Today, Les, Morgan, Matt, and Jess unpack the high-stakes phone calls between President Trump and two of the world’s most powerful leaders: Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping. Trump’s first official call with Xi since taking office covered Taiwan, semiconductors, and student visas—but skipped over Russia, NATO, and North Korea. Meanwhile, a call earlier in the week with Putin followed Trump’s praise of Ukraine’s recent drone strike campaign, prompting warnings from Moscow and raising questions about U.S. positioning in the ongoing conflict.

Is the U.S. reclaiming its role at the center of international diplomacy—or just talking in circles? With no concrete deliverables yet, the question remains: what will actually come after the calls?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our Fellows’ discussion: 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/05/politics/trump-xi-trade-call 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-china-xi-tariffs-negotiations-trade-f2e4b48205001d7169ee34250089d8c1 

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/04/politics/trump-putin-phone-call-ukraine-response 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0qg23gqllwo 

Follow our experts on Twitter: 

@lestermunson 

@morganlroach

@NotTVJessJones

@WMattHayden

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