Page 461 - Donald Trump

Talks on border security grind on as Trump invokes Nazi-era blood rhetoric

Negotiators rushed to reach a US border security deal on Sunday that would unlock President Joe Biden's request for billions of dollars worth of military aid for Ukraine and other national security needs before senators leave town for the holiday recess. The Biden administration, which is becoming more deeply involved in the talks, is facing pressure from all sides over any deal. The administration and Senate negotiators had hoped to reach a framework by the weekend, but that's deeply uncertain. The talks come as Donald Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner in 2024, delivered alarming anti-immigrant remarks about blood purity over the weekend, echoing Nazi slogans of World War II to cheers at a political rally. They're poisoning the blood of our country, Trump said about the record numbers of immigrants coming to the US without immediate legal status. Speaking in the early-voting state of New Hampshire, Trump, drew on words similar to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kempf as the forme

Trump wants New Hampshire voters to put him on a path to the nomination

Donald Trump asked New Hampshire voters on Saturday to help him secure the Republican presidential nomination before any rivals find their footing with the 2024 campaign's opening contest just weeks away. The appearance in Durham was part of a swing taking the former president through early nominating states as he cites his wide polling lead over a dwindling field of GOP hopefuls. They are trying to block his political comeback as Trump navigates multiple indictments and looks ahead to a potential rematch with President Joe Biden, the Democrat he lost to in 2020. We are going to win the New Hampshire primary, then we are going to crush crooked Joe Biden next November, Trump said, reminding supporters that he ensured their state would continue to host the nation's first primary after Iowa's kickoff caucuses. New Hampshire is going to weed out the insincere RINOs ... Republicans in name only," Trump said, referring to rivals Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor who was endorsed by Trump

Trump's China policies left US more vulnerable: Treasury secy Janet Yellen

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says former President Donald Trump's policies toward China left America more vulnerable and more isolated in the global economy, a rare jab by her at the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. Yellen, in prepared remarks to be delivered at a US-China Business Council event Thursday night, says the Trump administration failed to make investments at home in critical areas like infrastructure and advanced technology, while also neglecting relationships with our partners and allies that had been forged and strengthened over decades. Her comments come as the U.S. rebuilds its relationship with the Asian superpower, including a November meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco. The two nations agreed to curb the production of illicit fentanyl, a deadly component of drugs sold in the United States, and agreed to resume military-to-military communications. Yellen, who rarely comments on the ...

Donald Trump's 'presidential immunity' argument denied in defamation suit

A federal appeals court has ruled that former President Donald Trump gave up his right to argue that presidential immunity protects him from being held liable for statements he made in 2019 when he denied that he raped advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. A three-judge panel of the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling that Trump had effectively waived the immunity defense by not raising it when Carroll first filed a defamation lawsuit against him four years ago. Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said in an emailed statement that the ruling was fundamentally flawed and that the former president's legal team would be immediately appealing to the US Supreme Court. Roberta Robbie Kaplan, a lawyer for Carroll, said the ruling allows the case to move forward with a trial next month. We are pleased that the Second Circuit affirmed Judge Kaplan's rulings and that we can now move forward with trial next month on January 16, she said in an email

Trump's lawyers again ask for early verdict in fraud trial, judge denies

Donald Trump's lawyers rested his defence on Tuesday and sought anew to immediately end the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president's real estate empire. The judge said there's no way I'm going to grant that. Trump's lawyers thwarted in a similar bid last month were swatted down as they asked Judge Arthur Engoron to cut the trial short and issue a verdict clearing Trump, his company and top executives of wrongdoing. The judge reiterated his feeling that state lawyers had met their legal burden for seeing the three-month trial through to its conclusion. New York Attorney General Letitia James alleges Trump duped banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth on financial statements used in securing loans and make deals. Engoron has already ruled on James' top claim that Trump committed fraud. Trump's lawyers renewed their request for what's known as a directed verdict a day after Trump, the leading contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination

How 2016 US election could factor into Trump's 2020 race overturning case

To hear his lawyers tell it, Donald Trump was alarmed by Russia's interference in the 2016 election, motivated as president to focus on cybersecurity and had a good-faith basis four years later to worry that foreign actors had again meddled in the race. But to federal prosecutors, 2016 is significant as the year that Trump spread misinformation about voter fraud and proved himself resistant to accepting the outcome of elections that might not go his way. Even though a trial set for next year in Washington is centred on Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, lawyers on both sides have signalled their desire for totally different purposes to draw attention to the tumultuous presidential contest four years earlier as a way to help explain his state of mind after his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. When we're talking about someone's belief or mental state, there is usually no one piece of evidence that is dispositive, said David Aaron, a former Justice Department national security

Rule quickly whether Trump can be prosecuted: Special counsel asks US SC

Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to take up and rule quickly on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results. A federal judge ruled the case could go forward, but the Republican former president signaled he would ask the federal appeals court in Washington to reverse that outcome. Smith is attempting to bypass the appeals court. The request filed Monday for the Supreme Court to take up the matter directly reflects Smith's desire to keep the trial, currently for March 4, on track and to prevent any delays that could push back the case until after next year's presidential election. This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal ...

US polls: New survey shows Trump has upper hand over Biden in 2 key states

The poll conducted by SSRS has also found that the broad majorities in the two states have negative views of Biden's job performance, policy positions and sharpness

Won't testify again at New York fraud trial, nothing more to say: Trump

Donald Trump said Sunday he has decided against testifying for a second time at his New York civil fraud trial, posting on social media that he "VERY SUCCESSFULLY & CONCLUSIVELY" testified last month and saw no need to appear again. Trump had been expected to return to the witness stand Monday as the last big defense witness in the trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit. The case threatens Trump's real estate empire and cuts to the heart of his image as a successful businessman. Trump announced he was cancelling his testimony in an all-capital letters, multipart statement on his Truth Social platform, writing: "I WILL NOT BE TESTIFYING ON MONDAY." " HAVE ALREADY TESTIFIED TO EVERYTHING & HAVE NOTHING MORE TO SAY," Trump wrote, adding his oft-repeated claim that James and other Democrats have weaponized the legal system to hinder his chances at retaking the White House. Trump was often defiant and combative when he testified on November 6. Along with ...

Biden's approval ratings hit new low as new poll puts Trump narrowly ahead

It is pertinent that Biden's approval currently stands only at 37 per cent among registered voters, according to the poll

Trump's vow to only be a dictator on 'day one' follows growing worry

As Donald Trump faces growing scrutiny over his increasingly authoritarian and violent rhetoric, Fox News host Sean Hannity gave his longtime friend a chance to assure the American people that he wouldn't abuse power or seek retribution if he wins a second term. But instead of offering a perfunctory answer brushing off the warnings, Trump stoked the fire. Except for day one, the GOP front-runner said Tuesday night before a live audience in Davenport, Iowa. I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill." And in case anyone missed it, he reenacted the exchange. We love this guy, Trump said of Hannity. He says, You're not going to be a dictator, are you?' I said: No, no, no, other than day one. We're closing the border, and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator.' Trump has a long history of making inflammatory proclamations that spark outrage from detractors and generate a stream of headlines, without ever coming to fruition. Often they ar

Hunter Biden indicted on nine tax charges in special counsel probe

Hunter Biden has been indicted on nine tax charges in California as a special counsel investigation into the business dealings of the president's son intensifies against the backdrop of the looming 2024 election. The new charges three felonies and six misdemeanors come in addition to federal firearms charges in Delaware alleging Hunter Biden broke a law against drug users having guns in 2018. He had been previously expected to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges as part of a plea deal with prosecutors who said he failed to pay taxes on USD4 million in personal income in 2017 and 2018. Defence attorneys have signalled they plan to fight any new charges. The agreement imploded in July after a judge raised questions about it. It had also been pilloried as a sweetheart deal by Republicans investigating nearly every aspect of Hunter Biden's business dealings as well as the Justice Department's handling of the case. Congressional Republicans have also pursued an impeachment inquiry

2020 election case: Donald Trump appeals ruling rejecting immunity claim

Former President Donald Trump is appealing a ruling that found he is not immune from criminal prosecution as he runs out of time to delay or even derail an upcoming trial on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Lawyers for the 2024 Republican presidential primary frontrunner filed a notice of appeal Thursday indicating that they will challenge US District Judge Tanya Chutkan's decision rejecting Trump's bid to derail the case headed to trial in Washington, DC, in March. The one-page filing was accompanied by a request from the Trump team to put the case on pause so the appeals court can take up the matter. The filing of President Trump's notice of appeal has deprived this Court of jurisdiction over this case in its entirety pending resolution of the appeal, Trump's lawyers wrote. Therefore, a stay of all further proceedings is mandatory and automatic. The appeal had been expected given that Trump's lawyers had earlier signalled their plans to pursue

'No, no, no': Donald Trump on ruling out abusing power if elected again

President Joe Biden said he may have decided to serve just one term if Donald Trump were not seeking to return to the White House

Federal prosecutors accuse Trump of sending supporters to Capitol on Jan 6

In a new court filing, prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith went further than they did in their August indictment in attempting to tie Trump to the riot

President Biden's reelection campaign expects to raise $15 mn in five days

On Friday, he plans to travel to Los Angeles, where Hollywood luminaries including the directors Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner and producer Shonda Rhimes will be among the hosts at a gala fundraiser

If Trump wasn't running I'm not sure I'd be running, says Biden to donors

President Joe Biden told campaign donors Tuesday that he wasn't sure he'd be running for reelection if Donald Trump wasn't also in the race, warning that democracy is more at risk in 2024 and that the former president and his allies are out to destroy democratic institutions. The president was using a trio of fundraisers to caution against what might happen should his predecessor again claim control of the White House, noting that Trump has described himself as his supporters' retribution and has vowed to root out vermin in the country. We've got to get it done, not because of me. ... If Trump wasn't running I'm not sure I'd be running. We cannot let him win, Biden said, hitting the last words slowly for emphasis. Biden's forceful rhetoric came as Trump, the current GOP front-runner, who tried to overturn the 2020 election he lost and is facing criminal charges connected to those efforts, attempted over the weekend to turn the tables by calling Biden the destroyer of American ...

Former President Trump slams Biden, calls him destroyer of democracy

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday attempted to turn the tables on his likely rival in November, President Joe Biden, arguing that the man whose election victory Trump tried to overturn is the destroyer of American democracy. Trump's allegations about Biden, a Democrat, echo the ones that Biden has been making for years against his predecessor. As Trump has dominated the Republican presidential primary and talked about targeting his rivals and the news media if he wins the White House again, Biden has stepped up his own warnings, contending Trump is determined to destroy American democracy. On Saturday, Trump made his most explicit argument to date on why voters should instead see his rival as the bigger democratic threat. Trump repeated his longstanding contention that the four criminal indictments against him show Biden is misusing the federal justice system against his rival. He's been weaponizing government against his political opponents like a Third World political ...

Donald Trump denied immunity against US election subversion charges

Trump's "four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens," the judge wrote

Haley argues Trump always followed by 'chaos' before large Carolina crowd

Nikki Haley argued former president Donald Trump causes too much chaos to be successful in a second White House term, reiterating her argument about the GOP front-runner at a large town hall in her home state of South Carolina. The former governor and United Nations ambassador on Monday drew the largest crowd of her primary campaign so far as she tries to close the gap with Trump just weeks before the Iowa caucuses kick off the Republican nominating calendar. Haley invoked her former boss saying, as she has before, that she believes Trump was "the right president at the right time" but that the time is now right for a new generation in US leadership. "I agree with a lot of his policies, but the truth is, rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him," Haley said. "We have too much division in this country, and too many threats around the world to be sitting in chaos once again." About 2,500 people attended the event at a satellite campus of the University of South Carolina along the state'