Category Archives: US Politics

When is Trump’s RNC speech? How to watch and what’s at stake

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The former president will speak from the Republican national convention in Milwaukee on Thursday night

The biggest event of the Republican convention kicks off Thursday night, with Donald Trump’s address to thousands of party loyalists in attendance.

Trump appeared at the opening night of the Republican national convention on Monday, when he was greeted with thunderous applause, marking his first public appearance since surviving an assassination attempt at his campaign rally. Earlier in the day, Trump announced JD Vance, the Ohio senator and once vocal critic of Trump, as his running mate.

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In Dearborn, home of largest Arab American community, despair and apathy dominate

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The Michigan city’s residents ask ‘where is the humanity?’ as war in Gaza rages on. Some won’t vote this fall in protest

Abu Bilal sits quietly on a stool in Oriental Fashion, a clothing store he owns on Dearborn’s Warren Avenue, listening to the radio. It’s hard to ascertain whether his tone when talking about the war in Gaza is one of near-complete defeatism or seething anger.

“Ninety people were killed today; hundreds were injured,” he says, referencing an Israeli airstrike that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians in Khan Younis on Saturday.

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Chip stocks fall further after Trump’s remarks on Taiwan defence

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Semiconductor and related tech shares hit hard by former US president’s calls for Taipei to pay for US protection

The stocks of some of the world’s largest chipmakers have fallen further after comments by Donald Trump that Taiwan, which is central to the global industry, should pay for its own defences against China.

Shares in semiconductor and related tech companies had already plunged on Wednesday after the former president’s comments, as well as a report that suggested Joe Biden’s administration was considering the strictest controls on the trade of chips to China.

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Trump expected to call for national unity in first speech since assassination attempt

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Strategists view Republican convention address as time to ‘pivot’ ex-president’s image, while critics remain skeptical

With political winds at his back, Donald Trump on Thursday is expected to use his first speech since surviving an assassination attempt to plead for national unity.

Strategists view the Republican national convention address, likely to be watched by tens of millions of Americans on primetime television, as a unique opportunity to redefine the former US president as more palatable to moderate voters.

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Biden hasn’t done enough to ease age concerns, former top Obama adviser says – live

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David Axelrod, former top Obama adviser, says the question of whether Biden can survive is ‘entirely in his hands’

Today’s theme at the Republican national convention will be “Make America Strong Once Again,” and many of the speeches are expected to focus on foreign policy.

“Each one of these has a theme, like last night was ‘bend the knee and grovel’ apparently,” Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, said at a Democratic press conference in Milwaukee. “And today is ‘celebrate Russia day,’ I guess.”

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Democrats’ rift widens as Nancy Pelosi reportedly joins calls for Biden to quit

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Tensions amid party members rise as Biden tests positive for Covid and will be in self-isolation in Delaware

Pressure for Joe Biden to step aside as the Democrats’ presidential pick to face Donald Trump had eased since the Republican survived an assassination attempt last weekend, but began to rise again on Wednesday.

The tension rose as Biden was diagnosed with Covid and cancelled events to self-isolate at his home in Delaware.

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Adam Schiff says Biden should ‘pass the torch’ and bow out of 2024 US election

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California Democrat and US Senate candidate calls on Joe Biden to end his campaign, stating he has ‘serious concerns’

Adam Schiff, the high-profile California Democrat and US Senate candidate, on Wednesday called on Joe Biden to end his presidential campaign, stating he had “serious concerns” about the president’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles-area congressman joined almost 20 other congressional Democrats in asking the president to step aside. Biden “has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history”, Schiff said, but it was time “to pass the torch”.

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Nikki Haley says Donald Trump ‘has my strong endorsement’ as she is greeted by boos and cheers at Republican convention – live

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Former rival for Republican presidential nomination takes to stage in Milwaukee to formally endorse Trump

In addition to getting Donald Trump back in the White House, Republicans really want to retake the majority in the US Senate in the November elections, and have dedicated much of the convention tonight thus far to promoting their candidates for crucial seats.

In addition to Kari Lake, who is vying for Arizona’s open senate seat, the convention has heard from Eric Hovde, the party’s candidate to beat incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin. Here’s what Hovde told the crowd:

Tammy Baldwin called the Biden administration the most successful in generations. Can you believe that one? I mean, seriously, this shows how detached she is from everyday Wisconsinites. It doesn’t have to be this way. Under President Trump, family budgets were more secure, our border was secure, our world was secure. Where Biden and Baldwin have failed, President Trump and I will get the job done.

I love America, and I’ve lived the American dream. I married my best friend, raised a family, built successful businesses and created thousands of jobs for hard-working Americans. But the American dream that I lived is under attack from Joe Biden and his enablers in the Senate like Sherrod Brown.

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Republican convention speakers ramp up anti-Democratic rhetoric despite campaign promise of unity

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Kari Lake attacks media as ‘fake news’ as Elise Stefanik calls Biden ‘feckless and failed’ and says he’s caused ‘chaos’

Speakers at the Republican national convention ramped up their rhetorical attacks on Democrats on Tuesday night despite Donald Trump’s presidential campaign signalling that the party would adopt a serious tone and message of unity in the face of political violence.

Kari Lake, a Trump ally and Republican candidate for senate in Arizona, used her speech time to launch an attack on the media, which she called “fake news”, and said more Americans were no longer tuning in to mainstream media.

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Biden housing plan seeks to curb rent increases by penalizing landlords

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President to unveil rent control plan for larger landlords that would restrict increases to 5%, or risk losing tax breaks

President Joe Biden wants to curb rent increases by penalizing landlords who hike rents beyond 5% each year, but he needs the help of Congress to put the plan into action.

The Biden administration will announce the idea in Nevada on Tuesday along with a host of other housing-related policies, including an influx of funds to add more housing in Nevada and elsewhere and a plan to use public federal lands for affordable housing near Las Vegas.

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Donald Trump names Ohio senator JD Vance as vice-presidential running mate

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The former ‘never Trumper’ once called the ex-president a ‘terrible candidate’ and asked if he was ‘America’s Hitler’

Donald Trump has named JD Vance, the Ohio senator who has aligned himself with the populist right, as his running mate at the Republican national convention on Monday.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” wrote Trump on Truth Social.

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Who is JD Vance, Trump’s vice-presidential pick?

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Once an outspoken Trump critic, the senator believes the former US president is the ‘best president’ of his ‘lifetime’

Donald Trump has selected JD Vance, the junior senator of Ohio and author of the bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy, as his running mate in the presidential race.

The announcement, made on Monday during the first day of the Republican national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, marked the culmination of Vance’s stunning political evolution over the past several years.

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Trump picks JD Vance as his running mate – live

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Donald Trump has announced that Ohio senator JD Vance will be his running mate

President Joe Biden has postponed a planned trip to Texas today, where he was to speak on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act at the Lyndon B Johnson presidential library.

An NBC News interview between Biden and anchor Lester Holt will now occur at the White House, instead of in Texas, as initially planned, Associated Press reports.

There is no place in America for this kind of violence or for any violence for that matter.

An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation. Everything. It’s not who we are as a nation. It’s not America, and we cannot allow this to happen.

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Judge who dismissed Trump criminal case is ‘future supreme court justice’, Gaetz says

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Far-right Florida congressman is asked by critic: ‘Are you admitting to a quid pro quo?'’

The far-right Florida Republican Matt Gaetz has hailed Aileen Cannon – the judge who dismissed the classified documents case against Donald Trump – as a “future supreme court justice”.

“Future supreme court justice Cannon,” Gaetz posted Monday to social media, with a picture of the Florida jurist.

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Trump rally shooting: Biden says ‘there is no place in America for this kind of violence’; attendee who was killed is identified – latest updates

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Suspect, named as Thomas Matthew Crooks, also killed in shooting at Pennsylvania rally; former first lady echoes husband’s call for unity

Before Saturday’s attempt on Donald Trump’s life, there have been multiple assassinations of US presidents.

Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated, shot by John Wilkes Booth on 14 April 1865, as he and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, attended a special performance of the comedy Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, the AP writes.

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Trump to keep schedule for Republican convention after rally shooting

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Next public appearance is tentatively set for Tuesday at the convention but sources caution that could still change

Donald Trump huddled with his senior advisers at his Bedminster club in New Jersey a day after surviving what federal investigators called an assassination attempt, preparing for the Republican national convention, which kicks off on Monday.

Trump was keeping the same schedule as originally planned, according to sources familiar with the situation. His next public appearance is tentatively set for Tuesday at the convention though the sources cautioned that could change.

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Biden says he spoke with Trump after rally shooting: ‘No place in America for this kind of violence’

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US president decries assassination attempt and urges Americans to unite during White House press conference

Joe Biden said that that there was “no place in America” for the sort of political violence that saw a gunman open fire on Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania and plunge America’s already fractious election campaign into new levels of fears over political unrest.

“There is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation,” Biden said. “Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that right now. Unity. We’ll debate and disagree, that’s not going to change, but we’re not going to lose sight of who we are as Americans.”

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Donald Trump’s would-be assassin was a ‘monster’, Melania Trump says

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Former first lady thanks law enforcement for protecting her husband, as Trump’s children issue statements

Melania Trump has condemned the man who authorities say tried to assassinate her husband, Donald, on Saturday as “a monster”.

The former first lady’s comments came in a statement on Sunday which, like others from the former president’s family members, expressed support for law enforcement in their response to Saturday’s shooting at Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The shooting killed one spectator and wounded two before Secret Service agents shot the attacker dead.

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Trump rally shooting live: FBI names ‘subject involved’ in assassination attempt

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Thomas Matthew Crooks, aged 20, named by the agency as person involved in the shooting at campaign event in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor Josh Shapiro rejected political violence in a statement posted on X following the apparent shooting of Donald Trump at a rally in his state today:

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung tells me in a statement that the former president is being assessed at a local medial facility:

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What we know about the shooting at a Donald Trump rally

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Suspected shooter and one rally attendee dead, says Butler county district attorney – here’s what else we know about the situation

A shooting occurred at a Donald Trump rally on Saturday, followed by the former president being rushed off the stage with blood around his ear. Here’s what we know about the situation so far.

Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when loud noises were heard in the crowd around 6.13pm.

Trump appeared to have been struck by something in the area of his right ear as he was speaking, and videos show him quickly clutching his ear and then ducking down to the ground, as security agents and others leap to his aid.

One spectator was killed and at least two were injured.

Trump stood up with blood on the side of his face and appeared to be saying “fight, fight” while pumping his fist.

Trump was then quickly escorted from the stage and into his vehicle.

The rally location is now an active crime scene. The FBI has taken over the investigation.

Trump’s team and the Secret Service confirmed that he was “fine” and being checked at a local medical facility.

Trump later posted a statement on Truth Social, saying he was hit by a “bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear”.

The Butler county district attorney confirmed that the suspected shooter and one rally attendee were dead. One person at the rally was in serious condition. The Secret Service later said two people were critically injured.

The shooting is being investigated as an attempted assassination.

The FBI later named Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, PA as the “subject involved” in the shooting.

The Secret Service shared more details on the shooter’s position and confirmed that the shooter was killed by the Secret Service. ABC News reported that law enforcement officials the suspect was perched on a rooftop and used an AR-style rifle.

The president, Joe Biden, said “everybody must condemn political violence” in a speech shortly after the shooting. The White House later said the president and Trump had spoken. Biden is traveling back to the White House. Trump is in New Jersey.

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