Trump meets world leaders, cancels meeting with Putin ahead of Asia tour

President Donald Trump Started the week meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and ended the week jetsetting to Asia. And at home, the White House began construction on a new ballroom — to the chagrin of many Democrats.

Trump said construction began Monday and the project will be privately funded. The project is estimated to cost $300 million, up from the $200 million estimate first provided in July when the project was unveiled.

“For over 150 years, every president has dreamed of having a ballroom in the White House to accommodate the public for grand parties, state visits, etc. I am honored to finally be the first president to begin this much-needed project — at zero cost to the American taxpayer!” Trump said in a social media post. “The The White House The ballroom is being privately funded by many generous patriots, great American companies and yours truly. This ballroom will be used happily for generations to come!”

The US will soon bring nuclear-powered subs to Australia that will sit on China’s doorstep

Still, the project has faced criticism as the historic east wing of the White House was completely demolished. The wing serves as the official entrance to the White House and is designated as a seat for the First Lady.

On Monday, Trump signaled that he wants to get Australia up to speed with nuclear submarines under a trilateral deal between the US, Australia and the UK that seeks to boost Australia’s submarine power to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.

The deal, known as AUKUS, will see the US sell five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia by 2032. The agreement also outlines that Australia and the UK will work to build additional attack submarines for Australia’s fleet.

However, Trump told reporters that he was considering equipping it Australia with submarines Soon, he was asked if he was interested in speeding up the process.

President Donald Trump, left, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shake hands outside the West Wing of the White House on October 20, 2025 in Washington. (via Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg Getty Images)

Trump announced a meeting with Xi Jinping at the South Korea APEC summit scheduled for next month

“Well we’re doing it, yes … we’re moving it very fast,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

However, Trump also said he did not believe the deal was necessary to weaken China.

“I don’t think we need it,” Trump said of the trilateral deal. “I think we’ll be fine with China. China doesn’t want to do that. First of all, the United States is by far the strongest military power in the world. It’s not even close, not even close. We have the best equipment. We have everything good and nobody’s going to mess with it. And I don’t see that at all with President Xi.”

President Donald Trump, center, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they gather for a group photo at the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019.

Meanwhile, Trump left for Asia on Friday, as he is scheduled to meet Xi during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

The meeting comes amid ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries, which escalated when Beijing announced on October 9 that it would impose export controls on rare-earth magnets. Rare earth magnets are used in products ranging from electric cars to F-35 fighter jets..

As a result, Trump said the US would impose new 100% tariffs on all Chinese goods, effective November 1.

However, Trump has sought to defuse tensions and has spoken regularly in recent weeks about his relationship with Shishi. In addition, he has said that he is confident that an agreement will be reached between the two countries.

Relations between Trump and Putin soured as the president pressed for a resolution with Ukraine

“I think we’re going to come out pretty good and everybody’s going to be very happy,” Trump said Thursday.

Trump and Xi have not met in person since Trump took office in January. Their last meeting was held in Japan in June 2019.

Trump will also visit Malaysia, Japan and South Korea as part of the tour.

After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and canceling a meeting with the Russian president, Trump met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Wednesday. Vladimir Putin.

President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speak at the start of the NATO Leaders’ Summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. (Joe Thies/AFP)

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Trump said he did not want a “wasted meeting” with Putin in Hungary, and White House press secretary Carolyn Levitt said Trump did not see enough progress toward peace from Russia.

“We canceled the meeting with President Putin,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office with Rutte on Wednesday. “It didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like we were going to get where we wanted to go. So I canceled it. But we’ll do it in the future.”