In first 100 days, Trump struggles to make good on promises to quickly end Ukraine and Gaza wars

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ahead of his 2nd go-around successful the White House, President Donald Trump spoke with certainty astir ending Russia's warfare successful Ukraine successful the archetypal 24 hours of his caller medication and uncovering lasting bid from the devastating 18-month struggle successful Gaza.

But arsenic the Republican president nears the 100th time of his 2nd term, he's struggling to marque bully connected 2 of his biggest overseas argumentation run promises and is not taking good to suggestions that he's falling short. And aft criticizing President Joe Biden during past year's run for preventing Israel from carrying retired strikes connected Iranian atomic sites, Trump present finds himself giving diplomacy a accidental arsenic helium tries to curb Tehran's rapidly advancing atomic program.

“The warfare has been raging for 3 years. I conscionable got here, and you say, ‘What’s taken truthful long?’” Trump bristled, erstwhile asked astir the Ukraine warfare successful a Time mag interrogation astir his archetypal 100 days. As for the Gaza conflict, helium insisted the Oct. 7 onslaught by Hamas successful 2023 that triggered the warfare "would person ne'er happened. Ever. You past say, ‘What’s taking truthful long?’"

Measuring a U.S. president by his archetypal 100 days successful bureau is an arbitrary, albeit time-honored, contented successful Washington. And brokering bid deals betwixt intractable warring parties is typically the enactment of years, not weeks.

But nary different president has promised to bash arsenic overmuch retired of the gross arsenic Trump, who is pursuing a seismic makeover of America's attack to friends and foes during his 2nd crook successful the White House.

Trump has moved astatine dizzying velocity to displacement the rules-based satellite bid that has formed the ground for planetary stableness and information successful the aftermath of World War II.

All sides person scrambled to acclimate arsenic Trump launched a planetary tariff warfare and slashed U.S. overseas assistance each portion talking up the ideas of taking Greenland from NATO state Denmark and making Canada the 51st state.

But Trump's inability to broker deals successful Ukraine and Gaza — astatine slightest to day — mightiness beryllium the astir demonstrable grounds that his effort to rapidly shingle up U.S. overseas argumentation done sheer volition could person its limits.

And Trump hasn't obscured his frustration, peculiarly implicit the Ukraine war, which he's agelong dismissed arsenic a discarded of U.S. payer wealth and of lives mislaid successful the conflict.

The president and his squad person gone blistery and acold astir prospects for bid successful Ukraine since Trump's Oval Office blowup with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy successful February.

In that encounter, some Trump and Vice President JD Vance lectured the Ukrainian person for being insufficiently grateful for U.S. assistance successful the combat to repel Russia's invading forces earlier asking him to permission the White House grounds.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the White House is acceptable to locomotion distant if Ukraine and Russia don't marque important advancement toward a bid woody soon.

And Trump connected back-to-back days this past week lambasted Zelenskyy for “prolonging” the "killing field" and past Russian President Vladimir Putin for complicating negotiations with “very atrocious timing” successful launching brutal strikes that pummeled Kyiv.

But by Friday, Trump was expressing optimism again aft his peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff met successful Moscow with Putin. Following the talks, Trump declared that the 2 sides were “very adjacent to a deal."

Less than 24 hours later, Trump was erstwhile again downcast aft helium met with Zelenskyy connected the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral, expressing uncertainty successful a societal media station that Putin was superior astir forging a deal.

“It makes maine deliberation that possibly helium doesn’t privation to halt the war, he’s conscionable tapping maine along," Trump said of Putin and Russia's ongoing bombardment of Ukraine.

Trump again expressed vexation with Putin successful an speech with reporters connected Sunday evening. “I privation him to halt shooting, beryllium down and motion a deal," Trump said. "We person the confines of a deal, I believe. And I privation him to motion it and beryllium done with it.”

White House National Security Council spokesperson James Hewitt said Trump remains committed to getting a woody done and is "closer to that nonsubjective than astatine immoderate constituent during Joe Biden’s presidency.”

“Within 100 days, President Trump has gotten some Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating array with the purpose to bring this horrific warfare to a peaceful resolution," Hewitt said. "It is nary longer a question of if this warfare volition extremity but when."

Peace successful Gaza remains elusive

Trump started his 2nd word with immoderate momentum connected ending the Israel-Hamas warfare successful Gaza.

His envoy Witkoff, a chap New York existent property maverick turned high-stakes diplomat, teamed up with the outgoing Biden Middle East advisor Brett McGurk to get Israeli and Hamas officials to hold to a impermanent ceasefire woody that went into effect 1 time earlier Trump's inauguration.

On the eve of his instrumentality to office, Trump took afloat recognition for what helium called an “epic” statement that would pb to a “lasting peace” successful the Middle East.

The impermanent ceasefire led to the freeing of 33 hostages held successful Gaza and the merchandise of astir 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

But the truce collapsed successful March, and warring resumed, with the 2 sides incapable to travel to an statement for the instrumentality of 59 remaining hostages, much that fractional of whom Israeli officials judge are dead.

Conditions successful Gaza stay bleak. Israel has chopped disconnected each assistance to the territory and its much than 2 cardinal people. Israel has disputed that determination is simply a shortage of assistance successful Gaza and says it's entitled to artifact the assistance because, it claims, Hamas seizes the goods for its ain use.

Trump, arsenic helium flew to Rome connected Friday for the pope's funeral, told reporters that he's pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “very hard” to get nutrient and medicine into Gaza but dismissed questions astir however the Israeli person is responding to his appeal.

“Well, helium knows each astir it, OK?” Trump told reporters.

Hewitt, the National Security Council spokesman, pushed backmost connected the conception that Trump has fallen abbreviated connected his effort to find an endgame to the Gaza conflict, mounting the blasted squarely connected Hamas.

“While we proceed to enactment to unafraid the merchandise of each remaining hostages, Hamas has chosen unit implicit peace, and President Trump has ensured that Hamas continues to look the gates of hellhole until it releases the hostages and disarms,” Hewitt said.

Trump's squad says the president has racked up much overseas argumentation wins than immoderate different U.S. president this aboriginal successful a term.

The White House counts among its aboriginal victories invoking a 1798 wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to deport Venezuelan migrants it accuses of being pack members, securing the merchandise of astatine slightest 46 Americans detained abroad, and carrying retired hundreds of subject strikes successful Yemen against Houthi militants who person been attacking commercialized shipping vessels successful the Red Sea.

Trump hopeful for Iran atomic woody breakthrough

The White House this period besides launched nonstop talks with Iran implicit its atomic program, a renewed propulsion to lick different of the astir delicate overseas argumentation issues facing the White House and the Middle East.

Trump says his medication is making advancement successful its effort to unafraid a woody with Iran to scupper Tehran’s rapidly advancing atomic program.

Witkoff flew straight from gathering with Putin successful Moscow to Muscat, Oman, to instrumentality portion successful talks connected Saturday, the 3rd engagement betwixt U.S. and Iranian officials this month.

The U.S. and different satellite powers successful 2015 reached a long-term, broad atomic statement that constricted Tehran’s enrichment of uranium successful speech for the lifting of economical sanctions. But Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the atomic statement successful 2018, calling it the “worst woody ever.”

Since Trump pulled retired of the Obama-era deal, Iran has accelerated its accumulation of adjacent weapons-grade uranium.

The president said connected Friday that he's unfastened to gathering with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei oregon President Masoud Pezeshkian, portion besides indicating subject enactment — thing that U.S. state Israel has advocated — remains an option.

As Trump progressively expresses his penchant for diplomacy alternatively than subject action, Iran hawks astatine location are urging him to tread cautiously successful his hunt for a legacy-defining deal.

“The Iranians would person the talking constituent that they forced the aforesaid idiosyncratic who near the woody galore years later, aft them resisting maximum pressure, into an adjacent oregon worse deal,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, elder manager of the Iran programme astatine the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

But Trump wants a solution, and fast.

“I deliberation a woody is going to beryllium made there,” Trump said Sunday "That’s going to hap beauteous soon.”