The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Donald Trump

  • Trump plans official launch of re-election campaign in mid-June – sources

    President Donald Trump, facing a potentially difficult path to winning a second term in November 2020, plans an official rollout to his re-election campaign in mid-June, sources said on Monday.

    The mid-June is the four-year anniversary of his first run.

    Trump is likely to kick off his campaign with a rally in Florida, possibly on June 15, followed in the days afterward with stops in battleground states, the sources said.

    The date will be close to the four-year anniversary of when Trump rode the escalator at Trump Tower down to a crowd of supporters and announced his candidacy on June 16, 2015.

    The Trump campaign declined to comment. The president has already been raising money for his re-election and holding political rallies for many months.

    Trump considers Florida to be something of a second home, since he owns the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach and stays there regularly.

    REad also: Trump blames Obama, Bush, Clinton for making China rich

    He won Florida in 2016. But as is the case for Trump in many battleground states, his victory is not assured there in 2020 and he will likely face a fight to win it again.

    Since Trump took over as president in early 2017, the U.S. economy has soared with low unemployment and strong growth.

    Typically, presidents with an economy this vibrant would be strong bets for re-election.

    But Trump’s polarising presidency has given hope to a host of Democratic contenders that he can be denied a second term.

    Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, who was vice president to President Barack Obama, has sounded a unifying theme to try to rally Americans behind his candidacy.

    In second place in the Democratic polls is democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.

    Trump has dubbed Biden “Sleepy Joe’’ to try to undermine him, in much the same way as he gave Republican contender Jeb Bush the nickname, “low-energy Jeb” in 2016.

    Trump tweeted on Monday that China, locked in difficult trade talks with Trump, would like Biden as president.

    “Looks like Bernie Sanders is history. Sleepy Joe Biden is pulling ahead and thinks about it, I’m only here because of Sleepy Joe and the man who took him off the one per cent trash heap,

    “President O! China wants Sleepy Joe BADLY!” he said.

    Trump is expected to stress the strong economy in his re-election effort, but he told the Fox News Channel’s “The Next Revolution with Steve Hilton” that the economy alone would bore his supporters at his rallies.

    “If I stood there and talked about the economy for that long a period – let’s say, the economy’s great, unemployment’s low, we’re doing wonderful…they’d start falling asleep,” he said. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Judge to consider bid to block Trump’s emergency border wall funds

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration to divert more than six billion dollars to build a wall on the border with Mexico will face its first test in court on Friday.

    The states and advocacy groups are expected to ask a federal judge to block the funding.

    At the centre of Friday’s hearing is the question of the president’s authority to construct a wall using funds that Congress declined to approve for the amount he requested.

    In February, Congress approved 1.375 billion dollars for construction of “primary pedestrian fencing” along the border in Southeast Texas, well short of Trump’s demand for 5.7 billion dollars to build border walls in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

    To obtain the additional money, Trump declared a national emergency and diverted 601 million dollars from a Treasury forfeiture fund, 3.6 billion dollars from military construction and 2.5 billion dollars earmarked for Department of Defence counterdrug programmes.

    “Congress’s refusal to fund President Trump’s wall isn’t an emergency, it’s democracy,” said a statement from Dror Ladin, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents plaintiffs in the case.

    The Trump administration argues the plaintiffs have not shown any injury caused by the funding decisions and that existing law gives it the leeway to redirect the money for such purposes as “an unforeseen military requirement” or a “law enforcement activity.”

    Trump made a border wall the centre of his 2016 campaign for president, when he said Mexico would pay for construction.

    That pledge went nowhere, and Trump also hit resistance in Congress even as apprehensions of migrants by border agents hit a decade high as of April.

    The plaintiffs in Friday’s hearing include 20 states, the Sierra Club environmental group and the Southern Border Communities Coalition, which advocates for immigrants.

    They argued in court papers that the administration has violated the separation of power principle of the U.S. Constitution, among other claims.

    Read Also: Trump raises tariffs on $200bn Chinese goods

    The plaintiffs also said wall construction would harm the environment and the wildlife habitats for such creatures as Gila monsters and the Mexican wolf.

    The diversion of Treasury forfeiture funds would undermine state law enforcement, they argued.

    New York state, for example, has used forfeiture funds to buy bullet-proof vests and naloxone, a drug that counters opioid overdoses.

    Although it is not a plaintiff, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives plans to argue in support of the plaintiffs at the hearing.

    The House called the diversion of funds a “flagrant disregard for the bedrock principle” that Congress controls federal spending.

    The hearing comes the same week that Trump has outlined proposals to beef up security along the Southwest border and shift immigration policy to favor well-educated English speakers over a system that emphasises uniting families.

  • US gives China one-month ultimatum for trade deal

    US President Donald Trump President has reportedly given China a one-month ultimatum to seal a trade deal or face tariffs on all its exports to the United States.

    The decision was relayed by people with knowledge of the talks between the two sides on Friday, hours after the Trump administration raised tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25.

    Even though, the US president hailed the talks with the Chinese delegation as “candid and constructive” in a series of tweets.

    “The relationship between President Xi Jinping and myself remains a very strong one, and conversations into the future will continue.”

    However, in a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, US officials laid out their bottom line and informed him that Beijing had three or four weeks to agree to a deal or face additional 25 percent tariffs on a further $325 billion in exports to the US, according to people familiar with the talks.

    Read Also: Nigeria-China trade Fair to hold

    “For the interest of the people of China, the people of US and the people of the whole world, we will deal with this rationally,” Liu said in an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Friday.

    “But China is not afraid, nor are the Chinese people. China needs a cooperative agreement with equality and dignity.”

    The Chinese vice premier had earlier stated that the prospects for the talks were “promising,” but warned that raising tariffs would be “harmful to both sides.”

    In several tweets later on Friday, Trump sought to justify his decision to hike tariffs as well as to convince businesses and financial markets that he had no plans to walk away from a deal with China.

    The Chinese commerce ministry, however, lamented the US move on Friday and reiterated Beijing’s pledge to take “necessary countermeasures.”

    (https://www.presstv.com)

  • Chinese goods: China vows to take ‘countermeasures’ over US tariffs

    China has vowed to take “necessary countermeasures” after US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with Beijing; just hours after delegations from the two sides wrapped up a first day of trade negotiations in Washington.

    The Trump administrator raised tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 on Friday, as Beijing and Washington appeared to be close to ending months of trade dispute after returning to the negotiation table in Washington on Thursday.

    Chinese commerce ministry on Friday lamented the move and reiterated Beijing’s pledge to take “necessary countermeasures.”

    “China deeply regrets that it will have to take necessary countermeasures,” the statement said, but did not specify what those countermeasures might be.

    “It is hoped that the US and Chinese sides will meet each other halfway and work together” to resolve their dispute, it added.

    China had earlier vowed to raise tariffs on $60 billion of US imports. It could also use other tactics to disrupt business for US firms in China.

    Trump’s latest tariff hike took effect Friday, as a delegation of Chinese officials led by Vice Premier Liu He was to meet for a second day with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Washington.

    Trump initiated what is effectively a trade war with China last year, when he first imposed unusually heavy tariffs on imports from the country.

    Since then, the two sides have exchanged tariffs on more than $360 billion in two-way trade.

    Late Thursday night, Trump got a briefing from his trade negotiators, but made no move to hold off on the tariffs despite optimism from officials in recent weeks that the negotiations were moving towards an agreement in this round of talks.

    Upon his arrival in Washington, the Chinese vice premier said that the prospects for the talks were “promising,” but warned that raising tariffs would be “harmful to both sides.”

    “Of course, China believes raising tariffs in the current situation is not a solution to the problem, but harmful to China, to the United States and to the whole world,” he added.

    The International Monetary Fund also warned against the hike in tariffs, saying that the trade war was a “threat” to global growth.

    Washington is pressing Beijing to reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries and implement structural changes in its practices concerning intellectual property and the transfer of US technology to Chinese firms.

    China, however, says such reforms could only favor the US and lead to more protectionism in global trade.

    While Trump describes the tariffs as punitive measures against China, many American complain of lost export markets, disrupted supply chains and higher costs.

    French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Friday warned against the escalation in the trade dispute, saying, “There is no greater threat to world growth… than a trade war between China and the United States.”

    “Because it means that trade tariffs will go up, fewer goods will circulate around the world, we won’t be able to circulate our own French goods as easily around the world, and jobs will be destroyed,” he added.

    In a separate statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry denounced the US for the “unreasonable suppression” of the country’s telecom giant, Mobile.

    “We urge the US to… stop the wrong practice of always using national security (as a pretext), and stop the unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises,” said ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

    In a unanimous decision on Thursday, US Federal Communications Commission voted to bar the firm from selling phone service in the US, citing “grave risks to national security.”

    The move blocks a years-long effort by China Mobile to gain access to US customers.

    Washington has already launched an aggressive campaign against another Chinese telecommunication firm, Huawei, over accusations that the company was receiving funding from China’s National Security Commission.

    Last year Trump signed a bill, which bans federal agencies and their contractors from purchasing Huawei’s equipment and services over the accusation that the Chinese government uses the company’s 5G (fifth generation) networks to spy on other countries.

    China has constantly denied the allegations.

    (www.presstv.com)

  • Trump raises tariffs on $200bn Chinese goods

    The US has more than doubled tariffs on $200bn (£153.7bn) worth of Chinese products, in a sharp escalation of the countries’ damaging trade war.
    Tariffs on affected Chinese goods have risen to 25% from 10%, and Beijing has vowed to retaliate.

    China says it “deeply regrets” the move and will have to take “necessary counter-measures.”

    It comes as high-level officials from both sides are attempting to salvage a trade deal in Washington.

    Only recently, the US and China appeared to be close to ending months of trade tensions.

    China’s Commerce Ministry confirmed the latest US tariff increase on its website.

    “It is hoped that the US and the Chinese sides will work together… to resolve existing problems through co-operation and consultation,” it said in a statement.

    Tariffs are taxes paid by importers on foreign goods, so the 25% tariff will be paid by American companies who bring Chinese goods into the country.

    Chinese stock markets rose on Friday, with the Hang Seng index up less than 1% and the Shanghai Composite more than 3% higher.

    However, earlier in the week stock markets had fallen after US President Donald Trump flagged the tariff rise on Sunday.

    The US imposed a 10% tariff on $200bn worth of Chinese products – including fish, handbags, clothing and footwear – last year.

    The tariff was due to rise at the start of the year, but the increase was delayed as negotiations advanced.

    The US-China trade war has weighed on the global economy over the past year and created uncertainty for businesses and consumers.

    Even though Mr Trump has downplayed the impact of tariffs on the US economy, the rise is likely to affect some American companies and consumers as firms may pass on some of the cost, analysts said.

    Deborah Elms, executive director at the Asian Trade Centre, said: “It’s going to be a big shock to the economy.

    “Those are all US companies who are suddenly facing a 25% increase in cost, and then you have to remember that the Chinese are going to retaliate.”

    US and Chinese officials have held several round of talks in an attempt to strike a deal to end the trade war.

    The American Chamber of Commerce in China said: “While we are disappointed that the stakes have been raised, we nevertheless support the ongoing effort by both sides to reach agreement on a strong, enforceable deal that resolves the fundamental, structural issues our members have long faced in China.”

    French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned that the trade dispute escalation threatened jobs across Europe.

    “There is no greater threat to world growth,” Mr Le Maire told CNews.

    BBC economics correspondent Andrew Walker said the direct impact of the trade dispute would be on the US and China.

    READ ALSO: Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, begins 3-year prison sentence

    He said there was economic research suggesting that US tariffs hit American consumers, not Chinese exporters, as President Trump argues.

    There could also be wider implications, he added.

    “Any softening of demand among Chinese and American consumers and businesses is likely to affect their suppliers.

    “To take some possible examples, China is a key market for metals and energy exporters and for suppliers of industrial machinery such as Germany. The US is a key buyer of consumer goods,” our correspondent said.

    “These two markets won’t dry up, but they could be a little weaker as a result of any economic hit from the tariffs.”

    (BBC)

  • Trump awards medal of freedom to business partner Tiger Woods

    Donald Trump has awarded Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian honour.

    Woods, who fought back to a dramatic Masters win last month following years plagued by injury, is by far the youngest golfer to receive the distinction.

    But the president’s decision to honour a 43-year-old sportsman who is his long-time friend and business partner has raised questions about whether the award was merited.

    Trump is the fourth golfer to receive the medal, following Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Charlie Sifford.

    Woods dominated golf for more than a decade, but went 11 years without a major until winning the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in April in a comeback which captivated the sporting world.

    Last month, following Woods’ Masters win in Georgia, he tweeted that he would honour the golfer in recognition of his ”incredible Success & Comeback in Sports (Golf) and, more importantly, LIFE.”

    Woods ranks second in PGA Tour wins, one shy of Sam Snead’s all-time record of 82. His 15 major tournament victories are three less than Nicklaus, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the age of 65 by George W. Bush.

    Read Also: Trump to make state visit to UK in June

    Mr Trump hailed Woods as a “great guy” on Monday. He added: “He introduced countless new people to the sport of golf, from every background and walk of life … Tiger Woods is a global symbol of American excellence, devotion and drive.”

    The president has eagerly leapt on the Woods bandwagon and has been using his fame to attract fans to his properties for decades. Following the golfer’s first Masters win in 1997, Mr Trump got Woods to show up at his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey – prompting thousands of fans to turn up.

    The pair have also golfed together several times, as well as striking business deals.

    Golfers at the president’s club in Doral, Florida, can stay at the Tiger Woods Villa. At a ribbon cutting ceremony in 2014, Woods lavished praise on the future presidential candidate, calling changes he made to the club “phenomenal.”

    In Dubai, Woods designed an 18-hole course – due to open later this year – to be managed by The Trump Organisation.

    “You have to ask whether it’s his true belief Tiger Woods deserves this award or whether he’s doing it to help his business,” said Jordan Libowitz, communications director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a left-leaning public policy group.

    Democratic strategist Don Calloway told The Hill Woods receiving the medal was “Trump giving an award to his buddy”.

    “I think there’s a whole lot of people who are in the line for the Presidential Medal of Freedom before brother Eldrick,” he added, using the golfer’s birth name.

    Woods has been criticised in the past for his association with Mr Trump. While other sportsmen have taken a public stand against the president’s policies such as the Muslim travel ban, Woods has insisted he is not political.

    Rick Reilly, who wrote a book about Trump’s golfing entitled Commander in Cheat, said Woods had brought golf to people of colour around the world, while the president has promoted it as a sport for the rich. Woods should have declined the medal, he suggested.

    “I can see how it would be hard to resist, but I still think it’s hypocritical to do it,” Mr Reilly said.

    But Christopher Devine, an associate professor of political science at the University of Dayton, said Woods deserved the honour, regardless of whether Mr Trump was motivated by his business interests.

    “If President Obama or Hillary Clinton had given the award to Tiger, no one would have batted an eye,” said the academic, who has studied the history of the medal.

    Mr Devine also noted previous presidents have presented the award to supporters and political donors, including Barack Obama. Mr Trump’s predecessor in the White House gave the Medal of Freedom to Bruce Springsteen, who performed in concerts to support his election efforts. He also awarded it to his vice-president, Joe Biden.

    www.independent.co.uk

     

  • Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, begins 3-year prison sentence

    U.S. President, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has left his home for a prison outside New York City to begin serving a three-year sentence.

    Cohen pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2018 for lying to Congress and for campaign finance violations related to hush-money payments he made to two women, in addition to financial crimes.

    He previously accused Trump of telling multiple lies on his way to becoming president and after taking office.

    The lawyer also took another swipe at his former client before leaving his home on Monday for the federal corrections facility in Otisville.

    Read Also: Trump to make state visit to UK in June

    The prison is about 100 kilometres north of New York City.

    “There still remains much to be told, and I look forward to the day that I can share the truth,” Cohen said.

    He added that he hoped that the country would be “in a place without xenophobia, injustice and lies at the helm of our country” at the end of his jail term.

    The 52-year-old, whose relationship with Trump collapsed after an FBI raid on his home and office in 2018, provided damaging testimony to a congressional panel in March.

    He told lawmakers that Trump used personal funds to repay him for the hush-money payments made to adult film actress, Stormy Daniels and Playboy model, Karen McDougal.

    Cohen also said that Trump was aware of the scheme to pay Daniels 130,000 dollars in exchange for her silence about the alleged affair and that cheques to reimburse him were written during his time in office.

    NAN

  • Trump rejects UN arms trade treaty

    U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected a UN arms trade treaty that was approved by his predecessor Barack Obama and is currently waiting in the Senate for ratification.

    “The UN will soon receive a formal notice that America is rejecting this treaty,” Trump said on Friday, addressing the National Rifle Association (NRA), a pro-gun group, denouncing the “badly misguided” agreement.

    On stage in Indianapolis, Trump then signed a formal message to the Senate asking lawmakers to “discontinue the treaty ratification process.

    “And to return the now rejected treaty right back to me in the Oval Office, where I will dispose of it,” he said to applause.

    Trump signed the letter and then threw the pen to the crowd, which was chanting “U-S-A.”

    Read also: As Donald Trump unravels

    “We are reaffirming that American liberty is sacred and that American citizens live by American laws, not the laws of foreign countries,” said Trump.

    In the final weeks of his presidency, Obama had sent the treaty to the Senate, which must approve international treaties under the U.S. Constitution.

    The Arms Trade Treaty regulates the international trade in conventional arms. According to the UN, 101 states joined the ATT. It entered into force in 2014.

    Obama pledged it would not infringe on the U.S. constitutional right to gun ownership.

    Trump also used his speech to hail U.S. states that have allowed trained teachers to carry guns in the classroom “to protect themselves and their students who they love.”

    The U.S. has seen a spate of school shootings over the past two decades. (dpa/NAN)

  • We paid nothing to North Korea for Warmbier’s release-Trump

    President Donald Trump said the U.S. paid nothing to North Korea to secure the freedom of student Otto Warmbier, who died in 2017 shortly after his return to the United States.

    “No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not 2 million dollars, not anything else,’’ Trump tweeted on Friday.

    The Washington Post and CNN reported this week that North Korea demanded 2 million dollars for Warmbier’s hospital care during negotiations in 2017.

    CNN reported that Trump administration did not pay the bill.

    Warmbier was 21 when he was convicted in March 2016 for crimes against North Korea after he allegedly took a propaganda sign from a hotel where he was staying during a tourist visit.

    He was sentenced to 15 years and hard labour.

    He was returned to the U.S. in a comatose state in June 2017 and died days later.

    He was 22.

    He showed possible signs of torture, including damaged teeth and a scar that may have resulted from electric shocks.

    Pyongyang said his brain damage was the result of a rare disease, but the U.S. side said it appeared he has lost blood to his brain for a number of minutes.

    A U.S. court awarded the Warmbier family 501 million dollars; though it is unlikely North Korea will ever pay.

    dpa/NAN

  • Trump renews threat to close Mexican border, send more troops

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday again threatened to close part of the Southern border and send more “armed soldiers” to defend it if Mexico did not block a new caravan of migrants traveling toward the U.S.

    “A very big Caravan of more than 20,000 people started up through Mexico,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

    “It has been reduced in size by Mexico but is still coming. Mexico must apprehend the remainder or we will be forced to close that section of the Border & call up the Military.”

    Trump also said, without offering details, that Mexican soldiers recently had “pulled guns” on U.S. troops in what he suggested was “a diversionary tactic for drug smugglers.”

    “Better not happen again! We are now sending ARMED SOLDIERS to the Border. Mexico is not doing nearly enough in apprehending & returning!” Trump tweeted.

    It was not clear what Trump meant by “armed soldiers’’ since at least some of the troops on the border already are armed. It also was unclear what specific caravan Trump was alluding to.

    U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they are expecting a request from the Department of Homeland Security in the coming days for additional troops, although that number is expected to be in the low hundreds.

    About 5,000 active duty and National Guard troops already are at the border.

    The U.S. Defence Department said earlier this month that six Mexican military personnel questioned two U.S. Army soldiers near Clint, Texas, about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of El Paso.

    The U.S. military said the Americans were in an unmarked car and an inquiry had found that they were in U.S. territory.

    Newsweek magazine, citing the military report on the incident, said the U.S. soldiers were briefly held at gunpoint by the Mexicans, who took one American soldier’s gun and put it in the car.

    The Mexican troops had believed the U.S. soldiers were south of the border and therefore in Mexico.

    After a brief discussion, the Mexican troops left the area, a Mexican official said.

    The two U.S. soldiers were traveling in an unmarked vehicle, according to a brief statement issued later on Wednesday by the Mexican foreign ministry, which added to the confusion.

    Asked about Trump’s tweet at a news conference, Mexican President Andres Obrador said his administration would investigate the incident Trump mentioned.

    “But we’re not going to fight with the U.S. government,” he said. “We are not going to allow ourselves to fall into any provocations.”

    Trump has made a tough stance on immigration a cornerstone of his presidency.

    He called the situation at the southern border a national emergency as a way to get money to build a border wall after Democrats in Congress thwarted traditional means of funding.

    Officials arrested or denied entry to more than 100,000 people along the Mexican border in March, more than twice as many as during the same period in 2018, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

    In March, Trump threatened to close the border if the Mexican government did not immediately stem illegal migration, although later he praised Mexico for efforts to stop people from crossing illegally into the U.S.

    Mexico has returned 15,000 migrants in the past 30 days, a senior government official said on Tuesday, pointing to an uptick in deportations in the face of pressure from Trump to stem the flow of people north.

    The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on Wednesday on the Trump administration’s controversial policy of sending asylum seekers back to Mexican border towns to await their U.S. immigration court hearings.

    A lower-court judge ruled against the policy but the 9th Circuit said it could continue while the legal fight continues.

    The Trump administration says the policy is one way to reduce the number of asylum seekers being released into the U.S. for the months or years it can take their deportation cases to be decided.

    Critics say returning vulnerable migrants to often dangerous cities in Mexico violates U.S. and international laws. (Reuters/NAN)