Taiwan was the top item on the agenda during President Donald Trump's summit with Chairman Xi Jinping. While nothing was discussed of particular significance, all signs show that Trump has softened his support for the island China contend's is theirs . I asked Google about Trump's current attitude on this subject: Donald Trump has not stated that he is willing to give up Taiwan. However, his highly transactional approach to foreign policy has sparked intense debate, as he has explicitly described pending U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan as a "negotiating chip" to leverage concessions from China . [ 1 , 2 ] Details of the situation include: Arms Sales as Leverage: Trump recently delayed approving a $14 billion U.S. arms sale package for Taiwan. In an interview following his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Trump stated: "I'm holding that in abeyance and it depends on China... It's a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly....
I'll start with what happened over the past 24 hours: The China Xi - USA Trump summit in Beijing was not a disaster. Not much was agreed to, but no huge problems resulted. Xi admonished Trump about Taiwan, and his response was muted. China could play a role in settling the Iran War. It appears that Xi Jinping will return a visit to the U.S. in September. In a Star Advertiser poll: What should the U.S. do in the war against Iran? May 14, 2026 D. Just “finish the job” with military action (235 Votes) A. Current ceasefire/diplomacy is working (126 Votes) B. Call on NATO for active role (105 Votes) C. Call on China for active role (54 Votes) Oil prices went up: Brent crude futures gained $3.35, or 3.17%, to $109.07 a barrel by 12:34 p.m. CDT (7:34 a.m. Hawaii time). West Texas Intermediate futures were up $3.85, or 3.81%, at $105.02. So on to my topic of the day. May 15 is the135th day of 2026, so there are 230 days left this year. Thus far, ...