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 14:45 · Sarah Harvard]

The New York Times broke down the president's manic tweets over the weekend.

Per NYT:

"But last weekend proved to be an unusually active 48 hours online for Mr. Trump: From Friday morning to Sunday evening, Mr. Trump tweeted over 50 times, counting the retweets that amplified supporters who have limited public reach on their own."

"But it was unclear what had provoked the president’s flurry of activity, and even advisers were searching for the normal cues that set him off: White House officials performing poorly on the Sunday show circuit, or the president’s delayed distillation of negative coverage from the week before."

[19 March 2019 15:00 · Sarah Harvard]

Stephen Colbert did not mince his words last night. The host of CBS's The Late Show called out the president for not taking appropriate actions following the devastating Christchurch massacre that killed at least 51 people.

"You know, the world is still reeling from Friday’s terror attack in New Zealand on two mosques by a white supremacist in which 50 Muslim worshipers were killed," Mr Colbert said on Monday's episode. "All of our hearts go out to those at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques and the great people of New Zealand.”

The comedian criticized Mr Trump for failing to condemn white supremacy.

"Trump has trouble showing love for things that are not him, and he has a particularly bad record with Muslims,” Mr Colbert added. “So he’s in a bind. On the one hand, after a terror attack to condemn the extremist ideology of the terrorist should be a slam-dunk. On the other hand, he can’t jump.”

[19 March 2019 15:15 · Sarah Harvard]

From Democratic Senator Chris Murphy:

[19 March 2019 15:30 · Sarah Harvard]

The Washington Post obtained a letter Donald Trump sent to George Conway, the husband of Kellyanne Conway, praising his skills as a lawyer and expressing gratitude for helping him with a condo board dispute.

[19 March 2019 15:45 · Sarah Harvard]

Fox Business host Gerry Baker said there is "no question" white supremacists see Donald Trump as one of their own.

“I think there is no question that white supremacists, large numbers of white supremacists, see Donald Trump and other people like him as kind of on their side," Mr Baker said on Fox News' The Daily Briefing With Dana Perino, while speaking about the New Zealand mosque shootings that left dozens dead. 

[19 March 2019 16:00 · Sarah Harvard]

Mikel Jollett, the frontman of rock band Airborne Toxic Event, pointed out some eerie coincidences regarding President Trump.

[19 March 2019 16:15 · Sarah Harvard]

In addition to the press, President Trump has also come after Google, Facebook and Twitter for siding with "Radical Left Democrats."

[19 March 2019 16:30 · Sarah Harvard]

Forbes' Dan Alexander pointed out a flaw in campaign finance:

[19 March 2019 16:37 · Sarah Harvard]

During his press conference withBrazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, President Trump had some harsh words for late Senator John McCain.

The president said he blames Mr McCain for the Obamacare vote and "I never liked John McCain and I never will."

[19 March 2019 16:39 · Sarah Harvard]

Per White House pool:

Mr Trump said he will look "very, very strongly" at giving Brazil Nato privileges.