The summits are not endpoints. They are the mechanism by which two countries, which can neither resolve their differences nor afford to rupture them, manage the interval between crises.
While Trump is a powerful force within the Republican Party, his polarising presence is creating substantial challenges for the party in appealing to a broad enough coalition to secure consistent, nationwide victories beyond his core base.
[T]he Republican Party is now a coalition of religious conservatives, the social and economic right, and libertarian oligarchs. For their part, the Democrats have become a broad “tent” uniting liberals, moderates, and socialists.