Page 11 - Us President Donald Trump

Donald Trump says he plans to reach out to North Korea's Kim Jong Un

President Donald Trump said in an interview that he will reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who he described as a smart guy. Trump was being interviewed on Fox News by Sean Hannity, who asked the president if he planned to talk to his North Korean counterpart. Trump said he would. I got along with him, Trump said of Kim. He's not a religious zealot. New statement from Hegseth's ex-wife continues to raise questions about his alcohol use A new statement by Pete Hegseth's ex-wife to the FBI continues to raise questions about the alcohol use of Trump's nominee for defence secretary. That statement by Samantha Hegseth, the nominee's second wife, is part of an FBI background investigation that was read to Senate Armed Services Committee leadership Mississippi Republican Roger Wicker and Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed Jan. 16. It said Pete Hegseth had and continues to have a problem with alcohol abuse, a person familiar with the FBI briefing and its findings told The Associat

Not sure if US should be spending anything on Nato, says Donald Trump

Washington finances 15.8 per cent of the 32-member military alliance's yearly expenditure of around $3.5 billion, joint-largest share, alongside Germany

Trump inks executive order to form internal working group on crypto

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to form an internal working group on crypto aimed at making America the world capital in crypto. It also prohibited the establishment of central bank digital currencies. Chaired by White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, the working group would be tasked with developing a federal regulatory framework governing digital assets, including stablecoins, and evaluating the creation of a strategic national digital assets stockpile. The other members of the group include the secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prohibiting agencies from undertaking any action to establish, issue, or promote central bank digital currencies, the executive order revoked the previous administration's Digital Assets Executive Order and the Treasury Department's Framework for International Engagement on Digital Assets which, the Trump administration claimed, suppressed innovation and undermined the US' ...

Just want level playing field: Trump condemns unfair trade ties with China

US President Donald Trump also criticised the Biden administration for allowing the trade deficit with China to go 'out of hand'

Trump pardons anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinic entrances

President Donald Trump has announced he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances. Trump called it "a great honour to sign this". "They should not have been prosecuted," he said as he signed pardons for "peaceful pro-life protesters. The people pardoned were involved in the October 2020 invasion and blockade of a Washington clinic. Lauren Handy was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for leading the blockade by directing blockaders to link themselves together with locks and chains to block the clinic's doors. A nurse sprained her ankle when one person pushed her while entering the clinic, and a woman was accosted by another blockader while having labour pains, prosecutors said. Police found five fetuses in Handy's home after she was indicted. Trump pardoned Handy and her nine co-defendants: Jonathan Darnel of Virginia; Jay Smith, John Hinshaw and William Goodman, all of New York; Joan Bell of New Jersey; Paulette Harlow and Jean ..

Senate confirms Ratcliffe to lead CIA, giving Trump second Cabinet member

The Senate has confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, giving President Donald Trump the second member of his new Cabinet. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump's first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA, the nation's premier spy agency. The Texas Republican is a former federal prosecutor who emerged as a fierce Trump defender while serving as a congressman during Trump's first impeachment. The vote was 74-25. At his Senate hearing last week, Ratcliffe said the CIA must do better when it comes to using technology such as artificial intelligence to confront adversaries including Russia and China. He said the United States needed to improve its intelligence capabilities while also ensuring the protection of Americans' civil rights. Ratcliffe said that if confirmed, he would push the CIA to do more to harness technologies such as AI and quantum computing while expanding use of human intelligence collection. "W

Trump's Cabinet picks: Where do they stand in confirmation process

It's been slow going in the procedure-heavy Senate since Monday's inauguration, with only two of Trump's top picks- Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe- confirmed

Putin must make a deal, Zelenskyy ready for talks: Trump on Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin "should make a deal" with Ukraine, US President Donald Trump has said and asserted that they would meet as soon as they can. Earlier, he warned his Russian counterpart to end the 'ridiculous war' in Ukraine or face high tariffs and further sanctions. Trump, who was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, said this on Truth Social on Wednesday, a social media platform owned by him. Talking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, the president said, "I think he (Putin) should make a deal." When asked if he thinks that sanctions on Russia will force Putin to negotiate, he said, "I don't know." "Russia should want to make a deal. Maybe they want to make a deal. I think, from what I hear, Putin would like to see me. And we'll meet as soon as we can. I'd meet immediately. Soldiers are being killed on the battlefield," he said. "That battlefield is like no battlefield since World War II... and I have pictures that you don't

I know interest rates better than Fed chief Jerome Powell, says Trump

Trump's comments came hours after he delivered a video address to the world's elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he called for an immediate drop in interest rates

Americans will pay more if Trump imposes tariffs on Canada, says Trudeau

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday American consumers will pay more whenever President Donald Trump decides to apply sweeping tariffs on Canadian products. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he still plans to tariff Canada and Mexico at 25% rates starting as soon as Feb. 1. Trump previously threatened to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he took office but the tariffs weren't applied on day one. Trudeau said if Trump does go forward "whether it be back on Jan. 20th, on Feb. 1st or Feb. 15th as a Valentines Day present, or on April 1st or whenever Canada will respond with retaliatory tariffs and "prices for American consumers on just about everything will go up." We don't think he wants that, Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. By targeting America's second largest trading partner after Mexico, Trump risks upending the markets for autos, lumber and oil all of which could carry over quickly to consumers. T

Trump halts authorisations for renewable projects on federal lands, waters

President Donald Trump and his nominees have championed oil, gas and coal production while disparaging renewable power as unreliable

US to have only two genders, male, female; no more transgender rage: Trump

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the US will have only two genders, male and female, and no men will be allowed to participate in women's sports. Days after assuming office for his second term, Trump addressed the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting here through video conferencing and said that transgender operations, which became the rage, will occur very rarely going forward. "I've made it an official policy of the United States that there are only two genders, male and female. We will have no men participating in women's sports," he said. On Tuesday, Trump signed executive orders rolling back protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes within the federal government. Both the executive orders are in line with Trump's campaign promises. One of the executive orders states that the federal government would recognise only two sexes: male and female. The definition will be based on whether people are born with eggs or sperm,

Trump revokes security for former Secretary of state Pompeo, top Iran aide

President Donald Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran ever since they took hardline stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump's first administration. A congressional staffer and a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personal security details, confirmed the change, but neither could offer an explanation. They said Pompeo and Hook were told of the loss of protection on Wednesday and that it took effect at 11 pm that night. It's another sign of steps Trump is taking just days into his return to the White House to target those he has perceived as adversaries. A day earlier, Trump revoked the security clearance and Secret Service protection from John Bolton, who was fired as Trump's national security adviser during his first term. He later wrote a book whose publication the White House unsuccessfully sought to block on grounds

May stop aid for LA if California doesn't change water policies: Trump

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to withhold federal disaster aid for wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles unless California leaders change the state's approach on its management of water. In a Fox News interview, Trump repeated false claims that the state's fish conservation efforts in the northern part of the state are responsible for fire hydrants running dry in urban areas. He says the blame for Los Angeles' struggles to tame some of the deadly fires lies with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a political foe who has called for partnership and mutual respect as the state fights the blazes. I don't think we should give California anything until they let the water run down, Trump said. The president levelled the threat as he prepares for the first presidential trip of his second term. On Friday, he will visit Southern California in addition to western North Carolina, which is recovering after Hurricane Helene pummelled the area more than three months ago. Trump in the interview

Resigned from anti-vaccine work to seek top health official job: RFK Jr

Robert F Kennedy Jr is distancing himself from his anti-vaccine work as he seeks to become the leader of the nation's top health agency under President Donald Trump, according to government ethics documents released on Wednesday. Kennedy has pulled in roughly USD 10 million in income from his work over the past year, which includes speaking fees, leading an anti-vaccine nonprofit and legal fees, government ethics forms filed for his nomination show. He has millions of dollars more tied up in investments and other assets. If confirmed, he has promised to stop collecting fees on some of his vaccine lawsuits involving the US government. Kennedy is a lawyer who has worked on lawsuits involving environmental and vaccine injury claims against some of the country's biggest companies. He also said he would forgo payment from claims against the US under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation programme. A spokesperson for Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment about t

Pentagon sending up to 1,500 active-duty troops to secure US-Mexico border

The Pentagon on Wednesday said it has begun deploying 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the southern border in the coming days, putting in motion plans US President Donald Trump laid out in executive orders shortly after he took office to crack down on immigration. Acting Defence Secretary Robert Salesses said the Pentagon will provide military aircraft to support Department of Homeland Security deportation flights for more than 5,000 detained migrants and the troops will assist in the construction of barriers. The number of troops and their mission may soon change, Salesses said in a statement. "This is just the beginning," he said. It remains to be seen if they will end up doing law enforcement, which would put American troops in a dramatically different role for the first time in decades. The active duty forces will join the roughly 2,500 US National Guard and Reserve forces already there. There are currently no active duty troops working along the roughly 3,219-km ...

Trump meets with more Republicans as they discuss legislative roadmap

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday met with a small contingent of the most politically endangered House Republicans as the party struggles to agree on a strategy for implementing the tax cuts and other priorities that it promised voters. The meeting happened as Trump tried to advance other priorities during the first week of his second term. Roughly 160 aides at National Security Council were sent home while they are reviewed to determine if they align with Trump's agenda. "The American people have been waiting for such a time as this," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Stephen Miller, a top Trump advisor, met with Senate Republicans to update them on plans for deportations and reinstating what's known as Title 42, a policy that was put in place during the coronavirus pandemic to stop border crossings. Although Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, they have only thin majorities on Capitol Hill, and there are disagreements on how t

Trump threatens Russia with sanctions if 'ridiculous' war does not end

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn't reached to end the war in Ukraine, a warning that is likely to fall on deaf ears in the Kremlin. The United States already prohibits the import of virtually all Russian products, and Russia has faced a multitude of US and European sanctions since the invasion began almost three years ago. In a post on his Truth Social site on Wednesday, Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to "settle now and stop this ridiculous war". Trump said he had no desire to hurt Russia -- which he noted had played a major role in securing victory for the Allies against Nazi Germany in World War II -- and has a good relationship with Putin, but warned of the penalties if the war isn't stopped soon. "If we don't make a deal, and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and variou

Trump administration freezes many health agency reports, online posts

The Trump administration has put a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month. In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, acting secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services, Dorothy Fink, told agency staff leaders that an "immediate pause" had been ordered on -- among other things -- regulations, guidance, announcements, press releases, social media posts and website posts until such communications had been approved by a political appointee. The pause also applies to anything intended to be published in the Federal Register, where the executive branch communicates rules and regulations, and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientific publication. The pause is in effect through February 1, the memo said. Agencies subject to the HHS directive include the CDC, the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration -- entities that fight ...

Indian-American lawmakers oppose executive order on birthright citizenship

Indian-American lawmakers have opposed the executive order by US President Donald Trump on changes in birthright citizenship, a move likely to hit not only illegal immigrants from around the world but also students and professionals from India. On Monday, in the opening hours of his second term as president, Trump signed an order declaring that future children born to undocumented immigrants would no longer be treated as citizens. The order would extend even to the children of some mothers in the country legally but temporarily, such as foreign students or tourists. Trump's executive order asserts that the children of such noncitizens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and thus are not covered by the 14th Amendment's longstanding constitutional guarantee. Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said changes in birthright citizenship as done through the executive order would impact newborn babies of not only illegal and undocumented immigrants but also those ...