Donald Trump, it is often claimed, can sense weakness a mile away. But as Xi Jinping jetted out of Washington on Friday afternoon, he must surely have identified a whiff of American vulnerability.
From the very moment that Xi arrived at Andrews Air Force Base to begin his state visit to the United States, Trump demonstrated limitless eagerness to flatter and fluff the Chinese leader.
In May, when Trump landed aboard Air Force One in Beijing for a three-day state visit to China, Xi did not bother to travel to the airport to welcome him. But Trump was there at Andrews, along with First Lady Melania Trump, who skipped the springtime trip to China, to welcome Xi and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, to American soil.
The Reform MPs who face losing their seats according to new poll
Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman are among four Reform UK MPs who would lose their seats if a general election were held tomorrow, fresh polling by YouGov shows.
Falling behind the Tories
Tory defector Danny Kruger and Sarah Pochin – who beat Labour in a 2025 by-election – would also be unseated, according to the leading UK pollster’s first large-scale election modelling since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister.
Although the party’s numbers of MPs would hugely increase, it would have fewer seats than the Tories overall, marking a significant fall when compared to last year’s polling.
How a Labour government could be formed
The poll predicts that Labour would be the biggest party in a hung parliament.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey recently ruled out forming a coalition with Reform or the Tories but stopped short of excluding a coalition with Labour.
However, to form a Parliamentary majority in this scenario, Burnham would also need to work with the SNP or Plaid Cymru.
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Reform expanding its operations
The polling comes as Reform is preparing a huge expansion of its operations around the country, targeting London, the South East, the South West and the East of England.
- Analysis of Reform job adverts by The i Paper suggests the party is pumping resources into areas where it wants to keep its high-profile Tory defectors.
There’s turmoil in the Liberal Democrats. And MPs are struggling for direction
Stagnant in the polls but still a potential kingmaker, the party’s at a crossroads – even its own members are asking what comes next.
Record number of assaults on Britain’s trains – what to know
Assaults on Britain’s railways have hit record levels, new figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have revealed.
The numbers
The data published on Thursday showed there were 13,464 reported assaults on people who were not railway workers between April 2025 and March 2026, an increase of 36 per cent compared to the previous year.
- 11,289 assaults on rail workers on mainline networks were also recorded, an increase of 12 per cent. This included 6,390 incidents of verbal abuse, 2,487 physical assaults and 2,412 threats.
Working to make railways safer
No-one on the railway should be subjected to violence, threats or abuse. We’re working with industry and our trade union colleagues to address work-related violence and harassment, including through recent guidance which sets out what we expect from rail employers.
Richard Hines, ORR’s chief inspector railways
Walkers reveals three new crisp flavours
Three new “gold” flavours of Walkers are now available for crisp lovers. The new snacks mark the brand’s biggest revamp in 80 years.
What are the flavours and how much are they?
The new flavours are black truffle, sea salt and olive oil and Somerset mature cheddar and onion.
Each pack is branded as “Premium Potato Crisps”.
The crisps come in 140g bags and can currently be bought for £2 each.
Where you can buy them
The entire range launched on Ocado officially today, but from October 12, they will be widely available in major UK supermarkets for a cheaper price of £1.50.
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The Chinese are sticklers for diplomatic protocol and will have noticed the contrast. Even some of Trump’s backers suggested the airport greeting thrust America into a defensive crouch.
Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Chair of the Armed Services Committee, said he would have advised the President not to offer Xi “such a lavish welcome”. Hard-right influencer Laura Loomer called the arrival ceremony “truly embarrassing” and “unbelievable”. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, branded Xi’s entire visit a “WTF moment”.
There were many more to come, including repeated occasions when Trump playfully slapped Xi on the arm as though they were old high school buddies. “We have a lot of respect for you…a lot of respect,” Trump assured his guest as they toured a White House photo gallery replete with images of their previous meetings.
Trump’s determination to be seen as one of the big men on the global stage, alongside Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, has already been well-documented. Fiona Hill, the British-American who served as a top National Security Council (NSC) official in Trump’s first term and then testified against him on Capitol Hill, has long argued that he sees himself as an equal, hoping to divide the world between three distinct spheres of territorial-grabbing influence.
In his speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, Trump again asserted American dominance over the country’s own back yard. “The United States will no longer permit threats to America to gain a foothold anywhere in the Western Hemisphere,” he thundered. “If necessary, we will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interests of the United States,” he added.
Former Biden administration NSC official, Julian Gewirtz, said the week’s events had again revealed “a pattern with President Trump, where he views Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, these autocratic leaders of large states as his peers, as leaders who merit this degree of deference…Of course, the leaders of traditional US allies do not get this kind of treatment. I don’t think we’re ever going to see the day when President Trump greets [Canadian Prime Minister] Mark Carney on an airport tarmac”, he observed.
Trump’s reverence is not always reserved for international authoritarians like Putin, who this week scored a surprise American invitation to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit to be held in December at the President’s golf club just outside Miami. Ahead of his UN speech, Trump spent time at Gracie Mansion, the official home of Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor of New York City.
Their bromance is one of the more remarkable US political stories of the year, with Trump clearly aware that Mamdani’s actions could have a huge impact on the President’s New York-headquartered business empire. On paper, Mamdani’s membership of the Democratic Socialists of America would normally be enough for Trump to brand him a “far-left radical” whose mere existence threatens national security. Yet on Monday, the President hinted at support for some of the Mayor’s development plans and renewed his prediction that Mamdani is poised to become a “great” leader of the city.
Xi, Putin and even Mamdani know they have got Trump exactly where they want him: on the back foot, cravenly flattering them, and throwing the diplomatic and political rulebook out of the window in his efforts to secure their approval. The Chinese and Russian leaders are already past masters at predicting Trump’s often-telegraphed next move and simply watching as the US leader demeans and weakens his own standing by flattering them.
European leaders, like Andy Burnham – who held his first face-to-face meeting with Trump on Tuesday – have no opportunity of securing Trump’s awe. The US government’s official National Security Strategy says the continent is witnessing “civilisational erasure”. Men like Sir Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have become collateral damage with little to offer Trump in terms of his desire to be seen as a giant in world history,
Trump’s own behaviour, however, ensures that outcome will remain elusive. The Chinese, who think in terms of centuries rather than decades, saw Trump all but on his knees before Xi this week. The state visit produced few tangible outcomes but saw Xi heading home with a raft of fresh evidence to suggest that Trump will do almost anything to be his arm-slapping friend.