President is slammed for leaving ‘press conference’ without addressing Minnesota as he disbands US relationship with WHO
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Donald Trump held a "press conference" on Friday to discuss the United State's relationship with China, but then left the Rose Garden without taking questions or addressing the mounting situation in Minnesota following the death of George Floyd.
The president announced during his statement the US would disband its relationship with the World Health Organisation (WHO) amid the coronavirus pandemic.
This statement came moments after he shared two tweets attempting to clarify his "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" tweet released late Thursday night about the violent protests in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd. Twitter attached an unprecedented warning to a tweet by Mr Trump, accusing him of "glorifying violence".
Following the "press conference" in the Rose Garden, the president later held an additional conference to address the death of Mr Floyd. The president said he spoke with Mr Floyd's family and expressed his condolences.
"We all saw what we saw and it's very hard to even conceive of anything other than what we did see. Should never happen, should never be allowed to happen, a thing like that," Mr Trump said, sentiments people initially thought would happen earlier in the Rose Garden.
Mr Trump's war against Twitter continued into Friday just one day after he signed an executive order to limit legal protections against social media sites that shields them from liability about content posted on their platforms.
The war first started when Twitter fact-checked a tweet the president posted about mail-in voting. It only heightened when it labelled Mr Trump's protest tweet as "glorifying violence".
Former Vice President Joe Biden attacked the president for his tweets and his handling of the situation in Minnesota. "This is no time for incendiary tweets. It's no time to encourage violence," Mr Biden said. "This is a national crisis, and we need real leadership right now."
Fox News' Laura Ingraham says Trump can sympathise with African Americans because of 'unfair' FBI probe
Fox News' Laura Ingraham claims the president can resonate and sympathise with what the African American community goes through when it comes to police brutality because of the "unfair" FBI probe against Mr Trump.
The comparison did not sit well with people.
Here's our story:
American spending dropped a record 13.6% in April
American consumer spending has slowed dramatically amid the coronavirus pandemic, as businesses were forced to shut down after being deemed nonessential.
In the month of April alone, consumer spending dropped a record 13.6 per cent, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) report released on Friday. That's equal to a drop of $1.89tn in spending.
In total the PCE index fell 0.5 per cent. When excluding spending on food and gas, where the prices fluctuate more often, the PCE index fell 0.4 per cent.
The dramatic month-to-month drop in spending is the largest the BEA has ever reported since the organisation started following consumer spending in 1959.
About two-thirds of the US economy relies on spending, so the dramatic drop could hurt a rebound for months to come.
CDC estimates coronavirus death toll to rise to 123,000 in June
A forecast published by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now estimates 123,000 coronavirus deaths by 20 June.
The projections, published on Thursday, take into account other forecasts from institutions and researchers. It anticipated a potential range in the death toll between 115,400 to 134,800.
"This week's national ensemble forecast indicates that the rate of increase in cumulative Covid-19 deaths is continuing to decline. Nevertheless, total Covid-19 deaths are likely to exceed 115,000 by 20 June," the CDC's website states.
This comes as it was projected previously the US might only hit 60,000 to 70,000 deaths by June. But the death toll surpassed 100,000 people on Tuesday.
Trump's controversial 'when the looting starts, the shooting starts' statement
President Donald Trump caused outrage early Friday morning when he tweeted a reaction to the Minneapolis protests on Thursday evening.
In two tweets, the president called the protesters "thugs" for looting and setting fire to buildings. He then wrote, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts", which people thought insinuated violence against the protesters.
Mr Trump did not come up with the quote on his own, though. That phrase was reportedly said by a Miami police chief in 1967 who said his department did not mind being accused of "police brutality".
Original quote here:
Joe Biden condemns Trump's tweet 'glorifying violence' against Minneapolis protesters
Former Vice President Joe Biden has weighed in on the president's late night tweets reacting to the protests taking place in Minneapolis.
Mr Trump caused controversy for writing that when "looting starts, shooting starts".
Our story on Mr Biden's take on the president's tweets:
Melania Trump asks for peaceful protests in Minneapolis while expressing condolences to George Floyd
First Lady Melania Trump released her own statement about the situation that has erupted in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd.
She expressed her condolences for Mr Floyd and his family but then asked for protesters to remain peaceful.
Her statement comes after the president called the protesters "thugs" for the looting and arson that took place in Minneapolis and other parts of the country on Thursday evening.
Trump says National Guard has arrived to Minneapolis
The president tweets about the arrival of the National Guard in Minneapolis to assist the city in controlling the protests after violence heightened on Thursday evening.
Mr Trump's tweet comes after he faces backlash for his "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" tweets last night about the protesters. People, and Twitter, have said the tweets glorify violence against the protesters.
Jimmy Kimmel says Trump started Twitter war because he's 'going to lose' the election
Jimmy Kimmel has criticised Donald Trump's "war with Twitter", saying the president's recent actions against social media outlets are motivated by his fear of losing the presidential election.
The late-night host dedicated part of his monologue on Thursday to Trump's recent executive order threatening social media companies with new legislation that could penalise them for how they regulate content on their platforms.
"While racial injustice is tearing this country apart, [Trump] is going to war with Twitter," Kimmel said.
Clémence Michallon reports:
Taylor Swift is latest voice to condemn Trump for his tweets against Minneapolis protesters
The singer has grown more political in recent years by imploring her followers to vote in elections and speaking out against politicians.
Her latests political moment comes following Donald Trump tweeting "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" late Thursday evening about Minneapolis protesters.
Minneapolis police union chief praised Trump at rally while attacking Obama's 'oppression of police'
Lt Bob Kroll, head of the Minneapolis police union, slammed former President Barack Obama's "handcuffing and oppression of police" while praising Donald Trump at a re-election rally the president held in the city last year.
Donning a red "Cops for Trump" shirt as he took the stage, the lieutenant attacked the Obama administration over its alleged "despicable" treatment of police, adding: "The first thing President Trump did when he took office was turn that around ... he decided to start to let cops do their job, put the handcuffs on the criminals instead of us."
Chris Riotta with the full story:
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