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As it happenedended

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

Clark Mindock
New York
,Joe Sommerlad
Friday 16 August 2019 16:26 BST
Comments
Donald Trump fat shaming person at rally

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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.

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Trump has apologised to Frank Dawson - the local man he fat-shamed in Manchester last night, believing him to be a protester - by leaving the retired naval officer a voicemail message.

Here's Clark Mindock's story.

Joe Sommerlad16 August 2019 16:25

Trump is reportedly meeting with Mikes Pompeo and Pence today to discuss the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

Joe Sommerlad16 August 2019 16:40

Speaking of Pence, he has been tweeting about his travel plans for September, which includes a visit to London.

After that he's off to Ireland to meet the locals and trace his roots.

It's not exactly gone done well.

Joe Sommerlad16 August 2019 16:55

For Indy Voices, here's Tasmiha Khan on why no politician in living memory has been as badly treated as Minnesota Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

Joe Sommerlad16 August 2019 17:10
Clark Mindock16 August 2019 17:42

If you missed this bizarre claim from Mr Trump yesterday, it is worth taking another look:

Clark Mindock16 August 2019 18:00

After news broke yesterday that Donald Trump has been asking around about the prospect of buying Greenland, presidential candidate Steve Bullock — the governor of Montana — apparently saw an opening.

Mr Bullock's campaign bought the website IsGreenlandForSale.com, and is fundraising off of anyone who clicks through.

"No." is the answer provided on the page, before it urges folks to donate to Mr Bullocks' campaign. The presidential candidate needs more donations — and higher polls — to qualify for the next round of debates.

Clark Mindock16 August 2019 18:15

Ilhan Omar has tweeted about what she hoped to see on her trip to Israel, in a pretty damning thread accusing the country of human rights abuses — and suggesting that US monetary aid to Israel should be reconsidered if the country does not agree to end its occupation of Palestinian lands.

Take a look:

Clark Mindock16 August 2019 18:43

Mr Trump is set to meet with his national security team today, to discuss a pending peace agreement with the Taliban as he seeks to withdraw the United States from that very long war.

The meeting has been reported in multiple news outlets, and will reportedly include secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It will be held at Mr Trump's Bedminster resort.

John Bolton, Defense secretary Mark Esper, and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman general Joseph Dunford are also expected.

Clark Mindock16 August 2019 19:00

We are a long ways out from the 2020 election yet, but some interesting information is coming out that might give us a clue as to how the Trump campaign is feeling about things.

According to the Texas Tribune, Mr Trump has spent nearly $500,000 on Facebook ads in Texas so far this year, leading to questions about whether they are worried about a competitive race in the reliably red state.

Clark Mindock16 August 2019 19:15

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