Insiders

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's jaw dropping clash in the Oval Office caused global shockwaves and left allies questioning if the US was a reliable security partner.

Donald Trump is determined to impose tariffs and linked to the trade threat is a requirement for allies to lift their defence spending.

The election date may not have been announced yet, but all the factors of a campaign are beginning to shine.The Albanese government has announced a big election promise worth $8.5b. Labor says 9 out of 10 GP visits will be free, if Labor is re-elected. While the Coalition has been criticising government spending, it says it won't stand in the way of this new announcement.

The Coalition has blamed inflation on government spending. It remains unclear if it will hold the line and oppose further relief to struggling households.

As an election looms, there's one man who could disrupt both the campaign and the economy - Donald Trump. His plans to punish trading partners are more sweeping - and could prove more costly - than many expected.

As speculation builds over when the prime minister will call an election, another major player looms over the campaign — Donald Trump. The US president's latest wave of tariffs could send shockwaves not just through Australia but across the global trading system. So, how can Australia come out winning in this game of tariffs?

Continuing to highlight Labor's past critique of Donald Trump carries political risk for the Coalition. Not least because it ignores what's really driving those encouraging Trump to apply tariffs to Australia.

How to deal with Donald Trump 2.0?

The world was understandably gripped this week by Donald Trump's rather surprising suggestion that the US might take ownership of Gaza and turn it into what he's called the Riviera of the Middle East. Whether this was his intention or not, the bombshell announcement did take a lot of attention away from something else the President had done just a day or two earlier, roll out his grand tariff strategy. His threats to impose hefty tariffs on both Canada and Mexico didn't actually eventuate, at least not yet, but a new 10% tariff on Chinese goods did, and China didn't take this hit lying down. It's responded with trade sanctions of its own. So is this the beginning of a wider US-China trade war, and what does that mean for Australia? 

Heads are best kept below the parapet for now, in what's already proving to be a more difficult environment to navigate than the first Trump presidency.