Trump claims Mexico president has vowed to ‘stop migration’ in ‘wonderful’ cellphone name amid tariff threats: Live
The Trump-Vance transition team says that several of the president-elect’s nominees and appointees have been victims of bomb threats and swatting incidents.
In a statement, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said: “With President Trump as our example, dangerous acts of intimidation and violence will not deter us.”
Meanwhile, Donald Trump said he spoke with the president of Mexico on Wednesday, who he said promised to stop migration through the country. The announcement came after the Republican threatened to tariff trade with the U.S. partner over complaints about immigration and drugs.
The president-elect also named a string of nominations for his incoming administration opting for loyalty over experience, including some critical of agencies they are supposed to lead.
On Tuesday, Trump picked Jamieson Greer as US trade representative, Jim O’Neill as deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, Jay Bhattacharya as National Institutes of Health director, Kevin Hassett as National Economic Council director, Vince Haley as Domestic Policy Council chief and John Phelan as Navy secretary.
Bhattacharya, a Covid-19 lockdown skeptic, called for reduced powers of the 27 institutes and centers that constitute the NIH. Phelan, a businessman and Republican megadonor, has no military experience.
ANALYSIS: Trump escaped the consequences of his alleged crimes. Now his allies are after the prosecutors who brought the charges
The criminally convicted president-elect believes his election and the end of his federal cases exonerated him. Will his administration be able to stop the retribution he promised? Alex Woodward reports
ICYMI: Trump team claims credit for Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire – hours after Biden announced it
The Biden administration reportedly briefed the president-elect’s national security team to inform them of the agreement and the commitments made, but Trump officials were not directly involved in the negotiations, according to a senior Biden administration official.
The deal, which marks a major breakthrough in the devastating conflict that has gripped the Middle East, was actually brokered by Biden who called it a “historic” moment for the world.
Rhian Lubin reports.
Democrat flips Republican House seat in California
Despite their thumping in the 2024 election, the Democrats got at least one spot of good news heading into a new season in Washington.
Derek Tran eked out a win over Republican incumbent Michelle Steel to represent a district comprising parts of Los Angeles and Orange County.
Trump invents the drug PSA
Donald Trump is vowing to pursue a public information campaign warning Americans about the dangers of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that has drive drug abuse and overdoses across the country.
“I will be working on a large scale United States Advertising Campaign, explaining how bad Fentanyl is for people to use – Millions of lives being so needlessly destroyed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. “By the time the Campaign is over, everyone will know how really bad the horror of this Drug is.”
Stopping the opioid crisis was among the key priorities of the first Trump administration.
Trump claims ‘wonderful’ call with Mexican president amid tariff threat
Donald Trump claimed on Thursday he had a “wonderful” conversation with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, after tensions between the two countries ratcheted up as Trump threatened to tariff Mexican goods to stop the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S.
“Just had a wonderful conversation with the new President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border. We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, U.S. consumption of these drugs. It was a very productive conversation!”
“Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately,” he added in another post. “THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA. Thank you!!!”
Mexico already conducts immigration enforcement at its own borders, so it’s unclear what new steps Trump is referring to here.
Here’s more info on the tariff threat that kicked off the whole exchange.
Trump team reportedly gearing up to invade Mexico
Donald Trump and his team are reportedly debating “how much” to invade Mexico once he takes office, a new report claims.
“How much should we invade Mexico?” a senior Trump transition member told Rolling Stone. “That is the question.”
This “soft invasion” would involve American special forces assassinating cartel leaders in Mexico, another source close to the president-elect told Rolling Stone.
Katie Hawkinson reports.
Why Elon Musk wants in on the battle between Alex Jones and The Onion
On Monday, attorneys for X — which Musk owns — filed a narrow objection to the sale of InfoWars that would prevent the satirical news outlet from taking ownership of Jones’s accounts on the social media platform.
X’s terms of service “make clear that it owns the X Accounts” and that X “merely grants its users a non-exclusive license to use their accounts,” attorneys for the company wrote in a federal bankruptcy court filing in Texas.
“X Corp. is compelled to file this Objection to make clear that X Corp. does not consent to the sale or any other transfer of the non-assignable X Accounts, which in turn, means the X Accounts cannot be sold or transferred at this time,” attorneys argued.
Alex Woodward reports.
Democrats on the Hill react to Trump’s proposed tariffs
Democrats reacted with consternation to Donald Trump’s vow to impose massive tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, saying that the president-elect has failed to grasp the potential consequences of his promises and is heading into a “real horror show.”
Mike Bedigan reports.
Kash Patel ‘in battle’ to be CIA No. 2 – no Senate confirmation needed
Patel and Sims are both going head-to-head for the No. 2 position at the CIA, Politico reports. The CIA’s deputy director wields immense influence over the intelligence community but does not have to be confirmed by the Senate, unlike cabinet members.
Katie Hawkinson and Rhian Lubin report.
Source: independent.co.uk