Donald

Family and supporters had hoped the US president could help free the 78-year-old British citizen during summit talks in BeijingDonald Trump raised the case of jailed Hong Kong democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai in talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping but was told it “is a tough one”.Family and supporters of the 78-year-old British citizen had hoped the US president could help secure his release. Continue reading...

The US president’s late-night Truth Social vitriol riddled with erratic capitalization and spelling? That’s leadershipThis was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every WednesdayGas prices are soaring because of blockages in the strait of Hormuz as part of the unauthorized war in Iran. There’s a highly consequential meeting with the president of China on the books for this week. The FDA director just stepped down over a disagreement on fruit-flavored vapes. Southern states are redrawing maps at break-neck pace to gerrymander Black voters out of their electoral voices.You know what that means: it’s time for some conspiracy-laden, high-speed Truth Social posting. Continue reading...

Fugitive faces charges including corruption and money laundering in US and Malaysia for role he allegedly played in scandalThe fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, a central figure in the multibillion-dollar scandal at the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), is reportedly seeking a pardon from the US president, Donald Trump.Low faces multiple charges including corruption and money laundering in the US and Malaysia for the key role he allegedly played in the misappropriation of at least $4.5bn (£3.3bn) from 1MDB. Continue reading...

Speculative reports say Amazon is considering relaunching the reality show once hosted by the US president, with his eldest son floated as a possible hostGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAmid speculative reports that Donald Trump Jr is being considered by Amazon to lead a reboot of The Apprentice, he’s already received a slightly muted endorsement from the reality show’s former host: his father.The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Amazon was considering rebooting The Apprentice, which was hosted by the now US president Donald Trump between 2004 and 2015, for its streaming service Prime Video.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...

The limited-edition versions will place the US president’s portrait inside cover alongside declaration text and flag motifsUS politics live – latest updatesThe United States government, marking 250 years of independence from a monarchy, will this summer issue passports featuring a large photograph of its most senior leader’s face.The limited-edition documents, billed as a commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary of independence, will display Donald Trump’s photograph on the inside cover, surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the US flag, with his signature rendered in gold. A separate page features the famous painting of the founding fathers signing that very document. Continue reading...

British officials pushed for White House meeting to be held privately fearing repeat of scenes when Trump berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of world’s pressUS politics live – latest updatesKing Charles will be spared the potential humiliation of being upbraided in public by Donald Trump this week after the White House agreed that any meeting between the two men should be held off camera.British officials have pushed for the Oval Office meeting between the monarch and the US president to be held off camera for fear of a repeat of the scenes when Trump berated the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in front of the world’s press. Continue reading...

Fast food giant cannot not be denied on basis it doesn’t suit ‘vibe’ of location, tribunal findsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMcDonald’s is poised to open a 24/7 takeaway outlet on a Melbourne street once dubbed the “world’s coolest” after the fast food giant won its legal challenge against the local council’s attempt to block the new restaurant.Victoria’s civil and administrative tribunal (Vcat) has upheld McDonald’s application for a review of Darebin city council’s decision to reject its application to turn 323 High Street in Northcote into one of its stores. Continue reading...

President Donald Trump and other top leaders evacuated from the annual dinner after an unspecified threat The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was interrupted by loud bangs on Saturday evening, followed by immediate commotion. Donald Trump and Melania Trump were evacuated immediately as many journalists and their guests across the room ducked under tables in the Washington Hilton ballroom.While the situation continues to develop, there were reports that the Secret Service had guns drawn as they rushed the White House pool reporters out of the room and mentioned “shots fired”. Continue reading...

The event was interrupted by loud bangs and immediate commotion as the president and first lady were escorted outThe White House Correspondents’ Dinner was interrupted by loud bangs on Saturday evening, followed by immediate commotion. Donald Trump and Melania Trump were evacuated immediately as many journalists and their guests across the room ducked under tables in the Washington Hilton ballroom.While the situation continues to develop, there were reports that the Secret Service had guns drawn as they rushed the White House pool reporters out of the room and mentioned “shots fired”. Continue reading...

The podcaster admits he ‘misled’ supporters as his rift with the US president deepens over the Iran warUS politics live – latest updatesTucker Carlson, a Conservative podcaster, has said he is “tormented” by his support of Donald Trump, issuing in an extraordinary mea culpa that called for “a moment to wrestle with our own consciences”.Carlson delivered that comment in a conversation with Buckley Carlson, his brother and a former Trump speechwriter, on The Tucker Carlson Show on Monday that reviewed the new money takeover of the traditional conservative values in a Republican party now dominated by the president. Continue reading...

Lasting peace depends on resolving a border dispute dating back to 2000 and dealing with Hezbollah’s weaponsMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael’s security cabinet first heard about the ceasefire with Lebanon from a social media post by Donald Trump. Hezbollah first heard about the ceasefire from the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon. Each side shot off as many bombs, drones and rockets as they could before the ceasefire – imposed from above – came into effect.Despite the US president claiming it is the 10th war he has ended, the situation on the ground in Lebanon looks anything but stable. Continue reading...

The new strategy to be unveiled by Richard Marles will see defence spending rise to about 2.4% of GDP – but US president has urged allies to spend 3.5%Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor will spend an extra $53bn on defence over the next decade, using the nation’s latest military blueprint to create new special investment programs to fund increases in capability using private capital.The defence minister, Richard Marles, will unveil the new national defence strategy on Thursday, as well as detailing a new integrated investment program for military capability, boosting the current budget by $14bn over the next four years, forward estimates period. Continue reading...

In unprecedented attack on the leader of the Catholic church, president says the US-born pope is ‘not doing a very good job’ and is ‘a very liberal person’President Donald Trump delivered an extraordinary broadside against Pope Leo XIV on Sunday night, saying he didn’t think the US-born leader of the Catholic church is “doing a very good job” and that “he’s a very liberal person,” while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left.”Flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticise Leo, then kept it up in comments on the tarmac to reporters. Continue reading...

President has long been a fan of mixed martial artsIvanka and Donald Trump Jr also at eventDonald Trump and US secretary of state Marco Rubio attended a UFC event in Miami night on Saturday as peace talks with Iran failed on the other side of the world.Trump entered the Kaseya Center shortly after 9pm alongside several members of his family and UFC chief Dana White, who has been a supporter of the president since his first term. Seated nearby was Rubio as well as US ambassador to India Sergio Gor, the rapper Vanilla Ice and former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino. Continue reading...

Chris Kempczinski’s taste test was mocked online, to which he said his mother had taught him: ‘Don’t talk with your mouth full’The chief executive officer of McDonald’s recently blamed etiquette guidance from his mother for a February on-camera taste test that made him a target for ridicule – and summarily recorded another video of him eating one of the fast-food giant’s offerings in a manner potential consumers found awkward.Chris Kempczinski suggested to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) earlier in April that he was simply heeding maternal advice to never talk with his mouth full when he took the humorously small bite at the center of a viral video which depicted him discussing and sampling the new Big Arch burger from McDonald’s. Continue reading...

White House says only person committing war crimes is actor ‘for his awful movies and terrible acting ability’The long-running war of words between the George Clooney and the White House has ignited again after the Oscar-winning actor criticised Donald Trump’s threat to Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight”.On Wednesday, in a speech to 3,000 high school students in Cuneo, Italy, Clooney said the US president had committed a war crime with his threat. Continue reading...

US president says on social media he agreed to suspend attack for two weeks ahead of self-imposed deadlineMiddle East crisis – live updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailDonald Trump said Tuesday he has agreed to a two-week ceasefire in Iran.“I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” the US president wrote on social media. “This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!” Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: Britain’s refusal to be drawn into ​t​he Iran war has triggered a backlash from the White House​, with the president’s fury expos​ing the fragility of this once unshakeable partnershipGood morning. Another week, another tirade against the UK from Donald Trump. The US-Israeli conflict with Iran has further inflamed tensions in the special relationship, which was already under strain from attacks by the capricious US leader. So far this week, Trump has once again mocked the UK’s navy, instructed allies worried about jet fuel supplies to take it from the strait of Hormuz themselves, and announced that the US is considering leaving Nato.The outbursts have become a pattern since the war with Iran began – and mark a departure from the unlikely friendly relationship Starmer and Trump have enjoyed until now.Middle East | Donald Trump used a prime-time address to the nation to declare the month-long war in Iran a success “nearing completion”, despite a spiralling conflict that has caused economic turmoil across the globe, fractured transatlantic alliances and eroded the president’s approval ratings.UK politics | The UK will seek an even deeper partnership with the EU because of the instability wreaked by Donald Trump’s war with Iran, Keir Starmer has said, adding that the moment called for a more ambitious deal with Brussels.Nasa | Nasa’s moon rocket Artemis II launched on Wednesday evening, carrying astronauts to the moon for the first time in almost 54 years.BBC | The BBC confirmed in a statement it was first made aware of a police investigation into historical allegations of sexual abuse by Scott Mills in 2017.NHS | Claims by Palantir that concerns over the US data analytics company’s multimillion-pound NHS contract are “ideologically motivated” have been rejected by the chair of a parliamentary committee. Continue reading...

Nearly a quarter of voters site the Reform leader’s support for the US president as the primary reason for not voting for his partyBy day 31 of the war in the Middle East, Nigel Farage had become somewhat less vocal about the closeness of his relationship with Donald Trump.“Trying to read what’s really in the minds of people in the White House right at the moment is a mug’s game,” said the MP, as he unveiled his party’s latest “pledge” to cut the cost of living on Tuesday. Continue reading...

John Healey says extra deployment is response to ‘expanding threat’ from IranMiddle East crisis – live updatesUK politics live – latest updatesThe UK is sending more military support to the Gulf taking the total deployment to 1,000 troops, amid more jibes from Donald Trump about Britain’s refusal to get involved in offensive operations against Iran.Speaking from Qatar where he met UK troops, the defence secretary, John Healey, said the extra deployment was in response to an “expanding threat” from Iran. Continue reading...

If approved, move is latest in series of buildings, warships, institutions, programs and currency named after presidentHe has buildings, institutions, government programs, warships, currency, and now Donald Trump is getting an airport that bears his name even as he looks forward to a towering Trump presidential library in Miami.Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, signed a bill on Monday saying the Palm Beach international airport was being renamed to the President Donald J Trump international airport. Continue reading...

President also held on to record from his first term so sensitive only six people had access, says letter from leading Democrat on House judiciary committeeHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.The White House says Donald Trump “did nothing wrong”, amid reports that he showed off a classified map on a 2022 flight to his New Jersey golf club.Violence continued across much of the Middle East a day after Donald Trump said the US was in “very good” talks with Iran to end the war in the region soon. Iranian barrages targeted Israel, Gulf Arab states and northern Iraq on Tuesday, while Israeli and US warplanes continued to carry out strikes across Tehran and on other targets in the Islamic Republic. More here.Democrats managed to flip a seat in the Florida state house in the district that is home to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. Emily Gregory, a Democrat, defeated Republican Jon Maples, who had an endorsement from the US president, in the special election in Florida’s 87th state house district. The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday evening, with Gregory, a public health expert and small business owner, leading by more than 2 percentage points. More here.Donald Trump on Tuesday swore in Markwayne Mullin as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while Senate Republicans unveiled a compromise that would restart funding to most of the agency but appears to exclude reforms to immigration enforcement Democrats have demanded. More here.Donald Trump has described voting by mail as “cheating” at an event in Memphis, Tennessee, just days after casting a mail‑in ballot himself. “Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating, and we got to do something about it all,” the US president said on Monday, in remarks to a roundtable on his administration’s crime taskforce. More here.Workers with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are reeling from the White House’s deployment of immigration law enforcement into airports as TSA workers enter their sixth week without pay as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown continues. More than 400 TSA workers have quit since the shutdown began in February, with major US airports reporting high call-out rates among workers, leading to longer security wait times. More here.The California governor, Gavin Newsom, backtracked on earlier remarks likening Israel to an “apartheid state” in a new interview with Politico published on Tuesday. In the interview, the Democrat, who is widely expected to launch a presidential bid in 2028, said that when he used the term three weeks ago, he meant it to apply to Israel’s future should it continue on its present trajectory. More here. Continue reading...

Donald Gorske has eaten nearly 36,000 Big Macs. His verdict on the new Big Arch? ‘I think the Big Mac is better’The Wisconsin man who holds a seemingly unassailable world record after eating nearly 36,000 Big Macs over his lifetime has found McDonald’s widely publicized new offering, the Big Arch burger, underwhelming.During a brief interview on Sunday, Donald Gorske said he found the white cheddar cheese and tangy sauce that came on the Big Arch his son brought for him to try on 8 March as less preferable to him than the fixings on the Big Macs he has eaten twice daily since May 1972. Continue reading...

US president claims he ‘always says yes’ to Australia, Japan and South Korea, after saying he didn’t need help from trio of countries earlier this weekDonald Trump says he is “very surprised” Australia has not sent warships to aid in opening the strait of Hormuz as the blockade of the key strategic route for global oil supply continues to impact fuel prices.“I was very surprised,” the US president said in Washington on Friday when asked what he took issue with regarding Japan, South Korea and Australia. Continue reading...

President accuses court of having ‘unnecessarily RANSACKED’ the US and claims he has ‘absolute right’ to impose new tariffsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxGood morning and welcome to the US politics liveblog.In a late-night social media post, Donald Trump has claimed he has the “absolute right” to impose new tariffs after the supreme court ruled many of the import duties he imposed last year were illegal.Our Supreme Court has made these Countries very happy but, as the Court pointed out, I have the absolute right to charge TARIFFS in another form, and have already started to do so.” Continue reading...

Tehran wants ceasefire but terms ‘not good enough yet’, US president claims, as both sides launch new waves of strikesMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has warned he is not ready to seek a deal to end the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, saying that though he thought Tehran was keen to negotiate a ceasefire, the US would fight on for better terms.Trump’s comments came as Iran launched new missile and drone attacks on countries in the Gulf and on Israel, and Israeli and US warplanes launched new waves of strikes in Iran. Continue reading...