Trump news - President returns to golf course as coronavirus deaths near 100,000, and administration in talks to conduct nuclear test
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has returned to the golf course after an almost three month hiatus from the game. The death toll from the coronavirus in the US is nearing 100,000 people and unemployment has topped 38 million.
Meanwhile the administration is in talks to conduct the first US nuclear test since 1992 to demonstrate to Moscow and Beijing the ability to rapid test.
Former attorney general Jeff Sessions has hit back at the president for endorsing his Senate rival, saying that the senator is picked by the people of Alabama, not by the president's personal feelings.
The president plans to attend next week's launch of SpaceX's first crewed mission for Nasa that will take two astronauts to the International Space Station.
Follow live updates below
Welcome to today's live blog of the latest from Trump Land
We'll keep you posted of the day's developments out of the Trump administration, including the latest on the coronavirus pandemic response.
The president has no officials engagements scheduled for today, so has plenty of time for tweeting.
This morning he started with a clip from Fox News.
No one likes the words 'Trump' and 'nuclear' in a headline, but here we are...
The Washington Post reports a senior official as saying that demonstrating to Moscow and Beijing that the US could conduct a rapid nuclear test could prove useful from a negotiating standpoint as Washington seeks a trilateral deal to regulate the arsenals of the biggest nuclear powers.
Trump is back on the golf course
The president is playing golf for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, as the US death toll nears 100,000.
'Your personal feelings don't dictate who Alabama picks as their senator, the people of Alabama do'
Jeff Sessions, the former attorney general forced out by Donald Trump, has taken to Twitter to plead with his onetime boss to stop endorsing his electoral rival.
The 73-year-old resigned his long-held Senate seat in Alabama to take the attorney general job in 2017, but after he was made to resign a year later he is now running to regain the seat.
More from Tim Wyatt below.
Trump to attend SpaceX launch
The White has confirmed that the president will attend the 27 May launch in Florida of two astronauts on a SpaceX mission, the AFP reports. It will be the first crewed space flight from the US in nine years.
"Our destiny, beyond the Earth, is not only a matter of national identity, but a matter of national security," Trump said in a statement.
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are scheduled to blast off from Kennedy Space Centre at 4.33pm on Wednesday for the International Space Station, arriving the next day.
The mission is seen as a crucial step towards ending American dependence on Russian rockets.
NASA astronauts Robert Behnken, left, and Doug Hurley pose for a photo after they arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday (AP Photo/John Raoux)
A conversation with Erdogan
Before setting out onto the golf course in Virginia, the president did make time for a call with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Per the Pool Report:
Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. President Trump and President Erdogan discussed progress on reopening and boosting global economies in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The two leaders also discussed critical regional and bilateral issues. President Trump reiterated concern over worsening foreign interference in Libya and the need for rapid de-escalation. President Trump and President Erdogan reaffirmed the urgent need for a political resolution to the conflict in Syria, as well as unimpeded humanitarian access throughout the country.
More on next week's SpaceX launch
Kenneth Chang reports on what may be a new era in spaceflight, as Nasa begins to rely on private companies to launch astronauts.
‘I don’t give a damn how big they are’: Joe Biden says Amazon must start paying more tax
Tough talk from former vice president Biden as he takes a more aggressive stance on the amount of tax retail giant Amazon pays. The comments are seen as another gesture to the more populist wing of the Democratic Party.
Andrew Buncombe reports.
Trump returns to the White House
White House pool reports filed this afternoon say that the president’s motorcade pulled out of Trump National golf club at 2.02pm, about 3.5 hours after arrival.
There were a handful of protesters outside the golf club as the president left. One held a sign that read: "Trump makes me sick".
Trump arrived back at the White House at 2.41pm and was briefly glimpsed entering the residence before a travel/photo lid was called.
The motorcade for President Donald Trump arrives at Trump National Golf Club, Saturday, 23 May, 2020, in Sterling, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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