Tangle - The UN assembly and Trump–Xi summit.

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

Last week, world leaders gathered in New York City for the 81st United Nations (UN) General Assembly, with conflicts in Iran and Ukraine taking center stage. In a speech before world leaders, President Donald Trump said he is weighing whether to seek a deal to end the war with Iran or “annihilate” the country, while also touting a security agreement reached with Greenland and Denmark. Later in the week, President Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit, during which the leaders discussed trade disputes and AI development.Ad-free podcasts are here!Get 20% off your first year of ad-free episodes, exclusive interviews, and deep dives with Tangle’s podcast membership!Asking the hard question.On Friday, Executive Editor Isaac Saul asked, “Is President Trump okay?” It was the same question he posed about President Biden in 2021, and Isaac’s essay similarly explored how the president’s words and behavior have changed in recent years, and whether concerns about his fitness for office are valid. You can read the edition and join hundreds of Tangle commenters discussing the piece here.You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠ and today’s “Under the radar” story ⁠here⁠ and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here.Take the survey: What kind of relationship with China should the U.S. pursue? Let us know.Our Executive Editor and Founder is Isaac Saul. Our Executive Producer is Jon Lall.This podcast written by: Isaac Saul and audio engineered and edited by Dewey Thomas. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Senior Editor Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Audrey Moorehead, and Carina Pacheco. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From executive producer Isaac Saul, this is Tangle. Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, and welcome to the Tangle podcast, the place we get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking, and a little bit of my take. I'm your host, Isaac Saul, here in North Jersey, after a weekend in Chicago. One of my favorite cities, Chicago, always, always, always fun. Just, yeah, great people. good food, good vibes. I was there for an awesome wedding.

Had a funny experience coming home. I was on the highway in an Uber, on the way to O'Hare Airport, and this plane, just this huge plane just crossed over the highway so close as it came into my view that it almost startled me. And it took me a full two seconds to realize that it was Air Force One, just President and Trump in his little sky blue, well, not a little big sky blue plane. Apparently on his way to the final day of the President's Cup golf tournament, which was being held in a Chicago suburb. The American team took first place, by the way.

Odd moment to literally cross paths with this man who I write so much about to do so totally unexpectedly and for such a random confluence of events. But there he was right there at O'Hare Airport. at the same time I was, pretty funny. Apparently, he needed a little recreation after his jam-packed week with the United Nations General Assembly and a state visit from China's President Xi. Those combine for the focus of today's podcast. Plus, we've got a question about courts overruling the Trump administration

and an under-the-radar story on the Trump administration clawing back congressional funding. It's a very good episode and excited to jump in. Join me on the show today is Audrey Moorhead. I'm going to pass it over to her, and I'll be back for my take. Thanks, Isaac. First up, we have today's quick hits. Number one, President Donald Trump rejected a seven-day ceasefire proposal from Iran that would have also reopened the Strait of Hormuz. Number two, the Supreme Court blocked a new congressional map in Missouri designed to net Republicans an extra house seat, ordering the state to use its 2022 congressional map for this year's midterms. separately, the court ruled that the Trump administration can use a federal database to verify voter eligibility. The court's three Democratic-appointed justices dissented. Number three,

the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the Trump administration had ample support for its conclusion that AI developer Anthropic posed a national security risk, finding that the administration's move to block Anthropic from working with the government was legal. Number four, British authorities arrested five, people near an air base operated by the U.S. military on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack. Number five. President Trump announced the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is rolling back Biden-era vehicle emission standards. Leaders from around the globe continue to converge on the east side of Manhattan. It is another busy day at the U.N. And today the president

delivered his remarks with reaction ranging from applause to walkouts. Outside the U.N., protests and gridlock alerts last end to this evening. Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his first visit to the White House in more than a decade today. President Trump says, quote, everything was achieved during his three-day trip to Washington. Trump took to truth social this afternoon, saying he plans to meet with his Chinese counterpart twice more this year, once in China and again at the G20 summit in Miami. Last week, world leaders gathered in New York City for the 81st United Nations General Assembly, with conflicts in Iran and Ukraine taking center stage.

In a speech before world leaders, President Donald Trump said he is weighing whether to seek a deal to end the war with Iran or annihilate the country, while also touting a security agreement reached with Greenland and Denmark. Later in the week, President Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a state visit, during which the leaders discussed trade disputes in AI development. At the General Assembly meeting, U.S. and Iranian officials held indirect talks for the first time since a ceasefire between the countries ended in July. Neither side announced any major breakthroughs, and Trump later said he had rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Formuz. Meanwhile, Iran said the U.S. must unfreeze their assets and lift restrictions on its oil as preconditions for negotiations. Iranian President Massoud Peschkian also gave a speech criticizing the U.S. in Israel for initiating the war, saying, quote, we will never bow our head or bend at the knee. Separately,

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian foreign ministerial. Sirgay Lavrov to discuss a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire involving grain and energy-related targets. Lavrov later suggested that Europe would use any pause in fighting to pump the Kiev regime with weapons. Chinese President Xi arrived in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, kicking off three days of meetings with the Trump administration. Both sides spoke positively about the meetings, and during the visit, the U.S. and China announced an extension of a trade truce until January 2027 and a deal to lower tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods. Furthermore, the White House said China agreed to buy more U.S. coal and create a working group to address trade barriers to U.S. agricultural products.

The two leaders also discussed AI development, with Chinese state media reporting that Xi told Trump AI should be kept under human control. The White House offered minimal details on these discussions, but both governments said they agreed to create a channel for handling AI incidents. Today, you'll hear views from the left and the right on last week's events. Then, executive editor Isaac Saul will be back for his take. We'll be right back after this quick break. First up, what the left is saying. Many on the left say the Trump-She summit accomplished little of substance.

Some criticized Trump's rhetoric in his U.N. speech, and others question the president's China policy. In Bloomberg, Andreas Kluth said Trump and Xi's empty summit is straight out of the 1930s. Donald Trump and Xi Jinping walked on red carpets, crammed to watch flyovers, gave speeches at a state dinner, and gifted pandas. China is sending another panda to the Atlanta Zoo. But the two presidents didn't even attempt breakthroughs on the big issues that will decide matters of war and peace in the years to come.

They talked about trade, and promised to provide some details next week about agreements on U.S. agricultural products, non-sensitive Chinese consumer goods and the like. But this is small beer, and can't distract from the reality that their tense economic truce could turn into open conflict again at any moment. Prolonged cemetery without substance is itself a warning signal. That was the conclusion the liberal German economist Wilhelm Ripka reached when he wrote

during and after World War II about the international crises of the 1930s. Ripka looked on in horror from his exile as the nations that had been in one world war and would soon be in another, kept jaw-jaw-jawing at one conference after another without achieving anything while staying on their disastrous course. That malady has now returned. Once again, world leaders are traveling and jaw-jawing, but with confused notions about what is good for their nations or the world. In The Guardian, Kenneth Roth called Trump's U.N. speech delusional and dangerous. Disregarding the U.N. Charter's emphasis on the peaceful resolution of disputes, Trump doubled down on his violent unilateralism while denecrating the global issues that the U.N. is designed to address.

Trump's was probably less a genuine threat than a clumsy effort to influence negotiations where he has little leverage. Trump is in desperate quest of some face-saving gesture that will allow him to feign victory and extract himself from his disastrous war of choice. Trump also spotlighted his other acts of aggression. He celebrated the seizure of Venezuela's dictator Nicholas Maduro, emphasizing how some political prisoners have now been freed, although hundreds remain. But while Trump lauded, his coerced deal with Venezuela's remaining autocratic leaders to take a large chunk of the country's oil. He said nothing about a democratic future. Instead, touting his might-makes-right beliefs, he proclaimed, to the victor, belong to spoils. In MS Now, Jonathan Fritz argued,

Trump's fawning over Xi won't advance U.S. interests. President Donald Trump rolled out far more than a very long red carpet for the visiting leader of the People's Republic of China. He also provided full official honors, ordered a military jet flyover, and gushed about his great friendship with the Chinese leader. These grand gestures to harsh adversaries of the free world took place while Trump was fighting in court to kick three news outlets, including MS Now, out of the White White House press pool because he didn't like how they covered his administration. What Xi's visit has revealed is that the Trump administration seemingly prioritizes pomp and circumstance over a substantive success. Washington should be negotiating from a position of strength. The United States

needs to work closely with our Indo-Pacific partners and allies to push back with firm resolve against Beijing's economic and security bullying, even while keeping open channels for pragmatic, respectful diplomacy. That's the only way to be taken seriously by an unsentimental Leninist like she, who likely views Trump's welcome as a signal that the U.S. President is playing a weak hand. Next up, what the right is saying. Many on the right say the Trump Xi summit continued a tenuous stalemate. Some argue the president was properly critical of the UN in his speech. Others contend Trump's critics are missing the important moves he's taken to stand up to China.

In the American conservative, Evan Sanky said a grand bargain is unlikely between the U.S. and China. The truce era of U.S.-China relations is pitched between visions. The first is suggested by a constructive relationship of strategic stability, the awkward framing both sides adopted at the Beijing summit in May. In this view, a durable strategic stalemate requires a bilateral reset. The second is that the truth suggests what it sounds like, a useful lull for each side to get its house in order. The deliverables, most likely to emerge from Xi's visit,

will be notionally compatible with both visions. They will sustain the truce and begin to flesh out the constructive relationship of strategic stability. but they will also be easily reversible in the event of a sudden downturn in the relationship. The trade truce is vague and fragile. This summer, it was strained by U.S. import bans on Chinese robots and power equipment and retaliatory Chinese sanctions on American firms. Still, it is low cost for both sides and now serves as the central ballast of the relationship, expected to be renewed when Trump meets Xi. Neither Trump nor Xi is allergic to confrontation, but each ultimately sees the other as a powerful peer he must work with to secure his own country's interests.

The New York Post editorial board praised Trump's warning to the United Nations. Trump's U.N. addresses from the start have been top-notch statesmanship and prophetic. The Germans laughed at his 2018 warning not to depend on Russian energy, until the tanks rolled into Ukraine in 2022. On Tuesday, he again held a clear mirror up to the all-talk, no-walk crowd, and if the UN fails to get the message, its days may be numbered. Trump touted America's rebound since his return to the White House, and trumpeted his effective work to reshape the world stage. His peace deals, his Venezuela move, his Greenland Entente, and above

all his defanking of Iran. Indeed, he vowed to annihilate the Islamic Republic if it refuses to make an acceptable deal. I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day, Trump explained. So while others have talked, I have acted. Here, here. The president was even more explicit about his disdain for turtle-based efforts to impose a far-left agenda and for its globalists, rogue international criminal court, human rights counsel, and UNESCO. Yes, the United Nations has great, great potential Trump allowed. His criticisms aimed to save it. In national review, Michael Lucci suggested Trump's China strategy is bigger than tariffs and summits. Trump's mix of sparring in summits with CCP chairman Xi Jinping should be understood relative to the

strategic backdrop against which Trump returned to office. On the surface, both sides project stability and congeniality. But beneath the surface, the Trump administration is arming allies and racing for resilience to restore the American deterrence necessary to prevent a catastrophic global conflict. America's military alliances, supply chains, atmospheric security, and positioning near global choke points are being reinvigorated to ensure American strength. At home, unprecedented steps are underway to purge high-risk Chinese power transformers from the U.S. power grid. The Federal Communications Commission has also banned Chinese power inverters, drones, routers, robots, and test labs. Federal agencies are writing new rules to protect federally

funded university research from dangerous Chinese institutions. Predictably, America's media are fixated on diplomatic gestures, corporate complaints, and even promoting Chinese narratives. But the fundamental work of arming allies and striving for resilience is happening at an unprecedented pace away from the cameras. That's it for views from the left and the right. Now I'll pass it back to Isaac for his take. All right, that is it for what the left and the right are saying, which brings us back to my take.

A lot has happened in the last week. There's enough geopolitical ground to cover that I figured it'd be easiest to just offer seven distinct thoughts on the United Nations General Assembly and President She's visit to Washington, D.C. Number one, the United Nations Assembly reminded me of just how tense the state of global affairs really is. International concern about the threats of AI and the competition between the West and China. The unrelenting Russia-Ukraine war, which President Zelensky-Warned could get worse if AI starts making decisions. Israel's war on several fronts.

The distinct conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Then, there are the situations the United States is directly involved in, or could be, the Iran war, what we left in Venezuela and our commitment to now defending it. Add to that, the Houthis in Yemen, and the percolating rumors of an offensive in Cuba. As Biden's term was ending, I argued that the feeling of global chaos was going to hurt Democrats in the 2024 election. Heading into the midterms, that problem feels even worse for Republicans and Trump. Number two, Iran's President, Masoud Peschekian, delivered a historic speech to the United Nations. It was the first time the leader of a country at war with the United States delivered remarks to the assembly on U.S. soil.

The remarks were not encouraging for peace. Zeshkin showed images of the schoolgirls killed by a U.S. strike, called the U.S. and Israeli attacks illegal, blamed the United States for global instability, promised Iran would not be bullied by America and said his country would not give up its civilian nuclear program. Nothing in his tone was conciliatory, and the whole speech exemplified the psyche of Iran's leaders in this moment, defiant and ready to keep fighting. Number three, Trump's remarks were similarly not encouraging. The president told the United Nations he was considering whether to annihilate Iran, a threat he has made repeatedly since the war began.

Remember, after signing a memorandum of understanding in June, the Trump's administration embarked on a media tour proclaiming the conflict was over, with Vice President J.D. Vance now famously describing how cool it was that negotiations were barreling ahead. Just last week, the Pentagon quietly added to the number of U.S. soldiers injured in the war, despite previously denying reports they had undercounted those totals. It is now almost October, and Trump is preparing Americans for escalated strikes after the midterms, which are still over a month away. Simply put, this conflict isn't going anywhere, which means all the things related to it, soaring energy prices, instability in the Middle East, deaths abroad, they aren't going anywhere either.

And perhaps the most remarkable story from the week, President Trump offered to sell weapons to China's President Xi during a closed-door meeting. The source of this news is none other than David Perdue, the U.S. Ambassador to China, who shared the moment in a Fox News interview, apparently unaware of the fire he was lighting. That the president would even consider selling weapons to our chief geopolitical rival at a time when we are stalling on a $14 billion arms deal to Taiwan,

an allied nation which China is constantly on the precipice of invading, is stunning. As we speak, China is arming Iran and Russia and aiding them in live conflicts that we are on the other side of. Essentially, this would be selling weapons to be used against ourselves. The State Department later walked back Purdue's claim, saying, quote,

U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China and there is no offer or plan to sell arms to China, they said. Apparently, Trump was just riffing. Number five, zooming out, the entire Trump-She summit is a disorienting episode. I'm certainly not opposed to a warming of U.S.-China relations, given all the uncertainty and tension in the world, the two global superpowers being on friendly terms would be an unambiguous good.

But we're talking about Donald Trump, who was at one point the ultimate China hawk. He ran repeatedly on the need to stand up to China on the global stage. In 2016, he described China as raping our country. As recently as 2024, he said China was killing us as a country. Yet, when she visits, Trump is literally rolling out the red carpet, offering to show him his special military ballroom, joking around at the expense of his predecessor and offhandedly suggesting China could buy U.S. weapons.

It's all a very odd spectacle given Trump's history of hard-line positions on China. Number six, at the intersection of the UN Assembly and Trump's summit with China is the topic of AI. The U.S. and China are in a technological arms race, which American AI leaders have used to justify plowing forward with development despite their own concern that AI could upend or destroy life. It's fascinating to be reminded of how China views this technology. They aren't worried about an AI takeover, wiping out all of humanity or even destroying the economy. In fact, it seeks to integrate AI into nearly every facet of its economy.

China has so much control at the state level that it believes it can switch off the power grid and haul in AI developers if things ever get dicey. Instead, China is mainly concerned about AI shaping domestic opinion and turning its population against the regime. We are, simply put, chasing the same goals, AI development with very different fears. And finally, number seven. To the degree the UN Assembly or state visits like this offer any value, I think they serve as mile markers to reflect on the state of global geopolitics. Trump started his remarks at the UN by saying, a lot has happened in the last year, which may have been the understatement of the week. He then gave she the distinct honor of a state dinner. In the midst of a trade war and the

push and pull of so many foreign conflicts, I'll be curious to look back on that dinner in a year and see if it changed the trajectory of our relationship with China. I'm inclined to view these events as more theater than anything else, but sometimes a few hours of in-person private communication between world leaders really can change the shape of history. All right, that is it for my take. I'm going to hand it over to Isaac Wood, who is answering today's listener question. We'll be right back after this quick break. Hi, this is contributing editor Isaac Wood, answering a question from Tracy in Kassayuna, New York.

How many times in this presidency has a Trump action or directive been overruled by the courts? And how does that compare to other recent presidents? Here's my answer. According to a New York Times report, as of September 2nd, the Trump administration has been sued more than 850 times. Over 650 cases remain in ongoing litigation, and 523 of those cases the challenged policies remain active, while courts have halted policies and 162 others. That leaves 196 cases that have received a final ruling. Seven were decided in the president's favor, 74 in the plaintiff's favor,

113 were dismissed, and two had mixed outcomes. excluding the cases that were dismissed, that gives Trump about an 8.4% win rate. Now on to the comparison with previous administrations. A database of legal actions from states and their attorneys general offers a helpful tool for comparing these lawsuits to judicial restrictions under previous administrations. In Obama's two terms, Republican state attorneys general had a 64.2% win rate and 80 multi-state lawsuits. which are just lawsuits brought by multiple state attorneys general. In Trump's first term, Democratic AGs had an 83% win rate in 160 cases, and during Biden's presidency, Republican AGs had a 74.1% win rate in 114 cases.

So far, in Trump's second administration, according to an April statement from Democratic AGs, they had won 55 of the 67 cases that had been decided. an 82% win rate. So Trump has lost in court more often than both Obama and Biden. The recent increase in lawsuits against presidential administrations is notable. During George H.W. Bush's presidency from 1989 to 1993, he received only 20 multi-state lawsuits. His son, George W. Bush, was challenged in court 76 times in his two terms, nearly doubling the pace.

Then, the 160 lawsuits in Trump's first term octupled the rate of lawsuits against George H.W. And 133 against Joe Biden trailed just behind Trump 1.0. Now, Trump is on track to surpass his first term number. As of April, Democratic AGs have sued his administration a hundred times. So if you feel like the judicial branch has occupied more of the new cycle than in past decades, you have data on your side. Now back over to Audrey for the rest of today's edition. Thanks, Isaac. Next up, we have today's Under the Radar story.

On Friday, the Trump administration said it is canceling approximately $810 million in Congressional approved spending, primarily targeting programs that provide aid to non-citizens. A president is typically required to give Congress 45 days to review a request to rescind funds, but the administration's move, known as a pocket rescission, comes near the end of the fiscal year, giving lawmakers minimum review time before the funding expires. In addition to roughly $567 million in cuts for health and human services programs supporting non-citizens, the rescission includes funding for education programs for migrant students, initiatives to bring foreign students and faculty to the United States, and a

business development program for minority entrepreneurs. Fox News has the story, and the link will be in the show notes. Last up today, we have our Have a Nice Day story. When a group of about 30 inmates found out students of a nearby Kansas school district had taken on roughly $6,000 in school lunch debt, they decided to help out. The inmates are part of a prison rehabilitation program called Rehabilitation Program called Reaching Out from Within, which has chapters across the state and has goals such as raising money for donations. Several inmates told Corey Roy, superintendent of Norton Community Schools, that their own experience with food insecurity motivated them to help out with the children's lunch debt. They donated $4,267 to cover most of the balance. It was just an inspiring interaction,

Ror recalled, from a four-hour visit with the group of men. Even people who have made mistakes in the past can do super great things in helping another person. NBC Today has the story, and you can find the link in the show notes. That's it for today's podcast. Thanks so much for listening. If you would like to support our work, head over to reetangle.com, where you can buy a newsletter subscription,

a podcast subscription or a bundle membership that gets you a discount on both. We will be right back here tomorrow, but in the meantime, this has been editor Audrey Moorhead. On behalf of Isaac and everybody else, have a great day and peace. Our executive editor and founder is me, Isaac Saul, and our executive producer is John Law. Today's episode was edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Our editorial staff is led by managing editor Ari Weitzman with senior editor Will Kback and associate editors Audrey Moorhead, Bailey Saul, music, for the podcast was produced by Diet 75.

To learn more about Tangle and to sign up for a membership, please visit our website at readtangle.com.