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Tag: Donald Trump

“President Biden Addresses Age Concerns, Vows to Defend Democracy in 2024 Run”

BY Milcah Tanimu

During fundraiser in New York, President Joe Biden, who is the oldest-ever president of the United States at 80 years old, spoke about the concerns surrounding his age. While he typically avoids discussing this topic, he acknowledged that many people are focused on it. Biden emphasized that his extensive experience has prepared him to handle crises like the Ukraine situation and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He made it clear that his re-election bid is motivated by his belief that democracy is at risk and accused Donald Trump and his supporters of having intentions to “destroy American democracy.” Biden also stressed that he would not yield to dictators and criticized Trump for his approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Opinion polls have consistently shown concerns among American voters regarding Biden’s age as he prepares for a potential rematch with Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Trump, who is 77 years old, would also be among the oldest presidents if elected for a second term.

While some political commentators have suggested that Biden should not run for re-election, the president remains determined to continue his political career and defend American democracy.

September 19, 2023
Trump Returns To Twitter With Mug Shot, Soliciting For Donation

Former President Donald Trump returned to the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, with a post on Thursday showing his mug shot from his booking at Fulton County Jail in Georgia earlier in the day.

With his post appealing for donations, Trump reclaimed direct access to the public on the platform that banned him following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress by his supporters.

On Nov. 19 the San Francisco-based app reversed its position under billionaire Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” who bought Twitter on Oct. 2.

Trump, who had over 88 million followers when Twitter banned him, posted a photo on Thursday of the mug shot with the words: “ELECTION INTERFERENCE! NEVER SURRENDER!” The post garnered more than 14 million views 50 minutes after going live.

Twitter permanently suspended Trump’s account in January 2021, citing the risk of further incitement of violence following the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

He used Twitter and other social media platforms to claim his defeat in the 2020 election was due to widespread voter fraud and to share other conspiracy theories.

On Wednesday, Trump opted out of a Republican primary debate on Fox News (FOXA.O), attracting millions of viewers who watched – or at least scrolled by – a rival interview on X.

That 46-minute conversation with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson had drawn nearly 250 million views as of Thursday night, according to the site’s statistics.

On Thursday evening, Trump broke from a vow that he would stick exclusively with his new platform Truth Social, the app developed by his Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) startup. Trump had 6.4 million followers on Truth Social as of Thursday.

Truth Social has been Trump’s main source of direct communication with his followers since he began posting on the app regularly in May. The former president has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize his opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.

A year ago, TMTG announced a deal to go public by merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The deal – which would infuse TMTG with $1.3 billion in cash – is now in doubt amid investigations by the Department of Justice and SEC, which have delayed its closing.

Trump’s company faces a crucial deadline when shareholders of DWAC have until 10 a.m., Sept. 5 to vote to extend the period of time DWAC has to complete its merger with TMTG. If DWAC does not get the votes, the SPAC will liquidate on Sept. 8.

Trump sued Twitter in 2021 over his suspension from the platform, arguing the move violated his right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

A U.S. judge in California dismissed the case, and a federal appeals court in Pasadena, California, is set to take up the dispute on Oct. 4. Attorneys for Trump have said his claims are still viable, and can be ruled on by the appeals court, despite his reinstatement to the platform.

August 26, 2023
Aborted Mutiny By Wagner Forces Has Weakened Putin – Trump

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has said that Russian president Vladimir Putin has been “somewhat weakened” by an aborted mutiny.

According to Trump, the front-runner in opinion polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, now is the time for the United States to try to broker a negotiated peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine.

“I want people to stop dying over this ridiculous war,” Trump told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday, June 29.

“You could say that he’s (Putin) still there, he’s still strong, but he certainly has been I would say somewhat weakened at least in the minds of a lot of people,” he said.

If Putin were no longer in power, however, “you don’t know what the alternative is. It could be better, but it could be far worse,” Trump said.

As for war crime charges levied against Putin by the International Criminal Court in March, Trump said Putin’s fate should be discussed when the war is over “because right now if you bring that topic up you’ll never make peace, you’ll never make a settlement.”

On Ukraine, Trump did not rule out that the Kyiv government might have to concede some territory to Russia in order to stop the war, which began with Russian forces invading Ukraine 16 months ago. He said everything would be “subject to negotiation”, if he were president, but that Ukrainians who have waged a vigorous fight to defend their land have “earned a lot of credit.”

“I think they would be entitled to keep much of what they’ve earned and I think that Russia likewise would agree to that. You need the right mediator, or negotiator, and we don’t have that right now,” he said.

“I think the biggest thing that the U.S. should be doing right now is making peace – getting Russia and Ukraine together and making peace. You can do it,” Trump said. “This is the time to do it, to get the two parties together to force peace.”

Trump added that China should be given a 48-hour deadline to leave a Chinese spy station on the island of Cuba 90 miles (145 km) off the U.S. coast.

He said if Beijing refused to accept his 48-hour demand for shutting it down, a Trump administration would impose new tariffs on Chinese goods.

“I’d give them 48 hours to get out. And if they didn’t get out, I’d charge them a 100% tariff on everything they sell to the United States, and they’d be gone within two days. They’d be gone within one hour,” Trump said.

When asked if the United States would support Taiwan militarily if China invaded the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.
“I don’t talk about that. And the reason I don’t is because it would hurt negotiating position,” he said. “All I can tell you is for four years, there was no threat. And it wouldn’t happen if I were president.”

June 30, 2023
Trump Indicted On Allegations Of Mishandling Classified Documents

Former US President Donald Trump says he’s been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.

It’s the first time a former US president has faced federal charges.

Trump has been charged with seven counts in the indictment, according to another source familiar with the matter.

The former president wrote on Truth Social that he had been informed by the Justice Department he was indicted and that he was “summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM.”

“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote.

The special counsel declined to comment.

The federal indictment is the second time Trump that has been charged criminally this year. In April, the Manhattan district attorney charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business.

But the indictment from the special counsel marks a new and more perilous legal phase for a former president, who is running for president again in 2024 while facing criminal charges in two jurisdictions – and with two additional investigations into his conduct still underway

The charges against Trump come just seven months since Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as a special counsel after Trump announced he was running for president, in order to keep the investigation independent from the Biden Justice Department.

Now Trump will face federal charges from the special counsel at the same time that he is trying to unseat President Joe Biden in next year’s presidential election.

June 9, 2023
Jury Finds Trump Liable In Civil Rape Trial

The jury in E Jean Carroll’s civil rape trial against Donald Trump has found him liable for her sexual abuse but not for rape. The former president was also found to have defamed the magazine columnist.

She has been awarded a total of $5m in a payout after a unanimous verdict was reached by the nine jurors in less than three hours.

Both sides delivered closing arguments in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday, with Ms Carroll’s lawyer Roberta Kaplan saying: “In a real sense, Donald Trump is a witness against himself.”

Mr Trump’s attorney Joe Tacopina countered that while the former president’s “grab ‘em by the pussy” comments in the infamous Access Hollywood tape are “rude” and “gross”, he claimed “that doesn’t make Ms Carroll’s unbelievable story believable”. Independent.co.uk

May 10, 2023
Donald Trump arrested in New York

Donald Trump has been arrested in New York, making history as the first former or sitting US president to be arrested.

He surrendered before the Manhattan grand jury in New York on Tuesday, April 4 to face extraordinary criminal charges that threaten to derail the Republican leader’s 2024 presidential campaign.

The sealed indictment purportedly charges the 76-year old with more than 30 counts of corporate fraud, the most serious of which is allegedly paying ‘hush money’ to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

Wearing a dark blue suit and red tie, Donald Trump showed little emotion on his face as he waved to a crowd assembled outside the courthouse.

When he departed from the Trump Tower, he held his fist in the air in a gesture to the reporters.

April 4, 2023
Ex-US president, Donald Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury

A grand jury in New York City voted on Thursday, March 30, to indict Donald Trump, the first time in American history that a current or former president will face criminal charges.

The former US president was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on criminal charges following an investigation into hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels, according to prosecutors and defense attorneys.

The indictment has been filed under seal and will be announced in the coming days. The charges are not publicly known at this time.

A payment of $130,000 was allegedly made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during the closing days of the 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels claimed she slept with the married Trump in 2006, a claim he has denied. Trump had classified his reimbursement of the payout as a legal expense to his then-lawyer.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has been investigating the former president in connection with his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election. Grand jury proceedings are secret, but a source familiar with the case told CNN that a witness gave about 30 minutes of testimony before it voted to indict Trump.

Alvin Bragg’s office said in a statement that it has contacted former President Donald Trump’s attorney “to coordinate his surrender” for arraignment on a state Supreme Court indictment, noting that it remains under seal.

“Guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected,” the office said.

The twice-impeached Trump is the first commander-in-chief in American history to be criminally indicted.

After the grand jury returned the indictment which remained sealed as of late Thursday night a spokesperson for the DA’s office said that they had contacted Trump’s legal team to coordinate his surrender before the arraignment.

March 31, 2023
Twitter Reinstates Trump Account After Musk’s Poll

Donald Trump’s Twitter account was reinstated Saturday after the platform’s new owner Elon Musk ran a poll in which a narrow majority of voters supported the move, days after the former US president announced another White House bid.

Trump was banned from the platform early last year for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” Musk tweeted, shortly after the 24-hour poll ended.

“Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” he added, repeating a Latin adage he posted Friday meaning “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”

More than 15 million people — out of 237 million daily Twitter users — voted on whether to reinstate the controversial profile, with 51.8 percent in favor and 48.2 percent against.

Trump, who had more than 88 million users when his account was suspended, reveled in using Twitter as a mouthpiece during his presidency, posting policy announcements, attacking political rivals and communicating with supporters.

Musk’s poll asked for a simple “yes” or “no” response to the statement “Reinstate former President Trump,” which the billionaire Twitter boss posted Friday.

“Fascinating to watch Twitter Trump poll!” Musk mused Saturday morning in a blast of tweets from the controversial and hard-charging new owner of the one-to-many messaging platform.

He has posed similar polls in the past, asking followers last year if he should sell stock in his electric car company Tesla. Following that poll, he sold more than $1 billion in shares.

November 20, 2022
2024: Trump Declares for US Presidency

Donald Trump pulled the trigger on a third White House run on Tuesday night, setting the stage for a bruising Republican nomination battle after a poor midterm election showing by his hand-picked candidates weakened his grip on the party.

Trump officially launched a campaign for president in 2024, filing papers with the Federal Election Commission in which he declared himself a candidate for the presidency and established a new campaign committee.

Trump is expected to give a speech later in the evening at his Florida private club, Mar-a-Lago.

“America’s comeback starts right now,” the 76-year-old former US President told hundreds of supporters gathered in an ornate American flag-draped ballroom at his palatial Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

“The voting will be much different. Are you getting ready?” Trump said.

“This will not be my campaign. This will be our campaign all together,” he said to the cheering crowd.

Agence France-Presse reports that Trump’s unusually early entry into the White House race is being seen in Washington as an attempt to get the jump on other Republicans seeking to be the party flag-bearer in 2024 – and to stave off potential criminal charges.

Republicans are licking their wounds after disappointing midterms, widely blamed on the underperformance of Trump-anointed candidates, and some are openly asking whether Trump – with his divisive brand of politics and mess of legal woes – is the right person to carry the party colors next time around.

Several possible 2024 primary rivals are circling, chief among them the governor of Florida Ron DeSantis, who bucked the tide and won a resounding reelection victory on November 8.

Trump, who lost the 2020 elections to Democrat Joe Biden after being impeached twice by the House of Representatives, launches his latest White House bid with several potential handicaps.

He is the target of multiple investigations into his conduct before, during and after his first term as president – which could ultimately result in his disqualification.

These include allegations of fraud by his family business, his role in last year’s attack on the US Capitol, his attempt to overturn the 2020 elections, and his stashing of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

With Trump now a declared candidate, Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, may be forced to name a special counsel to pursue the various investigations into the former president launched by the Department of Justice.

November 16, 2022
Facebook suspends Trump for 2 years

Facebook has suspended former U.S. President, Donald Trump, on Facebook and Instagram platforms for two years, effective January 7.

Facebook in a statement by Nick Clegg, Vice-President of Global Affairs, cited “severe violation” after Capitol Hill riots of January 6 and that Trump’s accounts would only be reinstated if conditions permitted.

“Last month, the Oversight Board upheld Facebook’s suspension of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6.

“But in doing so, the board criticised the open-ended nature of the suspension, stating that “it was not appropriate for Facebook to impose the indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension”.

“The board instructed us to review the decision and respond in a way that is clear and proportionate, and made a number of recommendations on how to improve our policies and processes,” it said.

Facebook deletes Buhari’s post against South East

“We are today announcing new enforcement protocols to be applied in exceptional cases such as this, and we are confirming the time-bound penalty consistent with those protocols which we are applying to Mr. Trump’s accounts.”

Facebook further stated that it believes Trump’s actions constituted a severe violation of its rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols.

“At the end of the suspension, we will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded.”

It added that it will evaluate external factors, including instances of violence, restrictions on peaceful assembly and other markers of civil unrest.

June 4, 2021