Trump news: President says 'Afghanistan is safe in comparison' to Chicago as key impeachment witness defies subpoena
Follow the latest updates
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
During a speech in Chicago to police brass from across the US, Donald Trump attacked the city's police chief who is boycotting the visit from the president, who used his address to law enforcement to blame so-called "sanctuary" cities for violent crime rates.
Mr Trump accused Chicago Police Chief Eddie Johnson of "not doing his job" in a city that the president has often ridiculed as a "war zone" for its high murder rate. There have been 425 homicides in Chicago so far this year.
He also said Chief Johnson is putting "criminals and illegal aliens before the city of Chicago" and that "sanctuary" cities are knowingly releasing jailed immigrants accused of violent crime.
His appeal to law enforcement arrived that morning after he was roundly booed during Game 5 of baseball’s World Series in DC on Sunday, with fans of the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros chanting “Lock him up!” as “Veterans for Impeachment” signs were held aloft by spectators, prompting the president to leave the stadium early.
His unwelcome appearance at the game followed what should have been a triumphant moment for his administration in the announcement of the death of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a US-led raid that saw the terror group leader cornered in a dead-end tunnel in Syria. The president assured the world the terrorist had died “crying and screaming”.
In a Monday press conference, the president's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mick Milley said he doesn't know where Mr Trump got that account of the operation.
The president shared a photo on Twitter of an Army Delta force dog that was critical in the operation, according to Mr Trump. The dog's name is still classified. General Milley said it returned to its military unit.
When leading Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer demanded to know why Congress had not been briefed on the operation in advance at a time when the White House’s approach to foreign policy is already under intense scrutiny, vice president Mike Pence squirmed and struggled to answer the question on Fox News.
Mr Trump later explained that the administration was going to notify Congress but "we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like I’ve never seen before. There’s no country in the world that leaks like we do, and Washington is a leaking machine."
Follow along as it happened below.
Yet another Republican has announced their retirement ahead of the crucial 2020 elections:
The last moments of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s life were spent being chased down a dark underground tunnel by military dogs.
The dogs that sprinted after him, Donald Trump said about the Isis leader’s death on Sunday, were only deterred by a suicide bomb that detonated inside Baghdadi’s vest, killing him and several children.
“He reached the end of the tunnel, as our dogs chased him down,” the US president said. “He ignited his vest, killing himself and the three children.”
In a graphic speech that compared Baghdadi to a whimpering and suffering animal, Mr Trump celebrated that no American lives had been lost. Not even a four-legged one.
“Our ‘K-9’, as they call it,” he said, “I call it a dog. A beautiful dog – a talented dog – was injured and brought back.”
The family of murdered Isis hostage Kayla Mueller say they are “grateful” for the raid that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic caliphate who repeatedly raped the Arizona native after her kidnapping in 2013.
The operation, which was named after Mueller, took place over the weekend, and was announced by Donald Trump on Sunday morning during a nationally broadcast statement.
Marsha Mueller, Kayla's mother, said that she learned about the death from that broadcast, and said the president’s words had moved her.
“We are deeply touched by what he said. We were grateful that they didn’t mess around and went right in,” Ms Mueller told CNN in a phone interview.
Nancy Pelosi has announced the US House of Representatives will vote on a resolution that affirms the impeachment inquiry already being led into Donald Trump. More to come.
Here's Nancy Pelosi's statement on the forthcoming impeachment vote this week to affirm the inquiry into Donald Trump:
"We are taking this step to eliminate any doubt as to whether the Trump administration may withhold documents, prevent witness testimony, disregard duly authorized subpoenas, or continue obstructing the House of Representatives."
↵The president has tweeted a photograph of the dog who helped US special forces take down Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:
Chrissy Teigen has said the “whole” Trump family deserves jail time, as the impeachment inquiry against the US president continues.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, the model, who is famed for her Twitter takedowns of Trump, argued that impeachment is insufficient.
“I think there needs to be jail time for him, for the whole family,” she told the publication.
“I feel like he still gets away with everything if he gets out of his office. I know that his first tweet after he’s impeached will be, ‘I didn’t want to be there anyway’.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies