Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, responded to President Trump’s attempt to interfere in his country’s legal system by threatening a 50% tariff: “Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions, and will not accept any form of tutelage.”

“After half a year of White House skepticism toward Kyiv and friendliness toward Moscow, President Donald Trump and top Republicans have shifted course, with the White House preparing to send additional weaponry to Ukraine and Congress moving to enact tough new sanctions on Russia,” the Washington Post reports.

“The change this week came as Trump’s frustration mounted over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unwillingness to engage seriously in discussions about an end to his war on Ukraine. Trump vowed last year that he would move quickly to halt the conflict but has been unsuccessful.”

Playbook: “Nevertheless: Before we get too carried away with this new world order, it’s worth remembering that Trump has the propensity to flip back and forth on issues — and on people — all the time.”

Wall Street Journal: “As world leaders and lawmakers seek to curry favor with the president, they have learned that flattery is often the most effective strategy. In lengthy Oval Office meetings in front of television cameras, they have lavished Trump with praise, hailing him as a peacemaker, a visionary and a transformational leader. Increasingly, they are adding to the list a public declaration that Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”

“President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. will slap a 50% tariff on Brazil’s imports, partly in retaliation for the ongoing prosecution of the country’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro,” CNBC reports.

New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s effort to use tariffs to intervene in a criminal trial in a foreign nation is an extraordinary example of how he views levies as a one-size-fits-all cudgel.”

“As President Trump met Wednesday with the leaders of five West African countries, his administration was pushing them to accept migrants deported by the U.S. whose home countries refuse or are slow to take them back,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Before the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Gabon and Guinea-Bissau arrived at the White House for the summit on economic and security issues, the State Department sent each country requests to take in migrants, underscoring the overlap between the administration’s aggressive deportation campaign and its foreign policy.”

“Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s ousted president, already on trial on insurrection charges, was rearrested and sent back to jail early on Thursday after a special prosecutor accused him of additional criminal offenses,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Yoon was impeached by South Korea’s legislature in December and arrested in January after a short-lived attempt to place his country under martial law in 2024.”

During a White House event, President Trump praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai for using “such good English,” NBC News reports.

Liberia’s national language is English, with many of those living there being the descendants of freed American slaves sent to Africa in the early 19th century.

“President Donald Trump is ready to sign a punishing Russia sanctions bill that GOP hawks have pushed for months. But only if it changes to give him more control,” Politico reports.

“A senior administration official granted anonymity to discuss the president’s view said that ‘conceptually there’s an openness’ to the bill from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), but the person suggested that the legislation needs to preserve what the White House sees as the president’s sole authority to oversee U.S. foreign policy.”