to market.
And for April, the PPI is not pretty: Up 1.4% for the month and a rate of 6% year-over-year, highest since a 6.4% annual figure as supply chains began to open up during the pandemic, in December 2022. April’s CPI rose to 3.8%, ICYMI.
You’re up next, Fed Chair Warsh.
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At the Pump – National average for a gallon of unleaded regular hit $4.534 Thursday, up 2.3 cents over Wednesday and $1.552 over February 27. Diesel is $5.667, up 0.8 cents over Wednesday and $1.87 over February 27. –Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa