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As Donald Trump returns from his trip to Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the consensus of MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” panel is that the American president appears weaker now before the summit.And Trump all but admitted it.On Friday morning, longtime political analyst John Heilemann pointed to Trump’s admission that the Chinese leader talked about the US as a “declining nation,” without pushback, was a particularly humiliating effort by the American president to ingratiate himself to Xi.Pointing to Trump posting on Truth Social, “When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct,” Heilemann admitted he was stunned that Trump would admit that in public thinking it would help him make the case for his presidency.“So basically, this is Xi Jinping saying, hey, let's not get into war. But the implication was decline, that the U.S. was in decline and Trump's response to that was so sad,” he exclaimed to agreement from the panel. “I mean, not just the fact that he's blaming Joe Biden, but let's read the first sentence of it where he says something like yesterday, when Xi Jinping, so elegantly, I have it here: ‘When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation,’ that's all you need.”“It's like — that's just — it's an amazing thing to write,’ he elaborated. “It's a wonder — one of the more incredible Trump sentences ever. ... Because I can't ever say anything critical of Xi Jinping. Never does. Right?““You didn't have to to pin the tail on the donkey and say, the United States is the declining power for it to be very clear that in the optics and dynamics and on any metric that Trump understands, let alone the rest of the world: which of those two countries is the declining country? “ he added. “And Xi Jinping didn't need to say it directly. It's pretty clear to everyone where they stand in terms of relative power.” - YouTube youtu.be

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blindsided Pentagon officials and European allies by suddenly canceling a long-planned deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland — an abrupt reversal that has observers scratching their heads about what comes next. According to Politico, the surprise decision caught both sides of the Atlantic completely flat-footed as troops and equipment from Texas had already begun arriving in the country for the routine nine-month rotation when the order to halt the deployment came down.The report notes that no clear explanation has been provided for why Hegseth issued the cancellation order."We had no idea this was coming," said one U.S. official told Politico, adding that European and American officials have spent the last 24 hours on the phone trying to understand the decision and determine if additional surprises are coming.While the exact rationale remains unclear, President Trump has repeatedly expressed anger at European allies for their failure to support the Iran war — though he has labeled Poland a "model ally" for its high defense spending and NATO contributions.The cancellation is particularly alarming given that American troops stationed on the continent serve as a critical deterrent to Russian aggression. Trump has insisted that Europe must fend for itself militarily, and this latest order suggests the president is serious about reducing the American military footprint on the continent,' the report notes.Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, warned that the deployment cancellation undermines a key pillar of European defense."The Army's role in Europe is all about deterring the Russians, protecting America's strategic interests and assuring allies. And now a very important asset that was coming to be part of that deterrence is gone," Hodges told Politico's Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch.Hodges emphasized the particular sting for Poland, which has been among the most loyal Trump supporters in Europe. "The Poles certainly have never criticized President Trump, and they do all the things that good allies are supposed to do. And yet, this happens," he added.The decision has sent fresh waves of anxiety through European capitals about whether additional Trump administration moves could embolden Russia and which NATO ally might become the next target of a surprise military reversal.

A White House statement about Trump's discussion with Chinese leader Xi Jinping curiously took on a different tone from what counterparts put out, reporters noticed.Politico correspondent Phelim Kine posted on X that the White House statement touted discussions of Chinese investment in the United States, fentanyl, the Strait of Hormuz, purchasing oil from the United States, and an agreement that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon."A Tale of Two Readouts: Here's what's in the WH readout of the Trump-Xi meeting but conspicuously absent in the Chinese readout: 1. Chinese investment into the U.S. 2. fentanyl 3. Hormuz 4. Chinese purchases of U.S. oil. 5. Agreement that Iran "can never have a nuclear weapon," Kine said.However, Kine found that any mention of these discussions was "conspicuously absent in the Chinese readout."Semafor journalist J.D. Capelouto wrote that it "exposed the sharp divides in their foreign policy postures," adding that "experts also noted that Beijing's briefing included a stark warning over Taiwan, which Washington's didn't mention."Michael Froman, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, also noticed the diverging readouts in a Thursday piece, and wrote that it showed how the summit is "unlikely to alter the character and course of the US-China relationship long-term."

Tensions flared during Trump's visit to Beijing on Thursday as Chinese officials tried to disarm one of his Secret Service agents outside an historic site, according to reports.The New York Post described the scene outside the Temple of Heaven, where "Chinese officials refused to admit a Secret Service agent accompanying the presidential press pool into the secure area because the agent was carrying a firearm."With a press pool around them, the agent refused to disarm, and the American delegation didn't want to leave one of their own behind, which led to "the Chinese version of a Mexican standoff," the Post wrote. "After a thirty-minute delay and many arguments, another Secret Service agent who had already been cleared to proceed was summoned to escort reporters inside while the first agent stayed behind."Fox News reporter Peter Doocy described it as a "very physical standoff." He also suggested it wasn't an isolated incident, adding that "there have been some heated and physical clashes between the Secret Service and the Chinese police at basically the backdoors of these events."

The Trump administration's effort to silence a United Nations expert hit a major snag, with a judge ruling it violated her right to free speech. A federal judge temporarily blocked sanctions against Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese, a UN expert on the Palestinian territories, according to reporting by the Guardian on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote in his opinion that "Albanese has done nothing more than speak!"Albanese recommended that the International Criminal Court prosecute United States and Israeli nationals for war crimes in Gaza, The Guardian reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded by sanctioning Albanese last year and barred her from entering the U.S. or banking there, according to the Guardian.Family members of Albanese with U.S. citizenship sued the Trump administration in February and alleged that the sanctions were "effectively debanking her and making it nearly impossible to meet the needs of her daily life," according to reporting by the Guardian.Leon wrote that the Trump administration wanted to regulate her speech because of the "idea or message expressed," which is protected by the First Amendment, the Guardian wrote. "It is undisputed that her recommendations have no binding effect on the ICC's actions - they are nothing more than her opinion."

Vice President JD Vance just revealed something dark about President Donald Trump's war in Iran with another one of his "shameless lies," according to one analyst. During a press conference on Wednesday, Vance was asked about Trump's comments, in which he said the financial pain Americans are feeling because of the Iran war is not a top-of-mind concern for him. Vance deflected and accused the reporter of misrepresenting what Trump actually said. "Do you agree with the president that Americans' financial situation should not be a consideration in that decision-making process?" the reporter asked. "I don't think the president said that," Vance said. "I think that's a misrepresentation of what the president said." The vice president's response stunned Adam Mockler, a political commentator for the MeidasTouch Network, who responded to Vance's comments in a new reaction video. "These people lie so shamelessly, and it comes top-down from Trump," Mockler said. "He's the most shameless liar of them all, but this is some shameless BS. Listen, nobody wants Iran to have a nuclear weapon. But the reality is we are not any closer to a denuclearized Iran if that's the goal."Trump has repeatedly claimed that he won't end the war in Iran until the regime agrees to give up its nuclear weapons. That's despite Trump claiming last year that Iran's nuclear capabilities had been "completely obliterated" by a previous strike on three of the nation's nuclear facilities. Mockler suggested that Vance's comments show the administration knows they are not close to achieving their goals in Iran. "The enriched uranium is still there," he said. "The scientists have been scattered across the country, and all the blueprints have been put in the cloud. They can just rebuild whenever they want."

CNN anchor Erin Burnett was stunned to see the level of uninhibited mockery China has been hurling at Trump during his visit."Trump is about to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping tonight, a high-stakes meeting which is being mocked across China," Burnett explained. "Beijing's strict censors are letting the ridicule go viral, which is a statement in and of itself.""America has lost its swagger. They're nothing but a paper tiger," one of those viral posts read. "The U.S. economy is in bad shape. Trump has been blustering Iran for so long.""They will look up to us from now on," read another post that Burnett shared. "Trump came to China! We won the tariff war!" read another."Trump, you're welcome to visit China and learn from us," the mockery continued."The U.S. is no longer a country that we look up to. We can now compete with them with confidence and strength," a Chinese social media user wrote."In China, political content like this never goes viral, especially when you have a head of state coming," Burnett explained. "This is because government censors want this to go viral, and by the tone of the messages, the Chinese government feels they've got the upper hand."

President Donald Trump has apparently directed Republicans to persuade a Democrat to leave his party and join the GOP, The New Republic reported on Wednesday.Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) — who has often sided with Republican lawmakers and been questioned by critics over his party loyalty — has reportedly become a target for the president. Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote against the latest war powers resolution on Wednesday and was the deciding vote in the seventh attempt to end Trump's military operation in Iran.Trump has viewed Fetterman as someone who can potentially help secure Republican control in Congress and wants to convince the Democrat "to switch parties to help retain the GOP’s fragile majority in the Senate." Fetterman has denied any plans to leave the Democratic Party and has said he would be a "s----- Republican." The president has called the centrist lawmaker his "favorite Democrat."