Category Archives: Trump administration

Joe Biden’s win was a ‘sigh of relief’ for LGBTQ+ people. Now activists want stronger protections

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The new administration has promised to undo Trump’s discriminatory policies, but advocates want to see bold support for queer and trans rights

Joe Biden has promised to undo years of anti-LGBTQ+ policies by Donald Trump’s administration, but advocates and civil rights leaders are urging the president-elect to go further in expanding protections and opportunities for queer and transgender people.

In its four years in office, the Trump administration systematically attacked the fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ people, stripping away safeguards enacted in the previous administration in education, immigration, healthcare, housing and criminal justice.

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Trump fires head of US cybersecurity agency that refuted voter fraud claims

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Termination of Christopher Krebs comes amid removals of high-level officials seen as insufficiently loyal to the president

Donald Trump has fired the director of the federal agency that vouched for the reliability of the 2020 election and pushed back on the president’s baseless claims of voter fraud.

Trump fired Christopher Krebs, who served as the director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa), in a tweet on Tuesday, saying Krebs “has been terminated” and that his recent statement defending the security of the election was “highly inaccurate”.

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Fears of foreign policy chaos in Trump’s final days fueled by Iran bombing report

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The outgoing president reportedly asked for options on bombing Iran as administration eyes last chance to achieve objectives

Fears that Donald Trump might try to wreak havoc on the world stage in his final, desperate, weeks in office appear to have been well-founded, after he reportedly asked for options on bombing Iran.

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Obama hails arrival of a more ‘caring government’ as memoir launches – video

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In an interview marking the launch of his memoir A Promised Land, Barack Obama tells Oprah Winfrey that the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will help lead the US back to the 'competent, caring government we so badly need'. 

He lamented the standard of governance over the past four years, saying Biden and Harris will 'level set' and show that the presidency will not label journalists 'enemies of the state' or 'routinely lie'  

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Iran warns of ‘crushing response’ if Trump targets nuclear site

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Outgoing president reported to have looked at military options against Tehran and its allies

Iran has warned of a strong response if Donald Trump goes ahead with plans to use the twilight of his presidency to mount a strike on Iran or its allies in the region.

It was reported that Trump last week looked at options for striking Iran’s main nuclear site, but was dissuaded from taking action after his advisers warned it might lead to a larger conflict in the Middle East. The report was sourced to four US officials by the New York Times.

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Arrests in Washington as Trump supporters assemble, rejecting Biden victory

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Counter-demonstrators clash with Maga groups that echo president’s baseless claims of fraud

Donald Trump continued to rage against the dying light of his US presidency on Saturday, falsely claiming to be the victim of mass voter fraud and praising rightwingers and conspiracy theorists who gathered in Washington to echo his fabrication.

Trump emerged from the White House to applause, cheers, waving and whistles from hundreds of supporters lining both sides of the street. They punched the air, took pictures with phones and held signs that included “Best prez ever” and “Stop the steal”.

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Trump supporters rally in Washington as president refuses to concede – live

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Joe Biden is reportedly poised to choose a woman to lead the Pentagon, an historic decision.

The president-elect’s expected selection, Michele Flournoy, is described by the Associated Press as a “a politically moderate Pentagon veteran … regarded by US officials and political insiders as a top choice for the position.”

Out of his bunker for a second straight day, Donald Trump made a deliberate pass by his supporters in town for today’s Maga rallies in his presidential motorcade before veering off toward Trump National in Sterling, Virginia.

More details from the White House pool report:

POTUS emerged from the south portico at 10am wearing a red hat, blue jacket and blue trousers. He appeared to be holding a newspaper. He got inside the presidential limousine and the motorcade headed out to Pennsylvania Avenue.

It was greeted by applause, cheers, waving and whistles from hundreds of Trump supporters lining both sides of the street. They punched the air, took pictures with phones and held signs that included ‘Best prez ever’ and ‘Stop the steal’.

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TikTok asks US court to intervene after Trump administration leaves app in limbo

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Platform says it’s received ‘no clarity’ from government about status of proposal to place app under control of US companies

The popular video-sharing app TikTok says its future has been in limbo since Donald Trump tried to shut it down earlier this fall and is asking a federal court to intervene.

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Bye-Don: a farewell to the Trump aesthetic

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It’s time to reflect on the weaponising of a certain Fox News-adjacent look that dominated his four years in office

The age of Trump was an ugly one. An ugliness in profound and harrowing senses – racism, lies and callousness – extended into a literal ugliness that, while in no way as significant as the president’s actions, has often made the past four years feel like an assault on the senses. This administration has looked and sounded like no other, just as it has acted like no other. The nastiness of Trump’s pronouncements has many times been made more shocking by his language: the barked, capitalised tweets littered with errors and exclamation marks; the misogyny underscored by snickering profanity. Every unmasked public appearance has been a visceral reminder of a shirking of leadership and responsibility in the face of a public health crisis.

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End of Trump era deals heavy blow to rightwing populist leaders worldwide

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As Biden’s victory sinks in across Brazil, Hungary and elsewhere, dreams of a rightwing global crusade appear to be fading

As the Donald Trump era draws to a close, many world leaders are breathing a sigh of relief. But Trump’s ideological kindred spirits – rightwing populists in office in Brazil, Hungary, Slovenia and elsewhere – are instead taking a sharp breath.

The end of the Trump presidency may not mean the beginning of their demise, but it certainly strips them of a powerful motivational factor, and also alters the global political atmosphere, which in recent years had seemed to be slowly tilting in their favour, at least until the onset of coronavirus. The momentous US election result is further evidence that the much-talked-about “populist wave” of recent years may be subsiding.

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Seventh straight day of 100,000 new US Covid cases as hospitalizations hit a high point

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  • Biden adviser Michael Osterholm says numbers could double
  • Death toll above 238,000 after 590 new deaths, data shows

The US hit a record number of coronavirus hospitalizations on Tuesday and surpassed 1 million new confirmed cases in just the first 10 days of November, as a nationwide surge of infections that shows no signs of slowing.

The country recorded a seventh consecutive day of more than 100,000 new cases, and one of the public health advisers recruited to president-elect Joe Biden’s transition team warned that those case numbers could double in the coming weeks under the leadership of Donald Trump.

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Trump poised to leave legacy of chaos with last-minute foreign policy moves | Analysis

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Analysis: With defence secretary’s firing and potential new Iran sanctions, Trump raises fears over impact of a vengeful president

The abrupt dismissal of the US defence secretary, Mark Esper, and reported plans for multiple layers of new sanctions on Iran have made clear that Donald Trump’s last 10 weeks in office could still prove a very bumpy ride for the rest of the world.

Trump is refusing to concede his loss to Joe Biden and, while he launches a quiver of baseless legal challenges to the results, he is also seeking to demonstrate he is still in charge of foreign and defence policy – fueling fears about the impact a vengeful president might have on the US role on the world stage over the coming 10 weeks of transition.

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‘Whoa’: Fox News cuts off Kayleigh McEnany for ‘illegal votes’ spiel – video

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Fox News has cut away from a briefing held by the White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, during which she repeated Donald Trump’s refusal to accept defeat in the presidential election and doubled down on allegations of voter fraud, for which there is scant if any evidence.

Speaking to media on Monday night in a 'personal capacity' during what she said was a campaign event at the Republican National Committee headquarters, McEnany said Republicans want 'every legal vote to be counted, and every illegal vote to be discarded', prompting the conservative Fox News network to stop broadcasting the briefing.

The Trump campaign and Republicans have brought numerous lawsuits alleging election irregularities. Judges have already tossed out cases in Georgia and Michigan

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Barr tells prosecutors to investigate ‘vote irregularities’ despite lack of evidence

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US attorney general’s intervention comes as Donald Trump refuses to concede and promotes unfounded claims of voter fraud

The US attorney general, William Barr, has authorized federal prosecutors to begin investigating “substantial allegations” of voter irregularities across the country in a stark break with longstanding practice and despite a lack of evidence of any major fraud having been committed.

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Ivanka Trump will lose White House status and job – what will she do next?

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Trump isn’t just losing her status as first daughter, she’s also losing her job as ‘advisor to the president’

Ivanka Trump isn’t just losing her status as first daughter with her father Donald Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden – she’s also losing her job.

In her father’s White House, Ivanka Trump works as “advisor to the president”, purportedly focusing on “the education and economic empowerment of women and their families as well as job creation and economic growth through workforce development, skills training and entrepreneurship”.

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Republicans back Trump challenge to Biden election victory

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Donald Trump’s resolve not to accept the result of the presidential election appeared unshaken on Sunday, as he continued to promote conspiracy theories about the vote, with little outward sign that anyone in his inner circle was prepared to talk him into conceding.

Related: Who will tell Trump to go? Not Melania or Jared, reports say

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Who will tell Trump to go? Not Melania or Jared, reports say

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Confusion reigns as accounts of attempts to talk president into conceding to Joe Biden are swiftly shot down

As Donald Trump spent Sunday morning visiting one of his golf clubs and doubling down on bogus election fraud claims, conflicting reports emerged about whether the president’s family and top advisers were advising him to admit defeat.

Related: Joe Biden gets to work as president-elect while Trump refuses to concede

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US imposes sanctions on Lebanon’s former foreign minister

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Trump administration moves against Gibran Bassil for alleged corruption

The Trump administration has imposed Treasury sanctions on one of Lebanon’s most influential politicians as it intensifies attempts to defang the militia and political powerhouse Hezbollah.

The move against Gibran Bassil for alleged corruption was announced on Friday as Trump’s chances of re-election continued to dip, and marks a sharp escalation of efforts to limit Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanese affairs. Crucially, it is a direct challenge to the country’s president and Bassil’s father in law, Michel Aoun, who Washington has considered an ally.

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‘A whole lot of hurt’: Fauci angers Trump White House with dark Covid outlook

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The US is “in for a whole lot of hurt” under the coronavirus pandemic, senior public health expert Anthony Fauci said, predicting a winter of 100,000 or more cases a day and a rising death toll.

Related: Wisconsin battles rapid rise in Covid cases amid partisan disputes over safety

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Coronavirus live news: Germany sets another daily case record as Europe passes 10m infections

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England lockdown expected early next week; US passes 9m infections; Melbourne records no new cases or deaths. Follow the latest:

Ukraine announced a new high of 8,752 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, the national security council said on Saturday, up from 8,312 cases on Friday.

Total infections stood at 387,481, it said.

Coronavirus is “running riot” across all age groups in the United Kingdom, says Prof Calum Semple, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.

Speaking in a personal capacity, Semple told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

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