Trump tariffs stay updates: President says he’s ‘flexible’ on tariffs — however received’t change his thoughts over digital duties

Justin Baragona writes:

While the president seemed to relish in bashing one of his favorite media targets in front of the populist right-wing El Salvadoran leader, Collins’ questions led to both Bukele and the White House refusing to commit to the safe return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland who was sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECO prison complex last month.

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In a letter to administration officials on Monday, lawyers for the university said the list of demands the government sent in early April “go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration” and refused to agree to the terms.

Trump administration officials had demanded Harvard end all diversity, equity and inclusion policies, crack down on student protesters, limit the power of students and faculty over school leaders, cooperate with federal law enforcement like the Department of Homeland Security and more.

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Last week, Democratic members of Congress began pressing for answers as to whether the president, his family, administration officials and allies had improperly traded after Trump declared “this is a great time to buy” following chaos in the market after his sweeping tariffs went into effect.

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DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin compared Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, to Osama Bin Laden during an appearance on Fox News.

“The media would love for you to believe that this is a media darling, that he’s just a Maryland father,” she said. “Well, Osama bin Laden was also a father, and yet he wasn’t a good guy, and they’re actually both terrorists.”

A long sliver of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border that President Donald Trump is turning over to the Department of Defense would be controlled by the Army as part of a base, which could allow troops to detain any trespassers, including migrants, U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

The transfer of that border zone to military control — and making it part of an Army installation — is an attempt by the Trump administration to get around a federal law that prohibits U.S. troops from being used in domestic law enforcement on American soil.

But if the troops are providing security for land that is part of an Army base, they can perform that function. However, at least one presidential powers expert said the move is likely to be challenged in the courts.

The officials said the issue is still under review in the Pentagon, but even as any legal review goes on, the administration’s intent is to have troops detain migrants at the border.

Sam Kiley writes:

For a showman given to overarching high-wire performances in every theatre at home and abroad, Donald Trump’s recent criticisms of Russia have been distinctly mumbled – showing he doesn’t have the courage of his lack of conviction.

“I was told they made a mistake,” he said.

One can only guess whether he made this claim after talking with Vladimir Putin’s officials. It seems more likely that he came up with the line to avoid further global condemnation of Russia for another war crime.

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Vance later tweeted jokingly: “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy, so I decided to break it.”

Justin Baragona writes:

Three years after a federal judge and jury ruled that the New York Times didn’t defame Sarah Palin, the former GOP vice-presidential nominee is going to get another crack at the Grey Lady as jury selection is set to begin Monday in a retrial of her defamation lawsuit.

While the facts of Palin’s case — which centers on a 2017 Times editorial that wrongly suggested a political ad of hers inspired a mass shooting — haven’t changed, the media and political landscape since she lost her initial suit has completely shifted.

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Josh Marcus writes:

The Trump administration’s landmark antitrust trial against Meta begins on Monday, as federal regulators accuse the social media giant of using its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp to illegally suppress competition.

If the Federal Trade Commission, which brought the suit in 2020, gets it way, Meta could have to spin the popular apps into their own companies, the first major corporate break-up of the Big Tech era and one of the most aggressive anti-trust cases in decades.

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