Trump responds to impeachment acquittal with rambling, vitriolic speech – as it happened

  • Trump speaks at White House for first time since acquittal
  • Report shows Iowa caucus results ‘riddled with inconsistencies’
  • Buttigieg lead over Sanders narrowing in Iowa results
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Related: Trump unleashed: what's next for a president who feels invincible?

Both Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders have claimed victory in Iowa, even as technical delays and reporting issues have prolonged the delay in tallying the Democratic caucus votes. Sanders has touted his raw vote tally; Buttigieg holds a narrow lead in the number of state delegate equivalents he’s amassed.

Both candidates will be speaking tonight in a CNN town hall ahead of the New Hampshire primary contest next week. Deval Patrick and Amy Klobuchar will be participating as well, answering questions from supporters and network hosts.

Related: Sanders and Buttigieg nearly tied in Iowa amid new claims of counting errors

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Donald Trump alludes to Mitt Romney and Nancy Pelosi in speech after acquittal – video

The US president referenced support for his impeachment from both Mitt Romney and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, at the national prayer breakfast. He added: 'When they impeach you for nothing, then you are supposed to like them. It is not easy'

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Mitt Romney: Trump’s best staff decision was ‘not choosing me’

Utah senator and Trump critic tells the New York Times he wouldn’t have lasted as long as Rex Tillerson

The best personnel decision Donald Trump has made, Mitt Romney said in an interview published on Saturday, “was not choosing me”.

After winning the White House in 2016. Trump toyed with the idea – and in doing so rather cruelly toyed with the man – of appointing Romney secretary of state.

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Could Mitt Romney be Trump’s nemesis in the Senate?

The 2012 presidential nominee has criticized the president over Syria and Ukraine – could he rally Republicans in the event of an impeachment trial?

With most of his colleagues unable to choke out a syllable of opprobrium for Donald Trump, Republican senator Mitt Romney has stood out as a willing, if reserved, critic of the president.

Related: Cracks appear in Republican effort to shield Trump as scandals mount – live

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Trump lashes out at Justin Amash after Republican talks of impeachment

As Donald Trump opened fire on Justin Amash, the Michigan representative who became the first Republican in Congress say he had engaged in “impeachable conduct”, Mitt Romney declined to join the fight.

Related: Justin Amash becomes first Republican to back Trump impeachment

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Giuliani rails against Mueller report as Democrats mull Trump impeachment

As the White House mounted a furious assault on the Mueller report and critics of a president not found to have conspired with Russia but not cleared of obstruction of justice, the chair of the House judiciary committee said obstruction, if proven, “would be [an] impeachable” offence.

Related: Trump and impeachment: where Democrats stand after Mueller

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Mitt Romney: Trump’s biggest failure is a lack of character in leading ‘divided’ nation

Incoming Utah senator says president has abandoned allies and failed to lead a ‘divided, resentful and angry’ nation

Mitt Romney, the former Republican presidential candidate and incoming US senator, has sharply criticised Donald Trump both personally and professionally, accusing him of deserting the nation’s allies and lacking the character to lead a “divided” nation.

In a Washington Post essay published on Tuesday evening, Romney said Trump’s presidency “made a deep descent” in December and blamed him for the departures of defence secretary Jim Mattis and White House chief of staff John Kelly.

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Beto O’Rourke touts support from ‘lifelong Republican’ mom, but…

On the campaign trail, Rep. Beto O'Rourke has cast his mother, Melissa O'Rourke, as a lifelong Republican. The Texas Democrat's comments serve a purpose: his Republican mother is the exact sort of voter he'll need to win over in order to defeat GOP Sen. Ted Cruz in the red state and become the first Democrat to win a Senate seat there for the first time since 1988.

Virginia Democrats vying for the US House outraise Republicans…

All four Democratic candidates vying for competitive U.S. House seats in Virginia outraised their Republican counterparts in the latest fundraising period and had more cash on hand going into the final weeks of the mid-term elections. The Virginia numbers are in keeping with national trends as Democrats try to capitalize on President Trump's unpopularity in suburban districts to take control of the House of Representatives.

Mitt Romney appears to recast his role in the ‘never-Trump’ movement amid his Senate bid

Mitt Romney came to Arizona to help out a fellow Senate hopeful and he ended up getting in a jam himself. The former presidential candidate and governor headlined a rally for Rep. Martha McSally on Friday in Gilbert, Arizona, to help boost her campaign to fill the Senate seat being left open by Sen. Jeff Flake's departure, but comments Romney made after the event have drawn some criticism.

Look at All These Big-Name Politicians Coming to Arizona

At least four former presidential candidates, a former Arizona governor, and the 43rd President of the United States are among the big-name politicians coming to the state this month to stump for candidates in high-profile races. Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally, running in a competitive Senate race against Democratic Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema, nabbed the biggest prize.

Rep. Paul Gosar’s siblings: Don’t vote for our brother

Six siblings of Republican Rep. Paul Gosar delivered a stark message in a new television advertisement: Vote for their brother's opponent. The Democrat challenging Gosar in Arizona's 4th District unveiled a new ad Friday that features Grace, David, Jennifer, Tim, Joan, and Gaston lambasting Gosar over Social Security, health care, water policy and more.

Ann Coulter: Haven Monahan To Testify At Kavanaugh Hearings

If this is what the left pulls against a sweet nerd like Brett Kavanaugh, I can't wait for the hearings to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg! Observers of the passing scene were not surprised that the same lunatics screaming that Kavanaugh is going to impose "The Handmaid's Tale" on America also announced that he had committed attempted rape and murder in high school. His accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, remembered this in a therapy session 30-plus years after the alleged incident-coincidentally, at the exact moment Kavanaugh was all over the news as Mitt Romney's likely Supreme Court nominee.

This Major Republican Donor Just Renounced the GOP

Ohio's wealthiest Republican donor, Leslie H. Wexner, has left the party, saying he is fed up with its antics, the Columbus Dispatch reported . "I'm an independent," Wexner said at an event for Ohio business leaders Thursday night, noting that he had been a Republican since his college days.

Trump at center of debate between GOP rivals for Liz Warren seat

August 7: From left, candidates for U.S. Senate, Geoff Diehl, Beth Lindstrom, and John Kingston are seen in the studios of Boston Herald Radio as they debate each other, as the Herald's Hillary Chabot and Joe Battenfeld look on, on August 7, 2018. The three Republican candidates for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's seat mixed it up in the Herald Radio studio today, slamming each other for their varying levels of support for President Trump in their first debate.