🗞️Trump speaks with China's Xi, talks TikTok and more

September 19th, 2025

What happened today 🇺🇸,

• President Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping today and had a "productive" conversation covering topics including trade, fentanyl, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and they made progress on the approval of a TikTok deal yet more work is still needed…they agreed to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea at the end of October, with Trump also planning to visit China early next year and Xi will visit the U.S. at some point as well

• The Senate rejected the stopgap funding bill that the Republican-controlled House had passed to avoid a government shutdown, with Democrats withholding support to demand increased healthcare funding…this raises the likelihood of a shutdown if Republicans and Democrats cannot reach a deal before funding expires at midnight September 30th

• A federal judge in Florida tossed President Trump's $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times for being overly long and legally improper, the judge has given Trump’s legal team 28 days to file a revised complaint

• President Trump is expected to impose a $100,000 fee for H-1B visa applications as part of an overhaul to curb what the administration views as overuse and misuse of the program

• Axios reported that House of Representatives member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and her team are actively positioning her for a possible run for either U.S. president or the Senate in 2028 with widespread reporting confirming she is expanding her national presence, fundraising network, and campaign infrastructure

• George Soros has donated $10 million to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's redistricting campaign making it the largest single contribution to date for the initiative aimed at redrawing the state's congressional districts to favor Democrats

• Alex Acosta, the former U.S. attorney who negotiated Jeffrey Epstein’s controversial 2008 plea deal, appeared before the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door session…read more here

• Elon Musk’s AI company xAI has raised $10 billion in a funding round that values the company at $200 billion

• OpenAI is recruiting top hardware talent from Apple while also partnering with Apple's key manufacturing suppliers, such as Luxshare and Goertek, to develop new AI-powered consumer devices such as a smart speaker without a display, glasses, a digital voice recorder, and a wearable pin by late 2026 or early 2027

• DOW up .37% / S&P up .49%

• For the sixth time, the U.S. vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, blocking a measure that was supported by 14 of 15 Council members and called for aid delivery and the release of hostages…the U.S. justified its veto by arguing the resolution did not sufficiently condemn Hamas or support Israel's right to self-defense

• Three Russian fighter jets violated Estonia’s airspace for about 12 minutes in what Estonia’s foreign minister called an “unprecedentedly brazen” act, prompting NATO to intercept and escort the jets out

Plus: A look at America’s population trends from 2020-2024

Please follow The Simple American on X @TSimpleAmerican x.com/Tsimpleamerican

Quote of the day: “A year from now you may wish you had started today” - Karen Lamb

Have a great weekend!

P.S. We love connecting with our readers so…

Please reply to this newsletter for more info on any news points in the letter, feel free to give us any feedback you have, or let us know what you want more of!

P.P.S. Want to reach over 13,500 people? Reply to this email to inquire about advertising with us!