Donald Trump blamed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion of his homeland during the second part of his interview with Sean Hannity, which aired on Fox News last night.
The president said Zelensky was “no angel” and had allowed the war to rumble on but added he would be prepared to impose massive tariffs on Moscow if Vladimir Putin refuses to enter talks on ending the conflict.
Trump also said he “would rather not” place tarrifs on China but insisted it was a “tremendous power” at his disposal in dealing with Beijing and discussed renewable energy, the Panama canal and former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith over the course of the wide-ranging discussion.
Also on Thursday, the president declassified top secret files on the 1960s assassinations of John F Kennedy, Robert F Kennedy and Dr Martin Luther King Jr and saw his bid to end birthright citizenship challenged in court as “blatantly unconstitutional”.
On Friday, Trump will visit Los Angeles to survey the damage from the recent raging wildfires, having been highly critical of California Governor Gavin Newsom and local officials’ response to the disaster.
Key Points
- Donald Trump criticizes Volodymyr Zelensky and talks China, Panama and windmills in second part of Fox News interview
- Trump visiting Los Angeles today to survey wildfire damage
- President orders release of JFK, RFK and MLK assassination records
- Trump’s birthright citizenship order temporarily blocked by federal judge
Trump could be sending as many as 10,000 troops to the Mexican border
10:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
As many as 10,000 troops could eventually be stationed at the US-Mexico border as part of Trump’s sweeping campaign to carry out mass deportations and declare a national emergency at the international boundary line.
Though the operation will initially involve about 1,500 additional troops joining the roughly 2,500 already at the border, the total force could swell to 10,000 people, the Pentagon told reporters on Wednesday.
“This is just the beginning,” acting defense secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement.
The troops will not carry out direct immigration and border enforcement like making arrests and seizing drugs, but will reportedly serve other roles including transporting migrants to processing facilities and using military planes to assist the Department of Homeland Security in deporting migrants who are already detained.
Josh Marcus reports.
Trump talks Nato, Federal Reserve, Capitol rioters and Elon Musk at White House
10:25
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president had plenty more to say during yesterday’s Oval Office session, taking questions from the press on a range of issues, revealing, among others things, that he would be open to meeting the pardoned insurrectionists in person and claiming not to mind being undermined by Musk on X as he was this week after announcing the $500bn Stargate AI infrastructure project.
Trump on NATO: "We're protecting them. They're not protecting us. We're protecting them so I don't think we should be spending -- I'm not sure we should be spending anything." pic.twitter.com/78embirK2S
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
REPORTER: Do you expect the Fed to listen to you?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
TRUMP: Yeah pic.twitter.com/CnNqEYs4wx
Trump says he's open to meeting J6 criminals he pardoned, including some who beat cops: "What they did is they were protesting a crooked election. People understand that also. And they were treated very badly." pic.twitter.com/7tpCRPRWKP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Trump wildly accuses January 6 committee members of crimes pic.twitter.com/STTFtwIjbs
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Reporter: Does it bother you Elon Musk criticized a deal you made publicly he said he tweeted that.
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 23, 2025
Trump: No it doesn't. He hates one of the people in the deal. I have certain hatreds of people too pic.twitter.com/QDgTqxvCsY
Trump pardons ‘peaceful’ anti-abortion protestors who barricaded door and injured nurse
10:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president signed pardons for 23 anti-abortion activists yesterday who were convicted for violating a federal law that makes it a crime to block entrances to reproductive health clinics.
The pardon list includes Lauren Handy, who is serving a nearly five-year prison sentence after forcing her way inside a Washington DC clinic in 2020 and using ropes, bike blocks and chains to stop patients from entering – actions that anti-abortion groups and Republican officials have characterized as peaceful protests unjustly prosecuted by a politically-motivated administration.
Their convictions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act during Joe Biden’s presidency were fiercely condemned by anti-abortion organizations and right-wing legal groups, which pressed Trump for Thursday’s pardon.
“This is a great honor to sign this,” Trump said from the Oval Office.
“They should not have been prosecuted… Ridiculous.”
Trump signs pardons for "pro-life protesters who were prosecuted by the Biden administration" pic.twitter.com/b76AZxQp2u
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Here’s more from Alex Woodward.
Trump’s birthright citizenship order temporarily blocked by federal judge
09:55
,
Joe Sommerlad
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Trump’s sweeping executive order seeking to unilaterally redefine the 14th Amendment and federal law by denying citizenship to certain American-born children of immigrants.
District Judge John Coughenour, presiding over a lawsuit brought by several states seeking to overturn Trump’s order, delivered a blistering criticism of the president’s “blatantly unconstitutional” action from the bench in a Seattle courtroom on Thursday.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” said the Ronald Reagan appointee.
This was how Trump responded in the Oval Office yesterday during his latest signing session.
"Obviously we'll appeal it" -- Trump on a court striking down his birthright citizenship EO pic.twitter.com/OnfoN8fzT3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Here’s more from Alex Woodward.
Trump orders release of JFK, RFK and MLK assassination records
09:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president announced he was declassifying the much-anticipated files during an impromptu signing ceremony in the Oval Office after being handed the order to sign by White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf.
After Scharf told him what he was signing, the president replied: “That’s a big one, huh?”
“A lot of people are waiting for this for a long time, for years, for decades,” he continued before adding that “everything will be revealed” about the assassinations, all three of which have been the subject of conspiracy theories in the decades since they occurred.
Trump signs an EO for the declassification of files related to the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations pic.twitter.com/Zo7x78a4kn
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Here’s more from Andrew Feinberg.
Trump visiting Los Angeles today to survey wildfire damage
09:25
,
Joe Sommerlad
The president is flying down to the embattled City of Angels on Friday to survey the damage from the recent raging wildfires, having been highly critical of California Governor Gavin Newsom and local officials’ response to the disaster.
Trump has been issuing pronouncements like the below for the last two weeks while his congressional allies have suggested the blue state should only receive federal aid if “conditions” are attached, none of which can have been very helpful to the heroic emergency efforts on the ground still underway to tackle the blaze.
Trump on wildfires: "Los Angeles has massive amounts of water available to it. All they have to do is turn the value, and that's the valve coming back from and down from the Pacific Northwest." pic.twitter.com/hc0Uxbd1oa
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 21, 2025
Meanwhile, Newsom has said he has had no communication from the White House about the visit.
Gavin Newsom confirms he is still being ghosted by the President, despite Trump making a trip to Los Angeles this week to survey wildfire damage pic.twitter.com/2P78X6SCV9
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) January 24, 2025
Here’s more.
Trump says he hopes to resume his relationship with ‘smart guy’ Kim Jong-un
09:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Also in the Hannity interview, the president expressed his desire to rekindle his friendship with the North Korean dictator, who once memorably called him a “dotard” before they became unlikely pen pals.
Shweta Sharma has this report.
Donald Trump criticizes Volodymyr Zelensky and talks China, Panama and windmills in second part of Fox News interview
08:55
,
Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
Donald Trump blamed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russia’s invasion of his homeland during the second part of his interview with Sean Hannity, which aired on Fox News last night.
The president said Zelensky was “no angel” and had allowed the war to rumble on by, er, putting up a fight but did say he would be prepared to impose massive tariffs on Moscow if Vladimir Putin refused to enter talks on ending the conflict.
Trump: "Zelenskyy decided that 'I want to fight.'" pic.twitter.com/oPETKcyyC9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 24, 2025
Trump threatens to massive tariffs on Russia if they don’t end the war with Ukraine soon pic.twitter.com/3ScfqoNggH
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 24, 2025
Also on tariffs, Trump said he “would rather not” land China with them but insisted it was a “tremendous power” at his disposal in dealing with Beijing.
There was also some more raving about windmills and a reiteration that the US would be snatching back the Panama canal.
Trump: "We don't want windmills in this country. We're putting an order on it. I've already sort of done it. We don't want windmills ... you know what else people don't like? Those massive solar fields." pic.twitter.com/LnH32Xrp2g
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 24, 2025
Trump on the Panama Canal: "Oh no, we're gonna have to take it back." pic.twitter.com/JDRzk3k954
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 24, 2025
He closed it all out, naturally, by calling former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith “a moron” for attempting to hold him to account.
Here’s Andrew Feinberg on his Zelensky comments.
Report: Fears of lawmakers’ sexual texts to Cassidy Hutchinson being released may have stopped a Republican subpoena
08:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
An aide working for House Speaker Mike Johnson stepped in last June to advise Republicans against issuing a subpoena for former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson for fear that it might expose sexual texts lawmakers sent her, according to The Washington Post.
The subpoena was intended to be a part of House Republicans’ own investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress.
Johnson brought the investigation back to life this week as President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress seek revenge against perceived political enemies, such as those who investigated the attack on the Capitol.
Gustaf Kilander has the story.
Trump abruptly cancels DOJ program to hire young lawyers from top colleges — it’s a mystery why...
08:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
The Trump administration canceled a Justice Department recruiting program for young lawyers at prestigious colleges and revoked recent job offers, according to a report.
President Donald Trump scrapped the Attorney General’s Honors Program that had been in place since 1953, sources familiar with the cancellation told the Washington Post. The department’s website describes the program as the “nation’s premier entry-level federal attorney recruitment program,” attracting candidates from top law schools across the country.
The reason for tossing out the program wasn’t immediately clear.
Kelly Rissman reports from New York.
With future up in the air, Jim Acosta gives cheeky sign-off from CNN
06:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
CNN anchor Jim Acosta seemingly acknowledged the current state of flux he now finds himself in at the network, cheekily telling viewers that he is “still reporting from Washington” while signing off from his morning show on Thursday.
The rhetorical wink and nod to the audience came hours after CNN announced that not only is it laying off 6 percent of its workforce as it pivots to a digital-first operation but that the network is also revamping its weekday television lineup – which currently leaves Acosta in limbo as he contemplates moving to late-night.
Justin Baragona reports.
Federal workers should work all day, like Trump, say ‘Fox & Friends’ hosts, bashing Biden
04:30
,
AP
On Thursday morning’s Fox and Friends episode, the hosts told federal workers to use Donald Trump’s work ethic as an “example” and to “work all day.”
The hosts accused federal employees of seeking “special treatment” after Trump issued an executive order ending remote work for the federal workforce.
Graig Graziosi reports.
Trump not bothered by Musk’s criticism of the Stargate project
03:30
,
AP
Donald Trump said he is unbothered by Elon Musk’s criticism of the Stargate artificial intelligence infrastructure project he announced this week, telling reporters that Musk is critical because one of the people involved in the deal is “one of the people he happens to hate.”
The president brushed aside the clash that’s been unfurling online between two of his tech business allies, Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk has questioned the value of the AI investment, of which OpenAI is a partner.
“People in the deal are very, very smart people. But, Elon, one of the people he happens to hate. But I have certain hatreds of people, too,” Trump said.
The president did not elaborate.
Watch that moment:
Reporter: Does it bother you Elon Musk criticized a deal you made publicly he said he tweeted that.
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 23, 2025
Trump: No it doesn't. He hates one of the people in the deal. I have certain hatreds of people too pic.twitter.com/QDgTqxvCsY
Trump called special counsel Jack Smith ‘a total moron’ and ‘deranged’ in Hannity interview
03:21
,
Michelle Del Rey
The president made the comments after the TV show host suggested authorities would’ve tried to put him in jail.
“I think so,” Trump said. “You got a deranged Jack Smith, a total moron...He was looking for something and he’s done it in the past with people. But he’s a failure. He’s a total failure and he failed in the past also. You know why? Because he goes too far.”
The president also addressed the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and his pledge that he would stop it within the first 24 hours of his administration, which didn’t materialize. He appeared to blame the war’s continuance on Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelensky, he said, is “no angel” and “shouldn’t have allowed this war to happen,” even though it was Russia that invaded Ukraine.
“First of all, he’s fighting a much bigger entity, okay, much bigger. When he was, you know, talking so brave ... Zelensky was fighting a much bigger entity, much bigger, much more powerful. He shouldn’t have done that, because we could have made a deal, and it would have been a deal that would have been, it would have been a nothing deal,” Trump claimed.
Border crossing in Southwest are down in first week of Trump’s second presidency
02:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Border crossings in the Southwest are reportedly down as President Donald Trump’s administration begins its immigration crack down.
The number of daily Southwest border encounters dropped by nearly half on Wednesday, according to a report.
Border Patrol apprehended just over 840 people crossing the border between ports of entry, reported NBC News.
Rhian Lubin reports.
Trump pardons anti-abortion activists who blockaded clinic entrances
02:00
,
AP
Donald Trump announced Thursday he would pardon anti-abortion activists convicted of blockading abortion clinic entrances.
The president called it “a great honor to sign this.”
“They should not have been prosecuted,” he said as he signed pardons for “peaceful pro-life protesters.”
Among the people pardoned were those involved in the October 2020 invasion and blockade of a Washington clinic.
In the first week of Trump’s presidency, anti-abortion advocates have ramped up calls for Trump to pardon protesters charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which is designed to protect abortion clinics from obstruction and threats. The 1994 law was passed during a time when clinic protests and blockades were on the rise, as well as violence against abortion providers, such as the murder of Dr. David Gunn in 1993.
Kash Patel hearing set for Friday as Trump returns to Fox for a second consecutive night
01:56
,
Andrew Feinberg
Donald Trump’s controversial nominee to be FBI director, Kash Patel, will face down the Senate Judiciary Committee next Thursday when he appears for a confirmation hearing before the panel led by Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. The hearing and subsequent Senate votes will determine whether Patel, a former prosecutor and public defender who gained prominence as a vociferous defender of the president, will replace former director Christopher Wray.
Wray, who Trump named to lead the bureau in 2017 after he fired then-director James Comey, resigned just before the 45th president was sworn in as the 47th president on Monday. Trump had indicated a desire to fire Wray because the former New Jersey US Attorney had failed to stop criminal investigations into his conduct.
Trump, who on Wednesday met with Fox News host Sean Hannity for his first television interview since returning to the White House, will appear on the right-wing host’s eponymous program Thursday evening when the second half of the interview is aired.
Are the penny’s days numbered under Trump?
01:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
According to a comment his new advisory board made on X, one of Elon Musk’s first goals in his new role as Donald Trump’s advisor may be to eliminate the penny.
Graig Graziosi reports.
Trump abruptly cancels DOJ program to hire young lawyers from top colleges — it’s a mystery why...
01:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
The Trump administration canceled a Justice Department recruiting program for young lawyers at prestigious colleges and revoked recent job offers, according to a report.
President Donald Trump scrapped the Attorney General’s Honors Program that had been in place since 1953, sources familiar with the cancellation told the Washington Post. The department’s website describes the program as the “nation’s premier entry-level federal attorney recruitment program,” attracting candidates from top law schools across the country.
The reason for tossing out the program wasn’t immediately clear.
Kelly Rissman reports from New York.
Elon Musk’s battle with Wikipedia is part of his war on truth
00:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Io Dodds writes:
When Elon Musk makes a claim, it’s often wise to mentally add a little note on the end: citation needed.
After volunteer editors updated Musk’s Wikipedia page to reflect his “alleged Nazi salute” at Trump’s inauguration, the world’s richest person demanded an immediate boycott of the non-profit foundation.
Musk has been skirmishing with Wikipedia for a while — in October 2024 he offered a $1 billion donation to change the site’s name to “Dickipedia”— but this latest attack fits into a long and worrying pattern of Musk trying to control what people see and hear about him and his businesses.
“He is the world’s leading free speech hypocrite,” Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, tells The Independent. “And his actions with respect to Wikipedia are further evidence of that.
Musk tolerates free speech — as long as he likes the viewpoint or agrees with the political perspective, notes Stern.
Read on...
Bloomberg pledges over $20m to plug gap in UN’s climate budget after Trump pulled out
00:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
Just two days after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would pull out of the Paris climate agreement, billionaire Michael Bloomberg said he and other climate funders would provide funding to help cover the country’s contribution to the United Nation’s climate change body.
The pledge will cover 22 percent of the nearly $100 million budget previously provided by America. The other funders were not identified.
Julia Musto reports.
Federal employees given deadlines to name DEI colleagues
Thursday 23 January 2025 23:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Federal employers have been warned they may face “consequences” if they fail to identify colleagues who have been employed with the government through DEI schemes.
Emails sent to government employees and obtained by NBC News accused staffers of hiding information about those on the schemes by using “coded or imprecise language.”
Mike Bedigan reports from New York.
State Department freezes nonbinary passport applications
Thursday 23 January 2025 23:10
,
Oliver O'Connell
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered the US State Department to immediately suspend all applications for passports with the “X” gender marker, a third option introduced by the agency under the Biden administration for nonbinary, intersex and other gender nonconforming persons.
An internal email first reported by The Guardian documented the move. It orders the suspension of any passport applications for persons who did not mark either “male” or “female” in the gender section.
John Bowden reports from Washington, D.C.
New forces being deployed to El Paso and San Diego to secure southern border
Thursday 23 January 2025 22:55
,
AP
Active-duty military troops will begin arriving in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego this evening. Defense officials say this is the first batch of the new forces being deployed to secure the southern border.
The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that about 1,500 troops were being sent to the border this week, as the department scrambles to put in motion President Donald Trump’s executive order demanding an immediate crackdown on immigration.
U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details on troop movements, said they expect additional troops to be ordered to deploy in the next few days as defense and homeland security leaders iron out requests for more support.
The officials said it’s not yet clear how many more service members will be tapped in the near future, but they would include active duty, National Guard, and Reserves and come from land, air, and sea forces. Other defense and military officials this week estimated that the additional number deployed could be in the thousands.
Full story: Rubio set to visit Panama on first official trip
Thursday 23 January 2025 22:40
,
Oliver O'Connell
Marco Rubio’s first official trip as secretary of State will be to one of several areas in the western hemisphere turned into a political football by his boss over the transition period.
The secretary will embark on a swing through Central America within the coming days, Politico first reported on Wednesday, including Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. His trip comes as President Donald Trump has threatened an international dispute over control of the Panama Canal.
John Bowden reports.
Hegseth told senator he paid $50,000 to woman who accused him of 2017 sex assault
Thursday 23 January 2025 22:35
,
Oliver O'Connell
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of defense, paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017, according to answers he provided to a senator during his confirmation process that The Associated Press has obtained.
Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren received the answers as part of the vetting process. They were in response to additional questions she had for Hegseth.
Hegseth attorney Timothy Parlatore declined to comment on the dollar figure Thursday. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. He told senators during his confirmation hearing last week that he was “falsely accused” in the 2017 incident and completely cleared.
Jan 6 pardons can’t ‘whitewash blood, feces, and terror’ says Trump’s election interference judge
Thursday 23 January 2025 22:25
,
Oliver O'Connell
Alex Woodward writes:
Judges in Washington, D.C., who have spent the last four years wading through hundreds of criminal cases surrounding January 6 are now being asked by Donald Trump’s Department of Justice to dismiss hundreds of open cases in front of them.
In court filings responding to requests to toss charges for the remaining defendants, judges are barely hiding their contempt for Trump’s sweeping pardons for virtually every member of the mob — and warning against attempts to rewrite the history of the Capitol attack and downplay the staggering display of violence.
District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over Trump’s federal election interference case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, wrote that Trump’s pardons “cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake.”
Read on...
No date set for China tariffs, but Canada and Mexico still planned, Trump says
Thursday 23 January 2025 22:10
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump said he hasn’t set a date on imposing new tariffs on China, but he’s reiterating that he wants a 10% tax on Chinese imports in retaliation for it making the chemicals used in fentanyl.
The president told reporters in the Oval Office this afternoon that he still plans to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting as soon as February 1. He said he was comfortable charging higher tariffs on those countries because he had already placed higher tariffs on China during his first term.