Edward Luce on Trump 2.0, Russia’s Putin, Ukraine War, US Vs China AI race & more | HTLS 2025

Edward Luce, chief U.S. Commentator at Financial Times, spoke at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025, and described Washington under Donald Trump’s second term as “Trumpistan” or a highly personalized, one‑man system in which Trump sets the narrative and everyone else’s power depends on absolute loyalty to him. He argued that this leader‑centric pyramid is historically unusual for American democracy and said a quiet battle for “post‑Trump” succession is already underway, even as Trump still dominates the political stage.