Category Archives: Democrats

Trump requests release of Epstein court documents but says ‘nothing will be enough for the troublemakers’ – US politics live

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Move seeks to quell controversy that has engulfed the administration since it said it would not release more files from Epstein’s sex trafficking case

As Donald Trump tries to claim he was “not a fan” of Jeffrey Epstein, photos, videos and anecdotes paint a picture of their relationship, writes Adam Gabbatt:

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has called for Barack Obama and former senior US national security officials to be prosecuted after accusing them of a “treasonous conspiracy” intended to show that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election win was due to Russian interference.

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Tens of thousands in US set to join ‘Good Trouble’ protests honoring John Lewis

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Rallies at more than 1,500 sites nationwide planned for Thursday to protest against Trump administration

Tens of thousands of people are expected to march and rally at more than 1,500 sites across all 50 US states on Thursday to protest against the Trump administration and honor the legacy of the late congressman John Lewis, an advocate for voting rights and civil disobedience.

The “Good Trouble Lives On” day of action coincides with the fifth anniversary of Lewis’s death. Lewis was a longtime congressman from Georgia who participated in iconic civil rights actions, including the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 when police attacked Lewis and other protesters on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

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Hungary opposition figures urge Democrats to organize against autocratic takeover by Trump

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Forum speakers said Donald Trump’s second term resembles strongman Viktor Orbán’s first years in power

Democrats must organize urgently for the 2026 midterm elections and avoid a “it can’t happen here” mentality to stop Donald Trump from staging a full-scale autocratic takeover, a Hungarian opposition parliamentarian has said.

Katalin Cseh, a critic of Hungary’s strongman prime minister, Viktor Orbán, told a forum on authoritarianism that the central European country’s experience held vital lessons for Trump’s opponents in their attempts to resist his assaults on US institutions and democratic norms since his return to the White House.

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Adelita Grijalva wins Arizona Democratic primary for House seat

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Grijalva beat Gen Z activist Deja Foxx in the race and will succeed her late father, Raúl Grijalva, in the role

Adelita Grijalva won the Democratic House primary in Arizona to succeed her father, beating a young social media activist in a closely watched election seen as a test of the party’s generational divide.

Raúl Grijalva, a longtime congressman in southern Arizona, died from cancer earlier this year and left a vacancy in the state’s seventh district. The younger Grijalva, a 54-year-old who served for 20 years on a Tucson school board, has been a Pima county supervisor since 2020.

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David Gergen, ex-adviser to Republican and Democratic presidents, dies aged 83

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Serving Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, Gergen was a speechwriter and communications director

David Gergen, a veteran of Washington politics and an adviser to four presidents, Republican and Democrat, in a career spanning decades in government, academia and media, has died. He was 83.

Gergen was perhaps best known for a line he summoned for then presidential candidate Ronald Reagan for a TV debate with Jimmy Carter: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

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Netanyahu vows to combat what he calls ‘vilification against Israel’ online

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On Capitol Hill, Israeli PM says ‘demonization’ led to drop in support for Israel among US voters, especially Democrats

Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he’s vowed to combat an orchestrated social media campaign of “vilification and demonization” that he says is responsible for a drop in support for Israel among US voters, especially Democrats.

“I think there’s been a concerted effort to spread vilification and demonization against Israel on social media,” the Israeli prime minister told journalists on Capitol Hill after being asked to respond to opinion polls showing a move away from the historic trend of strong backing for Israel.

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‘A dark day for our country’: Democrats furious over Trump bill’s passage

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned bill’s expansion of immigration enforcement and cuts to social benefits

Democrats have erupted in a storm of outrage over the passage of Donald Trump’s budget bill, delivering scathing critiques that offered signs of the attack lines the party could wield against Republicans in next year’s midterm elections.

Party leaders released a wave of statements after the sweeping tax and spending bill’s passage on Thursday, revealing a fury that could peel paint off a brick outhouse.

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Twisted arms and late-night deals: how Trump’s sweeping policy bill was passed

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With narrow majorities and intra-party splits, Republicans faced a battle to give Trump his bill to sign – but they did it

Just a few months ago, analysts predicted that Republicans in Congress – with their narrow majorities and fractured internal dynamics – would not be able to pass Donald Trump’s landmark legislation.

On Thursday, the president’s commanding influence over his party was apparent once again: the bill passed just in time for Trump’s Fourth of July deadline.

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Trump administration raises possibility of stripping Mamdani of US citizenship

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Move comes after rightwing Republican accuses New York City mayoral candidate of concealing support for ‘terrorism’

The Trump administration has raised the possibility of stripping Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate for New York City, of his US citizenship as part of a crackdown against foreign-born citizens convicted of certain offences.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, appeared to pave the way for an investigation into Mamdani’s status after Andy Ogles, a rightwing Republican representative for Tennessee, called for his citizenship to be revoked on the grounds that he may have concealed his support for “terrorism” during the naturalization process.

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Bill Moyers, Lyndon Johnson press chief and celebrated broadcaster, dies at 91

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Moyers, who served as Johnson’s press secretary for two years, became one of television’s most revered journalists

Bill Moyers, the former White House press secretary who became one of television’s most honored journalists, masterfully using a visual medium to illuminate a world of ideas, died on Thursday at age 91.

Moyers died in a New York City hospital, according to longtime friend Tom Johnson, the former chief executive of CNN and an assistant to Moyers during Lyndon B Johnson’s administration.

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Ro Khanna calls on Democrats to reclaim identity as ‘the anti-war party’

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‘We should be the party of peace abroad, good jobs at home. Donald Trump took that from us,’ says congressman

In the days since Donald Trump authorized strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, and then forged a shaky ceasefire agreement, Congressman Ro Khanna has called on Democrats to reclaim a political identity he says they lost: being the party of peace.

“Now is the time for the Democratic party to be the anti-war party – the party against wars of choice,” Khanna said in an interview. “We should be the party of peace abroad, good jobs at home. Donald Trump took that from us in 2016 and 2024 and my leadership this past week has been trying to reclaim the anti-war mantle.”

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Mamdani says leftwing populist victory can be replicated across US

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Democratic socialist tells MSNBC his campaign against Cuomo shows leftist politics can thrive beyond New York

Zohran Mamdani, in his first major interview since his upset victory in the Democratic party’s mayoral primary in New York shook up US politics, said his brand of campaigning and leftist political stances can translate to anywhere in the US.

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, stunned many observers by beating Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday night, delivering a devastating blow to the former New York governor who ran a centrist campaign backed by most of the party establishment.

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Mamdani’s defeat of Cuomo offers Democrats a path out of the wilderness

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Mamdani signifies a generational change and rebuke to a party establishment grown complacent and hypocritical

The party was on its knees. It failed to beat Donald Trump, a twice impeached convicted felon, and lost both chambers of Congress. Since November, Democrats have been searching for a path out of the wilderness. On Tuesday, they found one.

But instead of celebrating Zohran Mamdani’s apparent victory in the New York mayoral primary election, the first major Democratic contest since Trump’s win, many in the party establishment went into panic mode.

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Zohran Mamdani leads New York City mayoral primary as Cuomo concedes: ‘He won’

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‘Tonight is his night,’ says ex-governor as progressive state representative is top in first round of counting

Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist who would become New York’s first Muslim mayor if elected, led the city’s Democratic primary on Tuesday night, although it could be days before the final result is known.

After 90% of votes were counted in the primary’s first round, Mamdani, a state representative, had 43.5% of the vote. Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor who had been a heavy favorite until recent weeks, was at 36.3%, and appeared to concede on Tuesday night. Speaking at a campaign rally Cuomo said Mamdani had run a “really smart campaign”.

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Cheering support and instant condemnation: US lawmakers respond to attack on Iran

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Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders denounced the decision to launch attack, while most Republicans praised the action

American politicians reacted to the news of the US bombing of nuclear targets in Iran with a mix of cheering support and instant condemnation, reflecting deep divisions in the country that cross party lines as Washington grapples with yet another military intervention overseas.

Donald Trump announced on Saturday night that the US had completed strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, directly joining Israel’s effort this month to destroy the country’s nuclear program.

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Outrage as DHS moves to restrict lawmaker visits to detention centers

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Elected officials told to give 72 hours’ notice before visiting immigration facilities, with some sites completely off limits

The US Department of Homeland Security is now requiring lawmakers to provide 72 hours of notice before visiting detention centers, according to new guidance.

The guidance comes after a slew of tense visits from Democratic lawmakers to detention centers amid Donald Trump’s crackdowns in immigrant communities across the country. Many Democratic lawmakers in recent weeks have either been turned away, arrested or manhandled by law enforcement officers at the facilities, leading to public condemnation towards Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (Ice) handling of such visits.

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Women more worried about economy under Trump than men, poll finds

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Exclusive: poll shows 62% of women and 47% of men across political spectrum say economy and inflation getting worse

Women across the political spectrum are more concerned about the state of the US economy and inflation under Donald Trump than men are, according to a new exclusive poll for the Guardian.

More Democrats than Republicans are now concerned about the economy following the president’s return to power. But pessimism was higher for women even among Republicans and independents, according to a new Harris poll.

More women said they are very worried about food prices (52% of women compared to 39% of men)

More women said they’re spending more time trying to find deals or go to more affordable stores (36% versus 26%)

More women said their financial security is getting worse because of their difficulty in affording essential goods and services (55% versus 46%)

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Suspect in shootings of Minnesota lawmakers caught and charged with murder

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Vance Boelter accused of killing legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounding John Hoffman and his wife

The man suspected of opening fire on two Minnesota legislators and their spouses on 14 June, killing one legislator and her husband, was set to appear in court on Monday afternoon charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder, the state’s governor, Tim Walz, said at a news conference.

Vance Boelter, 57, is suspected of fatally shooting the Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their residence early on Saturday. Boelter is also suspected of shooting the state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home, seriously injuring them.

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Suspect in murders of Minnesota lawmakers caught and charged | First Thing

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Vance Boelter accused of killing Melissa Hortman and her husband and wounding John Hoffman and his wife. Plus, why a professor of fascism left the US

Good morning.

The man suspected of opening fire on two Minnesota legislators and their spouses on 14 June, killing one of them and her husband, was apprehended late on Sunday night and charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder, the state’s governor, Tim Walz, said.

How did the suspect get into the legislator’s homes? Authorities allege Boelter impersonated a police officer, wearing a uniform that most civilians would not be able to distinguish from the real thing and driving a vehicle made to resemble a police SUV.

Where did the manhunt end? After firing shots at police and fleeing on foot, he was finally caught in a rural area in Sibley county, south-west of Minneapolis, according to police.

Why did Israel say it launched the attack on Iran? Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had acted to pre-empt a secret Iranian programme to build a nuclear bomb, claiming Tehran already had the capacity to build nine.

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Manhunt continues for suspect in shootings of Minnesota lawmakers

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Gunman believed to have left Minneapolis region after killing one legislator and wounding another

The hunt for the man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses while impersonating a police officer, killing one legislator and her husband, continued on Sunday more than 24 hours after the killings.

Vance Boelter, 57, now on the FBI’s most wanted list, is believed to have left the Minneapolis region after allegedly gunning down Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home, according to CNN. Boelter is also suspected of shooting Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their residence, gravely injuring them; a relative posted on Facebook that they were out of surgery and recovering.

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