Category Archives: Donald Trump

Trump is banned, but can a revamp save Twitter from itself?

Posted on by

With the ex-president gone, the site is launching a flurry of new features – yet its reputation for abuse may endure

In January, Twitter committed what was at first glance a massive act of self-sabotage: it gave its star attraction, Donald Trump, a lifetime ban. This brought to an end a five-year faustian relationship between the two; some observers wondered if the platform would wither without him, yet, to many, Trump was Twitter’s problem writ large.

If YouTube has creators and Instagram has influencers, then what does Twitter have? Few of the words that might jump to mind for regular users are especially positive: there is frequent talk of Twitter storms, Twitter mobs and Twitter pile-ons.

Continue reading...

Trump and his allies push new Republican effort to restrict voting laws

Posted on by

Trump congratulated Georgia on its recent legislative move, which critics have slammed as a major blow to Black voters’ rights

A Republican lawyer who advised Donald Trump on his campaign to overturn the 2020 election results is now playing a central role coordinating the Republican effort to tighten voting laws around the country.

The moves comes as Trump himself signaled his support for new Republican-pushed legislation in Georgia which critics have slammed as being a major blow to voting rights for communities of color, especially Black voters. Joe Biden called the Georgia laws “Jim Crow in the 21st Century” and “an atrocity”.

Continue reading...

Pro-Trump lawyer says ‘no reasonable person’ would believe her election lies

Posted on by

Lawyers for Sidney Powell argued conspiracies she laid out constituted legally protected first amendment speech

A key member of the legal team that sought to steal the 2020 election for Donald Trump is defending herself against a billion-dollar defamation lawsuit by arguing that “no reasonable person” could have mistaken her wild claims about election fraud last November as statements of fact.

Related: Senate filibuster reform would produce 'nuclear winter', says Mitch McConnell

Continue reading...

Joe Biden strikes new tone but Mexico remains US’s wall against migrants

Posted on by

As senior US officials arrive in Mexico for talks experts say deal to send Covid vaccine shows that migrants are still a bargaining chip

Joe Biden took office promising to put a friendlier face on US immigration policy. He put an end to a scheme requiring asylum seekers to remain in Mexico, promised to restore the US asylum system and pledged to spend $4bn on addressing the root causes of migration in Central America.

But as ever-increasing numbers of unaccompanied minors arrive at the US southern border and create a domestic political crisis for the US president, he is turning to a tactic used by his predecessors – including Donald Trump: outsourcing immigration enforcement to Mexico.

Continue reading...

Trump will use ‘his own platform’ to return to social media after Twitter ban

Posted on by
  • Former president was banned over his incitement of Capitol riot
  • Adviser says Trump will ‘redefine the game’ with his return

Donald Trump will soon use “his own platform” to return to social media, an adviser said on Sunday, months after the former president was banned from Twitter for inciting the US Capitol riot.

Related: 'His new business': Trump seeks personal political brand as he grips Republican base

Continue reading...

Unmasked: man behind cult set to replace QAnon

Posted on by

The creator of the rapidly growing ‘Sabmyk Network’ is said to be a Berlin art dealer with a record of media manipulation

The mysterious individual behind a new and rapidly growing online disinformation network targeting followers of QAnon, the far-right cult, can be revealed as a Berlin-based artist with a history of social media manipulation, a prominent anti-racism group claims.

Since Donald Trump left the White House, QAnon’s vast online community has been in a state of flux as it comes to terms with the reality that its conspiracy theories – such as the former US president being destined to defeat a cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles – amount to nothing.

Continue reading...

Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort partially closed by Covid-19 outbreak

Posted on by
  • Receptionist says club closed until further notice
  • Trump moved to Florida property after leaving White House

Donald Trump’s Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, has been partially closed because of a Covid outbreak.

Several people familiar with the situation, including a club member who received a phone call about the closure on Friday, confirmed the partial closure to the Associated Press.

Continue reading...

Will a chilly meeting in Anchorage set the tone for US-Chinese relations? | Emma Graham-Harrison

Posted on by

Openings of summits are often dull affairs, but the tense exchanges in Alaska hint at turbulent times ahead

In a protracted, unplanned public spat in Anchorage late on Thursday, China and America’s top diplomats traded barbs for over an hour in front of astonished journalists.

The openings to diplomatic summits are usually dull and carefully choreographed, a showcase for the world’s cameras before the doors close and the real talks begin.

Continue reading...

Russia targeted Trump allies to hurt Biden in 2020 election, US officials say

Posted on by

Intelligence report underscored allegations that Trump allies played into Moscow’s hands by amplifying claims against Biden

Russia tried to influence the 2020 US presidential election by proliferating “misleading or unsubstantiated allegations” largely against Joe Biden and through allies of Donald Trump, US intelligence officials said on Tuesday.

The assessment was contained in a 15-page report published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It underscored allegations that Trump’s allies played into Moscow’s hands by amplifying claims against Biden by Ukrainian figures with links to Russia.

Continue reading...

Ex-Covid tsar urges Donald Trump to tackle Republican vaccine hesitancy

Posted on by
  • Adm Brett Giroir says Trump’s leadership ‘matters a great deal’
  • Poll found 49% of Republican men would refuse vaccine

Donald Trump’s former coronavirus testing tsar has urged the former president to address Covid vaccine hesitancy among Republicans, even as the man who some say has assumed Trump’s platform and megaphone, the Fox News host Tucker Carlson, criticized vaccine outreach by the Biden administration.

Several recent surveys have shown vaccine hesitancy is highest among Republican men. Public health experts are scrambling to respond.

Continue reading...

Trump coronavirus coordinator, Deborah Birx, takes job at air purifier business

Posted on by

Birx, who was criticised for not standing up to Trump over Covid, takes job with Texas company that says its purifiers clean virus from the air

Dr Deborah Birx, the former Trump White House coronavirus taskforce coordinator, is taking a private sector job, joining a Texas manufacturer that says its purifiers clean Covid-19 from the air within minutes and from surfaces within hours.

Birx will join Dallas-based ActivePure as chief scientific and medical adviser, she and the company said on Friday.

Continue reading...

Former Pentagon chief blames Trump’s speech for inciting Capitol attack – live

Posted on by

It’s been a busy day in Washington ahead of Biden’s prime-time address this evening. Before we hand over the reigns to Maanvi Singh in California, here’s a look back at what happened on this unusually warm spring day in the nation’s capital.

In an astonishing piece of attempted backside-covering, former acting defense secretary under the outgoing Donald Trump, Chris Miller, tried to explain in an interview with Vice that the delay in National Guard troops deploying to the US Capitol on the afternoon of 6 January to help overwhelmed police was basically because “it’s complicated”.

Miller said: “It’s not like a video game” ie going up and down the chains of government and command to deploy troops is a complex process.

Chris Miller translator: " Hey, I had to take orders from the White House on this." https://t.co/ihRrvlvjGc

Continue reading...

Chinese entrepreneur sells pensive Donald Trump Buddha statues

Posted on by

One buyer says he bought statue of former US president on Taobao as reminder not to be ‘too Trump’

Donald Trump is not known for his calm and peaceful demeanour, but that hasn’t stopped one entrepreneurial furniture-maker in China from casting a statue of the former US president in a pose more readily associated with the Buddha.

The Trump Buddha statue, listed on the Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao, is priced at 999 Chinese yuan (£110 GBP/$150 USD) for the small version, which measures 1.6 metres tall. A larger version, listed as 4.6 metres tall, is available for 3,999 yuan (£440/$610).

Continue reading...

Trump reportedly told Republican party to stop using his name for fundraising

Posted on by

Party bodies have used former president’s name while fundraising for Republicans who voted for his impeachment

Donald Trump has told the Republican National Committee and other party bodies to stop using his name and likeness in fundraising efforts, it was reported on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Landmark US bill to ‘stop voter suppression’ passes first hurdle in House

Posted on by

Voting legislation, which also targets gerrymandering and campaign finance, needs 60 votes in Senate to become law

House Democrats have passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation over unanimous Republican opposition, advancing to the Senate what would be the largest overhaul of the US election law in at least a generation.

House Resolution 1, which touches on virtually every aspect of the electoral process, was approved 220-210. It would restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, strike down hurdles to voting and bring transparency to a murky campaign finance system that allows wealthy donors to anonymously bankroll political causes.

Continue reading...

Donald and Melania Trump quietly got Covid vaccines last month, reports say

Posted on by

Unlike other officials, the then president and first lady did not receive their shots on TV

Donald and Melania Trump received the coronavirus vaccine before leaving the White House, according to multiple news reports on Monday.

Citing unnamed advisers, the New York Times, CNN and other outlets reported that while other officials, including Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the former vice-president Mike Pence, chose to get their shots publicly to encourage confidence in the vaccines, the Trumps opted to quietly get vaccinated in January. There was no detail on which shot they received or how many doses they had been given.

Continue reading...

Trump grasps for relevance in first post-presidential speech at CPAC

Posted on by

Twice-impeached ex-president used speech at rightwing event to propagate the lie of a ‘rigged’ 2020 election and hinted at 2024 run

An embittered Donald Trump has used his first post-presidential speech to propagate the lie of a “rigged” election in 2020 and hint that he might try to beat Democrats “for a third time” in 2024.

Grasping for continued relevance, Trump returned to his political comfort zone by fearmongering about immigrants and unleashing angry tirades against Joe Biden, his Republican critics and the media.

Continue reading...

CPAC: Trump teases 2024 run and denounces Biden at rightwing summit

Posted on by

Ex-president repeats false claims that he won 2020 election and floats possible run in 2024 in speech

Donald Trump on Sunday launched his attempted political comeback, teasing a possible run for the presidency in 2024 and denouncing Joe Biden for “the most disastrous first month of any president in modern history”.

The former president made his first speech since leaving the White House at the rightwing Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, to an effusive reception.

Continue reading...

Republican predicts Trump won’t be party’s presidential nominee in 2024

Posted on by

Senator Bill Cassidy points to seats lost in House and Senate during Trump presidency and says ‘if we idolize one person, we will lose’

Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican senator, predicted on Sunday morning that Donald Trump will not be the party’s nominee for president in 2024, pointing to the number of seats lost by Republicans in the House and Senate over the four years Trump was in office.

Cassidy was asked on CNN’s State of the Union show whether he would support Trump if the former president runs for another term in 2024, or if he would support him if he did run and won the Republican nomination to challenge Joe Biden.

Continue reading...