Donald Trump said 600,000 Chinese students would be allowed into the U.S. to study at colleges amid ongoing trade talks with China.

Speaking at the White House Monday, the president’s announcement signals a potential thaw in U.S.-China relations after escalating tariffs and restrictions on Chinese students.

‘I hear so many stories that we’re not going to allow their students,’ Trump told reporters.

‘We’re going to allow their students to come in. It’s very important, 600,000 students. It’s very important. But we’re going to get along with China,’ he added.

Trump’s student visa offer comes against the backdrop of trade talks with the Chinese government.

Earlier this year, the administration imposed a 145% tariff on all Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to retaliate with a 125% tariff on U.S. exports.

Negotiators in Geneva agreed in May to pause additional levies, but Trump has continued to warn of further penalties.

Last week, he floated a 200% tariff on Chinese-made magnets, citing what he described as Beijing’s ‘monopoly’ over the global market.

‘I don’t think we’re going to have a problem with that,’ Trump told reporters.

‘China, intelligently, went and they sort of took a monopoly on the world’s magnets. It’ll probably take us a year to have them,’ he said.

Currently, about 270,000 Chinese students are enrolled in U.S. universities.

In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced plans to ‘aggressively revoke’ visas for Chinese nationals, particularly those tied to the Communist Party or sensitive research fields.

Trump has since shifted tone, telling reporters in June that he has ‘always been in favor’ of welcoming students from China.

Trump’s remarks on admitting Chinese students came ahead of a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

When he was asked about a possible summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he sounded positive. He said he would like to meet him this year.

‘As you know, we’re, we’re taking a lot of money in from China because of the tariffs and the different things. It’s a very important relationship,’ Trump said. ‘It’s a much better relationship economically than it was before with Biden. But he allowed that. They just took him to the cleaners.’

I asked Donald Trump the question. Everyone asked Donald Trump the question.

Would he engage in retribution in a second term?

And we all got the same answer: He’d be too busy for that. His only retribution would be success.

Well, if Trump is not engaged in turning government against his political enemies, he’s doing a pretty good imitation of it.

Now, hardball politics is as old as the republic. The founders engaged in it. Abe Lincoln engaged in it. And you think LBJ never got his way by threatening to pull a grant or two for a congressman’s pet projects?

Look, one thing I’ve learned covering Trump for decades is that he loves to fight. In New York, back in the day, he would do battle with the likes of Ed Koch and Leona Helmsley, the ‘Queen of Mean.’

When his divorce from Ivana became a tabloid sensation, Trump got on the phone with me to discuss why his proposed settlement was really generous.

We see that fighting instinct today when the president goes after not just Democrats but fellow Republicans who defy him, or won’t back his proposals – a number of whom have announced their retirements rather than lose a primary to a Trump-backed challenger.

We see that Trump-against-the-world approach with his crackdown on D.C. crime  which, despite the home-rule issues, is being welcomed by some liberals (publicly and privately) because folks are scared in a city that can’t even stop teenage carjackings.

The next target is Chicago, which also has a Black mayor, with the Washington Post reporting that there has been weeks of secret planning to send thousands of National Guard troops there. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has denounced this as an effort to spread fear, and sometimes it seems like the president is at war with urban America.

The underlying motivation is crucial: Trump believes that the Democrats waged ‘lawfare’ against him for four years. There is no evidence that President Biden ordered such efforts, but Trump is convinced that the multiple investigations against him–as in the Stormy Daniels case–were part of a grand scheme to knock him out of the race.

And he has a point. Look at the outrageously illegal fine that Judge Arthur Engoron hit him with in the civil fraud case brought by New York AG Letitia James: $354 million, since grown to $515 million.

This was so blatantly unfair that an appellate court just threw it out as a violation of the Eighth Amendment, barring cruel and unusual punishment. James is appealing, and the court didn’t toss the whole case–the ‘fake’ case, says Trump–but a half-billion-fine over real estate valuations seems pathetically unfair.

But when Trump cried foul, the media reaction was there he goes again, attacking every judge who disagrees with him. But Trump was right about Engoron.

The Trump DOJ, by the way, is now investigating Tish James for allegations of mortgage fraud.

So what the press sees as Trump going after his opponents is, in his eyes, just basic payback, an attempt at getting even.

Having said that…

‘I just watched Sloppy Chris Christie be interviewed on a ratings challenged ‘News’ Show…on ABC Fake News,’ ‘This Week’ hosted by George Stephanopoulos.
‘Can anyone believe anything that Sloppy Chris says? Do you remember the way he lied about the dangerous and deadly closure of the George Washington Bridge in order to stay out of prison, at the same time sacrificing people who worked for him, including a young mother, who spent years trying to fight off the vicious charges against her. Chris refused to take responsibility for these criminal acts. For the sake of JUSTICE, perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation again?’

Christie, a onetime ally, was Trump’s harshest Republican critic during the campaign. As for the 2013 scandal known as Bridgegate, it was thoroughly investigated and two top Christie aides were convicted, but the Supreme Court, while blasting the conduct, overturned those convictions.

It’s worth pointing out that the decision to close some lanes on the George Washington Bridge, which created traffic chaos, was the governor’s attempt to strike back at a Democratic mayor who refused to endorse him.

‘Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,’ wrote one of the convicted aides in a remarkably succinct message.

‘I always thought he got away with murder,’ Trump told reporters yesterday.

Having watched the Sunday shows, the president unloaded on two networks:

‘Despite a very high popularity and, according to many, among the greatest 8 months in Presidential History, ABC & NBC FAKE NEWS, two of the worst and most biased networks in history, give me 97% BAD STORIES. IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEY ARE SIMPLY AN ARM OF THE DEMOCRAT PARTY AND SHOULD, ACCORDING TO MANY, HAVE THEIR LICENSES REVOKED BY THE FCC. I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy!!!’

He added that ABC and NBC should be paying ‘Millions of Dollars a year in LICENSE FEES…Crooked ‘journalism’ should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!’

Now networks shouldn’t lose their licenses just because the president doesn’t like their coverage. Maybe they should be paying more for use of the airwaves, but that should apply to all networks; so far they’ve played by the rules.

Trump and John Bolton have been at each other’s throats since the president fired the national security adviser. There was a criminal investigation over Bolton’s 2020 book that Trump tried to stop, but it was cleared for publication.

I take Trump at his word that he didn’t know in advance about the FBI raid on Bolton’s Bethesda home. But twice in the days leading up to the raid, Trump was slamming him online for criticizing his efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war..

‘Very unfair media is at work on my meeting with Putin. Constantly quoting fired losers and really dumb people like John Bolton, who just said that, even though the meeting is on American soil, ‘Putin has already won.’ What’s that all about?’

After the raid, Trump called Bolton a ‘low-life’ and a ‘sleazebag’ who suffers from ‘major Trump Derangement Syndrome.’

But two things can be true at once. Trump prosecutors had to show convincing evidence to a special court to get the search warrant approved. So it’s possible that Bolton did hang on to some classified documents.

After the raid, Trump posted that Bolton was among the ‘stupid people’ who were making it ‘much harder’ for him to end the war by ripping his approach to Putin.

I’ve known John Bolton for years–he used to be a Fox contributor–and I’m surprised he’s made no comment. There was just a little wave at the press pack when he returned home.

Next up: Wes Moore, Maryland’s first Black governor.

They’ve been jabbing each other back and forth, which is fine. But then the president posted this:

‘Governor Wes Moore of Maryland has asked, in a rather nasty and provocative tone, that I ‘walk the streets of Maryland’ with him. I assume he is talking about out of control, crime ridden, Baltimore? As President, I would much prefer that he clean up this Crime disaster before I go there for a ‘walk.’ Wes Moore’s record on Crime is a very bad one.’.

There’s more: 

Trump ‘offered’ to deploy troops to Baltimore – which has a serious crime problem – after which he would accept Moore’s invitation to meet him on the streets.

Then came the threat: ‘I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge. I will now have to rethink that decision???’

Moore has been rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge since a reckless and out-of-control tanker destroyed it early last year. And for the record, Congress approved the funds as part of a package during the final stretch of the Biden administration.

But put that aside. Who would be hurt if Trump carried out this threat?

Millions of people in Maryland who rely on the bridge, or whose jobs are tied to commerce in that region.

So Trump is openly suggesting to use the official power of government to withhold funds that would hurt ordinary citizens. That is more troubling than the punching and counterpunching with Bolton and Christie. 

For what it’s worth, I don’t think Trump would actually do it. It’s a brushback pitch.

While Trump may view himself as evening the score, one day Democrats will occupy the White House again. They would feel fully justified in going after their opponents as payback for the way they were targeted for investigation. And the endless cycle continues.

President Donald Trump has the golden touch — and nowhere is that more evident than in the Oval Office, where gilded accents now adorn the nation’s most famous workspace, reflecting his signature style.

The gold additions throughout the Oval Office were on full display last week as global leaders met with Trump to discuss a path to ending Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the gold Trump added to the Oval Office ‘is of the highest quality,’ declining to provide further details. The spokesperson also said that Trump personally covered the cost of the gold accents, though did not specify how much gold was added or how much Trump spent.

In March, Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham during a tour of the Oval Office that the room ‘needed a little life’ when asked about the gold details. 

‘Throughout the years, people have tried to come up with a gold paint that would look like gold, and they’ve never been able to do it,’ Trump told Ingraham. ‘You’ve never been able to match gold with gold paint, that’s why it’s gold,’ Trump added.

Since then, Trump has added gold accents throughout the Oval Office to include the room’s 18-foot-6-inch ceiling. Below is a picture of the presidential seal that overlooks the Resolute Desk, shown in 2008 and after the addition of all the gold.

Behind the Resolute Desk, Trump added gold curtains and a display of flags, including those representing the U.S. military’s sister services.

Meanwhile, gold trim was added to details along the ceiling and doorways. Even the cherubs inside the door frames were given a golden makeover.

In March, Trump said he had installed a copy of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office. He told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that the document must be kept behind heavy curtains to protect it from light damage. 

The signed Declaration of Independence is on permanent display at the National Archives on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., where it has been housed since 1952.

The framed document is seen on the wall behind Trump in the photograph below:

Presidents traditionally choose the portraits displayed in the Oval Office, with special attention given to the one above the fireplace.

Former President Joe Biden chose a portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt above the fireplace, accompanied by additional portraits of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.

Above the fireplace, Trump chose to display a portrait of George Washington in military uniform, accompanied by several other prominent portraits.

Gold accents were applied to the white marble fireplace mantel, enhancing its neoclassical details.

Here’s a closer view of the details added to the fireplace:

Trump also placed gold trinkets on the fireplace mantel, though their arrangement has changed frequently.

In the Oval Office, Trump added gold coasters bearing his last name and the number 47, marking his position as the 47th president.

The gold details added to the Oval Office come as Trump undertakes broader renovations across the White House grounds.

Last month, the White House announced that Trump, together with private donors, will fund an estimated $200 million project to build a new ballroom. Intended to host official events, state dinners, and large ceremonial gatherings, the 90,000-square-foot addition will accommodate about 650 seated guests and maintain the White House’s classical design.

The announcement followed a similar move earlier this year, when Trump personally financed the installation of two 88-foot American flags flanking the White House, each reportedly costing around $50,000. 

When President Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, he faced the same formidable adversary that defined much of his first term: China. This time the stakes were even higher. The trade deficit with China had ballooned to roughly $300 billion, while IP protection, currency manipulation and predatory industrial and international development practices remained significant issues. And Beijing doubled down — weaponizing its control of rare earth minerals, tightening its grip on semiconductors and wielding economic coercion against U.S. allies from Australia to Lithuania. 

Against this backdrop, Trump 47 adopted a two-pronged approach. On offense, the administration has kept maximum pressure on Beijing, staying firm on negotiation positions and refusing to trade away leverage until real concessions emerge. On defense, it has wielded tariffs not only as bargaining chips but as engines of industrial revival — reshoring supply chains, rebuilding America’s manufacturing base and hardening strategic alliances to reduce dependence on China. 

These were not easy calls. Tariffs rattled markets. Pressure campaigns risked alienating partners. Yet the strategy has been to hold the line, play a long game and push forward until the U.S. secured fairer, reciprocal trade terms. In a world where semiconductors and rare earths are the new oil, this is about nothing less than U.S. national security. 

I have seen firsthand how high-stakes these negotiations can be. As I recount in my forthcoming book, ‘A Seat at the Table,’ Chinese officials have long relied on psychological tactics, slow-walking responses through layers of bureaucracy, handing us last-minute drafts in Chinese —  even removing chairs at negotiating tables. These are not trivial gestures. They are meant to unnerve, unsettle and push the U.S. team toward compromise. 

The Trump response was simple but powerful: don’t flinch. In Beijing, when presented with a Chinese draft that ignored our work, Secretary Steven Mnuchin waved it away and insisted the talks proceed on the American document. When a chair was removed to show disrespect, we calmly got it back—without ever conceding authority. 

That posture of confidence — staying the course under pressure — continues today in Trump 47. Tariffs are sharper, more targeted and higher than before; allied trade deals (Japan, South Korea, the EU) allow us to focus resources on China; and deadlines are extended when useful, but only on U.S. terms. 

Critics say tariffs raise consumer prices. In the short term, they can. But the broader truth is that tariffs are tools to rewire incentives, drive investment back home, and ensure the United States does not remain vulnerable in sectors critical to survival. Already, the tariffs of Trump 47 are accelerating investment in domestic chip foundries, battery plants and energy infrastructure. They are also forcing hard conversations with allies about aligning supply chains — from rare earth processing in Australia to semiconductor alliances with Japan and the Netherlands. 

When Beijing weaponized exports of gallium and graphite, vital for defense and electronics, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act and doubled down on Indo-Pacific partnerships. The message is clear: America will not be held hostage to coercion. Strategic autonomy requires resilience, even if it comes with short-term discomfort. 

How do you stay steady when the stakes are so high, when the pressure is relentless? Stand aside Hans Morgenthau. For me, the source I found was the timeless wisdom of ‘Kedushas Levi,’ an 18th-century Chassidic work by Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev.  

The ‘Kedushas Levi’ teaches that challenges — no matter how overwhelming — are never insurmountable. ‘If you encounter an obstacle that is bigger than you, do not be fearful or frightened. With simple faith, what you fear will not harm you,’ it states. That teaching, echoing the Talmudic reality that the good Lord gives trials in proportion to a person’s strength, gave me composure when sprinting to translate a Chinese draft in a Beijing motorcade, or when facing off with officials determined to stall and delay. 

It also teaches that truth, even when inconvenient, carries divine weight. When Chinese officials resisted opening their financial markets, I pointed out the obvious but often ignored truth: Chinese banks in the U.S. had seen double- and triple-digit growth, while U.S. banks in China struggled for even single digits. That argument broke through where posturing could not.  

Negotiations with China will not be wrapped up overnight. But this is a contest of wills as much as economics. And here, the lessons of faith matter most. Facing giants, the Jewish tradition teaches, you do not shrink back. You lift your head high, stand on truth, and trust that what feels impossible can indeed be achieved. 

That is how we approached China in Trump 45. That is how we are approaching China in Trump 47. And that is how America, with faith and fortitude, can win. 

Russian officials said Ukrainian drones ignited an overnight fire at a nuclear plant in Russia’s Kursk region.

The strikes coincided with Ukraine’s 34th Independence Day, marking its 1991 break from the Soviet Union.

Russia said the strikes hit several power facilities. The plant fire was quickly extinguished. A transformer was damaged, but radiation levels remained normal, and no injuries were reported.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it was aware of media reports of a transformer fire ‘due to military activity,’ but had not independently confirmed them.

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said ‘every nuclear facility must be protected at all times.’

A fire also broke out at the port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s Leningrad region, home to a major fuel export terminal.

The regional governor said about 10 Ukrainian drones were shot down in the area and that debris sparked the blaze.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory Sunday.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 72 drones and decoys and a cruise missile overnight; 48 drones were shot down or jammed.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke in a video from Kyiv’s Independence Square.

‘We are building a Ukraine that will have enough strength and power to live in security and peace,’ he said, calling for a ‘just peace.’

‘What our future will be is up to us alone,’ he said, while acknowledging the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska earlier this month, which many worried would sideline Ukrainian interests.

‘And the world knows this. And the world respects this. It respects Ukraine. It perceives Ukraine as an equal,’ he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.