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As it happenedended

Trump news: President demands media outlets 'all apologise' as G7 fallout prompts Congress to step up impeachment inquiry

Follow the latest updates from the Age of Trump, as they happened

Clark Mindock
New York
,Joe Sommerlad
Thursday 29 August 2019 16:37 BST
Comments
Fox News anchor Shep Smith deconstructs Trump's rhetoric as his trade war heralds potential recession

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Donald Trump has lashed out at the press after MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell was forced to apologise for claiming Deutsche Bank's financial records on the Trump family included loan documents co-signed by Russian billionaires close to Vladimir Putin.

The president has defended his China trade war and pledged to reduce troop numbers in Afghanistan in an interview with Fox News Radio and been busy on Twitter proclaiming “the Age of Trump”, deriding New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand after she dropped out of the 2020 race and touting construction progress on his US-Mexico border wall, only for his own officials to contradict him.

During that Fox News Radio interview, Mr Trump said that he wanted to cut the troop levels in Afghanistan to 8,500, and said he would then consider next steps as more information becomes available.

Mr Trump also lashed out at the media during that call, saying that he thinks it would be "disloyal" to his supporters if he did an interview with CNN, and suggested that he has dirt on the network's president, Jeff Zucker.

With Hurricane Dorian raging towards the Florida coast after grazing Puerto Rico, Mr Trump also finds himself facing renewed scrutiny from the House Judiciary Committee - already examining the case for potential impeachment proceedings - over his offer to host the next G7 summit at his own Trump National Doral Miami resort, which they believe amounts to an abuse of his powers of office.

The hurricane is expected to hit Florida as a Category 4 storm, somewhere in the middle of the state's eastern side.

In response, Floridians are clearing off shelves in stores, and lining up to fill their tanks with petrol.

The storm might hit the Floridian coast as early as Sunday.

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James Comey has responded after the Department of Justice determined not to pursue charges against him, after an investigation determined that he had not leaked classified information to the media.

Mr Comey had, in fact, leaked information that included details on ongoing investigations, which were then shared with the media.

"DOJ IG ‘found no evidence that Comey or his attorneys released any of the classified information contained in any of the memos to members of the media.’ I don’t need a public apology from those who defamed me, but a quick message with a ‘sorry we lied about you’ would be nice," Mr Comey tweeted after the DOJ announced its decision.

Clark Mindock29 August 2019 19:45

The September debate lineup has been certified by the Democratic National Committee — and iwll be held on just one night, instead of two.

The candidates that have qualified:

  • Joe Biden
  • Bernie Sanders
  • Elizabeth Warren
  • Kamala Harris
  • Pete Buttigieg
  • Cory Booker
  • Andrew Yang
  • Beto O'Rourke
  • Amy Klobuchar
  • Julián Castro
Clark Mindock29 August 2019 20:00

In the ongoing battle to get Donald Trump's tax returns, the state of New York has filed a motion to try and compel the dismissal of the president's lawsuit over a law that could make the revelation possible.

"President Trump has spent his career hiding behind lawsuits, and this one is no different," New York attorney general Letitia James said in a statement accompanying the motion. "The president’s latest complaint is irrelevant, unreasonable, and factually inaccurate, which is why we believe this case deserves to be dismissed or otherwise moved to a New York court."

Clark Mindock29 August 2019 20:15

Mr Trump is not letting James Comey off the hook easily:

Clark Mindock29 August 2019 20:30

General James Mattis has spoken up about his decision to leave the Trump administration, in a new interview with The Atlantic.

Mr Mattis said that he had "no choice but to leave", but was reportedly reluctant to go into great detail about that departure.

"That's why the letter is in the book. I want people to understand why I couldn't stay. I've been informed by four decades of experience, and I just couldn't connect the dots anymore," Mr Mattis said during an interview with that magazine.

Clark Mindock29 August 2019 20:45

On the 2020 campaign trail, Bernie Sanders has offered up praise for China during a recent interview with Hill.TV.

Mr Sanders said that he believes the US could cultivate a positive relationship with the country, which he described as having made "more progress in addressing extreme poverty than any country in the history of civilisation."

Mr Sanders painted a nuanced view of the country, by criticising its move towards authoritarianism, while still recognising that some of the progress made by the country in terms of poverty have been positive.

"China is a country that is moving unfortunately in a more authoritarian way in a number of directions,” Mr Sanders said. "But what we have to say about China in fairness to China and it’s leadership is if I’m not mistaken they have made more progress in addressing extreme poverty than any country in the history of civilization, so they’ve done a lot of things for their people.”

Clark Mindock29 August 2019 21:00

Colorado voters will get a chance to decide on a measure in 2020 that would give the state's electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, instead of the winner of the vote in their state.

The measure will be put on the 2020 ballot, after proponents collected nearly 229,000 signatures to get it on there.

The effort comes as many prominent Democrats have called for the abolishment of the Electoral College, which some view as unfair.

Clark Mindock29 August 2019 21:15

Take a look at our report on news that Donald Trump wants to block $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine:

Clark Mindock29 August 2019 21:30

For anyone keeping track, or looking for a conspiracy theory to latch onto: Donald Trump has not been seen in public for over 72 hours.

Clark Mindock29 August 2019 21:45

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