World Leader Power Rankings

Here's the new power rankings of world leaders. The last one was posted on April 30.

Rank	Leader	Country	Previous Rank
1	Xi Jiangping	China	1
2	Kim Jong-un	North Korea	2
3	Vladimir Putin	Russia	3
4	Jacinda Ardern	New Zealand	4
5	Ali Khamenei	Iran	Not Ranked
6	Narendra Modi	India	Not Ranked
7	Carlos Alvarado	Costa Rica	Not Ranked
8	Abiy Ahmed	Ethiopia	6
9	Shinzo Abe	Japan	Not Ranked
10	Peter Pellegrini	Slovakia	Not Ranked

1. In the latest trade battle, Hu and China dominated the U.S. America is about to discover the economic pain of tariffs, which China didn't get to watch the series finale of Game of Thrones. I've never watched the show, but I understand fans were disappointed with the ending. China is racing to 5G while America's president doesn't even know what 5G is.

2. U.S. President Donald Trump sided with Kim Jong-un in a dispute with former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Somehow Kim has manipulated a U.S. president to express more loyalty to Kim than his own country. That's impressive considering Trump isn't planning on building a hotel in Pyongyang any time soon.

3. The Mueller Report was great for Putin. The U.S. President tried to make it all about him, but really it was about the underhandedness of Russia. yet, the story has been swept under the rug. Putin has been able to manipulate world affairs, such as occupying Crimea, Brexit and Trump's election with little consequence.

4. Ardern has been the pillar of positive leadership in the world. Real change was affected after the horrible tragedy at Christchurch. Her country is one of the least corrupt. She's becoming a real world star in an era dominated by strongmen.

5. The U.S.'s ill-advised provocations in Iran simply embolden Khamenei and the hardliners. Sympathy towards the Iranian regime increases as the U.S. continues to pick a fight. U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton has always wanted to invade Iran, so don't be fooled by his claims that Iran has done something more malevolent recently. If anything, this is a time to help the moderates as a successor for ageing Khamenei may be needed soon.

6. Riding the ideology of Hindu nationalism, Modi's party did better than in the last election despite India's disappointing growth under his tenure. While the marginalization of Muslims may hurt the country in the long run, in the short term, Modi is riding high.

7. Costa Rica has made a goal to become carbon neutral by 2021. Spending political capital on big ideas and future goals- that's the sign of a thriving country.

8. Ahmed continues to reform Ethiopia, one of the true reformers going right now.

9. Abe tried to play nice with Trump and continues to do so while he prepares Japan for a post-American world. He made a huge trade deal with the European Union as Trump throws up tariffs.

10. It was reported that Slovakia was one of the foreign governments leasing space in Trump Tower. That's a shrewd way to bump up the clout fo the central European country.