President Trump is having what might be called Communist Week.

It began Monday with a high-profile visit to Gracie Mansion, where he met New York’s controversial Mayor Mamdani.

On Wednesday, Trump welcomed another Communist leader to Washington, rolling out the red carpet for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump greeted Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, as they stepped off their plane at Joint Base Andrews. The couples then walked together along the red carpet while a 21-gun salute rang out, followed by the national anthems of the United States and China.

Trump even sent a US Air Force jet overhead to greet Xi, setting the stage for Thursday’s planned military spectacle: a flyover featuring F-22 fighters and a B-2 bomber ahead of the leaders’ Oval Office meeting and state dinner.

Let’s hope the impressive display of American military power is matched by equal determination in the private talks.
For all of Trump’s elaborate diplomatic courtesies, he appears to have no illusions about China’s intentions or its effort to challenge America’s position as the world’s leading power.

During his second term, the president has moved with calculated speed to dismantle China’s expanding footholds in America’s strategic neighborhood.

The Greenland security agreement he signed at the United Nations on Tuesday prevents China from establishing bases or expanding its influence in America’s Arctic backyard.

He has also pushed Chinese port operators out of the Panama Canal and secured majority control over Venezuelan oil supplies that Beijing had been targeting.

Even Trump’s confrontational stance toward Canada is partly aimed at pulling America’s northern neighbor away from China’s orbit.

Lay down the law!

As Melania Trump accompanies Peng on a visit to the National Gallery of Art, Republican China hawks such as Sen. Tom Cotton are urging Trump to be direct with Xi. They want him to demand an end to the theft of US artificial-intelligence models and to China’s threats against countries including Taiwan and Japan.

Trump could also continue pressing Xi to free Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong publisher who remains in detention.
The irony is hard to miss: Democrats are now presenting themselves as China hawks after years of accommodating Beijing, particularly during Joe Biden’s time as vice president and president.

Hunter Biden made millions of dollars from China, critics contend, while Joe Biden treated Xi deferentially and allowed China to militarize islands in the South China Sea and take American intellectual property with little resistance.
Yet Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has accused Trump of “once again bend[ing] the knee to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party].”

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Far-left Sen. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, called on Trump to “sit down and negotiate with President Xi for a comprehensive treaty to establish . . . a ban on superintelligence.”

And pigs might fly.

The Trump administration is treating China far more seriously than Democrats did as America’s principal rival in the struggle for global leadership. That competition is especially intense in artificial intelligence, an arms race Trump wants to rebrand as SI, or Super Intelligence.

As Trump says repeatedly: “Whoever wins AI, WINS!”

Technology executives are reportedly confident that the United States can prevail, even as some appeal to Washington for tighter regulation and protection from legal liability.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicts that the United States will control 80% of the world’s computing capacity by 2028, up from roughly 60% last year.

Apocalypse not!

In his UN speech Tuesday, Trump dismissed the apocalyptic warnings of AI doomers that the robots will kill us all unless the UN or some similar global entity oversees AI development.

“We’re leading now over China by a lot and everyone else, and we’re going to keep it that way. We’re going to keep it very, very straight and very strong. I’m not going to stifle growth of anything that’s going to be bigger than the Industrial Revolution,” Trump said.

“We will be very careful, and that’s why we have a Department of Justice.”

Judging by Beijing’s secrecy and malevolence in allowing COVID-19 to spread from its Wuhan lab around the world, any global supervisory regime would not constrain China, only the US.

Bessent has at least managed to strike a deal with Beijing to establish an emergency hotline for the two countries to communicate in the event of an AI emergency, but again that relies on trust.

While Trump’s domestic rivals underestimate Trump’s resolve to best China, you can bet Xi doesn’t.

Trump received an uncharacteristically enthusiastic hearing at the UN Tuesday — his speech was interrupted three times by applause, on Iran, Gaza and Malania Trump’s efforts to repatriate Ukrainian children from Russia.

The crowd applauded again as he finished.

The assembled global leaders may be starting to realize that Trump is good for the world, even if Americans barely notice.

But while kid gloves, warm smiles and quiet subterfuge are necessary to win the contest with China without risking a trade war or worse, the same can’t be said for New York City’s current toxic leadership.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered the message to Mamdani this week that a lot of New Yorkers wish Trump had.

“Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani,” Netanyahu said in a video message to the mayor ahead of the PM’s UN speech Thursday.

“Shame on you for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews.”

By contrast, Trump could not have been more charming to Mamdani, standing alongside the mayor at a press conference saying he had the potential to be a “great” mayor.

Wrong to raise stature

Why normalize Mamdani by granting him equal stature before the midterms when Republican candidates across the country are running on the craziness of the far-left DSA faction of the Democrats, which has Mamdani as its leader and his good friend, the Hamas-loving 9/11 apologist Hasan Piker, as its poster boy?

Mamdani, who normally has a ghastly grin plastered on his face, was uncharacteristically somber-faced.

He put on the appearance of eating something distasteful as Trump gushed over him.

Trump probably wants to coax the mayor into not ruining the hometown he loves, but Mamdani just wants to trick Trump into giving him millions of dollars to waste on more socialist boondoggles that will entrench his power and make New Yorkers’ lives worse.

The one way to deal with Mamdani and save New York is to support Bruce Blakeman, who is catching up to Kathy Hochul in the latest polls of the all-important gubernatorial race.

But if Mandani is so great, as Trump is telling us, why would we need Blakeman?

Schmoozing Xi we can stomach, but no more with Mandani, please.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s forceful criticism of Washington at the United Nations likely elicited little more than a knowing smile from President Donald Trump, who believes he has the upper hand, according to a foreign policy analyst who spoke to News Media on Wednesday.

The comments followed dueling speeches at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where Pezeshkian and Trump took the same stage less than a day apart. Their addresses underscored the deepening hostility between the United States and Iran.

“Trump understands he holds the cards, and he may not even have paid much attention to what the Iranian president was saying,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told News Media.

In his remarks, Pezeshkian accused the United States and Israel of launching attacks against Iran and presented Tehran as the target of unprovoked aggression.

“We have only defended ourselves. We are not terrorists,” Pezeshkian said.

“Our innocent people have been the targets of cowardly attacks and aggressions imposed upon our country. America and Israel attacked us.”

Taleblu said the Iranian leader’s claims may have prompted a dismissive reaction from Trump, especially given the disparity he sees between Tehran’s public messaging and the Iranian government’s record. “I’m sure that would have drawn a smirk or a smile or a chuckle from the president’s face, seeing that crassness,” he said.

Pezeshkian spoke after Trump used the U.N. podium to defend the U.S. campaign against Iran and issue a stark warning: Tehran must either reach an agreement or risk even greater destruction.

“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” Trump said Tuesday.

Although the two presidents exchanged sharp accusations, Taleblu said their overall approaches to the confrontation were not unexpected.

“To a certain degree, both President Trump and President Pezeshkian’s speeches before the U.N. General Assembly’s 81st session were predictable,” Taleblu said.

He added that the predictability reflected the current standing of both nations and the established pattern of their foreign policies toward one another.

Still, the public threats have not entirely closed the door on diplomacy. Behind the scenes, Washington and Tehran appear to be continuing to explore whether negotiations can produce a way forward.

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Trump said Tuesday that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held approximately three hours of discussions with Iranian representatives on the sidelines of the General Assembly. The president described the talks as productive.

Witkoff later explained that the exchanges took place indirectly, with mediators carrying messages between the American and Iranian delegations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also took part in the discussions, according to reports.

According to Taleblu, both governments are trying to “make time a weapon on their side” while shifting responsibility for the next major decision onto the other side—forcing its rival to choose between escalation and renewed engagement.

But Taleblu went on to characterize Pezeshkian’s broader message as an attempt to cast Iran as a victim through an anti-American, anti-Israel and anti-imperialist framework.

“It seemed to be more of a global South, anti-American, anti-Israeli, kind of anti-colonial, anti-imperialist message that he was looking to kind of paint the Islamic Republic as the victim,” Taleblu said.

“In reality, the long-serving victim in this entire crisis is the Iranian people because of the policies of the Islamic Republic.”

The competing messages — confrontation from the U.N. podium and diplomacy behind the scenes — highlighted the unresolved tensions between Washington and Tehran as officials explore whether negotiations can produce an off-ramp from the conflict.

“Despite the tough talk at the podium, both sides still feel like they need to signal an interest in talks, even though they’re both trying to use talks to shape an outcome that is more conducive to their interests,” Taleblu said.

Pezeshkian also told the General Assembly that Tehran would not surrender to military pressure while signaling that Iran remained open to diplomacy.

“I think the Iranians are trying to signal an interest in talks, but they may run into a brick wall quite soon if they foot-drag or delay or don’t meaningfully provide any kind of substantive change in their policy,” Taleblu said, citing Iran’s positions on the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and its nuclear program.

“Ultimately, if the positions remain the same, the fact that they’re oscillating between shooting and talking doesn’t mean much because the red lines haven’t actually moved.

“Of course, the Trump administration is looking for a political win here.”

More than 100 people now claim that the notorious Six Flags X2 roller coaster caused brain injuries, just weeks after an investigation connected the ride to devastating injuries and deaths.

Civil attorney Christopher Bulone said at a news conference Tuesday that Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California “has been willingly gambling with people’s lives.”

“No ride like that should be allowed to exist,” Bulone said of the X2 roller coaster as he announced three lawsuits against the company.

The attorneys said they had also been contacted by hundreds of other riders. Some could not bring legal claims because the statute of limitations had expired, while others reported injuries that were not brain-related or lacked documentation showing they had received medical treatment.

Two of the lawsuits filed Monday represent riders featured in a CNN investigation published in August.

Pamela Guillen, 40, of Hawaii, and Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, of Los Angeles, took rides on the X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, in July, CNN reported.

Disturbing images showed both women unconscious, with shaved heads, after undergoing treatment for traumatic brain injuries they allegedly suffered while riding the roller coaster.

Both were photographed in hospital gowns and connected to tubes after undergoing serious medical procedures, details of which were shared with CNN.

Greer-Wilkinson has remained in a coma with a severe traumatic brain injury ever since the incident.

Her father, Joshua Wilkinson, told CNN: “The jarring had damaged part of her brain and it had begun to bleed.”

Doctors saved her life by performing emergency brain surgery.

Her mother, Artemis Greer, recalled one surgeon storming through the emergency room and shouting: “How many is it this month? They’ve got to shut that ride down!” She said the doctor was furious.

“Naomi should have never, ever in a million years, even had the option to get on that ride. It’s absolutely insane,” Greer said.

Doctors believe the X2 caused the injuries suffered by both Guillen and Greer-Wilkinson.

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“In our professional opinion, the severe brain injuries requiring emergent neurosurgical attention were the result of a traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration event experienced while on the X2 ride,” the doctors wrote in an email reviewed by CNN.

The roller coaster has been closed since July 12.

Greer-Wilkinson is one of over 100 people who have come forward claiming they suffered severe brain injuries on the ride in recent months, according to Dordick Law, which has filed a series of lawsuits against Six Flags.

The plaintiffs had ridden on the X2, the world’s first fourth-dimension roller coaster. It is known for hitting speeds of nearly 80 miles an hour while flipping seats 360 degrees as it makes its way around the track. 

The roller coaster is widely regarded as one of the most intense models of its kind in the world and there are only two more, in China and in Japan.

The X2 ride has been linked to more than a dozen reports of injuries and hospitalizations in the past two decades, according to medical reports seen by CNN.

A 22-year-old college graduate, Christopher Hawley, died about ten hours after getting off the ride with his brother and cousin in 2022, the outlet said.

A coroner’s report found he suffered blunt head trauma during a ‘park ride accident,’ CNN reported.

His father, William Hawley, told Fox 11 that a surgeon said the X2 ‘hit his head so hard that it had basically ruptured his brain.’

Attorneys for Hawley’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against park operator Magic Mountain LLC and replacement coaster train supplier S&S Worldwide Inc.

The Hawley family reached a settlement with Magic Mountain LLC and an accord with S&S, the terms of which remain undisclosed, just this August.

In 2010, 28-year-old Hilda Farias also died after riding the roller coaster. Doctors believed an existing brain abnormality ruptured because of the ride’s intensity. Her family later settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.

Six Flags did not reply to the Daily Mail’s request for comment. 

Eli Manning has offered his college-footback-playing nephew, Arch Manning, a simple warning: tread carefully when speaking with the media.

The two-time Super Bowl winner told Front Office Sports that most of his guidance for Arch would focus on football. Still, Eli emphasized that the Texas quarterback—widely projected as a top-five NFL draft pick—must be cautious when dealing with reporters.

“Most of my advice, more football stuff,” Eli Manning said. “He’ll have to figure out that media on his own, and a lot of it is just kind of growing pains. You feel like they’re your pal, you relax with them a little bit, you try to be funny, and then they can take it and run.

“So you just gotta be careful. You gotta find your moments where you can be funny, you can be relaxed, but there’s certain things that you know you just gotta learn and deal with it. And I think he has learned, and he apologized and did the right steps in handling that.”

Arch Manning and the Longhorns are 3-0 after defeating Ohio State, which had been ranked No. 1 at the time. The victory was followed by a media controversy involving both the Texas quarterback and coach Steve Sarkisian.

Sarkisian drew attention after declining an interview with ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe. Instead, he shouted, “Go Texas, fight! Let’s go Texas, fight! Hook ’em,” before walking away without answering questions.

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Several days later, Arch addressed reporters and referenced an AI-generated video depicting a digital version of Sarkisian slapping Rowe.

“I’ve seen a few AI edits and stuff, but that’s about it. I saw AI edits of Sark’s interview,” Manning said, prompting laughter in the room.

“Have y’all seen that one? That’s a good one,” Arch added with a smile. “Of him slapping Holly Rowe? That’s hilarious.”

Arch apologized directly to Rowe the following day. She accepted the apology and expressed hope that the incident could be put behind them.

“In my press conference yesterday, I made an insensitive comment about an AI video,” Manning wrote Tuesday in an Instagram Story. “There is nothing funny about it. It’s easy to say I didn’t mean it, but I know my words and actions were hurtful to a lot of people. I do not take that lightly and am deeply sorry for that.”

Texas will meet No. 14 Tennessee on Saturday at noon ET on ABC, with Rowe serving as the sideline reporter.

A Biden-era policy that allowed federal immigration officials to seek and accept private donations for the care of illegal immigrants in custody has been ended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency said the arrangement no longer fits the Trump administration’s tougher approach to border enforcement.

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott immediately withdrew the agency from a 2022 Department of Homeland Security directive, according to an internal memo obtained exclusively by Fox News.

The directive had authorized the heads of CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to solicit, receive and use gifts intended to support illegal immigrants held in agency custody.

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“This delegation order is no longer needed or appropriate,” Scott wrote. He said the sharp decline in encounters and apprehensions meant CBP no longer needed private donations or gifts to distribute to aliens in custody.

Scott also said the policy was inconsistent with the Trump administration’s stronger border enforcement posture and the related presidential actions issued by the administration.

“For these reasons, I am withdrawing CBP from DHS Delegation 07107, Rev. 1 effective immediately,” Scott wrote.

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CBP confirmed the decision to Fox News, saying agency officials recently became aware of the directive and moved to end the agency’s participation. The withdrawal applies only to CBP; Scott’s memo does not indicate that ICE has been removed from the DHS policy.

The original delegation was signed on May 3, 2022, by John K. Tien, who was then the deputy secretary of Homeland Security.

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The directive also gave the CBP commissioner and ICE director permission to seek specific gifts connected to the care of illegal immigrants in agency custody.

Scott said CBP had requested the authority because facilities were facing an “elevated number of aliens encountered, processed and held” at the time. He said the substantial drop in encounters and apprehensions means the agency no longer needs private donations or gifts for migrants in custody.

“CBP will continue to provide care for aliens in our custody through our normal appropriations,” Scott wrote.