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National

President Trump touted the U.S. as the "hottest" and "most respected country in the world" on Sunday as he reached the six-month mark of his second White House term. 

The big picture: Trump's second term has come with a series of challenges both at home and abroad, though he has seen some successes with the passage of the "big, beautiful bill" and the Supreme Court ruling in his favor in several significant cases.  

In a Truth Social post Sunday, the president claimed his second term is "being hailed as one of the most consequential periods of any President." 

"In other words, we got a lot of good and great things done, including ending numerous wars of Countries not related to us other than through Trade and/or, in certain cases, friendship," he continued. 

"Six months is not a long time to have totally revived a major Country. One year ago our Country was DEAD, with almost no hope of revival. Today the USA is the 'hottest' and most respected Country anywhere in the World. Happy Anniversary!!!" he wrote. 

Trump's Truth Social post from July 20, 2025.

Trump's Truth Social post celebrating six months of his second term. Screenshot: Truth Social.

Zoom out: Trump's administration has negotiated three ceasefire deals between six countries since he took office in January, but efforts to generate an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Israel and Hamas haven't materialized. 

During his 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly said he would end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours if he returned to the White House.

Between the lines: In a separate Truth Social post, Trump touted his approval ratings, claiming that his numbers among Republicans have gone as high as 95% in "various polls." 

It's unclear which polls the president was referring.

According to Gallup, Trump's June approval rating was 40% among voters across both parties, down from 47% when he took office in January. 

When broken down by party, 86% of Republicans approved of Trump's job as president in June. 36% of Independents and 1% of Democrats agreed. 

A CBS News/You Gov poll published Sunday showed similar numbers. Overall, the president had a 42% approval rating, with 89% of GOP, 32% of Independents and 5% of Democrats giving their approval. 

Zoom out: Trump said in his post that his numbers had been boosted by "Radical Left Democrats" exposing the "Jeffrey Epstein hoax." 

No polling conducted since he ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to release grand jury transcripts related to Epstein has yet been made public. 

"People like Strong Borders, and all of the many other things I have done. GOD BLESS AMERICA. MAGA!," Trump added in his post.

Trump touts U.S. as "most respected country" as he marks six months in office

"Six months is not a long time to have totally revived a major Country," he wrote Sunday on Truth Social.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on July 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to speak at an artificial intelligence and energy summit. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on July 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Donald Trump

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

The U.S. still intends to put a baseline tariff of 10% on many smaller countries, despite recent suggestions it could go higher, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday. 

Why it matters: It's a small sign of relief for the market, which has watched nervously as President Trump repeatedly suggested in recent days that baseline rates could go to 15% or even 20%. 

Catch up quick: Earlier this month, Trump sent letters to dozens of countries, unilaterally setting tariff rates as of August 1. Hundreds more are expected in the coming days.

So far, only one of those countries, Indonesia, has made a nominal deal for a better rate than the letter imposed, though it's not clear if that arrangement is anywhere close to finalized. 

The Yale Budget Lab estimates that Americans — including the impact of the August 1 letters — now face the highest tariff rate since 1910, an average cost of $2,800 per household this year. 

What they're saying: "You should assume that the small countries, the Latin American countries, the Caribbean countries, many countries in Africa, they will have a baseline tariff of 10%," Lutnick said on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday.

"The bigger economies will either open themselves up or they'll pay a fair tariff to America," he said.

Zoom out: Lutnick said August 1 was a hard deadline, and that no nation was going to "negotiate away" tariffs entirely.

"10% is definitely going to stay. Many countries will pay higher," he said.

The intrigue: CBS released a new poll Sunday morning showing 60% of respondents oppose tariffs, and 61% believe the administration is putting too much emphasis on tariffs.

Lutnick dismissed the finding."They're going to love the deals that President Trump and I are doing. They're just going to love them," he said.

He also dismissed any concerns about tariffs causing prices to rise. "I think you're going to see inflation stay right where it is," he said. 

The recent CPI report showed inflation has been creeping steadily higher in recent months, including in the goods categories most exposed to tariffs.

What to watch: With 12 days to go until the deadline, a number of countries and blocs, like Japan, South Korea, and the European Union, are actively negotiating with U.S. officials to lock in lower rates. 

U.S. still looking at 10% baseline tariff, not higher, Lutnick says

President Trump repeatedly suggested in recent days that baseline rates could go to 15% or even 20%.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick standing outside the White House, speaking to reporters. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Tariffs

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

Latest news on Wall Street, Corporate America and financial regulation.

Business

As smoke and debris swirled over the Syrian presidential palace, the chatter in the West Wing grew louder: Benjamin Netanyahu is out of control. 

What they're saying: "Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time," one White House official told Axios, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. "This could undermine what Trump is trying to do."

A second senior U.S. official also pointed to the shelling of a church in Gaza this week, which led President Trump to call Netanyahu and demand an explanation. "The feeling is that every day there is something new. What the f***?"

A third U.S. official said there's growing skepticism inside the Trump administration about Netanyahu — a sense that his trigger finger is too itchy and he's too disruptive. "Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won't behave."

Netanyahu's spokesperson Ziv Agmon did not respond to a request for comment.

Why it matters: Six U.S. officials tell Axios that despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted this week's escalation in Syria on Friday, this week ended with the White House significantly more alarmed about Netanyahu and his regional policies.

However, Trump has so far refrained from public criticism and it's unclear if he shares his advisers' frustrations. It is not totally clear whether he shares his advisers' recent concerns about Israel's actions in Syria.

Driving the news: On Tuesday, Israel bombed a convoy of Syrian army tanks en route to the city of Suwayda to respond to violent clashes between a Druze militia and armed Bedouin tribesmen, which had killed over 700 people as of Saturday according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Israel claimed the convoy crossed into a zone of southern Syria it demands be demilitarized, and that the Syrian military was participating in attacks on the Druze minority, which Syria denies.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack asked his Israeli counterparts on Tuesday to stand down to allow for a diplomatic resolution, and the Israelis committed to do so, according to a U.S. official.

Instead, after a pause, Israel escalated the strikes. On Wednesday, Israel dropped bombs on Syria's military headquarters and near the presidential palace. 

Friction point: "The bombing in Syria caught the president and the White House by surprise. The president doesn't like turning on the television and seeing bombs dropped in a country he is seeking peace in and made a monumental announcement to help rebuild," a U.S. official said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Netanyahu and his team  to stop on Wednesday. 

Netanyahu agreed to do so in return for the Syrian military withdrawing from Suwayda. 

But by then countries including Turkey and Saudi Arabia had conveyed angry messages to the Trump administration about Israel's actions, and several senior U.S. officials had complained directly to Trump about Netanyahu.

Behind the scenes: Among those officials were Barrack and White House envoy Steve Witkoff — both close friends Trump's, according to a U.S. official.

The general belief in the White House was that Netanyahu bombed Syria because of domestic pressure from Israel's Druze minority and other political considerations.

"Bibi's political agenda is driving his senses. It will turn out to be a big mistake for him long-term," a U.S. official said.

Another U.S. official said the damage the Israelis had done to their standing at the White House over the past week didn't seem to be breaking through to them. "The Israelis need to get their head out of their asses," the official quipped.

Between the lines: The tensions over Syria came just days after Netanyahu's visit to D.C., in which he met Trump twice and the two leaders seemed closer than ever in the afterglow of the war with Iran.

In addition to Syria and the attack on the church in Gaza, the murder of Palestinian American Saif Musallet by a mob of Israeli settlers last weekend also sparked pushback from the Trump administration toward Netanyahu's stridently pro-settler government.

Amb. Mike Huckabee, who days earlier had visited Netanyahu's corruption trial in a show of support, released a series of statements calling the attack "terrorism" and demanding answers. On Saturday, he also visited a Christian community in the West Bank that had been targeted by settler attacks.

Huckabee, long an effusive supporter of Israel, also criticized the Israeli government this week for making it harder for American evangelicals to obtain travel visas.

The other side: The Israelis were surprised by the U.S. pushback over the Syria strikes. 

A senior Israeli official said Trump had encouraged Netanyahu to hold parts of Syria during his first weeks in office and hadn't previously expressed concerns about Israel's interventions in the country.

The official stressed that Israel only intervened after its intelligence indicated the Syrian government was involved in attacks against the Druze. The official denied any domestic political considerations.

"The U.S. wants to keep the new Syrian government stable and doesn't understand why we attack in Syria, because of attacks on the Druze community there. We tried to explain to them that this is our commitment to the Druze community in Israel," the senior Israeli official said.

State of play: The instability in Syria is a major concern to the administration. On Saturday, Rubio posted on X that the regime in Damascus needs to help bring peace and stop the killings. 

But a senior U.S. official said Israel shouldn't be able to decide whether the Syrian government can exert its sovereignty over its own citizens and territory.

"The current Israeli policy would lead to an unstable Syria. Both the Druze community and Israel will lose in such a scenario," the official said.

The big picture: This was hardly the first time Netanyahu tested Trump's patience.

His gamble that Trump would ultimately back his strikes on Iran paid off in dramatic fashion. 

He's pressed on in Gaza for months despite Trump's desire for an end to the war.

In Syria, he bet once again that he could escalate dramatically without destabilizing the region or his relationship with Trump.

And Trump aides have become more and more aware in recent months of the influence far-right Jewish supremacist elements in Netanyahu's coalition have on policy. This dynamic has also become more evident to the broader MAGA movement.

The bottom line: U.S. officials who spoke to Axios cautioned that Netanyahu's luck, and Trump's goodwill, could run out.

"He's a madman": Trump's team frets about Netanyahu after Syria strikes

"Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won't behave."

Photo illustration of Benjamin Netanyahu overlaid on top of a map of the Middle East and next to a distressed photo of a bombed out building in Damascus.


Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis and Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Israel

Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

World

In his second term, President Trump is making a habit of taking action on topics plucked from America's popular imagination that had previously been non-existent in Washington's policy playbook.

Why it matters: Trump's voracious appetite for generating attention and marketing his policies has bred ideas that inject the power of the presidency into deep recesses of American life and culture.

Driving the news: This past week, Trump announced that Coca-Cola had agreed to use real cane sugar in Coke. For decades, high-fructose corn syrup has sweetened the drink. (The company hasn't confirmed his claim.)

The topic has been steadily gaining attention in the U.S., with interest in Mexican Coke — which uses cane sugar — rising for years, according to Google Trends.

The big picture: We all know "kitchen-table issues," the topics shaped by decades of campaign trail debates. But these are "group-chat issues" — stuff you'd text your friends about that doesn't usually get picked apart by policy wonks.

Alcatraz: Trump stunned the country by announcing this spring that the notorious prison island — closed for more than 60 years — would be reopened. The move is inspired "more by symbolism than necessity," Axios' Marc Caputo reported. 

The penny: The administration took action on the ultimate pocketbook issue by announcing plans to discontinue the 1-cent coin. While the move makes economic cents — pennies now cost more to make than they're worth — the bigger impact could the cultural ripple of an extinct piece of American iconography.

Gulf of America: Trump caught Americans off guard when he edited U.S. maps on his first week in office. The seemingly superficial move led to profound fallout over press freedom and geopolitics. 

JFK files: He indulged a decades-long national fascination about the JFK assassination by releasing 63,000 pages of records — a topic that had largely been left to amateur sleuths and conspiracy theorists. While the records added color to the understanding of the event, there were no bombshells.

Reality check: Trump finds himself on the other side of a group-chat issue with his posture on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

He is fighting against the populist current demanding more information and transparency around Epstein's sex trafficking operation, while disavowing his supporters who continue to press him.

Zoom in: On some lesser-noticed, Seinfeldian issues, Trump addressed everyman gripes with the stroke of a pen.

He signed executive orders to maintain "acceptable water pressure in showerheads" and curb the use of paper straws.

Trump comes for American lore with pop agenda

These group-chat issues were well off most Americans' radar.

Illustration of a Warhol-inspired pop art portrait of Donald Trump. 

Photo illustration: Maura Losch/Axios. Photo: Image Photo Agency/Getty Images.

Communicators

Axios Communicators

Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns following Coldplay concert scandal

"Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted," the company said Saturday.

Axios

Sunday's top stories

Trump touts U.S. as "most respected country" as he marks six months in office

U.S. still looking at 10% baseline tariff, not higher, Lutnick says

"He's a madman": Trump's team frets about Netanyahu after Syria strikes

Trump comes for American lore with pop agenda

Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns following Coldplay concert scandal

Trump meets toughest opponent: his own base

State, local officials seek to ban ICE agents' masks

What's next after the stablecoin law is signed

Trump sues Wall Street Journal for libel over Epstein letter