Trump 'seriously' considering ending birthright citizenship, as he doubles down on antisemitic comments and Denmark row
The president called himself "the chosen one" today
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Donald Trump had a remarkable day of outbursts. Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, he doubled down on his antisemitic remarks to claim that Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats are betraying Israel, during an impromptu press conference on the White House lawn in which he also claimed that the victims of mass shootings "love" him. He also referred to himself as "the chosen one," while talking about a trade deal.
The comments came after he lashed out on Twitter that morning against the “LameStream Media”, the Federal Reserve and its chairman Jerome Powell as fears the US is sliding into recession continue and his disapproval rating hits 54 per cent in a new CNN poll.
The president also tweeted lavish praise of himself from an evangelical Fox and Friends pundit insisting Israeli Jews “love him like he is the second coming of God”.
In news away from the president's Internet presence, his administration today moved forward with a new regulation that would allow the government to detain migrant families indefinitely. The rule is expected to be challenged immediately.
He also told reporters that he's "seriously considering" ending birthright citizenship.
Mr Trump has also raised eyebrows by backing out of a trip to Denmark, supposedly because they would not sell him Greenland. Mr Trump called the prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, of that country "nasty" for outright rejecting the notion that the US could buy the country.
He also assured the National Rifle Association that universal background checks are off the table in gun control talks during a phone call with the NRA's president. Students from Parkland, meanwhile, have released a comprehensive plan for gun control in America.
Later, in Kentucky, the president joked that he should award himself the Medal of Honour, while continuing his consistent claims that America was weak before him in a speech honouring US veterans. He also referenced a Johnson & Johnson nasal spray that can prevent suicide. He told the veterans that he believes this new drug should be given to them for free.
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Mr Trump also suggested that he is working with Johnson & Johnson to buy a medication for US veterans that decrease suicidal tendencies quickly, through a nasal spray.
He appears to have been talking about the drug Spravato, which is apparently a close chemical cousin to the drug ketamine.
It costs between $2,000 and $3,000 a month.
Mr Trump also claimed that the US dollar was the strongest it has been in history yesterday — which is untrue.
The comment came as he defended the US economy, and pushed back on reporter questions about raising taxes. He suggested he sees no reason to raise taxes because the economy is fine.
"Yesterday we had the strongest dollar in the history of our country.
We had literally the strongest dollar in the history of our country," Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump is currently speaking at the American Veterans 75th National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Watch live here.
Mr Trump is praising Mitch McConnell, the senator from Kentucky, and immediately jumping into one of his favourite topics: the number of judges he's appointed. Today he says he's at 150, and will soon be at 179, which is a very specific number. He says "somebody" told him that appointing judges was the most important thing he could do as president, for background.
"It's about time, wouldn't you say, you hear 'America First?'" Mr Trump tells the crowd of veterans, referring to one of his campaign slogans, which is a variation on a historically fascist theme. "You didn't used to hear it at all. You hear it a lot now. I hope you don't get sick of it."
Later, he clarifies: "This is not a campaign speech, so I will not say 'Keep America great.' But we're going to keep America great."
Mr Trump has a few accomplishments that he likes to cover with the military, including bringing home prisoners of war, which has been a specialty of this administration, and "rebuilding" the military in general. He also says that new planes are being built in the USA. Here's Robert Reich with a little background on why that's not true.
The president generally tells a crowd that America wasn't respected at all before he took office, but it's still a little surprising that he's sticking to that line in a speech to US veterans, who have devoted their lives to establishing the country's role in the world. Still, he's getting quite a good reaction, and a fair amount of laughs.
Mr Trump says the VA has essentially been fixed since he took office, especially at veterans hospitals, which are historically lacking.
"I'm not hearing bad stories," he told the crowd. "I'm hearing all good stories."
According to the Associated Press, most of the VA achievements Mr Trump are actually the result of the Obama administration.
The president is now touting his achievements in science. Appearing to refer to scientists as a whole, he tells the crowd "I told them to find a painkiller that's not addictive," and then concludes: "They're closer than you think." So look forward to that.
The president ended his speech by saying he'll sign a memorandum to eliminate student debt "owed by American veterans who are completely and permanently disabled." After applause, he adds "Nobody can complain about that."
After some more remarks and a stage visit from a veteran, he brought up Betsy DeVos, among others, to sign the bill. The crowd applauded greatly.
It's unclear if this is related to legislation that, according to Military Times, was introduced last year by a bipartisan effort.
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