Trump’s 21st Week Back in Office to Feature China Trade Talks, LA Riot Response, and New Travel Ban

President Donald Trump and his administration are gearing up for a crucial and turbulent 21st week back in the White House, marked by pivotal trade negotiations with China in London on Monday and escalating unrest in California amid sweeping immigration enforcement efforts. The high-stakes week is set to test both the administration’s diplomatic hand and its domestic policy enforcement as Trump seeks to reassert U.S. strength at home and abroad.

On Friday, President Trump announced via Truth Social that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer will lead a delegation to London to continue trade talks with China. These discussions follow months of tit-for-tat tariffs between the world’s two largest economies, with duties reaching as high as 145 percent on certain Chinese imports. Only last month, the two nations had reached a preliminary agreement, a deal that Trump recently accused China of violating.

The upcoming negotiations were preceded by a reportedly “very good phone call” between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to Trump, the leaders spent an hour and a half dissecting the nuances of the trade deal and exchanging invitations for state visits, signaling an ongoing commitment to dialogue despite recent tensions over tariffs and compliance.

In tandem with these diplomatic maneuvers, the Trump administration has rolled out sweeping travel restrictions, banning entry from 12 countries including Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Iran, and imposing partial bans on seven others. Set to take effect Monday, the new proclamation is part of a wider crackdown targeting what the president described as “dangerous foreign actors,” especially in the wake of a recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado. Trump has cited national security risks posed by insufficient vetting and visa overstays, blaming previous administrations and open-border policies for current challenges.

The travel ban has drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups and political opponents, who denounce it as another manifestation of Islamophobia and accuse the administration of punishing innocent travelers. Nonetheless, Trump and his advisors maintain that the measures are a necessary response to recent violent incidents involving individuals living illegally in the U.S., such as the hate crime charges filed against Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national accused of an attack in Boulder.

Meanwhile, chaos erupted in Los Angeles over the weekend as federal immigration agents launched large-scale raids in an effort to fulfill Trump’s vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants who entered under the prior administration. The operation was met with intense resistance as protesters clashed with law enforcement, setting vehicles ablaze and looting businesses in scenes of widespread unrest.

Reacting swiftly, President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard soldiers to help restore order. He took to social media to lambast California’s leadership—specifically Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass—for what he called an “incompetent” and inadequate response. The administration emphasized that federal interventions would intensify and signaled an end to the practice of protestors wearing masks, suggesting it concealed criminal activity.

Governor Newsom, for his part, condemned the federal raids as “chaotic and reckless,” asserting that indiscriminate sweeps were sowing fear in immigrant communities and destabilizing California’s economy. The governor’s office even sought to downplay the scale of the violence by likening the riots to exuberant celebrations following major sports victories, a comparison that further inflamed partisan tensions.

Elsewhere, a high-profile public feud unfolded between President Trump and tech mogul Elon Musk, who recently stepped down as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk’s vociferous opposition to the mammoth “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”—a cornerstone of Trump’s legislative agenda this term—sparked a bitter war of words. Fiscal conservatives have echoed Musk’s concerns, warning that the bill threatens to balloon the national debt, while Trump insists it will lower taxes, secure borders, and boost American energy independence.

The dispute escalated rapidly online, with Trump hinting that Musk’s disapproval was rooted in the bill’s reduction of electric vehicle mandates—a key interest for Musk’s Tesla. Both figures traded barbs, with Musk going so far as to post about Trump’s alleged connections to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal—a message he later deleted. Trump signaled that their alliance may be permanently ruptured and issued pointed warnings about future political involvement from Musk.

As the administration enters a pivotal week, the dual fronts of international diplomacy and domestic turmoil underscore the challenges facing President Trump. While the outcome of trade talks with China and the restoration of order in California remain uncertain, the administration’s aggressive posture suggests it intends to shape both narratives decisively in the weeks ahead.