 "US President Donald Trump. File image/ Reuters")
US President Donald Trump has always pitched himself as a master dealmaker, but all of his deals in the second term have either failed to materialise or suffered spectacular breakdowns.
Trump came to office with the promise of ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Months later, the war is far from over. Similarly, the ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas that he took credit for broke down within weeks. In the third deal that never was, Trump falsely claimed to have brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Trump is seeking two more ambitious deals: a nuclear deal with Iran and a trade deal with China.
While the deal with Iran looks unlikely as Trump has set maximalist conditions, the deal with China appears to not be going in Trump’s favour as well as he was the first one to blink and concede to reach a truce in the trade war.
Ukraine peace deal
Trump came to office with the promise of ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours.
Trump said last year: “I know Zelenskyy very well and I know Putin very well — even better. And I had a good relationship —very good— with both of them. I would tell Zelenskyy, ‘No more, you got to make a deal.’ I would tell Putin, ‘If you don’t make a deal, we’re going to give him a lot, we’re going to [give Ukraine] more than they ever got if we have to.’ I will have the deal done in one day — one day.”
Trump has done nothing to pressure Russia, the aggressor, and has instead put all the pressure on Ukraine, the defender. He had floated ceasefire proposals that would essentially mean Ukraine’s surrender as they contain some of Russia’s biggest demands. Yet Russia rejected proposals as Putin has stuck to his maximalist demands that would mean the end of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Impact Shorts
View AllTrump has floated three ceasefire proposals so far. While Ukraine has accepted all of them, Russia has rejected all of them.
Instead of sanctioning Russia for ramping up the war and rejecting ceasefire proposals, Trump has punished Ukraine along the way multiple times. The punishments have included the suspension of military aid, intelligence-sharing, and personal attacks on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
After Zelenskyy refused to accept disadvantageous deals and Putin refused to accept any ceasefire proposal, the Trump administration last month announced the end of its shuttle diplomacy and, in a call on Monday, Trump gave up his own demand of a 30-day ceasefire and endorsed Putin’s position of direct talks.
Israel-Hamas deal
Israel and Hamas reached a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and release on hostage on the eve of Trump’s inauguration.
Even though the bulk of the work was done by the outgoing Joe Biden administration and Trump’s incoming team played a smaller —even if significant— role in the deal, Trump took the credit for the deal. However, the three-phase deal never advanced beyond the first phase and collapsed in March when Netanyahu resumed the war.
In the proof that US-facilitated Israel-Hamas talks were doomed for good, the Trump administration entered into direct talks with Hamas for the release of a US national held in captivity. The administration also bypassed Israel to cut a deal with Yemen’s Houthis.
India-Pakistan ceasefire — that never was
To make up for his failures on all other fronts, Trump claimed that he had brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan earlier this month.
India has rejected the claim and said that the ceasefire was reached bilaterally. Owing to the battering under Operation Sindoor, Pakistan reached out to India on May 10 with a request for a ceasefire that India granted.
Even though US officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had held multiple rounds of talks with leaders in both the countries, India maintained that Pakistan’s direct request to India for a ceasefire led to the ceasefire and nothing else.
Trump, however, has continued to falsely claim that he was the driving force behind the ceasefire. He has also offered to mediate between India and Pakistan regarding the Kashmir issue. India has a longstanding policy of rejecting all third-party mediation regarding Kashmir.