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Donald Trump gave a bizarre, rambling press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, bafflingly leaping from one topic to another.
Ostensibly arranged to announce new foreign investment in the US, the president-elect also attacked President Joe Biden over the transition process and refused to rule out using military or economic coercion to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.
Trump further railed against windmills, electric heaters, water pressure and soap, Canada, dishwashers, and the legal cases against him. At one moment he said he wanted to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and then claimed Hezbollah might have been at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Meanwhile, his lawyers are attempting to block the “imminent” release of a final report by Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith covering his classified documents and election interference cases. Aileen Cannon, the judge in the former case, has temporarily blocked the release of that final report.
Further, Judge Juan Merchan refused Trump’s latest attempt to delay the sentencing over his hush money conviction — still scheduled for Friday.
This all came just a day after Congress formally recognized the president-elect’s 2024 election win over Kamala Harris.
Donald Trump Jr visits Greenland as father calls acquisition ‘a deal that must happen’
Joe Sommerlad reports on Don Jr’s trip.
Oliver O’Connell8 January 2025 02:45
Warren presses Hegseth to answer questions about his past actions and statements
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump‘s pick for defense secretary, to answer additional questions about his past actions and statements before next Tuesday’s confirmation hearing.
In a letter to Hegseth sent Monday, the Massachusetts Democrat asked the former Fox News host and Army veteran to respond no later than Friday to questions on allegations of past drinking, sexual assault and mismanagement of veterans organization finances — all of which he denies. She also wants to know about statements he’s made concerning minorities, women and LGBTQ people serving in the military.
Hegseth has the support of some veterans groups that believe the military has overemphasized diversity at the cost of troop readiness. A group of former Navy SEALs is planning a rally in support of Hegseth in Washington next week.
“One of the biggest flaws in current leadership in the military and in the Pentagon is when you become more focused on things that don’t matter,” said Bill Brown, a former SEAL who is organizing Tuesday’s rally. “The military is not a social justice project.”
Hegseth’s supporters have stressed that many of the questions about his past behavior arose from reports based on anonymous sources. But some relate to things he’s said in interviews or written in his books.
In “War on Warriors,” Hegseth wrote that Gen. CQ Brown’s promotion to chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff meant that “with the Pentagon now run by, and fully staffed by, so-called ‘leaders’ like CQ Brown, we can assume that 17 percent of all black officers in the Air Force are simply promoted because of how they look — and not how they lead.”
Hegseth also has openly criticized the role of women in combat, although in meetings with senators he seemed to walk back some of those views.
Warren questioned if Hegseth would be able to lead, saying she was “deeply concerned by the many ways in which your past behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense.”
A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
OPINION: The last time I came to the Capitol I was tear-gassed in the lobby. This time was even worse
The Independent’s Richard Hall returned to the US Capitol on Monday for the first time since the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress.
Oliver O’Connell8 January 2025 01:45
Corporations ditch diversity goals amid anti-woke backlash in new Trump era
McDonald’s announced on Monday it’s pulling pack on certain aspects of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work, the latest high-profile corporation to move away from such programs amid changing legal precedent and a cultural backlash against “woke” agendas that’s only set to grow in the coming Trump administration.
Executives wrote in an open letter to employees that it was still committed to inclusion, but that the fast-food giant would retire specific diversity goals for senior leadership and end a program encouraging suppliers to increase minority leadership.
Oliver O’Connell8 January 2025 00:45
Elon Musk finds a friend in the first lady: ‘Melania is glad to have a babysitter for Donald’
Musk has become one of President-elect Donald Trump’s closest confidantes and has spent nearly “every single day” (including New Year’s Eve) at Mar-a-Lago, which has become Trump’s transition headquarters.
Melania Trump, who is not likely to return to Washington, D.C., full-time, doesn’t mind Musk’s closeness to her husband.
Michelle Del Rey has the story.
Oliver O’Connell8 January 2025 00:15
Will Trump really pardon nearly 1,600 January 6 rioters?
But how quickly will the pardons begin, and how far will Trump go?
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2025 23:45
Watch: Trump returns to one of his pet peeves — household appliances
Then faucets and water generally…
And dishwashers and washing machines.
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2025 23:30
Laura Loomer pushes Meta to put her on advisory board
Trump ally Laura Loomer suggested Meta should put her on its advisory board hours after the social media giant’s CEO announced it was scrapping fact-checkers.
Meta plans to ditch its fact-checkers and start using Community Notes, similar to X’s system, Mark Zuckerberg announced in a video Tuesday morning, citing the recent election, “politically biased” fact-checkers,” and “too much censorship” on social platforms.
Hours later, Loomer, a notorious far-right conspiracy theorist and vocal supporter of Trump, said she wants to be added to the tech company’s advisory board.
Oliver O’Connell7 January 2025 23:15
