Trump news: President holds press conference with Brazil's far-right leader Bolsonaro, after Twitter row over 'deteriorating' mental health

Meanwhile, the FBI are set to investigate Florida massage parlour owner Li Yang, who has ties to the president

Lawyer for Li Yang: 'She was fascinated with Donald Trump the way a lot of people are'

Donald Trump and Brazil‘s far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro held a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden, in a show of unity between the two nations.

President Trump said he told Mr Bolsonaro he would make Brazil a major non-Nato ally, with the possibility of supporting a campaign to make it “maybe a Nato ally”.

In turn, the Brazilian leader went on to praise Mr Trump for changing the United States, echoing Mr Trump’s “fake news” slogan.

“Brazil and the United States are tied by the guarantee of liberty, respect for the traditional family, the fear of God our creator, against gender identity, political correctness and fake news,” Mr Bolsonaro.

The far-right leader has been an avid supporter of President Trump, with their mirroring speeches sharing conservative views.

The press conference came after Donald Trump was drawn into a Twitter spat with George Conway, husband of adviser Kellyanne, over questions around the president’s mental health.

The argument comes as the FBI investigates the president's ties to the owner of a chain of massage parlours in Florida at the urging of House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.

The Democrats have asked the bureau to look into “public reports about alleged the activities by Ms Li ‘Cindy’ Yang and her apparent relationship with the president”, who has been the subject of allegations relating to human trafficking, prostitution and promising Chinese businessmen access to Mar-a-Lago to meet Mr Trump, who denies knowing her despite their being photographed together.

Reports have meanwhile emerged suggesting the president obtained $2bn (£1.5bn) in loans from Deutsche Bank over two decades, allegedly exaggerating his personal wealth and promising bankers weekends at his Florida retreat in exchange for their help in securing the funding.

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Key Points

• President calls husband of adviser Kellyanne Conway 'a total loser'
• FBI to investigate Florida massage parlour owner Li Yang with ties to president
• Trump 'promised bankers Mar-a-Lago weekends in exchange for $2bn loans'
• President to meet with Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro in Washington

[19 March 2019 12:50 · Joe Sommerlad]

Iowa Republican congressman Steve King is meanwhile in hot water after posting and then deleting a meme on Facebook speculating on what would happen if there were another American Civil War.

This is the very same Steve King who asked in an interview with The New York Times in January when it "became offensive" to be a white supremacist, a line that saw him removed from congressional committees but escape condemnation from President Trump. 

[19 March 2019 12:57 · Joe Sommerlad]

Here's George firing back.

[19 March 2019 13:05 · Joe Sommerlad]

Speaking at a CNN Town Hall event in Jackson, Mississippi, last night, Democratic presidential contender Elizabeth Warren called for the abolition of the electoral college, which allowed President Trump to win the 2016 campaign despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.

[19 March 2019 13:20 · Joe Sommerlad]

The president's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, is set to be given the gig full-time, according to Politico.

Mr Mulvaney is understood to meet with Mr Trump twice daily and would be his third chief of staff since taking office, after Reince Priebus and John Kelly.

He is a former South Carolina congressman and would take a job turned down by Nick Ayers, Mike Pence's chief of staff, and by ex-New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

[19 March 2019 13:35 · Joe Sommerlad]

An interesting point about the president's liberal posting of Fox News clips last night.

[19 March 2019 13:50 · Joe Sommerlad]

Donald Trump is seemingly extremely wary of self-driving cars.

[19 March 2019 14:00 · Sarah Harvard]

George Conway—the husband of Kellyanne Conway–called out the Trump administration for lying, saying that "we knew that already."

[19 March 2019 14:10 · Sarah Harvard]

Donald Trump's disapproval rating dropped to the lowest point of his presidency, according to a CNN poll released on Monday.

The poll's findings revealed 51 per cent of respondents disapprove of the president's job performance, making it the lowest figure since CNN began polling at the start of his term.

[19 March 2019 14:20 · Sarah Harvard]

Special Counsel Robert Mueller began investigating Michael Cohen long before the FBI raided Donald Trump's personal attorney in April 2018.

In July 2017, just a few months after Mr Trump assumed office, Mr Mueller obtained search warrants to investigate three of Cohen's email accounts.

[19 March 2019 14:30 · Sarah Harvard]

Moments after reports revealed the president distrusts self-driving cars, and reportedly likes to act out car crashes, Donald Trump boasted the economy is doing better than it's ever been with car companies moving to the US.