Trump’s newest Mar-a-Lago dinner visitor raises eyebrows as Mexico president clarifies border name: Live
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Donald Trump welcomed Mark Zuckerberg to Mar-a-Lago just months after the president-elect threatened to throw the Meta chief in prison if he attempted to interfere in the election.
Stephen Miller, who was tapped to serve as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, confirmed the meeting to Fox News after the pair dined together at the West Palm Beach, Florida, resort on Wednesday.
Miller said that Zuckerberg wants to be a participant in “change that we’re seeing all around America,” before adding that the Silicon Valley stalwart “understands that President Trump is an agent of change”. A Meta spokesperson told Politico that Zuckerberg was “grateful” for the invitation.
It comes as Trump claims to have had a “wonderful” conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a day after she published a scathing open letter to him about migration, fentanyl trafficking and tariffs.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Sheinbaum agreed to “stop migration through Mexico,” which would “effectively” close the southern border.
The Mexican president offered an alternate perspective of the call, later writing on X: “We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”
Canada ‘already discussing’ retaliatory tariffs in wake of Trump threats
Canada is already looking at retaliatory tariffs just days after Trump announced new levies on Canadian and Mexican imports, a government source said.
The president-elect announced that he plans to introduce a 25 percent tariff on “all products” entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10 percent tariff on China, prompting fears he has set the stage for a bitter global trade war ahead of his inauguration on January 20, 2025.
Now, Canada is said to have started thinking about what imports from the U.S. to target with tariffs in retaliation, a government official told the Associated Press on Wednesday evening.
Trump’s tariff plans come as he looks to tackle fentanyl smuggling into the U.S. across the northern and southern borders, even though seizures from the Canadian border pale in comparison to the Mexican border.
Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries.
ICYMI: Five GOP senators who could thwart Trump’s agenda and nominees
President-elect Donald Trump has nearly completed his nominations for Cabinet and key government roles in his next administration — but the battle is hardly over.
His nominees will now need to be confirmed by the Senate, which Republicans control with a 53-seat majority and he could face his own bloc of opposition within his party.
Eric Garcia takes a look at the the five Republican senators who could be a roadblock to Trump’s agenda.
Dr Oz spends Thanksgiving floggings herbal remedies – from company he invests in
Donald Trump’s pick as administrator to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr Mehmet Oz has used Thanksgiving as a springboard to plug herbal remedies from iHerb, a company he invests in.
“Thanksgiving is a perfect excuse for practicing gratitude — which also happens to be a proven way to reduce stress,” he wrote on X on Wednesday.
“You can also reduce stress with adaptogens like ashwagandha from a trusted source like @iHerb. Happy Thanksgiving!”
The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate botanical dietary supplements, and the agency doesn’t approve dietary supplements to treat, prevent, diagnose, or cure medical conditions.
Johnson to host Musk, Ramaswamy as DOGE duo head to Capitol next week
RFK Jr likened scientists to Nazis and child vaccination to abuse in Catholic Church: report
Vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr compared medical institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to a “Nazi death camp” in resurfaced footage from autism conferences for parents.
Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services also compared vaccinating children to “sex abuse in the Catholic church” during remarks at the events.
The comments resurfaced in footage, first reported by NBC News, of RFK Jr speaking at a series of conferences put on by the group AutismOne, which has adopted the slogan “Make our Children Healthy Again.”
Rhian Lubin has the full story.
All of Trump’s most recent picks for second administration
Ukraine peace envoy – Keith Kellogg
On Wednesday, Trump selected retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, who served as national security adviser under former Vice President Mike Pence, as special envoy to Russia and Ukraine.
US trade representative – Jamie Grier
Jamieson Greer, the protégé of the first Trump Administration trade chief Robert Lighthizer, was nominated to be the president-elect’s US trade representative on Tuesday.
National Institutes of Health director –Jay Bhattacharya
On Tuesday, Trump nominated Dr Jay Bhattacharya, currently a professor of health policy at Stanford University to lead the National Institutes of Health to oversee its $47 billion in funding.
Deputy secretary of Health and Human Services – Jim O’Neill
Trump has nominated Robert F Kennedy Jr’s HHS underling: Jim O’Neill. The investor and close associate of billionaire Peter Thiel, alongside RFK JR, will “will fight in unison to ensure every American,” the president-elect said on Tuesday.
National Economic Council director – Kevin Hassett
On Tuesday, Trump has come one step closer to rounding out this economic team as he tapped Kevin Hassett to lead the National Economic Council.
Domestic Policy Council chief – Vince Haley
Trump has picked his campaign speechwriter Vince Haley to lead his Domestic Policy Council on Tuesday.
Navy secretary – John Phelan
Businessman and Republican megadonor John Phelan has been nominated to head up the Navy on Tuesday – despite his lack of military experience.
Trump claims Mexico’s new president promised to ‘stop migration’ in ‘excellent’ phone call
President-elect Donald Trump claims to have had a “productive” conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo a day after she published a scathing open letter to him about migration, fentanyl trafficking and tariffs.
“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.”
Trump continued: “We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, US consumption of these drugs. It was very productive.”
Michelle Del Ray has more.
Awkward moment Trump asks Musk a baffling question at SpaceX launch
Kai Trump captured an awkward moment between her grandfather Donald Trump and Space X boss Elon Musk during his SpaceX rocket launch earlier this month.
The 17-year-old political scion accompanied the president-elect and Musk to watch the Starship rocket launch in Brownsville, Texas, on November 19.
Kai, who was filming her behind-the-scenes vlog for X and YouTube, captured the moment that Musk informed Trump that the booster wouldn’t be able to return to the launch site after the mission director called off the catch four minutes into the launch.
James Liddell details the exchange below.
Pete Hegseth says ‘he will not be intimidated’ after bomb threat against him, wife and seven kids
Sheinbaum responds to Trump immigration claims: ‘Mexico’s position is not to close borders’
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum appeared to deny Donald Trump’s claims that southern border was “effectively” closed.
Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday following a “wonderful” conversation with Sheinbaum a day after she published a scathing open letter to him about migration, fentanyl trafficking and tariffs.
“She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border,” Trump said in the post.
In a second Truth Social post, he added: “Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately.”
Sheinbaum took to X about an hour after Trump’s post to share her own recollection of the phone call.
“In our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights,” according to a Google translation of Sheinbaum from Spanish.
“Thanks to this, migrants and caravans are assisted before they reach the border. We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”
Source: independent.co.uk
