Donald Trump has claimed the US strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Suleimani was 'retaliation'. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the US president called Suleimani 'a monster' and said 'he was planning a very big attack and a very bad attack for us and other people and we stopped him'. Senior US officials have previously said the strike was meant to prevent an 'imminent' attack on Americans, but have refused to provide further details on the threat
Continue reading...Category Archives: Donald Trump
Why is Pelosi waiting to send Trump articles of impeachment to the Senate?
Speculation and political parlor-gaming about Nancy Pelosi’s strategy have filled the informational vacuum
What is Nancy Pelosi thinking?
Related: Trump ex-adviser Michael Flynn should face up to six months in prison, say prosecutors – live
Continue reading...Pelosi delays sending articles of impeachment against Trump – live
House to convene for the first time of the new year and a first true signal of when speaker might advance impeachment issue
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Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell reportedly plans to advance a set of rules for the looming impeachment trial without Democratic support.
Politico reports:
McConnell is on the verge of having sufficient backing in his 53-member caucus to pass a blueprint for the trial that leaves the question of seeking witnesses and documents until after opening arguments are made, according to multiple senators. That framework would mirror the contours of President Bill Clinton’s trial and ignore Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s demands for witnesses and new evidence.
No final decision has been made, but in a brief interview, McConnell said he would address the possibility of spurning Democrats on Tuesday afternoon.
Appearing at the US Capitol for the first time in 2020, House speaker Nancy Pelosi deflected reporters’ repeated questions about when she might transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
Entering the Capitol for the first time in 2020, @SpeakerPelosi is still mum on when she’ll send articles of impeachment to the Senate —> pic.twitter.com/8WlaSiCwvg
Continue reading...Confusion over letter from US military signaling withdrawal of troops from Iraq – as it happened
Mark Esper says memo on US troops’ ‘onward movement’ from Iraq is not accurate and ‘there’s been no decision’
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Kari Paul here, logging off for the night. Here are today’s top events to make note of:
Pete Buttigieg is heading back to Iowa on Jan. 12 to do more campaigning ahead of the upcoming caucus there, his team announced on Monday.
According to the announcement, Buttigieg has now visited Iowa 21 times, with visits to 49 counties to hold 100 events across the state.
Continue reading...Trump and the media: will 2020 be different? – podcast
Ed Pilkington hears from some of the most influential journalists in the US on how hard lessons were learned after their coverage of the 2016 election. But will 2020 really be any different? Plus: Carol Anderson on voter suppression and the US election
Donald Trump’s election victory in 2016 came as a major shock to most news organisations in the US, which had all but anointed Hillary Clinton as the next president. But Trump’s ability to garner attention and break rules and norms had resulted in billions of dollars’ worth of free coverage, which he combined with an ability to wriggle out of serious scrutiny.
All this left a major challenge for how newsrooms across the US should cover his presidency, and how they should now cover his attempt to be re-elected. The Guardian US chief reporter, Ed Pilkington, has been working in partnership with the Columbia Journalism Review and spoken to 30 leading editors, reporters, TV executives and media commentators, asking for their reflections at the start of a year of election coverage. In this podcast, we hear from the Washington Post’s Margaret Sullivan, Univision’s Jorge Ramos, Teen Vogue’s Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Frank Bruni of the New York Times.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson: Qassem Suleimani was threat to all our interests
Prime minister has spoken to Donald Trump about US drone strike on Iranian general
Boris Johnson has said that assassinated Iranian general Qassem Suleimani was “a threat to all our interests”, and that while “we will not lament his death” he called for de-escalation from all sides.
The prime minister spoke to the US president, Donald Trump, on Sunday after the US drone strike on Iran’s top military leader on Friday.
Continue reading...Diplomacy over Iran is still possible – if only to avoid an all-out war
Tehran has vowed revenge for the killing of Qassem Suleimani but conflict is not yet certain
The threats emanating from Twitter feeds and podiums in Tehran and Washington might suggest the moment for diplomacy has long passed, and some form of war between the US and Iran following the assassination of Qassem Suleimani is now inevitable.
The only consideration that might hold the two sides back is the possible consequences. Tehran has tasted the unpredictability of Donald Trump and however much the desire for revenge beats in the hearts of Iranians, European leaders are pleading with Tehran’s leadership, saying it has a responsibility to use its head and recognise any direct attack on US assets in the Middle East is likely to be met with a further escalation by Trump.
Continue reading...Impeachment: Warren accuses Trump of ‘wag the dog’ strike on Suleimani
- Democratic presidential candidate says US on ‘edge of war’
- Anti-Isis coalition suspended as Iraqi MPs vote to expel US
Elizabeth Warren has suggested Donald Trump ordered the drone assassination of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani to distract the American public from his own impeachment, taking the country “to the edge of war” for his own political purposes.
Related: Making of a martyr: how Qassem Suleimani was hunted down
Continue reading...‘Death to America’: grief and fury as thousands mourn death of Qassem Suleimani – video report
Thousands have gathered across Iran and Iraq to mourn the death of Iran's top general, Qassem Suleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad. Mourners chanted 'death to America' and burned US flags as Iranian authorities vowed vengeance for Suleimani's death
- Qassem Suleimani: tears mix with vows of vengeance at Iranian general's funeral
- Qassem Suleimani: 'Death to America' chants at Baghdad funeral procession
Trump campaigns with patriotism after airstrike – but election is still far off
Killing of Suleimani will help Trump among his supporters, but it could hurt him at the ballot box after promises of ‘America first’
“We have God on our side.” They have long been some of the most chilling words in the English language. Perhaps never more so than when uttered by Donald Trump in a re-election campaign.
The president made the claim at an Evangelicals for Trump rally at a megachurch in Miami on Friday night, a day after taking America to the brink of war with the killing in Baghdad of Qassem Suleimani, Iran’s top general and potential future leader.
Continue reading...‘He was sent to us’: at church rally, evangelicals worship God and Trump
Friday’s rally recognized Trump’s need to retain the loyalty of the evangelical voting bloc that propelled him to victory in 2016
They came to pray with their president, though in truth many came just to worship him. Donald Trump’s Friday launch of his so-called “coalition of evangelicals”, an attempt to shore up the support of the religious right ahead of November’s election, had the feel of any other campaign rally, except this time with gospel music.
An estimated 7,000 “supporters of faith” packed the King Jesus international ministry megachurch in Miami to hear the word of the president, and decided that it was good. The Maga hat-wearing faithful cheered Trump’s comments on issues calculated to resonate with his churchgoing audience, including abortion, freedoms of speech and religion, and what he claimed was a “crusade” from Democrats against religious tolerance.
Continue reading...Donald Trump says US will take ‘whatever action is necessary’ against Iran – video
Donald Trump said the USA was prepared to take 'whatever action is necessary' if Iran targeted US citizens in response to the killing of its top general, Qassam Suleimani. Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said Suleimani was responsible for 'acts of terror' that had destabilised the Middle East, but said that he was not seeking regime change in Iran
Continue reading...Former Fox News reporter says Trump invited her to his office ‘so we can kiss’
Courtney Friel claims in her upcoming book that the proposition was made during a phone call before he became president
A former Fox News reporter has added her name to the list of nearly two dozen women who have accused Donald Trump of making unwanted sexual advances towards them. In a book published next week, the Fox & Friends fill-in host Courtney Friel claims Trump propositioned her before he became US president.
“You should come up to my office sometime, so we can kiss,” Friel says Trump told her, adding that he considered her “the hottest one at Fox News”.
Continue reading...Iran crisis: Republicans hail death of ‘master terrorist’ as Democrats question Trump strategy – live
World reacts to news of US drone strike ordered by Donald Trump on Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad
- Analysis: death threatens to open grisly new chapter in Middle East
- A visual guide to the US airstrike that killed Qassem Suleimani
- US citizens in Iraq: tell us about your situation
Defense officials told the AP that nearly 3,000 more troops from the 82nd Airborne Division would be deployed to the Middle East amid fears of reprisals against the US for the killing of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani.
The AP reports:
The United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump, defense officials said Friday.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not yet announced by the Pentagon, said the troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They are in addition to about 700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne who deployed to Kuwait earlier this week after the storming of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad by Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters.
The commander of the Quds force, which was previously run by the late general Qassem Suleimani, advised Iranians to “be patient” following the US drone strike and witness the deaths of Americans across the Middle East.
Breaking News: @AJABreaking News alert: Al Quds Force Commander Ismail Qaani: we say be patient, soon you will witness the bodies of Americans in all of the Middle East https://t.co/88y3cgW5XV
Continue reading...Trump’s order to kill Iran’s top general is his biggest gamble yet
The president delivered a truck load of red meat to his base – but has he considered what follows the immediate sugar rush?
The only predictable thing about Donald Trump is his unpredictability. Two days into the month of an impeachment trial and an election year, he gave the kaleidoscope a mighty shake with arguably the most consequential decision of his presidency.
Related: Iran crisis: McConnell lauds death of 'master terrorist' as Democrats question Trump strategy – live
Continue reading...Reprisals against US to come at time and place of Iran’s choosing
The threat to America and its allies is greatest in the Middle East, but Tehran has ample options when it comes to taking revenge
Iran has spent decades preparing for a moment like this, developing methods and networks around the world that give Tehran the widest possible choice when it comes to taking revenge.
Related: Iran crisis: Trump says Suleimani 'should have been taken out years ago' – live updates
Continue reading...Japan’s warship deployment could push a pacifist country into conflict | Jeff Kingston
Prime minister Shinzo Abe is trying to keep Donald Trump on side, but the Japanese people are watching with worry
Since the end of the second world war and the enactment of its pacifist constitution, Japan has deployed its forces overseas mostly on peacekeeping operations under UN auspices – and almost never to places where its troops are in harm’s way. But next month, the country will send a naval destroyer to the Middle East. On what is being described as an intelligence-gathering mission, the warship will patrol the Gulf of Oman, the northern part of the Arabian sea and a portion of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, following a series of attacks on oil tankers in the region – including one that was Japanese-operated.
In 2015, Abe passed unpopular legislation allowing Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defence
Continue reading...Qassem Suleimani’s death threatens to open grisly new chapter in Middle East
Killing of powerful Iranian general will have far-reaching consequences for Trump
In his long military career, Qassem Suleimani left the Middle East littered with corpses. Now he has finally joined them. His death has closed one gruesome chapter in the region’s endless conflicts, only to open another, which could well prove even worse.
No one can predict how this will turn out, perhaps least of all the two leading protagonists. Nothing about Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East until now suggests that Suleimani’s assassination by drone outside Baghdad airport was part of a considered plan.
Continue reading...Footage shows aftermath of US airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani – video
The White House said Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that killed the powerful Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The attack came amid Iranian tensions with the US after thousands of Iraqis stormed the US embassy compound in Baghdad this week. The killing of Suleimani presents a dramatic escalation of an already bloody struggle between Washington and Tehran for influence across the region
- Iran general Qassem Suleimani killed in Baghdad drone strike ordered by Trump
- US citizens in Iraq: please tell us about your situation
The final sprint: will any of the Democratic candidates excite voters?
Biden is too gaffe-prone; Sanders and Warren are too far left; Buttigieg, too young. But which one is capable of beating Trump?
Democrats overwhelmingly agree that their top priority in 2020 is to remove Donald Trump from office. But which of the many Democrats running for president is best suited to the task remains a source of deep anxiety and division less than five weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
After more than a year of campaigning, the Democratic presidential primary enters the final sprint before voting begins on 3 February in Iowa in a familiar but fluid state: Joe Biden in the lead, trailed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren with Pete Buttigieg also showing signs of strength in the early states.
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