Trump hasn’t changed

Former Republican President Donald Trump.
Former Republican President Donald Trump.
Reuters

In a town hall event hosted by CNN on Wednesday night, Donald Trump made it abundantly clear that he hasn’t changed one bit. The former president played many of his classic hits.

He called CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins “a nasty woman,” doubled down on erroneous claims that the 2020 election was stolen, and said that the Jan. 6 riot was carried out by so-called American patriots.

He dismissed a string of ongoing legal woes – including this week’s finding by a Manhattan jury that he was liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll, a former magazine columnist.

He also doubled down on Republicans playing hardball with the debt ceiling, saying that if the Biden administration doesn't make spending cuts then a government default is inevitable.

Crucially, after repeated probing, Trump wouldn’t say whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war. Former NJ Governor Chris Christie, another likely GOP hopeful in 2024 who this week told GZERO Media that he will continue to support Ukraine, panned Trump for his response, calling him “Putin’s puppet.”

But did we really learn anything new? Trump is Trump, and few people expected him to have changed his stripes. The reception he received from the New Hampshire-based audience, including when he said that he’d pardon Jan. 6 rioters, however, shows that the GOP base is still firmly on his side.

More from GZERO Media

President Donald Trump speaks as he signs executive orders and proclamations in the Oval Office at the White House on April 9, 2025.

REUTERS/Nathan Howard

With stock markets plunging and US Treasury yields reaching new heights, Donald Trump finally reneged on parts of his widescale tariff plan on Wednesday, declaring a 90-day pause to the far-reaching “reciprocal” levies that he introduced just one week ago while leaving a 10% across-the-board duty in place. He also escalated the already-burgeoning trade war with China by increasing the tariff on their imports to 125%.

EU and Chinese flags in an illustration.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

European leaders have much to worry about concerning trade and economic growth, and they’re exploring their options with China at a time when Beijing has a strategic interest in helping to divide the US from Europe. Demonstrating to EU leaders that China can become a force for stability in global trade at a time when Donald Trumpis waging a trade war on allies and rivals alike would further that goal.

Democratic Republic of Congo's former President Joseph Kabila, attends a memorial service of Sam Nujoma, who became Namibia's first democratically elected president., February 28, 2025.
REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Former Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has announced his return to the country, vowing to halt the rapid advance of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized significant territory in the country’s conflict-ridden east.

From left to right, Prime Minister of Bavaria Markus Soeder, Chairman of the CDU Friedrich Merz, Heads of the SPD Lars Klingbeil, and Saskia Esken arrive at a press conference after successful coalition negotiations in Berlin, Germany, on April 9, 2025.
Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Reuters

Germany’s leading establishment parties reached a grand coalition deal on Wednesday, bringing Europe’s largest economy a step closer to having a formal government amid severe domestic and global challenges.

Jess Frampton

Globalization helped make the United States the most prosperous nation in history. But many Americans feel they haven’t benefited from free trade and voted for Donald Trump to “liberate” them from the system the United States built over the past 80 years. He is delivering.

Listen: For a special edition of the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to get his economic assessment of President Trump's unprecedented imposition of tariffs, which has sparked an escalating trade war.