DOMINANT ANGLE
Canberra is gauging Donald Trump's about-face in light of his domestic political fragility: a president who suspends the Graham law he signed, just three weeks before the midterm elections.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
On Friday, October 16, Trump signed a decree putting on hold the package of sanctions from the Graham law, which he had enacted the previous month, citing national interest.
- 02
According to the SMH, Trump's rating is close to its historic lows and the Republicans are defending both chambers of Congress on November 3.
- 03
On Saturday, October 17, Zelensky lamented that the Graham law is being ignored after a strike on more than 15 energy sites: four cruise missiles and 332 drones, according to the Ukrainian air force.
ANALYSIS
Canberra, October 18, 2026. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, which published the same article, focused on the gesture: on Friday, October 16, Donald Trump signed a decree that put on hold a vast package of sanctions targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress that this pause was in the "national interest". The president had nonetheless promulgated this law "last month", according to the two publications. Named after South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who died in July, it was meant to tighten the financial screws on the resources fueling the war in Ukraine more quickly.
The account emphasized the reversal. After Graham's death, his Congressional colleagues had responded with bipartisan support, and Trump had signed the law before "changing his mind on Friday". The White House did not immediately explain how the pause served the national interest; the decision was published late in the evening on its website, with a note that a justifying report had been submitted to Congress.
The newspapers framed the episode in a sequence. A week earlier, Trump had spectacularly announced that the United States would buy Russian diesel in an attempt to lower global energy prices, at the risk of penalizing Ukraine. He is also increasingly targeting Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he accuses of not reaching an agreement with Vladimir Putin.
The reading is distinctly domestic. The SMH recalled an AP-NORC poll published on October 1: Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the war in Iran and blame him for the price hike. His rating is close to its historic lows, and Republicans are seeking to retain control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3 election.
PerthNow then gave the floor to Kiev. On Saturday, October 17, Zelensky regretted that a decision had been made in America to "completely ignore" the Graham law, while hoping it could be revived: "This act could greatly help, and still can". Without directly criticizing Trump, he described a massive strike against more than 15 energy sites; the Ukrainian air force reported four cruise missiles and 332 attack drones, with all missiles and 289 drones neutralized. The title highlighted the fear of a Ukraine left exposed as winter approaches.
