Trump news: President ‘told Rush Limbaugh not to apologise to Pete Buttigieg over homophobic remarks’ and says California cities overrun with needles
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Donald Trump reportedly advised conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh not to apologise to Democratic 2020 contender Pete Buttigieg after saying America is not ready for a gay president kissing his husband on the world stage, prompting the candidate to mock Trump over his affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.
The president is touring the western swing states of Nevada, California and Arizona this week with one eye on November but caused offence to the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco overnight by suggesting both are suffering from widespread drug addiction and homelessness.
Trump is meanwhile also facing criticism for pardoning 11 white collar criminals – including ex-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, whom he once fired from The Celebrity Apprentice over a Harry Potter controversy – a decision that provoked fresh concern about the president exceeding the powers of his office and moved former acting solicitor general Neal Katyal to reassure the public: “The law will find a way to catch up with him.”
Meanwhile, sparring between Mike Bloomberg and the leading Democratic candidates erupted hours before Wednesday night's debate, previewing what's expected to be a tense night as the billionaire businessman meets his rivals onstage for the first time.
Both Bernie Sanders' and Joe Biden's campaigns took aim at Mr Bloomberg, the former raising questions about the 78-year-old's health and the latter pointing out reversals in Mr Bloomberg's stances on key issues.
Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures
Show all 18The attacks underscore how seriously Democrats are taking the former New York mayor's campaign, now that he's rocketed to double-digit support in national polls and qualified for the next two debates.
Mr Bloomberg, who formally registered as a Democrat in 2018, has faced relatively little national scrutiny in his surprisingly swift rise from nonpartisan megadonor to top-tier presidential contender.
On CNN Wednesday morning, Mr Sanders' national press secretary Briahna Joy Gray tried to rebut questions surrounding the Vermont senator's health by pointing to Mr Bloomberg, who she said had also "suffered heart attacks in the past".
Mr Sanders suffered a heart attack last fall and released letters from doctors attesting to his health. But Mr Bloomberg has never suffered a heart attack; he released a doctors' letter last year that said he did undergo coronary stent surgery in 2000.
Ms Gray later walked back her statement, saying on Twitter that she "misspoke" about Mr Bloomberg's health.
Separately, the Biden campaign took on Mr Bloomberg over ads the former mayor is running that feature shots of him working closely with former President Barack Obama.
The Biden campaign posted a video to Twitter highlighting past comments Mr Bloomberg made criticising Mr Obama on health care and climate change and accusing him of failing to address racism during his term. The video also includes a clip of Mr Bloomberg declaring "I'm a friend of Donald Trump's, he's a New York icon."
Additional reporting by Associated Press. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Hillary Clinton says she's 'just watching and waiting' 2020 Democratic race
The defeated 2016 candidate is being tipped as a possible running mate for Mike Bloomberg and is so far refusing to rule out the prospect.
Here's Chris Riotta's report.
The White House official defence for Donald Trump's pardoning spree has been met with swift backlash, as critics of the president recall how he launched a campaign to have the exonerated black teens known as the "Central Park 5" executed following false reports they killed a jogger in the Manhattan park:
Some interesting developments coming out of the pre-trial hearing for Julian Assange: reports indicate a witness will be called with supposed knowledge of a plea offering that involved denying Russian involvement in the 2016 election:
Donald Trump has posted the following message decrying recent match-up polls that show him losing to every leading Democratic candidate, claiming without evidence those polls are "corrupt" -
Donald Trump has posted a tweet defending his decision to commute the prison sentence for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who reportedly attempted to sell former President Barack Obama's seat in the US Senate after it opened following his 2008 election victory:
Donald Trump slammed local officials in Los Angeles and San Francisco over their cities' homeless crises while visiting California, threatening to take federal action to fix the issue if the state “can’t do it themselves”.
The president delivered remarks on Tuesday while visiting Los Angeles to attend a local fundraiser in support of his re-election, as well as a meeting with officials planning the 2028 Olympic Games.
Asked about whether the federal government was planning on getting involved to address the homeless situation in Los Angeles, he responded: “Well, we had no role, but we’re taking a role in it.”
“I see it, see what’s happening to LA, I see what’s happening to San Francisco, some great cities. I said to my people, whether they like it or not, we need to do something,” Mr Trump said. “You have needles, you have things we don’t even want to discuss all over the streets flowing into the oceans.”
The Independent's Washington Bureau Chief John Bennett has an inside look on how Donald Trump's pardoning spree was influenced by the president's television habits, his family and celebs:
Donald Trump sent a senior Pentagon official charged with overseeing the military's vast policy apparatus on his way Wednesday, the latest senior official to be ousted from or leave the administration - and possibly setting up an election-year showdown on a slew of issues with Senate Democrats.
John Rood's departure comes after White House and other administration officials had expressed displeasure with him for some time, according to several media outlets. But it also removes from the administration another senior official - as undersecretary of defense for policy, he was the Defense Department's No. 3 civilian official - who was at odds with the White House on a military aid package for Ukraine.
Mr Rood last summer told lawmakers that the Eastern European country had made enough progress on fighting corruption to deserve a massive military aid package from Washington. But the White House, at the president's direction, soon froze that aid as it pressed senior Ukrainian leaders to publicly state they were investigating top US Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden, then the party's frontrunner for its presidential nomination.
Lawyers representing a writer who accuses Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s have said Mr Trump is doing “everything he can to stop the truth from ever coming out”.
Specifically, lawyers acting for E. Jean Carroll have said the president is delaying the case with efforts to avoid providing DNA evidence and an insistence on waiting for a judgment in a different case which could take months to be handed down.
Ms Carroll is suing Mr Trump for defamation after he accused her of “totally lying” in a book she released last year, in which she alleged he raped her in the 1990s.
This concludes today's live coverage on Donald Trump. Be sure to check back tomorrow as The Independent brings you the latest.
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