Trump news: Erdogan says Turkey will 'not forget president's disrespectful letter' as White House backtracks over Ukraine revelation
Catch-up on events as they 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 is said to be “not happy” after his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, appeared to confirm the US had withheld military aid to Ukraine for political purposes, acknowledging the quid pro quo Democrats pursuing the president’s impeachment have sought to prove.
The close of the week brought a new round of fresh controversies enveloping Mr Trump’s White House, from his acting chief of staff’s comments during a press briefing on Thursday, to the violence in Syria after his decision to withdraw troops from the region.
Mr Trump was quick to hail the ceasefire his vice president Mike Pence agreed with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara over the Syria crisis. The president said on Twitter it was a “great day for civilisation” shortly after Turkey agreed to a 120-hour ceasefire that provided the country with many of its demands made prior to the deadly violence that shook northeastern Syria.
But his DC rivals denounced the measure as a “sham” as the fighting continued between the Turkish military and the Syrian Democratic Forces.
The ceasefire did not hold for long as reports indicated shelling had taken place on Friday shortly after Mr Pence announced the agreement.
At his latest rally in Dallas, Texas, the president compared the Turks and Kurds to brawling children while saying, “Sometimes you have to let them fight”.
He also branded House speaker Nancy Pelosi “nuts” after their recent spat at the White House.
As he spoke in Texas, he was being brutally ridiculed by his own former defence secretary Jim Mattis at a white tie dinner in New York.
“I earned my spurs on the battlefield ... Donald Trump earned his spurs in a letter from a doctor,” Mr Mattis joked.
Mr Trump avoided military service during the draft in the Vietnam War when he was provided with a letter from a doctor claiming he had bone spurs. The president has never revealed in which leg he claimed to have suffered the bones, or whether they somehow went away.
Mr Mattis also harped on mocking comments the president made about him saying he was “not just an overrated general, I am the greatest, the world’s most overrated.”
“I’m honored to be considered that by Donald Trump, because he also called Meryl Streep an overrated actress,” he added. “So, I guess I’m the Meryl Streep of generals. Frankly that sounds pretty good to me.”
Follow live updates
Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Whoopi Goldberg, now co-host of ABC's The View, has told Trump to "grow a pair" over Syria.
The star of The Colour Purple, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Ghost and Sister Act said on Thursday:
Here’s the thing that’s really p***ing me off. You made a decision to pull these troops out, and now you’re pretending you didn’t do it.
For me, if you are going to sit in that office, grow a pair, because you did this, you started this. You pulled these folks out. You’re the one trying to say the Kurds are not good - they fought beside us.
When did you decide they weren’t altogether right for us to be working with? When did this all happen? Last week. So grow a pair, man. You brought this on yourself.
Here's the full discussion, also featuring Meghan McCain, daughter of Trump's late foe senator John McCain of Arizona.
This might be why Trump is so desperate to stage the G7 at his Miami resort.
"We have reached the bottom," says one former White House ethics chief.
The reviews are in for Mulvaney's performance yesterday and they are not pleasant to behold.
A Republican source has offered CNN the inside track on that explosive White House face-off on Wednesday.
For Indy Voices, Robert Fisk argues Trump has frittered away the American empire.
Also for Voices, Jay Caruso laments the latest humiliations inflicted on a nation by its wayward president.
And one more. Nylah Burton remembers the late, great Maryland congressman Elijah Cummings, who passed away yesterday, and says we fail him by framing him solely as an adversary of Trump.
Here's Trump making a characteristically eccentric, all caps start to the day. "The USA!"
He's now retweeting The New York Times's fashion director covering his Louis Vuitton vist from yesterday.
Turkey's president has said that Trump's recent letter broke with "diplomatic and political courtesy."
Borzou Daragahi has more.
Sure enough, the Senate lost its latest bid to rollback Trump's national emergency declaration at the southern border on Thursday.
A vote on a resolution to overturn a presidential veto passed 53-36 despite anger at Trump making the move on 15 February in order to get his border wall built using $3.6bn (£2.8bn) in funds clawed away from Pentagon construction projects.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments