Trudeau all smiles as he dines with Trump at Mar-a-Lago amid tariff threats to Canada: Live updates
Trump has threatened Canada and Mexico with 25 percent tariffs, despite deep economic ties, which have alarmed Canadian officials
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Your support makes all the difference.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reportedly dined with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence, just days after the President-elect threatened Canada, among other major trading partners, with sweeping and substantial tariffs.
Neither Trump nor Trudeau publicly announced the meeting, but the Canadian official was seen exiting a hotel in the area on Friday. He reportedly traveled to Florida alongside Canadian public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc.
Earlier this week, Trump threatened Canada and Mexico with 25 percent tariffs, in what the Republican said was an attempt to crack down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling. The proposal, which would likely cause massive economic disruption, alarmed officials in Canada.
Tariffs aren’t the only form of international influence Trump is pursuing before inauguration day. Senator Lindsey Graham, a close adviser, said on Friday that Trump hopes a ceasefire deal can be reached over the Israel-Hamas war before he takes office.
“Trump is more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a ceasefire that includes a hostage deal,” Graham told Axios. “He wants to see it happening now.
“I want people in Israel and in the region to know that Trump is focused on the hostages issue. He wants the killing to stop and the fighting to end.”
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Trump wants to seal Israel-Gaza ceasefire before he takes office, key Senate ally says
Trump must not dodge FBI checks on cabinet picks, say two former Senate counsels
Trudeau makes Friday night visit to Mar-a-Lago to meet Trump after threat of tariffs against Canada
Biden family attend Nantucket Christmas tree lighting ceremony
After lunch and some shopping President Joe Biden and his family attended the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Nantucket.
The president was joined by the first lady, Jill Biden, their daughter Ashley, and son Hunter, with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and their son Beau.
A representative of the local chamber of commerce thanked the Bidens for making Nantucket part of their holiday tradition for decades, drawing applause.
Bill Maher and Stephen A Smith explain why Trump won over Black voters
Bill Maher and Stephen A. Smith have revealed why Donald Trump increased his support with Black voters this presidential election cycle.
In a wide-ranging conversation for Maher’s podcast, Club Random Podcast, the two media personalities dissected how the president-elect’s language impacts voters of color.
Ariana Baio reports.
Bill Maher and Stephen A Smith explain why Trump won over Black voters
Trump obtained more support from young Black men this election than he did in 2020
Rhode Island senator latest lawmaker to receive bomb threat
Axios reports that Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is the latest lawmaker to be targeted by a bomb threat.
His office said the senator “received a similar bomb threat to the ones made against other Democrats on Thanksgiving.”
Full story: These local sheriffs are already preparing to help Trump carry out his mass deportation plans
Donald Trump’s plan to immediately carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history upon taking office is banking on a key ally: conservative sheriffs.
There are some 6,000 federal immigration agents in the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), but the incoming administration is counting on sympathetic local law enforcement to be its eyes and ears in communities and jails across the country.
While police chiefs are appointed, sheriffs are often elected and exercise broad powers, including running county jail systems. Many right-leaning sheriffs, whose own partisan politics align with the new administration’s, are eager to join forces.
Josh Marcus reports.
Local sheriffs are preparing to help Trump carry out his mass deportation plans
Local sheriffs could help ICE find and detain migrants, raising alarms from civil rights advocates
Biden greeted warmly in Nantucket and comments on bomb threats to lawmakers
Joe Biden and his family exited Nantucket Bookworks at 3:33 p.m. The president was carrying the book, The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi, according to a photo taken by a member of the pool.
Jill Biden and Baby Beau were both carrying what looked like bookstore-branded tote bags over their shoulders.
Shortly before leaving, Hunter hugged someone inside the store.
Outside the bookstore, a reporter asked the president from across the street for any reaction to the reported bomb threats against lawmakers and swatting against Trump cabinet nominees. He responded: “We're working that hard, the FBI.”
The Bidens received a warm reception from pedestrians, with some cheering. They briefly stopped at the Samuel Owen Gallery and the home goods store Centre Pointe
He and his family then continued to walk down Broad Street as pedestrians cheered and called out to him. He stopped in front of Jared Coffin House to briefly interact with some of those people. The pool was too far away to hear anything.
Someone yelled to the president, “Joe! We love you!” He gave a thumbs up and said, “Thank you.”
He confirmed to a reporter that he expected to speak with Donald Trump again during the transition period. The family then stopped in at the leather goods shop Craftmasters of Nantucket.
MTG shares the definition of ‘Trumpsgiving’ — guess how the internet reacted?
Social media is roasting right-wing Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for sharing a “Trumpsgiving” meme on X.
Greene, known for her staunch support of Donald Trump and for promoting right-wing conspiracy theories, shared the definition of “Trumpsgiving,” on Thursday.
Katie Hawkinson reports.
MTG shares the definition of ‘Trumpsgiving’ — and is immediately roasted for it
‘Try being normal for just one day,’ one X user smirked
What happened to Trump’s border wall?
...and no, Mexico didn’t pay for it.
Josh Marcus writes:
Donald Trump doesn’t really talk about the border wall anymore.
After making the wall the central part of his 2016 campaign, shutting down the government for weeks in an unsuccessful bid to secure its funding, and spending billions to build it anyway, the president-elect’s immigration politics have shifted to an even more aggressive place this time around.
Instead of a wall, paid for by Mexico, Trump now wants a “bloody” mass deportation operation immediately removing millions of people, including by potentially reviving family separation.
But the federal border wall, spanning more than 450 miles across four states, remains. It continues to deeply impact the people, environment, and politics of the border and beyond.
And it’s an idea that’s spreading. During the eight years of Trump and Biden, Republican states began building their own separate border walls, too.
Continue reading...
What happened to Trump’s border wall? (Mexico didn’t pay for it)
The wall is no longer Trump’s central idea, and it never really slowed migration, but it continues to put lives at risk, cost billions, and harm the environment. And with Trump returning to office, the border wall may take center stage once again, Josh Marcus reports.
Trump signed the law to require presidential ethics pledges. Now he is exempting himself from it
A bipartisan bill to boost transparency and make sure incoming presidents stick to an ethics plan was so uncontroversial that it passed the Senate by a voice vote in 2020. Donald Trump then signed it into law.
But now, after blowing past deadlines to adhere to the law after winning the White House a second time, Trump appears to have excluded himself from those same ethical guidelines.
Alex Woodward has the details.
Trump exempts himself from ethics pledge as watchdogs sound alarms
Trump appears to have excluded himself from following the same guidelines he signed into law four years ago
Just one Black person nominated to Trump cabinet
Donald Trump owes his electoral victory to his campaign’s gains among Latino and Black voters. But the nominees for his historic second presidency largely reflect the overwhelmingly white makeup of Washington power.
Alex Woodward reports.
Trump has nominated only one Black American to his cabinet
Trump’s first administration was the least racially diverse in decades. More than 80 percent of his latest nominees are white
Bidens enjoy lunch and shopping on vacation in Nantucket
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden had lunch with their family at the Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant in Nantucket on Friday.
Afterward, they walked to Nantucket Bookworks next door, waving but not answering shouted questions from the press.
Hunter Biden, Baby Beau, Ashley Biden, and Melissa Cohen Biden all entered the bookstore just before the president and Mrs Biden.
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