On the great White House show, that television schedule where every day has its own spectacular agenda, this Tuesday was the day for Donald Trump's cabinet meeting. It was the sixth in just over five months, and the ritual was similar to that of previous occasions, also broadcast: the American president gave way to the participants, the secretaries of his government seated around the table, some of whom lavished embarrassing praise on their boss. Then came the question-and-answer session from the journalists present in the room about the week's hot topics. Namely: the tariff threats with which Trump has reactivated the trade war, the military operation in Iran, the pressure from Washington to obtain a truce in Gaza or the tragedy of the floods in Texas, which have already claimed at least 109 lives, including those of 28 girls who were surprised by the flooding of the Guadalupe River while they were sleeping in a camp.
Regarding Trump's announcement Monday of resuming arms shipments to Ukraine and his displeasure with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US president said he is considering imposing new sanctions on the Kremlin after the two leaders held an hour-long conversation last week that produced no progress. Trump won the election promising to end the war on his first day in the White House. He has yet to deliver on that promise 169 days later.
“I'm not happy with Putin, I'm telling you right now, because he's killing a lot of people,” Trump declared. “Putin is driving us crazy with a lot of nonsense. You're trying to get the truth out. And he always puts on his best front, but the conversations end up being meaningless.”
The day before, during his dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he had already stated that the United States was ready to send"more weapons" to Ukraine."We have to do it," he declared."They have to be able to defend themselves. They're taking a very hard hit now," he added.
Trump gave the floor first to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who gave an emotional and detailed update on what she had seen during her visit to Texas and how it had “broken my heart” to see “those families suffering.” She also said, “God created us to help each other, and when we do, we are happier.” The president is scheduled to visit the area on Friday with First Lady Melania Trump. He explained his visit a week after the tragedy because he doesn’t want to “in anyone’s way.”
Next up was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The president insisted he would not postpone the end of the truce in his tariff war, which he moved to August 1. He asked Bessent to detail the"successes" of his trade policy."We've received about $100 billion in tariff revenue so far this year. We expect to exceed $300 billion by the end of the year," he said.
Trump began sending letters to 14 trading partners on Monday, in which he announced new tariff threats ranging from 25% for Japan to 40% for Malaysia. The US president clarified that the letter addressed to the European Union will arrive"probably in a couple of days." "We're talking to them, and they're treating us nicely, after years of being terrible to us," he added."I just want them to know that a letter means a deal. We have 200 countries. We can't meet with 200 countries."
Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon chief sitting to Trump's left, boasted about the outcome of Operation Midnight Hammer, during which US bombers attacked three Iranian uranium enrichment storage facilities."It was the restoration of the power of American deterrence," Hegseth said. Trump agreed, adding that the mission in Iran was a"work of art" and that "the withdrawal from Afghanistan [ordered in the summer of 2021 by his predecessor, Joe Biden] was the biggest farce in American history."
Trump also continued his attacks on the media outlets that had published a preliminary report that cast doubt on his triumphalism when he said the bombings "totally and completely wiped out" Iran's nuclear facilities and nuclear program. Not only that, he again demanded the firing of the reporters who published that exclusive.
The winning streak
The holding of the sixth Cabinet meeting came after the US president's two-week winning streak, which began with the attack on those three Iranian facilities and continued with the NATO summit, a momentous victory granted by the Supreme Court, which expanded his presidential power, and the approval of the"big and beautiful" law that encapsulates his domestic agenda (tax cuts for the richest, fewer subsidies for the lowest incomes, more spending on defense and border security, etc.). It went ahead despite opposition from a section of Congressional Republicans.
The meeting started more than 45 minutes late. To Trump's left sat Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who, like Vice President J. D. Vance, opposite him, remained silent until the president asked if he had"anything to say." Vance acknowledged the work of his fellow administration members and confessed that he wasn't confident the "big, beautiful" law could be passed before July 4th, the day the Republican signed it, as he had hoped, at the White House. Rubio, for his part, celebrated Trump's"leadership" on the international stage.
Trump lost his temper when a reporter asked about the Epstein list, after an FBI and Justice Department document was released Sunday night (Washington time) denying the existence of the alleged list in which the pedophile businessman listed the names of famous people involved in his child sex trafficking ring. The joint document also debunked the conspiracy theory that Jeffrey Epstein did not take his own life in his New York cell where he was awaiting trial.
“Why do they keep talking about him?” Trump responded. “A lot has been said about this guy for years.” Trump said the focus should be on other issues, such as the “incredible accomplishments” of his administration or the tragedy in Texas. “People keep talking about this guy, this moron.”
Epstein was friends with Trump when he was just a New York real estate mogul, and there is abundant graphic evidence of that relationship. The release of the latest findings by the Department of Justice and the FBI has sparked dissatisfaction and anger among much of the MAGA movement, which has entertained the hoaxes about this for years.
Epstein wasn't the only millionaire who crashed Tuesday's meeting. Trump responded"no" to the question of whether he was concerned about the alleged formation of a political party threatened by Elon Musk—not so long ago, the main protagonist of the current administration's cabinet meetings."Third parties have always been good for me," he said, referring to the fact that, according to analysts, he benefited from the Green candidate Jill Stein in the last election. Musk promises to invest in certain electoral disputes in the upcoming election, to replace some Republican politicians in Congress with people he trusts.
The meeting ended with a strange episode, in which Trump, suddenly transformed into a mixture of art critic and interior decorator, gave a detailed review of the paintings, clocks, lamps, and moldings that adorn the room used for cabinet meetings. He reviewed the portraits of Presidents John K. Polk, who is little known despite, Trump said, “getting California,” Dwight Eisenhower (“the toughest of my predecessors”), Abraham Lincoln, and John Quincy Adams. He also clarified that he particularly likes the “frames” of some of them.
"I'm a person of frames," the President of the United States revealed. He is perhaps the most analyzed and scrutinized person on the planet, but no, we didn't know that side of his personality.
