JEFFREY GOLDBERG: I want to pivot though to these meetings among China, North Korea, Russia, and China in particular this week feels pretty good about itself.

Russia obviously feels pretty good about itself.

It got out of the pressure that came out from under the pressure Trump was putting on to come bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

I want to read something that Tom Nichols wrote in The Atlantic yesterday.

The leaders of Russia, China, and North Korea are not good men.

They preside over brutal autocracies, replete with secret police and prison camps, but they are nevertheless serious men, and they know an unserious man when they see one.

For nearly a decade, they have taken Donald Trump's measure and they've clearly reached a conclusion, the president of the United States is not worthy of their respect.

Steve, that's rough stuff, but it's true that Putin didn't end the war because Trump came back into power and that China certainly doesn't seem intimidated by the United States.

STEPHEN HAYES: Right.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: Give us your analysis.

STEPHEN HAYES: Well, if you look at this gathering earlier this week, you had America's foremost adversaries declaring that their goal was to bring an end to the rules-based post-war international order driven by the United States - - created and driven by the United States for our own benefit.

And it's as if the Trump administration of the United States is looking at them doing this.

I mean, Vladimir Putin said that directly.

The Trump administration is looking at him doing this and saying, in effect, maybe not intent, but, in fact, how could we help?

Picking fights with allies, trying to blame Europe just in the last couple days for prolonging the war in Ukraine, tariffs on our allies, talking about, you know, invading Canada.

He's picking fights with our allies and he's accommodating our enemies.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: Right.

Vivian, talk about India's role in all of this.

It seems as if the Trump administration has fairly significantly alienated a country that traditional American foreign policy practitioners believe serves as a useful counterweight, apart from being a democracy useful counterweight to China.

Now, Modi seems to have moved himself into the China-Russia camp.

What was the motivation to go and alienate Modi?

VIVIAN SALAMA: I could literally talk about this for three hours.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: It's good we have a special.

We'll do that on the web extra, Vivian on India.

VIVIAN SALAMA : foreign relations perfectly described this meeting as the axis of the aggrieved and Prime Minister Modi of India is among the aggrieved at this point because of the fact that, at one point, Donald Trump a few months ago told the prime minister that he was essentially brokering a ceasefire with Pakistan and India, archrivals, if folks don't know that at home.

And so, the prime minister did not take light this well.

He likes for other countries to stay out of it.

And so he proceeded to cozy up to, you know, China and Russia.

He continues to buy Russian oil.

And suddenly when he told Donald Trump he didn't want him involved and refused to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, which the Pakistani defense minister proposed, this did not go well.

And so, essentially, a rift emerged and Modi has found new friends now in Vladimir Putin and Xi, which, by the way, is very telling because especially China and India have been at odds with each other for many years now, and suddenly they are closing up to each other partially because the prime minister is being pushed into the arms -- JEFFREY GOLDBERG: And this doesn't sound like 3D chess.

ELIZABETH BUMILLER: No.

Just what I also want to add, don't forget Trump also slapped 50 percent tariffs on India.

And this was our great economic, you know, friend, right?

It was supposed to be an offset to China.

And, you know, India is on its way to becoming a third largest economy in the world.

Right now, it's fifth, but it's going to surpass Japan, which is fourth, and pretty soon, it's going to be along with the United States and China.

So, why Trump out of -- seems to be angered about Russian oil also, perhaps because, you know that Indians denied his claim that he had single handedly resolved this conflict between Pakistan and India, and, again, didn't - - and there was no Nobel Prize nomination.

But this -- the 50 percent tariff is devastating to the Indian economy right now, absolutely devastating.

We get -- the United States imports huge amounts of textiles, jewelry, other things from India.

And they're basically -- they have to look for another market now, and that they're closing up to China as a result.

VIVIAN SALAMA: And the very thing that he's slapping tariffs on them for China as well does, but Trump has taken no action against China.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: I mean, the way things are going, I guess it's a good thing that we now have a Department of War rather than a Department of Defense.

I want to talk about that in the couple of minutes we have left.

President Trump has just announced that he's unilaterally renaming the Department of Defense, which was given that name in 1947, and he's even referring to Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, as the secretary of war.

Leigh Ann, what's -- is this all made for television drama?

What's undergirding this?

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL: Well, a lot of Trump's presidency has been made for television drama.

Not only this, but also, you know, the National Guard on the streets in Washington, D.C. You know, you just go on and on about that.

He's a marketing president.

He likes to make things in his own image the way he wants them to be.

But I will say that to change the name actually takes an official act from Congress.

I would not be surprised.

I haven't checked LegiStorm or congress.gov in the past 30 minutes, but there probably is already in legislation since then to go ahead and do that, because Republicans will follow his lead.

But the most poignant response from today was from Senator Mitch McConnell that said, marketing doesn't matter, you have to put the resources if you want a lethal fighting force.

And he called on the president to actually do that.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: Vivian, last word to you.

The interesting thing here, one of the interesting things here, is that Trump with a MAGA base has promised no wars.

This seems like a bellicose move for someone who wants to disengage from the world.

VIVIAN SALAMA: Indeed.

And I have no explanation for it other than the fact that he does like a good show, also sending a message to adversaries as well, whether or not that works.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: What's the message going to adversaries?

VIVIAN SALAMA: That we are ready if you push us.

We don't want to start wars, but, you know, in Trump's words, we would finish it.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: I would note only that we already have a trillion dollar defense budget and we have the greatest military in the history of the planet, but -- VIVIAN SALAMA: Details, details.

JEFFREY GOLDBERG: -- we'll talk about that in, in, in a coming show, but we are going to have to leave it there, I'm sorry to say.

I want to thank our guests for joining me and thank you at home for watching us.