Trump news: President praises ‘great people’ shouting ‘white power’ as Pelosi brands his alleged inaction over Russia-Taliban reports ‘as bad as it gets’
Lindsey Graham joins president on golf course as officials take aim at reported Russian plot to kill US troops
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Donald Trump has praised “great people” in footage he shared of furious protesters clashing over his presidency outside a Florida retirement home, in which one apparent supporter repeatedly shouts “white power” from a golf buggy.
The only black Republican senator Tim Scott urged him to remove the “indefensible” footage, which he later did. The White House claimed he did not hear the racist chant.
A White House spokesperson claimed that the president "did not hear the one statement made on the video" and that "what he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters."
While the president was on the golf course for a second consecutive day, this time with Senator Lindsey Graham, the administration faced intense scrutiny over allegations that it was warned about Russian bounties placed on US troops in Afghanistan in an alleged secret deal between Russian intelligence services and Taliban militias. The White House was warned by intelligence officials as early as January about the threat, according to reports.
Joe Biden accused the president of betraying “the most sacred duty we bear as a nation” after reports suggested he had been briefed months ago yet did “worse than nothing” in response. Mr Trump denied having been briefed or "told about" the reports, crying “fake news”, while the Kremlin dismissed the allegations as “nonsense”.
The president's former national security adviser John Bolton said the allegations are among "the most serious matters that has arisen in the Trump administration" and was "puzzled" by the president's apparent inaction and denial, as he pivoted to attacks on his Democratic opponent.
"What would motivate the president to do that?" Mr Bolton told CNN. "Because it looks bad if Russians are paying to kill Americans and we're not doing anything about it. So what is the presidential reaction? It's to say 'it's not my responsibility, nobody told me about it.' And therefore to duck any complaints that he hasn't acted effectively."
While the president Covid-19 infections soared by more than 40,000 for the third consecutive day.
Vice president Mike Pence has been forced to call off upcoming campaign events in Florida and Arizona amid coronavirus spikes in the Republican-governed states, which have pushed to abandon lockdowns in order to restart the economy. But he appeared at a Texas megachurch on Sunday to announced that "each day we are one day closer to putting this pandemic in the past" despite climbing case rates.
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Trump golfs as country records third daily surge of 40,000-plus new coronavirus cases
CNN's White House correspondent has tweeted that Donald Trump and ally Lindsey Graham have gone for a game of golf.
There were some protesters outside the Trump National golf course in Sterling once they arrived, according to a Washington Times pool reporter.
One was reportedly holding a placard reading: "I ordered Mary's book" - billed as a tell-all Trump family autobiography by the president's niece, which his brother is currently trying to block via the courts.
For a third consecutive day on Saturday, the US recorded more than 40,000 new coronavirus cases, one of the largest surges in the world.
Former White House director of ethics and keen Trump critic, Walter Shaub, has this to say on the Russia-Taliban reports, alleging that the president is "waging war on America".
Mr Trump and the White House have denied that he was briefed on the reports, but did not dispute their existence. The Kremlin has branded it all "nonsense".
'The virus can go where it wants': Pence rebuked over defence of federalism in coronavirus response
"One of the elements of the genius of America is the principle of federalism, of state and local control. We've made it clear we want to defer to governors, defer to local officials and people should listen to them," the vice president said.
CBS analyst John Dickerson replied: "The virus doesn't know federalism. A virus that hits in Texas is in New York tomorrow. This is a problem that requires a coordinated national result, which is what these outbreaks are showing.
"And so to say states should deal with them individually seems to miss the big fact, which is the virus can go wherever it wants."
'Trump is a big fan of The Villages': White House claims president did not hear 'white power' chant in now-deleted tweet
Donald Trump has now deleted the tweet in which he shared footage of an apparent supporter shouting "white power".
White House spokesperson Judd Deere said in a statement that "President Trump is a big fan of The Villages. He did not hear the one statement made on the video. What he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters."
Jon Stewart believes Trump will 'make America great again' - but not in way he imagines
"What you're seeing from people, what they are saying is 'This is not tenable, the path we are on is not tenable', and we have to address that in a meaningful non-Twitter time reaction," the former host of The Daily Show told the Press Association.
"It's a response that is going to take will and stamina and attention and I am hopeful because, as Donald Trump said, 'I'm going to make America great again', I just think he doesn't realise it will be not in the way that he intended.
"I think what you are going to see is a grassroots dissatisfaction with the corruption and that is going to bring us, hopefully, to a better result."
John Bolton on Russia allegations: 'It it is true ... this is one of the most serious matters' from Trump's term
Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton told CNN that if the claims in a bombshell report on Russian bounties to Afghan militants for killing US troops is true, "this is one of the most serious matters that has arisen in the Trump administration.”
He said he was "puzzled" by the president's tweets — in which he said he wasn't ever briefed about it — and his apparent lack of a reaction.
"What would motivate the president to do that?" he said. "Because it looks bad if Russians are paying to kill Americans and we’re not doing anything about it. So what is the presidential reaction? It’s to say ‘it’s not my responsibility, nobody told me about it.’ And therefore to duck any complaints that he hasn’t acted effectively. This is part of the problem with president Trump’s decision-making in the national security space. It’s just unconnected to the reality he’s dealing with. It’s about his personal position.”
'Dereliction of duty': Rahm Emanuel says congress should hold hearings if president was briefed on Russia targeting US troops
Former Chicago mayor and Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel says the latest Russia controversy shows Americans that Donald Trump is "failing his most important job as commander in chief."
"If he got briefed on the fact that Russians are targeting American soldiers and then this week we would have had the G7 meeting where he invited Putin, it would be a dereliction of duty that will require congressional hearings into what exactly happened," he told ABC's This Week. "That is a major crisis of leadership and the whole world is watching."
Starbucks pulling social media ads following hate speech concerns
Starbucks is the latest brand to pull its ads from Facebook while the platform faces criticism for its lack of accountability or safeguard measures against misinformation and hate speech, particularly threats and ads from Donald Trump and his campaign.
The company joins Coca-Cola, Unilever and Verizon, among others, in the boycott.
Rolling Stones threaten Trump with legal action over use of their music for campaign rallies
Donald Trump has used "You Can't Always Get What You Want" to close out his campaign rallies and White House events that effectively function as campaign stops. The Rollings Stones are once again threatening legal action.
Trump accused of abusing power after tweeting people wanted for vandalising statues during Black Lives Matters protests
Four men have been charged by federal prosecutors for their alleged role in an attempt to take down a statue of Andrew Jackson after Donald Trump called for the arrests of 15 people and shared a series of "wanted" posters, alarming critics that he had put lives at risk by targeting protesters. The men were charged with destruction of federal property, the Justice Department announced on Saturday.
Protesters across the US have also targeted monuments to the Confederacy, while city and state officials have announced intentions to remove them. The president and conservative allies have been roundly criticised for calling attention to property damage and vandalism during antiracism protests without addressing attacks by police and the police killings that compelled the protests in the first place.
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