Trump news: President 'demanding tanks on DC streets for July Fourth', amid growing questions over Ivanka role
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Donald Trump is returning to Washington to plan for the Fourth of July after his four-day trip to Asia for the G20, which culminated in his historic crossing of the Demilitarised Zone between North Korea and South Korea at the invitation of dictator Kim Jong-un.
In doing so, Mr Trump became the first US president to step over the dividing line between the enemy states but his detractors have been quick to denounce the gesture as amounting to little more than a “photo opportunity” serving to legitimise a rogue nuclear power notorious for oppressing its people.
His daughter Ivanka has also been the victim of ridicule, cruelly mocked online for her unnecessary presence in Japan and Korea with the hashtag #unwantedivanka trending on Twitter. “Being someone’s daughter actually isn't a career qualification,” commented Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Speaking of Ms Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat took a trip to migrant detention centres on Monday, where she described horrid conditions for women.
During the first stop on her voyage, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said that US Customs and Border Protection officials were physically and sexually intimidating towards her, and that migrants in the facility had been told to drink water from the toilets.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez was expected to head over to the facility in Clint, Texas, where children have been held and reportedly denied soap and toothpaste.
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This was the response from The New York Times to John Bolton after the latter questioned its reporting on the Trump administration's intentions towards North Korea.
An upcoming court battle between the House Judiciary Committee and the White House over the former's subpoena issued to former Trump counsel Don McGahn is about to test the concept of "immunity" as applied to presidential advisers, reports The Hill.
The White House advised McGahn not to testify before Congress after he became a person of interest to the committee due to his frequent citations in the Mueller report, particularly in relation to instances of possible obstruction of justice involving the president.
Legal experts warn the debate could rumble on for years but ultimately have major ramifications for government.
“This long-standing principle is firmly rooted in the Constitution’s separation of powers and protects the core functions of the presidency, and we are adhering to this well-established precedent in order to ensure that future presidents can effectively execute the responsibilities of the office of the presidency,” White House lawyer Pat Cipollone wrote in a letter to Judiciary chairman Jerrold Nadler in May.
But Democrats feel differently.
“It’s been pulled out of a hat,” says congressman Jamie Raskin, a member of the Judiciary panel. “Presidential lawyers citing presidential lawyers from the past does not make judicial precedent. The kind of precedent we are willing to follow is precedent that comes from the courts.”
The opposition is keen to bring an end to the stonewalling tactic after White House lawyers made a farce of a the committee's hearing with former Trump communication director Hope Hicks, who was stopped from answering some 150 questions relating to her tenure at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Clearly taking an idea out of Kim Jong-un's playbook, Trump wants tanks to play a roll in his Fourth of July celebration event at the National Monument in DC on Thursday, according to The Washington Post.
The Interior Department has confirmed there will be a military flyover, a 35-minute fireworks display and an address by the president from the Lincoln Memorial.
But things weren't always so grandiose.
The solid US economy is doing little to bolster support for President Trump, according to a new poll.
Americans are giving Trump mixed reviews for his economic stewardship despite the growth achieved during this presidency, a new survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggests.
Nearly two-thirds describe as "good" an economy that appears to have set a record for the longest expansion in US history, with decade-long growth that began under Barack Obama. More people consider the economy to be good today than did at the start of the year.
But significantly fewer approve of Trump's handling of the economy, even as it remains a relative strength compared with other issues. The survey indicates that most Americans do not believe they're personally benefiting from his trade policies. And only 17 per cent said they received a tax cut, despite government and private sector figures showing that a clear majority of taxpayers owed less after the president's tax overhaul passed in 2017.
These doubts create a possible vulnerability as Trump highlights the economy's solid performance in his campaign for re-election in 2020. During two nights of debates last week, almost every Democratic presidential candidate found ways to criticize the president by decrying the wealth gap.
Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren said it was evidence of "corruption." Vermont senator Bernie Sanders railed against the concentration of wealth in the three richest Americans, while former vice president Joe Biden said Trump thinks Wall Street, not the middle class, built America.
Nearly half of Americans, 47 per cent, approve of Trump's handling of the economy, but his overall approval rating - 38 per cent - is low compared with what past presidents have enjoyed in strong economic conditions. Only about four in 10 Americans approve of his handling of taxes and trade negotiations.
The public scepticism has persisted even as the president routinely congratulates himself on the economy, including the 3.6 per cent unemployment rate and stock market gains.
ICYMI: Here's Janelle Monae weighing in on the hot topic in US politics: whether Donald Trump should be impeached.
Donald Trump's efforts to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border have hit some rough patches, after a judge ruled to halt construction in some key areas.
Mr Trump has tweeted attacking New York State for its tax rate — and for investigating his companies.
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