Trump news: President plans to send more agents nationwide amid crackdown on protests while attacking Biden in Twitter rant
Justice Department to deploy federal officers to three more US cities as coronavirus death toll reaches 150,000
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The nation's death toll from coronavirus surpassed 150,000 on Wednesday, reaching the highest such figure globally, as Covid-19 infections continue to rise across the US.
Donald Trump meanwhile spent the day travelling to a fundraiser in Texas to support oil drilling efforts, raging against Democrats in a campaign-style speech before signing a series of pipeline permits.
The president claimed in a new interview that he “never discussed” reports of Russian bounties on the heads of US troops in Afghanistan with Vladimir Putin, as the US announced it will be withdrawing troops from Germany.
Mr Trump claimed the issue of Russian bounties never reached his desk in an interview with Axios, despite reports indicating he received the intelligence in a daily briefing back in February.
This comes as the administration moves forward with plans to pull forces out of Germany after Mr Trump alleged the country was "delinquent in their payments" to the NATO security alliance.
Asked whether he reads his briefings, Mr Trump responded: “I do. I read a lot. You know, I read a lot. They like to say I don’t read. I read a lot. I comprehend extraordinarily well. Probably better than anybody you’ve interviewed in a long time. I read a lot.”
Justice Department officials also announced that the administration will surge federal officers into three more American cities in electoral battleground states – Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee – as the president prioritises a "law and order" agenda in his 2020 campaign.
Oregon's governor also announced that federal agents in Portland will be withdrawn, per an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, though director Chad Wolf has said that their departure depends on whether the safety of federal properties can be assured amid Black Lives Matter demonstrations.
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Trump arrives in Texas without Louie Gohmert after Lone Star Republican tests positive for Covid-19
Trump blasts Fox News after watching television on Air Force One
The president did not hold back in this scathing tweet against his favourite television network:
Trump claims 'there would be no Portland' without federal agents
The president is taking credit for allegedly preventing the entire city of Portland, Oregon from "burning to the ground" in a series of tweets amid mounting criticism over his administration's plans to send federal law enforcement to cities across the country:
Portland says Trump administration owes $200,000 over fence at centre of BLM protests
Matt Mathers writes: Portland officials say they intend to bill the White House nearly $200,000 (£154,000) for a fence that was erected around the federal courthouse amid ongoing protests.
Transport chiefs in the city issued the federal government with a desist order over the barricade, which they say was built without permission and blocks a bike lane on Southwest Third Avenue.
Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who heads up transport in Portland and is running for re-election, said the government is racking up $500 (£385) in charges for every 15 minutes the fence remains in place.
“As of yesterday, the federal government owes us $192,000 and counting,” Eudaly said in a statment posted to Twitter on Tuesday.
“We intend to collect."
Louie Gohmert did not go to gym after coronavirus test, Democrat clarifies
Griffin Connolly writes: Texas Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert did not use the House gym at the US Capitol complex after testing positive for Covid-19, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer clarified to reporters on Wednesday.
"What I said was Gohmert was in the Judiciary Committee yesterday, walked in without a mask, put his mask on when he sat down," Mr Hoyer said, indicating he had been trying to liken Mr Gohmert's reckless mask etiquette at a Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General William Barr on Tuesday to the behaviour of US Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Several reporters and publications, including The Independent, previously reported Mr Hoyer's comments about Mr Gohmert using the House gym, which was an apparent misstatement.
"Louie Gohmert, like Rand Paul, went to the gymnasium after he was found to be infected," Mr Hoyer, the Democrats' No 2 behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi, told reporters on Wednesday, before later explaining he had misspoken.
Mark Zuckerberg defends Twitter's decision to ban Donald Trump Jr over 'harmful' Covid post
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has defended Twitter's decision to suspend Donald Trump's Jr's account after he posted "harmful" information about countering the coronavirus.
Story to come...
Zuckerberg defends move to ban Trump Jr from Twitter
Andrew Buncombe writes: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has found himself in the unlikely position of defending Twitter's decision to suspend Donald Trump's Jr's account after he posted "harmful" information about countering the coronavirus.
In an exchange that suggested not every member of the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust was entirely up to speed on the difference between various social media platforms, Mr Zuckerberg was pressed about a repeated claim of conservatives that social media discriminates against them.
Trump says Kamala Harris would be a 'fine choice' for Biden's VP pick
John Bennett writes: Donald Trump said California Senator Kamala Harris would be a "fine choice" to join Joe Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket, weighing in on the former vice president's ongoing deliberations over his running mate.
"I think she'd be a fine choice, Kamala Harris. She'd be a fine choice," the president said as he left for a trip to Texas after being asked to rank her chances in the "Veepstakes."
Mr Biden said on Tuesday that he plans to announce his selection by the end of next week, with several women of colour reportedly rocketing to the top of his shortlist.
Ms Harris and others – like Florida Congresswoman Val Demings, California Congresswoman Karen Bass, former Obama national security adviser Susan Rice and former Georgia state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams – have been making the cable television rounds stumping for Mr Biden for months as he mulled a running mate.
Notably, however, only 28 per cent of those polled for a new survey released Wednesday by Politico and Morning Consult said it is "very" or "somewhat" important that Mr Biden choose a person of colour to join him on the Democratic Party's presidential ticket.
ICYMI: ‘What does Ghislaine Maxwell have on Trump,’ asks new attack ad by Lincoln Project
A prominent group of Republicans opposing Donald Trump have released a new advertisement attacking the US president for his support of Ghislaine Maxwell, after the alleged “madam” for paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein was arrested earlier this month.
The Lincoln Project, which was founded by current and former high-profile conservatives such as George Conway, husband of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, posted the ad to Twitter on Friday with the caption: “What does Ghislaine Maxwell have on @realDonaldTrump?”
It shows Mr Trump berating a number of female journalists – with the ad saying at one point, “This is how Donald Trump speaks to accomplished women” – before flashing to a recent White House press briefing in which the president spoke about his relationship with Ms Maxwell over the years.
“I just wish her well, frankly,” Mr Trump is heard saying in the briefing.
A woman narrating the advertisement then says: “Just what does Maxwell have on Donald Trump? Why does he demean other women but treat the head of an alleged sex slave ring with respect? Does Donald Trump want Maxwell to keep quiet? America needs to know.”
Trump faces mounting criticism over plans to send more federal agents to cities nationwide
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