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This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a new privileged member of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. On Sundays, we look at the major themes of the week past and how they will define the week ahead. Sign up for the daily newsletter here. Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to all our coverage. Five to OneOne of my favorite pastimes is to complain about the United Nations General Assembly, which I believe has the ugliest acronym in the English language: UNGA. One week every September, it ties up all sorts of transit, provides endless opportunities to get run over by motorcades,[1] and fills NYC with people who think having an earpiece (and probably a gun) makes you a VERY IMPORTANT PERSON. But this year felt different. This year I was one of the VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE at United Nations Plaza. Not in the actual UN building like Andreas Kluth, but somewhere way better: the Turkevi Center. Why is it so much better? Because of the perhaps greatest quote in the history of federal indictments: “First stop is always Istanbul.” It comes from transcripts in the case of our former mayor and baby-doll drug sleuth Eric Adams, who in 2021 allegedly fast-tracked the opening of the Turkish cultural center over NYC Fire Department objections so it would be ready for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech at ... UNGA (woot!). The whole thing is far too convoluted and darkly amusing to get into here, but let’s just say it involves cushy airline seats, a purported envelope stuffed with $10K in cash, Easter Island and a game of three-cellphone monte. So why was a humble newsletter writer invited to an intimate UNGA-related roundtable at Turkevi Center hosted by Erdogan himself? Because earlier in the week I edited an article with his byline, and apparently I did a good job! I would love to give you some quotes and details, but veteran journalist that I am, I forgot to bring a notebook. It also never occurred to me that an event at a Turkish cultural center would be primarily in Turkish, and I couldn’t figure out how to get that little translator mic thingy to stay in my ear. At least on my way out, I was given a tote bag containing exactly 14 pounds of books, from which I learned the value of leader-to-leader diplomacy, that “the world is bigger than five,” and that Turks are very proud of their ability to produce sports masseuses: 
The Turks are also unhappy with the structure of the UN Security Council because, as previously noted, the world is bigger than the five permanent members, and Erdogan has a plan to fix it. Not, as many middle powers have advocated, expanding permanent membership, because “adding new privileged members to the Security Council would not resolve the problem of decision-making power being concentrated in the hands of a few states; rather, it would expand the scope of the privileged structure.” Nope, says Erdogan, the only solution is “abolishing the veto privilege” itself. Which, fine, tell that to Russia: 
When it comes to views of the Security Council, Andreas Kluth has a bit in common with Erdogan. “Trump and Vladimir Putin each lead one of the so-called P5, or permanent and veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council. (The others are China, Britain and France.) In theory, the council is the body meant to safeguard the UN Charter and prevent another major war,” Andreas informs us. “In practice, Trump and Putin have themselves violated that charter, by attacking sovereign states such as Iran and Ukraine. And there is nothing the UN or its secretary general, Antonio Guterres, can do about it, no matter how much they ‘speak’ about peace.” Erdogan has his critics, and for good reason. Yet he didn’t use the rostrum to call for the annihilation of a proud and ancient culture, and to “do it quickly.” That was our president. “It’s tempting to say, ‘Well, that’s just Trump.’ This is a man who made a career in real estate and showbiz by blowing smoke, I don’t believe he has the slightest intention of killing 90 million-plus Iranians,” writes Marc Champion. “But for the record, threatening countries or peoples with extermination is not normal, not since the genocidal conflict that was World War II, and especially not for nations with the nuclear arsenals to do it.” But is the world bigger than five? When Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met up in the Oval Office this week, it was a reminder the world is increasingly becoming as small as two. “Various topics came up in conversation, of course, but not in any way that might point toward solutions. They talked about trade, and promised to provide some details next week,” Andreas writes. Well, as we wait with bated breath for those “details,” how’s the whole trade war thing going? Well, Scott Lincicome doesn’t soft-pedal things. “After eight years of historically high tariffs, export controls, industrial policy, and more, we can conclude the policy has been a failure by its own objectives,” he writes. “Trump officials still don’t seem to understand that Washington can’t fundamentally change how the Chinese government organizes its economy.” 
Of the two other P5, one is in the EU (France) and the other can’t really figure out where it is (the UK). But neither is in a good place geopolitically. As Trump and Xi negotiated everything from artificial intelligence to global instability, Europe was reminded “once again of its relegation to bystander status after years of punching below its weight in defense and technology,” writes Lionel Laurent. “Being an entree at the Xi-Trump geopolitical feast is a real peril for the EU.” 
“China is now threatening to blow the European House down. China’s success in moving upmarket is threatening the high-end industries that were to guarantee Europe’s continued prosperity: cars, machine tools, pharmaceuticals, green technology,” writes Adrian Wooldridge. “The second China shock is also threatening to do for European politics what the first China shock did for US politics: erode the social basis for free-market policies.” Hal Brands wraps up Trump’s big week on the global stage, and tells us what started with a bang about annihilation ended as a whimper about what to call AI: 
“We’ve entered an era in which an emboldened Chinese leadership tries to impose its own version of stability on the relationship with Washington — and refuses to be pushed around,” Hal writes. “American power ... is being resisted by a cohort of geopolitical revolutionaries who are bent on destroying US global influence and believe the momentum is on their side. It’s one thing to project strength in Turtle Bay. But out on the frontiers of rivalry and conflict, US power doesn’t seem so imposing anymore.” “Whoever wins superintelligence wins,” Trump said at the UN. Doesn’t matter what you call it, AI is coming for us all. Guess I better start studying up to become a sports masseuse. At least I know that door is always open. Bonus So Important Reading:
What’s the World Got in Store?
Bonus Got in Store Live Event: 
Bloomberg Opinion live event tout
Source: Bloomberg Opinion
One Life, One ChanceWell, while the self-important were blathering down in Turtle Bay, Justin Fox and I were celebrating a far more important annual event: Nathan Hale Day! And not just any Nathan Hale Day, but the Semiquincentennial Nathan Hale Day!!! Yep, can you believe it’s been 250 years since the great American patriot, spy and Yalie gave the Redcoats a what-for and said (maybe?), “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” It’s a quote that will live forever, or a lot longer than Nathan Hale did anyway: King George III’s men strung him up a few moments later within 100 yards of (maybe?) what is now a TD Bank branch at 3rd Avenue and 65th Street. Justin and I made the seven-block pilgrimage from the Bloomberg mothership on Tuesday, and didn’t Justin have fun! 
One happy columnist.
How is this possibly relevant, you ask yourself? Because Schadenfreude! Look at the pickle George’s great-great-great-great-great-grandson finds himself in over a (poorly fact-checked) book by the brother of his late ex-wife, Princess Diana. “Nearly 30 years on, the most famous failed marriage in modern history can still cause a royal muddle. It has certainly interrupted Charles III’s quest to put his own stamp on the British monarchy. The tumult is a counterpoint to the 70-year reign of his mother, Queen Elizabeth I,” writes Howard Chua-Eoan. “For all the late queen’s own contributions to the Windsors’ dynastic dysfunction, her image and legacy are almost a talisman of the crown’s better days.” Howard means “image” literally. Specifically, this weird thing: 
The duality of the queen.
Source: Halcyon Days
This newly released pair of enameled portraits by an “artisanal enameller to the royals” — nice gig if you can get it — shows, in Howard’s description, “the queen in vibrant technicolor and then, in near monochrome, caught with eyes shut in a fleeting moment of respite.” That must have been a very fleeting moment of respite, because her family was a constant ordeal. “Even in death, the all-too-human queen will have to bear the blame for dynastic failures,” adds Howard. “But in her other reality of manifesting the body politic, she remained largely the public persona Britons expected her to be, across seven decades of political, social and cultural upheaval. They were the much bigger family the queen was responsible for, beyond her own flesh and blood.” She gave her one life to her country. Nathan Hale would understand. Note: Please send royal reliquaries and feedback to Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and find us on Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads. We’re improving your newsletter experience and we’d love your feedback. If something looks off, help us fine-tune your experience by reporting it here. [1] They have diplomatic plates, folks, and won’t stop or care if they leave you a shattered mass of skin and bones on the curb. Then they double park in rows of four and won't pay their parking tickets. Follow Us
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Sunday, September 27, 2026
Trump and Xi are the only real VIPs
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