Trump delivers first rally-style speech since election win as he threatens to retake Panama Canal: Live
The president-elect addressed a Phoenix crowd on Sunday
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump gave his first rally-style speech since his election victory in Phoenix on Sunday.
At the event — AmericaFest 2024 — he discussed immigration, defended some of his most controversial cabinet picks, and laid out his plans for when he takes office on January 20, which he referred to as “liberation day.”
Trump also repeated his threats of retaking the Panama Canal.
“We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else,” he said.
On Truth Social Saturday, Trump accused Panama of charging American vessels “exorbitant prices” to use the vital waterway that acts as a shortcut linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S.,” Trump vented.
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question,” he stridently added, referring to a 1977 treaty.
The 78-year-old Republican also echoed his plans to impose tariffs against the European Union, Canada and Mexico. He said he wouldn’t let the E.U. turn the U.S. into a “dumping ground.”
Elon Musk lashes out as he gets first taste of political failure when spending deal voted down
Network of lawyers and advocates being built to support those targeted by vengeful Trump
Americans view both Musk and Trump equally favorably, says new poll
ICE’s $230m budget shortfall might delay Trump’s mass deportation plans
Trump taps Stephen Miran to chair his Council of Economic Advisers
The president-elect announced on Truth Social on Sunday that Stephen Miran would serve as the chair of his Council of Economic Advisers.
Miran was a senior advisor for economic policy at the Treasury Department during Trump’s first term. He is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
“I am pleased to announce that I will nominate Stephen Miran to be the Chairman of my Council of Economic Advisers. Steve will work with the rest of my Economic Team to deliver a Great Economic Boom that lifts up all Americans. Steve was a Senior Advisor for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department during my First Term, and received his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. Congratulations Steve!”
Miran responded to the announcement, posting a statement on X: “I am beyond honored that President Trump has chosen me to lead his Council of Economic Advisers. I look forward to working to help implement the President’s policy agenda to create a booming, noninflationary economy that brings prosperity to all Americans!”
Trump’s incoming ‘border czar' delivers a speech
Tom Homan began by saying bluntly: “If I offend anyone today, I don’t care.”
He called Trump’s re-election the “best day of his life.”
The incoming border czar slammed the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis and promised to secure the border.
He told the crowd: “If you enter this country in violation of federal law, you’re going home and Tom Homan is going to make sure that happens.”
Homan also addressed the elected officials who have said they plan to thwart Trump’s proposed mass deportations and remain “sanctuary cities.”
He said: “Shame on any elected representative...who don’t want to remove safety threats from their community.”
Ted Cruz takes the stage
The Texas Senator gave a wide-ranging, energized speech about what he believes the next administration will bring.
“Donald J Trump is truly an extraordinary leader. Has there ever been anyone in American history who gets shot in the head and stands up and says ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’?” Cruz asked the Arizona crowd.
Cruz touched on the incoming administration’s immigration policies: “If you are an illegal alien, if you’re a murderer, if you’re a rapist...pack your bags because you’re out!” He also promised that Americans will see illegal immigration numbers “plummet” in January and February.
We will enforce the law “especially against universities in this country,” the Texas Senator said, referencing pro-Palestine demonstrations that cropped up in colleges in the fall.
Cruz predicted the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East will soon come to an end, saying Putin and Hamas will lose.
Justice Thomas failed to disclose two additional luxury trips, Congressional report reveals
Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose two trips — which hadn’t been publicly reported — paid for by a billionaire Republican donor, a new Congressional report reveals.
In the wake of ProPublica’s explosive 2023 report into Thomas’ failures to disclose his ties to wealthy donor Harlan Crow, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a 20-month investigation into the ethics challenges at the Supreme Court.
The report — spanning 97 pages plus 824 pages of supporting documents — was released Saturday, detailing two additional trips paid for by Crow that Thomas hadn’t previously disclosed. More broadly, the report also captured an array of conflicts of interest and undisclosed gifts by justices, prompting the panel to recommend the nation’s highest court establish an enforceable code of conduct.
Catch up here.
Justice Clarence Thomas did not disclose 2 luxury trips funded by billionaire patron
All of the gifts Justice Thomas has accepted from a Republican donor are valued at $4.75 million, according to a new report
Donald Trump is set to appear in Phoenix for his first rally-style speech since his election victory
Actor Rob Schneider, former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and Sen. Ted Cruz will speak to the crowd before Donald Trump headlines AmericaFest 2024 on Sunday.
Schneider opened with a speech that included addressing Democrats as to why he believed “you lost” the presidential election.
Among wide-ranging comments about Democrats’ policies, the comedian delivered one particularly harsh line: “You lost because flying Haitians into Ohio in the middle of the night just to increase your voting base is kind of a shady thing to do. Now I have no problem with legal immigration. I’m just not sure Haiti is sending us their best cat-eating rapist cannibals.”
The line was met with mixed reactions, prompting Schneider to apologize: “Sorry. That was too much even for me.”
The offensive claim comes months after Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance amplified unsubstantiated allegations that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating pets. Local officials and police swiftly debunked those claims and Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine even wrote an op-ed in the New York Times about the dangers of spreading such harmful rhetoric.
Trump taps a producer behind his hit TV show to serve as his special envoy to the UK
Donald Trump has named the producer behind The Apprentice as his special envoy to the UK.
The president-elect said Mark Burnett would bring “a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition” to the role.
British producer Mr Burnett helped build Mr Trump’s profile but distanced himself from the tycoon during the 2016 presidential contest.
Announcing the envoy role, Mr Trump said: “It is my great honor to appoint Mark Burnett as the special envoy to the United Kingdom.
Read the full story.
Donald Trump picks Apprentice producer to be special envoy to UK
US president-elect Donald Trump said Mark Burnett ‘will work to enhance diplomatic relations’
ICYMI: Congress Narrowly Averts Government Shutdown — And Rejects Trump’s Debt Ceiling Commands
Some Republicans are calling on Elon Musk to be the next House Speaker
Republicans are calling for Elon Musk to be the new speaker of the House amid contentious negotiations over a spending deal to avoid a government shutdown.
“The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . . Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk,” Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky wrote on X on Thursday. “Think about it . . . nothing’s impossible (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds).”
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia also piped in on X: “DOGE can only truly be accomplished by reigning in Congress to enact real government efficiency. The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday. This could be the way.”
Josh Marcus has the full story.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rand Paul back Elon Musk as House speaker
Republicans line up behind Musk as Democrats hammer GOP for unelected ‘President Musk’
Trump threatens to retake Panama Canal in Truth Social post
President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to retake the Panama Canal in a lengthy post on Truth Social.
Trump accused Panama of “ripping off” American vessels by charging “exorbitant prices” to use the vital waterway that acts as a shortcut linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Without it, ships would be forced to sail a much farther distance around South America’s rocky Cape Horn.
Trump was referring to the 1977 treaty over the canal’s status, which transferred control of the canal from the U.S. to Panama at the end of the 20th century.
Read more
Trump threatens to retake Panama Canal in Truth Social post
Trump accused Panama of charging American vessels ‘exorbitant prices’ to use the vital waterway
Team Trump slaps back at claims Elon Musk is running the show
President-elect Donald Trump’s team has snapped back at claims that Elon Musk is running the show after the billionaire played a significant role in tanking a spending bill that would have averted a government shutdown.
Musk helped topple House Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposed bipartisan congressional spending bill by slamming it early Wednesday, which was followed later by a joint statement from Trump and JD Vance warning Republicans not to support it.
“Stop the steal of your tax dollars!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X that he threatened funded primary challenges against anyone who voted for the budget deal, a threat Trump later echoed in a post of his own.
The optics that Musk is pulling the strings have prompted Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, to hit back about who is really in charge.
Read more
Team Trump slaps back at claims Elon Musk is running the show
Democrats have mocked the tech billionaire’s big-foot influence with the incoming administration
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments