President Trump is unusually subsumed in foreign policy, a perhaps welcome distraction from ongoing domestic crises even more virulent than usual, including the arrest of Trump ally Roger Stone and a federal shutdown that ended after five weeks and threatens to start up again.
Top Trump administration officials on Wednesday welcomed a delegation from China for the latest round of trade talks. The negotiations with the Chinese delegation are the latest effort by the Trump administration to meet a self-imposed March 1 deadline to reach a trade deal with China. Trump himself was set to be involved, holding a rare meeting with a lower-ranking foreign official Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
The Treasury Department, Justice Department, and White House all announced a cascade of actions involving foreign countries that quickly dominated the headlines and — at least temporarily — drew attention away from continued issues facing the president at home, including the threat of a second government shutdown and special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation.
First on the docket was an announcement from White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, rolled out just before she took the podium Monday for the first press briefing of 2019, about the continued trade negotiations with the Chinese delegation Wednesday and Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department on Monday revealed criminal charges against Huawei Technologies, a Chinese telecommunications company. Huawei, two of its affiliates, and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, were charged.
The Trump administration also decided to dive headfirst into an effort to oust Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, recognizing Juan Guaido as president instead — and threatening to take military action to protect him against Maduro — and slapping sanctions on Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA.
Monday, the administration announced that peace was at hand in Afghanistan. Wednesday morning, Trump took to Twitter to tout his administration’s success with its foreign policy agenda, saying “tremendous progress” has been made in combating ISIS and improving relations with North Korea.
Trump is set to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a second summit next month.
The bevy of foreign policy moves comes as lawmakers work to avert a second government shutdown this year and as special counsel Robert Mueller hit close to Trump’s inner circle Friday. The president’s longtime political aide Roger Stone was indicted on seven counts, including obstruction, making false statements, and witness tampering.
