Trump news - live: President launches fresh attack on Parasite and Brad Pitt after defending Tulsi Gabbard at MAGA rally

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Donald Trump launches fresh attack on Parasite at MAGA rally

Donald Trump has resumed his attack on Democratic 2020 candidate Michael Bloomberg on Twitter and posted a bizarre all-caps rant about bailing out America's farmers with federal funding.

The president unexpectedly lashed out at this year’s Best Picture Oscar winner, the South Korean thriller Parasite, at his latest campaign rally in Colorado Springs on Thursday night, only for the movie’s US distributor Neon to mock him for not being able to read subtitles.

Trump also laid into Hollywood star Brad Pitt (“a little wise guy”), teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and Fox News - angered by negative coverage about him on Neil Cavuto’s show - otherwise stumbling over his words again and getting his conspiracy theories mixed up.

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Key Points

• President ridicules Bloomberg with crass memes and pledges farm aid
• Trump turns film critic to mock Parasite Oscar win and Brad Pitt
• Russia trying to seal president's re-election, Congress warned
• Elizabeth Warren draws up contract to free Bloomberg employees from NDAs
• Roger Stone given 40 months in jail as Trump backs away from pardon

[21 February 2020 13:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Who said it: Donald Trump or Michael Bloomberg?

To give you an idea of why Bloomberg is considered such a threat, a new filing with the Federal Election Commission reveals that he is currently investing in his campaign at a rate of $7m (£5.4m) PER DAY. An ungodly amount of money.

The candidate unwisely said yesterday that Trump himself was arguably the "real winner" of Wednesday's debate - a remark the president pounced on at his rally and on Twitter - as it emerged the two men's connections go even deeper than we thought: Bloomberg apparently even owns a condo in a Trump-managed property.

His candidacy has also been dogged by the emergence of a steady stream of deeply offensive comments he has made in the past, several of which might even have embarassed Trump.

Can you tell the two of them apart? Take our quiz below.

[21 February 2020 13:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump accused of trying to steal Democrats' thunder with three-day stay at his Las Vegas hotel

Here's Andrew Buncombe on the scene Nevada as the desert slot machine Mecca braces itself for Trumpworld's arrival.

[21 February 2020 13:40 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump ally Erik Prince reportedly under investigation by FBI

Well this is weird.

The Blackwater founder and Trump donor is being investigated by the Feds for attempting convert an American-made crop dusting plane into an attack aircraft in violation of arms trafficking regulations. OK...

Clark Mindock reports.

[21 February 2020 14:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

'Donald Trump’s Parasite rant was a snapshot of his blinkered, ludicrous worldview'

For Indy Voices, here's Adam White on Trump's buffoonish foray into film criticism.

[21 February 2020 14:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Elizabeth Warren trolls Republican donor with menacing tax ad in his own paper

A little more on the Massachusetts senator, who is continuing to take on rich fat cats by buying advertising space in The Las Vegas Review-Journal to troll the newspaper's owner, Republican owner Sheldon Adelson, to tell him he'll be paying $2.3bn (£1.8bn) in tax if she wins the White House.

Chris Riotta has this report.

[21 February 2020 14:40 · Joe Sommerlad]

Cher warns Trump could make good on his threat to shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue

The legendary pop icon, 73, never one for moderation, has taken to Twitter to issue a dire warning about the president's current uninhibited embrace of lawlessness.

Danielle Zoellner has this report.

[21 February 2020 15:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Rabid conservative baffles nation by proclaiming Trump 'first black president' in sizzling hot take

Wayne Allyn Root of "Newsmax TV" has form in this sort of nonsense-shovelling.

Here's Greg Evans to explain.

[21 February 2020 15:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump sacked intelligence director over fury at Russia briefing to Congress

It appears the ousting of Joseph Maguire was indeed connected to the president's raging fury at the House Intelligence Committee being briefed on the Kremlin's preference for a Trump 2020 win.

[21 February 2020 15:40 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump resumes attack on Bloomberg with bizarre photoshopped video of 'Mini Mike'

The president is back and tweeting more crude attacks on his fellow New York billionaire courtesy of his social media guru Dan Scavino.

That was followed by this weird all-caps rant about bailing out farmers.

And this. We're on hoax number 7, apparently.

[21 February 2020 16:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Trump the film critic promotes gay Bollywood romance

The tweets keep coming.

Mostly they're promoting the administration's tentative peace deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan but the following is more unusual.

Ahead of his trip to India next week, the president has unexpectedly retweeted British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell on Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, a new Bollywood romance for the country's emergent LGBT+ community.

Trump is also trailing an announcement on his new director of national security, saying four people are in contention, and taking credit for the revival of Kentucky's coal industry.