Trump news: Impeachment support swells as president forced into rare apology after hurling abuse at overweight supporter
Follow the latest updates from Washington, as it happened
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 has apologised to a supporter he fat-shamed at his latest 2020 campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Thursday night, after mistaking the MAGA fan for a protester and telling him to “go home and start exercising”.
On a typically wild evening, the president inspired new chants of “Lock her up!” and “Send her back!”, directed at Hillary Clinton and Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar respectively, took credit for an Obama-era law, pledged to cure AIDS and praised state representative Al Baldasaro, who once called for Mrs Clinton to be shot.
Mr Trump has meanwhile expressed an interest in buying Greenland, the world’s largest island, according to The Wall Street Journal, prompting Denmark to tell him: “We are open for business, but we’re NOT for sale.”
The president's desire to buy Greenland has sparked considerable ridicule for Mr Trump, and one presidential candidate — Montana governor Steve Bullock — even went so far as to buy the website "IsGreenlandForSale.com", and is using it to fundraise his long-shot campaign.
Mr Trump was slated to hold a meeting with his top foreign policy officials on Friday, where they were to discuss a potential peace agreement with the Taliban.
That deal, if it is managed, could allow the US to officially end its presence in Afghanistan after nearly 18 years of conflict.
Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Rashida Tlaib has tweeted about the emotional toll Israel's decision - since revoked - to bar her from the West Bank took on her family. The Michigan congresswoman will now be allowed to visit her 90-year-old grandmother.
Ye gods. The man Trump mocked for being overweight was not a protester after all but one of his own supporters.
More from former Republican congressman Joe Walsh on the thinking behind his New York Times editorial attacking Trump.
Trump is up and retweeting lavish praise across multiple tweets from his own lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, not unlike Milhouse Van Houten insisting: "But my mom says I'm cool!"
Rashida Tlaib is now saying she won't go to Israel after all.
Here's the latest.
Right-wing pundit Joe Walsh has been calling for a Republican to rise up and challenge Trump for the future of the party. Is ex-South Carolina governor Mark Sanford the man?
Peter Baker of The NYT says Trump has been fretting about the state of the US economy in private, despite his bluster on Twitter, in conversation with reporters and on stage in New Hampshire last night.
Lawyers for former White House communications director Hope Hicks have said their client stands by her testimony before the House Judiciary Committee after chairman Jerrold Nadler demanded she clarify her remarks about not knowing anything about the "hush money" payments Trump's ex-attorney Michael Cohen paid to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
“She had no knowledge of, and was not involved in any conversation about, ‘hush money’ payments to Stormy Daniels during the campaign,” Hicks’s attorneys Robert Trout and Gloria Solomon wrote in a letter to Nadler.
“The information she provided to the Committee was truthful to the best of her knowledge and recollection,” they wrote.
Court filings in the case against Cohen released in July had led some to cast doubt on the validity of Hicks's statements. Nadler said at the time there were "inconsistencies" between her testimony and the filings unsealed in New York.
According to the documents, Hicks participated in a phone call with Trump and Cohen over the matter, whereas Hicks told the committee in June that she was never "present" when the president discussed Daniels with Cohen and had no direct knowledge of payments made.
Presidential hopeful Andrew Yang putting the Greenland story in perspective.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments