President Trump faces a crucial stretch for his foreign policy, as surprising new dynamics emerge in Gaza, Russia and China.
Here's the latest…
• Trump is facing growing pressure from his MAGA wing to cut Israel loose amid global outrage over the humanitarian and hunger crisis in Gaza.
The Hill's Brett Samuels writes:
"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and podcast host Theo Von are among those who have expressed alarm in recent days about the situation in Gaza, where Trump acknowledged this week 'real starvation' was happening on the ground."
Trump says the U.S. will assist in getting food to Gaza, although he blames Hamas for disrupting the distribution of food that has led to the hunger crisis.
There was a time when no one on the right would cross Israel, but public opinion appears to be shifting against Israel amid the nearly two-year long war on Hamas.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the United Kingdom will follow France in recognizing a Palestinian state if the war does not end soon.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "disgusting liar" in an appearance on CNN on Tuesday.
"Israel had a right to defend itself from the terrible Hamas attack," Sanders said. "But I think everybody understands that in the last [one] and a half years, they have been waging a brutal, horrific, almost unprecedented type of war, not just against Hamas, but against the Palestinian people."
Still, most GOP lawmakers and even some Democrats, led by Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), remain steadfast allies to Israel, arguing Israel must be allowed to finish the war against Hamas.
"We have to remind the world that despite the amnesia, Hamas is the central cause of [Israel's] war in Gaza," Torres said Tuesday at the Israel on Campus Coalition's national leadership summit in Washington. "The primary responsibility for a war lies with its cause … Hamas is morally responsible, principally responsible for the war in Gaza."
Fetterman on Wednesday called Greene "crazy pants" for describing Israel's war against Hamas as a "genocide."
• Trump shortened the deadline for Russia to end the war with Ukraine, giving Russian President Vladimir Putin an Aug. 8 ultimatum.
If the war does not end by then, Trump says he'll implement new sanctions and tariffs on Russia's trading partners.
On Wednesday, Trump said India, which he described as "a friend," would be penalized with a 25 percent tariff on Aug. 1 because of its own economic trade barriers and for buying military equipment and energy from Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
"They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST," Trump posted on Truth Social.
• Trump is facing pushback over his administration's decision to allow Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China, with critics warning the move will give Beijing strategic advantages in the race to develop artificial intelligence (AI).
A group of former national security officials and tech policy advocates called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to reverse course.
"[W]e believe this move represents a strategic misstep that endangers the United States' economic and military edge in artificial intelligence (AI)—an area increasingly seen as decisive in 21st-century global leadership," the letter reads.
The Hill's Julia Shapero explains:
"The Trump administration initially restricted sales of Nvidia's H20 chips to China in May, but the chipmaker announced earlier this month that it was taking steps to sell the chips again after receiving assurances from the government that its licenses would be granted. Lutnick indicated the decision was part of a broader rare earth deal with Beijing, while arguing that they were only receiving Nvidia's "fourth best" chip."