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Increasingly often, Trump ends up backing down and simply declaring a win.
His opponents appear to be catching on,
sharpening their tactics based on Trump’s patterns and his unapologetically transactional attitude toward diplomacy.

The dynamic has played out repeatedly in recent weeks as Trump backed off, to varying degrees,
on his plans to transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,”
turn Canada into the 51st state and
beat China into submission with tariffs.

Now, two very different tests are emerging.
One is over where Trump stands
-- with America’s biggest allies or with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia
-- on preserving Ukraine’s sovereignty and safety in any cease-fire deal.

The other, with Iran, may determine whether he is really willing to stand aside and let Israel bomb Iran
— or join in, despite the risks
— if he cannot extract a better nuclear deal than what President Barack Obama got, and cut off Iran’s pathway to a bomb.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/us/politics/trump-ukraine-china-iran-negotations.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare