Trump takes on Harvard & the world ... mediations galore (but success? nada) ... Economies upended ... Phone calls into the void ... For our paid: Usha uber alles ... our global cartoon portfolio
In this weekly feature for Andelman Unleashed, we continue to explore how the media of other nations are reporting and commenting on the United States, and how they are viewing the rest of the world.
To emphasize, we cover lots of ground—diving each week through 30+ newspapers & 100+ websites on every continent to distill the world. So, you may not want to read it all, but it's all here for you!
Coming to you this week again from Paris….
How others see America
It was Harvard that led many of the world’s front pages at the end of the past week as Trump and his minions rolled out the big guns in an effort to seize control over American higher education and mold it in his image. As Le Monde led its homepage:
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Harvard had created a dangerous academic environment by allowing "anti-American and pro-terrorist agitators" to attack Jewish students on campus. Without providing evidence, it also accused Harvard of coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party….
Major offensive against higher education in the United States
The Republican camp more generally criticizes major American universities for promoting left-wing ideas deemed too progressive. Civil liberties groups see this as an attack on freedom of expression and an attempt to silence any criticism of Israel.
The Straits Times of Singapore even published a look-back at the evolution of Harvard’s global student body:
Only demonstrating that Trump’s action utterly galvanized a toxic view of the United States around the world. Marina Lopes and Angelica Ang of The Straits Times reported:
The news arrived quietly on his mobile phone, that Harvard University has been barred from enrolling international students. This means his ability to finish his degree there, the culmination of a lifetime of work, is now in jeopardy. The student, who declined to give his name given the sensitivities involved, is one of over 150 Singaporeans enrolled at the university.
“(Harvard) has always been a dream of mine, and I’m happy to have had the chance to experience it at least, though I don’t know how much longer that’s going to last,” the Singaporean student told The Straits Times. “It’s sad to think that these opportunities might not be available for others.”
Throughout the day, his phone buzzed constantly—professors checking in, classmates offering support. But the university’s guidance has been limited. “Wait for updates,” students have been told. In the meantime, he has cancelled a long-anticipated trip home.
The US administration’s decision marked the latest escalation in a broader campaign to reshape the landscape of American higher education by directly targeting one of the country’s most prestigious universities and its ability to draw top talent from around the world. President Donald Trump claims private colleges and schools across the US foster anti-American, Marxist and “radical left” ideologies. By midday, the leafy campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was restless. Students rang up their embassies and flooded the inbox of the international student offices.
“The current sentiment is mostly just confusion, and maybe a bit of nervousness, because it’s all quite unprecedented, so nobody really knows what’s going on,” said another Singaporean student, this one at Harvard Law School.
The uncertainty at Harvard has rippled across the higher education landscape. Other universities are watching warily, aware they could be next. On May 14, Columbia University in New York issued a statement of concern to its students, staff and alumni.
“Many of our students from abroad are facing new logistical hurdles and challenges to their ability to study at Columbia,” said its acting president Claire Shipman. “The university has responded with expanded advising, emergency aid and legal resources, but the path forward remains uncertain for many of these vital members of our community.”
Le Figaro in Paris was quick to point out the first reaction from Beijing:
"The US side's move will only harm the international image and reputation of the United States," the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said.
Beijing denounced the "politicization" of education after the US administration revoked Harvard University's right to enroll foreign students, a large contingent of whom until now came from China.
"China has always opposed the politicization of educational cooperation ," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said. "The U.S. side's move will only harm the U.S. image and international reputation , " she noted.
China pledges to support foreign students
In response to the Trump administration's decision, the Foreign Ministry said China would safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its overseas students and scholars. Mao Ning also said the US actions would undoubtedly affect its image and credibility, adding that educational cooperation between China and the US benefits both sides.
As for People’s Daily out of Beijing….
As it happens, this action against Harvard could not have come at a more opportune moment for one of Europe’s leading initiatives, spearheaded by French president Emmanuel Macron alongside Europe’s leader Ursula von der Leyen—a $500 million fund to lure American scientists and other researchers, announced jointly at one of Europe’s (certainly France’s) most renowned universities—the Sorbonne—as the The Jerusalem Post took notice:
In Singapore, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong trumpeted the wealthy island-nation’s efforts to build (and attract) skills, observing:
In a more advanced economy and with a better-educated population, the SkillsFuture movement must do better in curating courses and helping Singaporeans identify those that will benefit them the most.
Not the only Trump ambush
Indeed, there were any number of targets this week of Trump’s only accelerating ambushes. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa got the full-Zelinsky in the Oval Office, and he having observed carefully the trajectory of his Ukranian countepart, came fully prepared to pay court to Donald Trump….yet found in his welcome the toxic phrase London’s Telegraph headlined:
In an extraordinary confrontation, the US president ordered staffers to dim the lights and play a video showcasing what he called a genocide of white farmers in the country. Turning to Mr Ramaphosa, the South African president, Mr Trump said people “were fleeing” while demanding an “explanation” for what he said was a “very sad situation”.
“We have thousands of stories talking about it, we have documentaries, we have news stories... it has to be responded to,” the US president said. Narrating over the footage, he continued: “These are burial sites right here, over a thousand of white farmers and those cars are lined up to pay love on a Sunday morning.”
Not exactly, but Ramaphosa had hardly a chance to get a word in edgewise.
Not to mention his other ambush: the economy….
Trump is pushing to the brink the economies of many of its onetime closest allies, not to mention what he’s doing at home…as Solveig Godeluck, US correspondent for the leading French financial daily Les Echos reported:
As the United States seeks trade deals with dozens of countries, Europe once again finds itself in Donald Trump's sights. On Friday, the American president first threatened to sharply increase tariffs on European imports, then claimed his decision had already been made.
"I recommend 50% tariffs on the European Union, starting June 1, 2025. There will be no tariffs if the product is built or manufactured in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" wrote Donald Trump in a message posted on Truth Social. The Old Continent's biggest fault: it "was very tough in negotiations," he accused, as soon as he got out of bed.
Early in the afternoon, America's top negotiator stepped it up a notch. During a press briefing in the Oval Office, Donald Trump assured that his mind was already made up: "I'm not looking to make a deal. I mean, we've defined the deal. It's 50%," he asserted. According to the author of "The Art of the Deal," the method hasn't been right so far, and "it's time to play this game my way."
Stock markets in shock
In his morning message, the head of state reeled off his obsessive argument: the European Union "was created with the primary aim of profiting from the United States in trade," according to him….
European stock markets plummeted immediately after the announcement. The New York Stock Exchange also opened sharply lower, especially since Apple was also subject to threats. In a threatening early morning post, Donald Trump pledged 25% tariffs if the company didn't bring its iPhone production back to the United States. This pressure is not happening by chance. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and his European counterpart, Maros Sefcovic, spoke Friday afternoon.
"The EU is fully committed and determined to reach an agreement that benefits both parties," Maros Sefcovic said [later]. "And remains ready to work in good faith." He added that trade between the EU and the United States "must be guided by mutual respect, not threats," while warning, "we are ready to defend our interests."
Brussels proposed a new negotiating framework that was intended to be balanced, aiming to lower customs duties on both sides of the Atlantic to zero on a large part of trade. This doesn't sit well with Donald Trump. He would like the European Union to follow the United Kingdom and agree to unilaterally lower its own tariffs, while allowing new tariffs to be imposed on it—10% in the British case. But the European Union is a much bigger market, with a different leverage in trade negotiations.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick spoke of "impossible" negotiations and sought to drive a wedge into European unity: the European Union, "it's very difficult, you know, because Germany would like to make a deal, but it doesn't have the right."
"There are 18 major trading partners. With the exception of the EU, most of them are negotiating in very good faith," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commented, emphasizing that negotiations with India are "very advanced." As for the president's threats, "I think it's just a response to the pace of the EU….I hope it will make the EU jump," the minister continued. "I think the new Chancellor Merz will allow a new start in the US-Germany relationship. I'm very optimistic: maybe Germany can help move Europe forward.”
"The United States' trade goals are unclear, making negotiations virtually impossible for Europe," reacts Agathe Demarais of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Is it about reducing economic ties with China, buying more American arms and gas, or reforming the VAT? "Trump's demands seem to reflect a deep frustration with the EU's professional, calm, and bureaucratic approach to trade negotiations—clashing with Trump's desire to quickly sign seemingly sexy deals even if they don't actually mean much."
And then there’s that phone call….
….that everyone was anticipating. Vladimir Putin on the other end and after 2 hours, well, not much good, at least for Ukraine or even the brand of government known as ‘democracy.’ Let The Kyiv Post pick up the story:
A day after Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump spoke by phone on Ukraine, showering each other with compliments, Russian home-maker Anastasia had one wish: for Moscow to finish what it started in 2022.
In the fourth spring of Moscow’s devastating offensive, which has killed tens of thousands, diplomatic movement in recent days has given Russians a boost in confidence that victory—in some shape or another—is approaching.
In the call with Trump, the Russian leader once again brushed off calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, as demanded by the West and Kyiv. Despite that, the US president said the “tone” of the conversation was “excellent.”
Russia controls a fifth of Ukraine and holds an upper hand on the battlefield….Putin has shown no sign of scaling down his maximalist demands for ending the Ukraine conflict, seeking little short of capitulation from Kyiv.
‘Final offensive’
At talks in Istanbul, Russian negotiators demanded Ukraine abandon territory it still controls in the east and south. Russia also wants Ukraine barred from NATO and for Western military support to end. Putin has repeatedly called for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be removed from office.
Confidence was tinged with uncertainty in Moscow after the Putin-Trump call, in which the Russian leader floated a vague “memorandum” that would outline demands for a peace deal and Trump said Kyiv and Moscow would begin talks swiftly.
Putin was indeed hoping to advance more on the ground and will not “miss the opportunity” for a summer offensive, said Russian analyst Konstantin Kalachev. He called the Trump call a “tactical victory” for the Russian leader. “Russia is hoping to push them (Ukrainian forces) this summer,” Kalachev said. “There will be no peace, while Russia has not yet used the option of a final offensive.”
Still, in the end Christian Adams may have this just right in The Telegraph of London:
But on the ground….going the wrong way…
As Reuters reported early Sunday morning:
Russian forces launched a barrage of 367 drones and missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight, including the capital Kyiv, in the largest aerial attack of the war so far, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more, officials said. The dead included three children in the northern region of Zhytomyr, local officials there said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the United States, which has taken a softer public line on Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, since President Donald Trump took office, to speak out.
Most stunning, however, was Le Monde’s in-depth look at the horrors of dead and wounded on the Russian side—assembled painstakingly from a 2-gigabyte database with 281,345 lines of data—smuggled out of the military command on a thumb drive by one courageous defector, a computer scientist and stretcher-bearer. The bottom line? More than 700,000 Russians wounded and 250,000 dead.
Elections 2025: Poland
A week from today, Poland goes to the polls for the second round of the election to choose the nation’s next president. As the BBC reported the results of the first round a week ago:
Warsaw's liberal mayor Rafal Trzaskowski won a narrow victory in Poland's presidential election, but a second-round run-off with conservative historian Karol Nawrocki will be required to decide the country's next president.
The state electoral commission said Trzaskowski, a deputy leader of prime minister Donald Tusk's centrist Civic Platform (PO) party, won 31.3% of the vote. Nawrocki came second with 29.5%.
But Poland’s leading daily Wyborcza left little doubt which candidate it’s choosing:
On the left, with the X is Trzaskowski, on the right Nawrocki. And the caption:
I choose the future ……. I choose the past
How others see the World
Our Conversation: The Pope as mediator?
In our weekly Unleashed zooomversation, our celebrity guest(s), Dennis Redmont and wife Zeynep Tinaz Redmont recalled from his experience traveling with and reporting for the Associated Press on three popes and their global efforts, how the Vatican has managed most effectively to insert itself, often quite quietly yet effectively, as mediator and facilitator….
The exciting full hour-long conversation will be found below the fold for our (lightly) paid members.
Special for the Paid !
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Back next Friday, May 30, with a very special guest, live from Switzerland:
Mathias Model
A student of global affairs, educated at the University of St. Gallen between Zurich and the frontier of Liechtenstein, Model, 22, spent a year at Harvard (before Trump II began its assault), and has interned at a number of global enterprises from Deloitte and Six to B Capital Partners and Afinium Management. But above all, he can help us understand the political inclinations of young Europeans, not to mention the significant drift of a not insignificant number to the increasingly potent extreme right. And his own hopes for the future.
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Israel = pariah?
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to choose between the toxicity and deadliness of global crises, but this week the honor, if we can even call it that, goes to Gaza. It was the banner lead story in Le Monde, for instance:
….remarking on how the entire European Union was “dissociating itself from Israel” over the destruction of Gaza. It points out that “article 2 of the association agreement between the EU and Israel stipulates that the signatories must conform to the rights of man.” The paper then points to: “19 months of the war in Gaza, the toll is terrible: more than 53,000 deaths, of which a majority are women and children and more than 60% all buildings destroyed.” Then the paper continues, “In Israel, the vengeful words calling for the eradication of Palestinians in Gaza, coming from the highest authorities after the terrorist attack of October 7, have become commonplace.”
And that’s the reportage. The p. 1 editorial is even more direct:
Put an end to impunity
The Israeli authorities, led by the Prime Minister, are choosing a path that places them outside the ranks of nations that respect human rights.
The deliberate use of the weapon of hunger; the unilateral resumption, in the name of eradicating the Hamas militia, of massacres of Palestinian civilians under bombs supplied by the United States; thousands of children killed, maimed, deprived of essential care; a return to mass population displacements in areas falsely presented as safe: the facts as well as the statements only reinforce the possibility of a genocide being declared by international justice, the only legitimate body to do so…..
The planned ethnic cleansing in Gaza, crudely disguised as a "voluntary migration plan" by the Israeli authorities, should already be leading many countries to the necessary conclusions. The time for unqualified solidarity with a country deeply affected by the terrorist attack of October 7 has passed. The time for firm and outspoken opposition to the plan of the most extremist government coalition in the history of the Jewish state has, however, come….
Many of Israel's allies no longer have anything in common with Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, and the latter can therefore no longer benefit from any impunity. The threat of "concrete measures" raised on May 19 by Canada, France, and the United Kingdom in a joint statement is a first step.
The path chosen by the Israeli authorities in Gaza as in the West Bank must have a cost, and it must be high.
As far as America’s strategic position?
Maybe not such a good thing British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer did for (or to) Trump:
Because as it happens, the Chagos islands are the location of one of America’s largest overseas combined air and naval bases—on what was once the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and is still Diego Garcia….which Andelman (then hardly Unleashed) had the privilege to visit for a single very long day for The New York Times on April 6, 1977, when it was nearing deployment:
Oh and by the way, Mauritius is still looking, not very happily, down the barrel of a 40% tariff imposed by Trump in his April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs [not to be confused with Mauritania’s 10%]. And no relief in sight, as Mauritius Business Review observed:
Economic Effects
A decline in exports could lead to job losses in key industries such as manufacturing (textiles) and agriculture (sugar and seafood) due to the imposition of reciprocal tariffs.
Reduced foreign exchange earnings from exports could impact Mauritius’ trade balance and overall economic growth.
And then there’s America’s competition
As France’s Elysée Palace reported Sunday:
The President of the Republic and Mrs. Brigitte Macron will travel [Monday] to Southeast Asia for three state visits to the region, starting with Vietnam, then Indonesia, before heading to Singapore. This trip will mark a new stage in the French strategy in the Indo-Pacific.
The visit to Vietnam will build on previous exchanges between the President of the Republic and Vietnamese authorities, including the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who visited Paris last October. Its aim will be to deepen bilateral relations in the areas of sustainable development and innovation while strengthening cooperation in strategic sectors such as energy, transport, and defense. The President will also pay tribute to the memory of the combatants who participated in the Indochina War….
[In Indonesia, Macron] and President Prabowo Subianto will deepen the strategic partnership between France and Indonesia in the areas of defense, energy transition, and industry, extending in particular to the cultural sector. They will discuss global issues together, as Indonesia is particularly exposed to the effects of climate change….
In Singapore, [Macron] and Prime Minister Wong will coordinate closely to strengthen economic relations between our two countries in all areas, with a particular focus on innovative projects, including artificial intelligence, ecological transition, civil nuclear power, and research. As Singapore is a key partner of our research institutes, cultural and academic exchanges will also be discussed.
The President of the Republic will be the first European head of state to participate in the Shangri-La Dialogue, the largest forum on political and military issues in the Indo-Pacific. This will be an opportunity to explain France's position on major international crises and propose action for peace, the planet, and future generations.
A succession of agendas that excludes virtually every core goal of America in the Age of Trump.
What’s new on ‘paid’?
Now, for our most highly valued, but lightly paid, members ....Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung takes a close at America’s 2nd (and wannabe 1st?) lady Usha Vance ….the full video of our Friday zooomversation … winding up with a bonus gallery from cartoonists around the world riffing on their view of horrors in Gaza and Sudan; Trump’s new QatarForce One, Ukraine, his Golden Dome, all courtesy of Cartooning for Peace and Le Monde….
—Editing by Pamela Title
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