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Good morning, 

It seems highly unlikely this hantavirus thing becomes the next pandemic. But if it does, I'm laying down some ground rules:

What else?

Presidents Trump and Xi are currently wrapping up dinner in Beijing, where the first day of the big US-China summit is concluding. The news so far has been Xi's warning to Trump that if the Taiwan issue is "handled poorly", it could lead to an "extremely dangerous situation," as reported by Chinese state media. That shows the tension simmering under the surface of this trip, which has featured groups of excited Chinese schoolchildren following Trump around, jumping up and down and waving little Chinese and American flags. It always makes me chuckle how most world leaders at this point have figured out that the key to getting what you want from our president is to just treat him with the level of respect he thinks he is owed. Big parades, lots of pomp, red carpet greetings, etc. Maybe Democrats could learn from this.

Of note, the readout the White House just sent after the bilateral meeting between the two leaders makes no mention of Taiwan but describes Xi "expressing interest" in buying more US oil and ending the flow of fentanyl precursors, and an agreement that the Strait of Hormuz "must remain open," which it.... isn't. Trump has also shown a bit of uncharacteristic restraint so far, not engaging with shouted questions from the press pool on Taiwan, or posting anything on Truth Social that could overshadow the trip. 

But restraint for Trump is always temporary. The bigger test will come tomorrow (tonight) when they get into the harder stuff like trade and technology. For now, it seems both leaders are getting what they came for: Trump gets the optics of a big superpower summit on the kind of grand stage he thinks of as his natural habitat. Xi gets to host a US president while looking like a president-for-life in full control. 

Which brings us, naturally, to the Trump phone.

Perhaps no perfect time for Trump to drop his latest scam. "Trump Mobile", the wireless carrier launched by our great telecom visionaries of Don Jr. and Eric, just announced its flagship "T1" smartphone will start shipping this week, after a year of delays and questions about whether it actually exists. Turns out it does! The phone appears to be an Android device with some gold-colored plating bolted on that they’re selling for $500.

The T1 was originally billed as being fully “built in the USA”. But the fine print now says the phone was built with “final assembly in Florida” which is another way of saying it was made in China and is probably available on Temu right now for $30 without the Trump branding. More than 600,000 people already put down a deposit for this thing. Amazing, right? A sucker really is born every minute. The good thing about the Trump phone finally coming out is it'll be a great way to spot a mark from a mile away. If you see someone rocking a gold-plated phone with TRUMP MOBILE printed on the back, you can safely assume they're among the more easily swindled people you'll ever meet.

So, there ya have it. President Trump is in Beijing, toasting our relationship with China, while his sons sell a Chinese-made phone wrapped in fake gold to his most gullible supporters. The summit and the con. Hard to say which one will be looked upon as more consequential.

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Carlo Versano is Newsweek's Director of Politics and Culture. He has in-depth knowledge and experience covering a range of topics and stories over a 20-year career in the news business. Carlo joined Newsweek in 2024 after a stint at The Messenger. Before that, he was an Emmy-winning producer at NBC News. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond and the New School. You can get in touch with Carlo by emailing [email protected].

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