Trump’s good news-bad news day
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The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the 12:30 Report newsletter SubscribeIt’s Thursday. Don’t forget that clocks are changing this weekend!
In today's issue:
• Trump, Xi reach trade truce
• President orders nuclear weapons testing
• Top Trump officials move onto military bases
• Food stamp freeze could trigger shutdown off-ramp
• Taco Bell ultramarathon comes to DC
🌏 IN THE WHITE HOUSE
Trump's good news-bad news day:
President Trump, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, third left, hold their summit talk at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)Let’s start with the lighter news: President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a truce on trade in what the U.S. president hailed as an “amazing” 90-minute meeting. The U.S. will scale back tariffs, while China will delay export controls and resume some soybean purchases.
Trump cut fentanyl tariffs in half, while overall import levies on Chinese goods are down from 57 percent to 47 percent. Plus, Trump reached a deal on rare earth minerals. Trump called it a “truly good” meeting. 🔎 Details of the deal
Read more: 5 deals Trump, Xi struck in South Korea
The meeting was held in the shadow of a key nuclear announcement: Shortly before his meeting with Xi in South Korea, Trump instructed the Pentagon to immediately begin testing U.S. nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with China and Russia, ending more than a 30-year hiatus of the program. 🔎 Read Trump’s directive
For context: Russia claims that it tested its new nuclear-capable cruise missile last week, sparking international condemnation.





















Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Tarik Cyril Amar
Stefano Lusa
Mort Laitner
Robert Sarner
Mark Travers Ph.d
Andrew Silow-Carroll
Ellen Ginsberg Simon