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...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 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...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...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...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...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.
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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...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...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...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...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...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...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...Conference seeks to shore up Trump’s position as Republican standard bearer even after he lost the presidency and Congress
Donald Trump returns to the political stage on Sunday determined to show that he is still a major force in America and ready to purge his critics within the Republican party.
Continue reading...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...Artist Tommy Zegan reveals figure was constructed in country the former president has assailed and demonized
A golden statue of Donald Trump that has caused a stir at the annual US gathering of conservatives was made in Mexico – a country the former president frequently demonized.
Related: Mitch McConnell says he'd 'absolutely' support Trump as 2024 nominee
Continue reading...Analysis: decision not to penalise Saudi heir over Jamal Khashoggi shows kingdom still has influence
After two years of blanket cover from Donald Trump, a new US president has officially blamed Mohammed bin Salman for the most savage political slaying of modern times and brought the Saudi heir’s unchecked run with Washington to a humiliating halt.
Joe Biden’s confirmation that Prince Mohammed approved the butchering of Jamal Khashoggi bluntly ends the era of bromance between his predecessor and the kingdom’s de facto leader, and signals a very different relationship with a new administration.
Continue reading...Lineup at annual gathering features former president’s allies – and Trump himself – suggesting his dominance is undiminished by his election loss
Ronald Solomon spent five days making the 2,300-mile drive from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Orlando, Florida, where he will sell about 75 different hat designs, 15 types of flag, 10 T-shirt designs and a range of eight face masks.
Solomon is the president of the Maga Mall, a retailer of Donald Trump and “Make America great again” merchandise. Undeterred by the former president’s 2020 election defeat and disgrace, he expects to do brisk business when the biggest annual gathering of grassroots conservatives opens on Thursday.
Continue reading...Analysis: The US supreme court has rejected an attempt to block a subpoena from New York where the ex-president’s business affairs are under investigation
Donald Trump used to promise his supporters that they would be winning so much, they would get sick and tired of winning. But the former US president is now on a seemingly endless losing streak.
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