"Complicates Matters Regarding Ceasefire": Hamas On Trump's "Dead" Threat

03/06/25 5:49 PM

Hamas said Thursday that Donald Trump's threats would encourage Israel to disregard the fragile ceasefire, after the US president said that unless hostages are freed, the people of Gaza would be "DEAD".

"Iftar Really Special For Me, Not Just For Embassy," Says UAE Envoy To India

03/06/25 10:42 PM

UAE Ambassador to India Abdulnasser Alshaali on Thursday emphasized the importance of Iftar celebrations, noting that it has become "really special" for him and the embassy.

"Like Hitting A Mule": Trump Envoy On Ukraine Aid Freeze

03/07/25 12:12 AM

An envoy of President Donald Trump said Thursday that Ukraine has itself to blame for the US suspension of war aid and compared the shock move to hitting a stubborn farm animal with a piece of wood.

'A jester high on ketamine!' French senator delivers blistering rebuke of Trump and Musk

03/05/25 6:47 PM

French Senator Claude Malhuret this week delivered a blistering rebuke of President Donald Trump and X owner Elon Musk, and he compared their reign to that of an infamously debauched Roman emperor.During a speech discussing European support for Ukraine against Russia, Malhuret lobbed insults directly at both the president and his billionaire benefactor."Washington has become Nero’s court, with an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers and a jester high on ketamine in charge of purging the civil service," he said in reference to Musk's acknowledged use of the dissociative anesthetic. "We were at war with a dictator, we are now at war with a dictator backed by a traitor."ALSO READ: Trump's popularity takes 'unambiguous hit' among key voting bloc: reportTrump, with the encouragement of Musk, has shocked American allies in recent weeks by publicly sparring with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, cutting off military aid to Ukraine, and even halting intelligence sharing with the country.At the same time, Trump has antagonized America's largest trading partners, Mexico and Canada, by hitting all of their products with 25 percent tariffs.Trump has also floated the idea of easing sanctions on Russia despite the fact that the Kremlin is still waging a war of aggression against an American ally.Watch the video below or at this link. - YouTube www.youtube.com

'A mistake': Trump's ex-ambassador says tariffs violate President's own trade pact

03/05/25 6:39 PM

A former ambassador to Canada blasted president Donald Trump's tariffs as a "mistake" and violation of a trade agreement he reached in his first term.Bruce Heyman, who served as ambassador from 2014 to 2017 under former president Barack Obama, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that it was essential for the Trump administration to avoid a full-blown trade war with its northern neighbor, which responded to his 25-percent duty with a corresponding toll."It's critical – it's probably the most important thing that they are focusing on internationally, barring the issues with Ukraine," Heyman said. "Canada is our best friend, and best friend – I don't mean that lightly. I mean, they've been there for us in every difficult moment that our country has ever faced, and we share this incredible border together. We do trade, and I'll come back to trade in just a second, but we also protect ourselves militarily. We share the resources of the Great Lakes together, and the Canadians have been there for every difficult moment that we've had – 9/11. I mean, we've had plays, Broadway shows about the relationship we have with Canada, and 'Come From Away' – we had books and movies written about how Canada has been there for us in Iran, dealing with the diplomats during the Iran hostage crisis."ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight"This is a special relationship, and what I think the Trump administration is missing is that it's based on trust," he added. "You know, George Shultz wrote on the occasion of his 100th birthday that the coin of the realm is, if there's trust in the room, good things happen, and if there isn't trust in the room, good things don't happen."The tariffs likely violate the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump reached in 2018, according to the former diplomat, but he said the stated reasons for them don't add up. "Trust is built over a long period of time," Heyman added. "The Canadians have trusted us for many decades, as we have trusted them. But we signed an agreement under the first Trump administration to update NAFTA to USMCA. It was a trade agreement, and these tariffs are a direct opposition to that agreement, which we all signed and shook hands, and Donald Trump said this was the greatest trade deal ever, and so all of these other narratives that are coming out don't fit. It just doesn't fit, the fentanyl doesn't fit, the migration, the level of trade, the deficit we have – all of these seem like six or eight different excuses to put a tariff on Canada, which I believe is a mistake."Watch below or click the link here. - YouTube youtu.be

'All garbage!' Pete Hegseth rebuffs claims Trump withholding Ukraine aid is 'pro-Russia'

03/06/25 8:56 PM

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called criticisms of President Donald Trump's pause on Ukraine aid "all garbage" despite admitting that the policy appeared to some to be "pro-Russia."Hegseth was asked about the pause in military aid for Ukraine Thursday during a meeting with British Defense Secretary John Healey."We are watching, obviously, very closely the front line of troops," the American secretary explained. "But ultimately, we're interested in creating the conditions for peace.""To the previous question from the Washington Post, the press is interested in narratives," he continued. "Our president is interested in peace. So we will get characterized one way or another, oh, your stance is pro-Russia... It's all garbage."ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fightHegseth insisted Trump was following up on an election mandate "to bring peace.""He is working with both sides in a way that only President Trump can," he remarked. "Only President Trump can to bring them to the table to end the killing."Watch the video below or at this link.

'Discussions are already happening' as U.S. allies ponder intel black-out due to Trump

03/06/25 1:23 PM

Despite public denials, there is growing concern among U.S. allies about how much secretive intelligence can be shared with Donald Trump's administration as the president increases his embrace of Vladimir Putin.According to a report from NBC News, the daily drumbeat of Trump's attacks of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has foreign intel officials considering limiting the amount of info they share with their American counterparts based on fears of where it will end up.Specifically, NBC is reporting, "allies are weighing the move because of concerns about safeguarding foreign assets whose identities could inadvertently be revealed, said the sources, who included a foreign official."ALSO READ: 'Gotta be kidding': Jim Jordan scrambles as he's confronted over Musk 'double standard'Those U.S. allies include "Israel, Saudi Arabia and members of the so-called Five Eyes spy alliance," NBC is reportingAs one diplomat put it, "Those discussions are already happening.""Though the extent of a U.S. policy change toward Russia remains unclear, allies are weighing the possible implications of what could be a historic shift, a Western official said," the report notes before adding there are also concerns among U.S. officials who "say they are concerned that the Trump administration may opt to scale back intelligence collection aimed at Russia, as the U.S. may no longer see Russia as a top threat."Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) has also raised similar concerns, telling reporters, "Russia is an adversary and, as always, looking for opportunities to sow discord and make trouble for Americans and for the government, so any stand-down or pullback of our operations could be catastrophic.”You can read more here.

'Freaked out' Trump backed off tariff plan after seeing markets tank: MSNBC analyst

03/06/25 8:11 PM

President Donald Trump is less concerned about how the American people are faring from his back-and-forth on tariffs than he is on how the stock market is reacting, according to an MSNBC political analyst. During a Thursday broadcast that aired shortly after Trump reversed course on Mexico tariffs, anchor Chris Jansing asked, "Is there any consideration at all for the people whose lives, livelihoods, jobs, depend on all of this?" "That seems to be less a consideration than what the markets are doing," answered analyst Elise Jordan, who worked in the George W. Bush White House. "And you had heard so many of Donald Trump's associates and business leaders say that when the markets start to go down, Donald Trump is going to get freaked out and he's going to reverse course. And we're seeing that happen a bit." Trump announced on social media Thursday morning that he was pausing tariffs on Mexico for one month "as an accommodation, and out of respect for, President Sheinbaum." ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight According to The New York Times, "Uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s mixed messages on tariffs on the country’s biggest trading partners is weighing on Wall Street," with stock indices continuing to plummet even after Trump's announcement on Mexico. Jordan claimed Trump's chaotic method of imposing then rescinding tariffs "is just a disgusting exercise in power at the end of the day, to keep everyone around the world on the edge of their seats and living in this uncertainty." She continued, "It's about more than just, you know, the stock market dropping. It's about people who are living paycheck to paycheck and wondering if they're going to still have a job to pay their rent, and if they're going to have food for their children. And, so, when someone like Donald Trump has ultimate power, we have seen he likes to have this cat and mouse, bait and switch."Watch the video below or at this link.

'He barely talked about it': Experts shocked that Trump brushed off major election issue

03/05/25 6:14 PM

CNN pundits were shocked to discover how little of President Donald Trump's address to Congress included the issues most important to the American people: inflation and the economy. Inside Politics' Dana Bash produced a bubble graph to illustrate the amount of time Trump spoke on the major issues. The result showed he spoke the longest — 9 minutes 49 seconds — about "immigrants and crime," and the very least — just 35 seconds — on the economy. "Those small bubbles up on the top, those green bubbles? That's the economy and inflation! Those are the reason that Donald Trump was brought back to the dance," Bash exclaimed. "And he barely talked about them." Political Director David Chalian said he was looking to see "what percentage of the speech would be focused solely on prices and the economy, and what people are feeling, given that that was issue number one." ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight "I do think, clearly, he's going to have to spend more time on that, or he is going to — the risk, the political risk you're talking about — that is going to be realized in some way, if not for Donald Trump — who, I think we see somebody that is unburdened by the fact that he doesn't have to run for re-election — certainly for his party," Chalian said. "I just want to know, Dana, though — the tariffs that we're talking about now it is, like, multiples of what he did in the first terms. So, this is a dramatic increase in this, which means its impact on the economy, if these experts are right, could also be dramatically done ten-fold." Trump's lack of attention on the economy during his speech is even more confounding when considering a Marist University/NPR poll released on the eve of his address. It found that "57% of Americans believe grocery prices will increase over the next six months, while only 17% believe they will decrease. In the same poll, 54% of Americans said the country is moving in the wrong direction, and more Americans, by a 46%-42% margin, believe Trump's direction on the economy is for the worse than for the better." Watch the clip below via CNN or click the link.

'Incompetent clown': Critics slam Trump for latest tariff backtrack

03/05/25 8:26 PM

After speaking by phone with the heads of GM, Ford, and Stellantis Wednesday, President Donald Trump decided to give automakers a 30-day reprieve from his imposed 25 percent blanket tariffs on Canada and Mexico.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Wednesday, "We are going to give a one-month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA... so they are not at a disadvantage."According to Reuters, "The move will benefit U.S. automakers and other foreign automakers that are in compliance."But many social media users questioned the effect these on-again, off-again tariffs will have on U.S. businesses.Washington Post opinion writer Catherine Rampell wrote on BlueSky, "I'm sure the auto industry welcomes this temporary reprieve -- but again, how can businesses possibly make investment/hiring decisions in this environment?"ALSO READ: 'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fightEconomist Joshua Failé posted, "Business can’t make investment or hiring decision in the chaotic environment, but the members of regime either don’t care about the implications or don’t understand them. And some, I believe, want these impacts for their own gain, particularly the technofascist billionaire oligarchs backing this.Attorney George Conway did not mince words about Trump on X, posting, "What an incredibly incompetent clown. Maybe he should have thought about the (patently obvious) effect of tariffs on the auto industry *before* imposing them? He’s like a monkey on a keyboard.""lol - Trump pauses some auto Tariffs. What a way to incite fear in our markets…" posted wealth manager Peter Mullin, while writer Stephen Best posted, "So, mad President @realDonaldTrump is giving a 30 day pause on tariffs on cars from Canada. Canada should not pause and maintain its 25% counter tariff on cars coming from US. Technically in trade negotiations this is called ‘F---- you.’Leavitt added during Wednesday's announcement, "Reciprocal tariffs will still go into effect on April 2." Trump claimed the tariffs are meant to stem the flow of fentanyl and undocumented migrants over the borders and into the U.S, even though only a tiny fraction of fentanyl crosses into the U.S. from Canada.