Trump news: White House rescinds policy banning international students from online courses amid mounting criticism and lawsuits
President delivers campaign-style remarks at White House attacking Democratic rival
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After cancelling a campaign rally that was scheduled for New Hampshire on 11 July, Donald Trump made up for lost time by launching a nearly one-hour attack against Joe Biden from the White House Rose Garden as the president went down a literal list of grievances and the Democratic presidential candidate's platform pitches, which the president had grossly mischaracterised.
Moments earlier, the administration rescinded controversial new measures that would have effectively banned any international students from living in the United States during the fall months amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the news being announced after a court hearing that lasted just minutes.
A federal judge announced that the administration had reached a settlement with universities who had sued over the measures.
Mr Trump has continued to insist US schools must reopen this autumn despite the raging coronavirus, declaring at the White House on Monday that “schools should be opened. Kids want to go to schools. You’re losing a lot of lives by keeping things closed.”
Asked by CBS News on Tuesday what he would tell parents and teachers worried about sending their children to school, he said: "I would tell parents and teachers that you should find yourself a new person whoever is in charge of that decision, because it's a terrible decision."
Hillary Clinton has meanwhile warned Americans must “be ready” for Trump not to “go quietly” if he loses his re-election bid.
The former vice president recently unveiled a sweeping $2tn environmental plan on Tuesday seeking to achieve carbon-free power by 2035.
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Protester splatters red paint over Black Lives Matter mural just days after it debuted outside Trump Tower
Graig Graziosi writes: A counter-protester defaced the Black Lives Matter street mural outside Trump Tower in New York City only days after it was unveiled.
The mural was painted on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue after being commissioned by mayor Bill de Blasio.
In a video capturing the incident, a white man in a short sleeve shirt and shorts pulls a paint can out of a paper bag and tosses red paint across the huge, yellow letters of the mural.
Police said the vandal fled down 56th Street after tossing the paint. The person has not been caught.
Authorities are asking individuals with information regarding the vandal to come forward.
Tucker Carlson appears to defend writer who quit after anonymous racist comments were exposed
James Crump writes: Fox News host Tucker Carlson has seemingly defended his former writer, who quit last week after it was alleged that he wrote racist and misogynistic comments in an online forum before and during his time working on his show.
Blake Neff resigned as Carlson’s top writer on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Friday after he posted racist and misogynistic comments on forum, AutoAdmit, as recently as last week.
In one example, Mr Neff allegedly responded to a racist question posed by another user on the forum which asked if people would let a “JET BLACK congo n*****” perform Lasik eye surgery on them.”
According to CNN, who first reported the allegations, Mr Neff replied: “I wouldn’t get LASIK from an Asian for free, so no,” among numerous other racist and misogynistic comments over a few years.
Responding to his former writer’s comments on his show on Monday, the host said that “what Blake wrote anonymously was wrong. We don’t endorse those words. They have no connection to the show. It is wrong to attack people for qualities they cannot control. In this country, we judge people for what they do, not for how they were born.”
Carlson said that Mr Neff is “horrified” and “ashamed” by his recently revealed comments, but the host showed sympathy for his former writer and added that he “has paid a very heavy price”.
Trump ‘stands by his actions’ over telling people to inject disinfectants, press secretary says
Oliver O'Connell writes: White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has said Donald Trump “stands by the actions and steps he’s taken”, when challenged about whether he had made mistakes.
CNN’s chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta asked: “Hasn’t the president made mistakes? He suggested at one point that Americans inject themselves with disinfectants - that sort of thing.”
The question was asked in following an initial query as to whether the White House was briefing against Dr Anthony Fauci by leaking “opposition research” to reporters and that he had made mistakes during the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Acosta continued: “Why not send out these notes to reporters, about what Dr Fauci said in the past, with your names on it? They were sent out by a White House official. The president has said he doesn’t trust anonymous sources, and yet you were sending out these notes to reporters, anonymously.”
Responding to the point Ms McEnany said: “Look, I would note that in terms of the president and his record on coronavirus, he stands by the actions and the steps he’s taken in this historic response.”
She added: “You have Dr Fauci who said that ‘the record of this president is impressive. I can’t imagine that, under any circumstance, that anybody could be doing more’. And those are the words of Dr Fauci.”
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