Category Archives: Donald Trump

Trump cuts short Nato summit after fellow leaders’ hot-mic video

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US president cancels press conference after video captured group of leaders apparently ridiculing him

A furious Donald Trump cut short his attendance at the Nato summit in London after a group of leaders, including Boris Johnson, was caught on video ridiculing the US president at Buckingham Palace for staging lengthy press conferences.

The notoriously thin-skinned Trump cancelled a planned press conference and branded the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, “two-faced” after he was revealed on video leading the laughter at Trump’s expense together with other US allies.

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How does Nato look at the age of 70? It’s complicated

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Squabbling, a spreading focus and Trump raise doubts about the effectiveness of the alliance

Seventy years after Nato was founded to protect western Europe from Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union, the military alliance returned this week to its first home in London to discuss an increasingly sprawling set of goals while bickering leaders competed to see who could offer the most contentious soundbite.

Normally this is an arena that would be dominated by Donald Trump, although this time he was somewhat upstaged by Emmanuel Macron, whose pre-summit declaration that the organisation had become “brain dead” obliged Trump to describe his French counterpart’s comments as “very, very nasty”.

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Princess Anne, Johnson, Trudeau and Macron appear to joke about Trump at Nato summit – video

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Boris Johnson, Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron appear to be joking about Donald Trump at the opening of this week’s Nato summit in London along with other world leaders. In the video, Johnson asks Macron: 'Is that why you were late'  before Trudeau interjects: 'He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top.'

Trump is never mentioned by name in the video, which was widely shared on social media, but the exchange could relate to the US president, who is known for his long, rambling press conferences 

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Emmanuel Macron defends calling Nato ‘brain dead’ – video

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The French president has defended calling Nato 'brain dead' during the opening day of the alliance’s summit in London, after he was reproached  by Donald Trump, who said the comment was 'insulting'. Macron’s original condemnation of Nato’s 'brain death' stemmed from his anger at the lack of Turkish cooperation with the rest of Nato over its decision to invade Syria

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Stakes rise for Republicans as Trump impeachment inquiry enters new phase

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President’s allies expected to launch procedural objections during judiciary committee hearings

As round two of public impeachment hearings was set to begin on Wednesday, Republicans were expected to resort to procedural objections and high-temperature harangues in an effort to protect Donald Trump.

With the party-line 13-9 approval on Tuesday night by the House intelligence committee of a 300-page report by congressional Democrats describing how Trump abused the power of his office for personal and political gain, the impeachment inquiry has now moved into the hands of the judiciary committee, the last stop in the process before lawmakers would vote on impeaching Trump.

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Trump’s misconduct a textbook case of impeachable offenses, experts say in hearing

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Republicans’ witness offered opposing view, saying that the impeachment process was being rushed

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Impeachment experts testified before the House judiciary committee on Wednesday that Donald Trump’s misconduct offered a textbook case of impeachable offenses as prescribed by the constitution and applied over the course of US history.

Related: What's next for the Trump impeachment inquiry?

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Making the case for impeaching Trump: a look back at the key testimony – video

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Donald Trump "abused the power of his office for personal and political gain, at the expense of [US] national security", congressional Democrats have alleged in a report laying out damning conclusions after two weeks of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry. Here's a look back at some of the key testimony heard by the House Intelligence Committee that led to this point

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Adam Schiff accuses Trump of acting as if he is ‘above the law’ over Ukraine – video

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Adam Schiff, the Democratic chair of the House intelligence committee, has suggested Donald Trump undermined American national security and betrayed his oath of office, as Democrats announced the release of the report laying out the impeachment case against the president. Accusing Trump of using the powers of his office to solicit foreign interference in the 2020 election, Schiff said: 'This is the result of a president who believes he is ... beyond any form of accountability and indeed above the law' 

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Photos contradict Trump’s claim not to know Prince Andrew

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US president’s statement easily disproved as prince faces pressure to give evidence in US

Donald Trump has falsely claimed not to know the Duke of York as pressure rises on the latter to submit to questioning in America over his links to the sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein.

The US president was asked during an event at the US ambassador’s residence in London on Tuesday about the Queen’s son having stepped down from royal duties after his disastrous BBC interview about the allegations. “I don’t know Prince Andrew, but that’s a tough story, it’s a very tough story,” he answered.

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Trump abused presidency for own gain, Democrats’ impeachment report concludes

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  • Democrats vote to adopt the report, moving the inquiry forward
  • They say evidence shows president improperly pressured Ukraine to influence 2020 election
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The US House intelligence committee voted on Tuesday evening to adopt Democrats’ damning 300-page impeachment report, moving the inquiry into Donald Trump into its next phase.

Trump “abused the power of his office for personal and political gain, at the expense of [US] national security”, congressional Democrats concluded in the report released on Tuesday, which laid out incriminating conclusions after two weeks of public hearings.

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Macron clashes with both Erdoğan and Trump at Nato summit

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French president is rebuked by Trump over Nato criticism after row with Turkey about Kurds

Nato disunity was on full display on the opening day of the alliance’s summit in London as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, accused Turkey of colluding with Islamic State proxies while Donald Trump described Macron’s criticisms of Nato’s “brain death” as insulting and “very, very nasty”.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for his part threatened again to veto Nato’s defence plan for the Baltics unless Nato endorsed its own assessment that Syrian Kurdish fighters on Turkey’s borders were terrorists, a definition that Macron and the Pentagon rejected.

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North Korea says choice of ‘Christmas gift’ is up to US amid missile tensions

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  • Pyongyang had given US till end of year to change position
  • ‘Dialogue touted by US … is a foolish trick’ linked to 2020 vote
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North Korea yesterday issued a thinly veiled warning it could resume long-distance missile tests in the next few weeks if the US does not change its negotiating position on the regime’s nuclear disarmament, saying “it is entirely up to the US what Christmas gift it will select to get”.

Related: North Korea's Kim Jong-un opens new city and 'socialist utopia' of Samjiyon

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Democrats expected to release Trump impeachment report – live news

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Report will convey argument that Trump abused power of the presidency by trying to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden and the 2016 election

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Tom Steyer’s campaign said the billionaire activist has qualified for the December Democratic debate, making him the seventh presidential candidate to meet both the polling and donor requirements to participate.

“After terrific performances in the last two debates and a tremendous amount of earned media over the last month, Tom continues his surge in the early state polls which has led to an increased amount of donors over the last few weeks,” his campaign manager, Heather Hargreaves, said in a statement.

Good morning, live blog readers!

Donald Trump is at the Nato summit in London striking fear into stockbrokers’ hearts and insulting world leaders (as we’ve come to expect), but the impeachment inquiry is continuing unabated as the president is abroad.

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Trump blasts Macron over ‘brain dead’ Nato remarks

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US president calls French leader’s comments ‘nasty’ and says Paris could leave alliance

Donald Trump has lashed out at Emmanuel Macron on the first morning of a two-day Nato meeting, saying the French president’s description of Nato as brain dead was insulting and a “very, very nasty statement”.

At a news conference alongside the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, the US president also accused Macron of trying to break away from Nato, as well as running a failing economy – while discarding the fact he himself has described Nato as obsolete on previous occasions.

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Trump denies interest in NHS even if it was handed to US ‘on a silver platter’ – video

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Donald Trump has said he would not be interested in putting Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) on the table during trade talks with the UK even if it was ‘handed on a silver platter’.

Trump, who is in London for a Nato summit, said: ‘We have absolutely nothing to do with [the NHS], and we wouldn’t want to. If you handed it to us on a silver platter, we’d want nothing to do with it’

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Trump re-election could sound death knell for Nato, allies fear

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The US president’s ambivalence or even hostility towards the alliance will hover over the 70th anniversary meeting in the UK

Donald Trump arrived in the UK to meet Nato allies who are fearful that he could pose a serious threat to the survival of the alliance if he wins re-election next year.

Days before Wednesday’s leaders’ meeting just outside London to mark Nato’s 70th anniversary, the US announced it was cutting its contribution to joint Nato projects.

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Republicans release 123-page impeachment report defending Trump – as it happened

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Wrapping up our live coverage for tonight. The president is now in London for the Nato summit as the House intelligence committee prepares to review its report on the impeachment inquiry. Among today’s many impeachment-adjacent developments:

Trump’s Attorney General, William Barr, has told associates he disagrees with the Justice Department’s inspector general on a central finding of a forthcoming report — that the FBI had enough information in the summer of 2016 to justify launching an investigation into members of the Trump campaign, the Washington Post reports.

The report from Justice Department’s inspector general Michael Horowitz is expected to be made public in a week.

Political appointee of the president refuses to accept conclusion from independent watchdog that doesn't serve president's political needs:https://t.co/EeVCxKVQbl

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Republicans issue 123-page defense of Trump ahead of Democrats’ impeachment report

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Pre-emptive strike offers blueprint for GOP senators to acquit president, claiming a plot by Democrats

Donald Trump’s actions towards Ukraine were “entirely prudent” and involved “no quid pro quo, bribery, extortion, or abuse of power”, according to a draft Republican report on last month’s impeachment inquiry hearings.

Designed as a pre-emptive strike on an imminent report from the Democratic majority, the GOP document underlines how evidence presented at the hearings failed to shatter Republicans’ united front.

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Melania Trump suspects Roger Stone behind nude photo leak, new book claims

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In Free, Melania, obtained by the Guardian, Kate Bennett also reports that president and first lady sleep in separate rooms

Melania Trump suspects Roger Stone, a longtime ally and adviser to Donald Trump, of being behind the release of nude photos from her modelling past, a new book claims.

Related: Trump's 'demeaning fake orgasm' made me speak out – ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page

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