Donald Trump sat down with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday night for his first TV interview since returning to the White House.
The president took questions on everything from his controversial decision to pardon almost all January 6 defendants, even those who had assaulted police officers, the future of TikTok and the federal response to the Los Angeles wildfires.
Trump reflected that it was “sad” that his predecessor Joe Biden did not pardon himself before leaving office, hinting darkly that he could be placed under investigation, and also suggested he could shut down the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Elsewhere, the Bishop of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde, has said she will not apologize to the president for imploring him to “have mercy” on illegal immigrants and trans youth during a church service on Tuesday.
Trump has meanwhile announced further appointments to his administration, naming a new Secret Service director, ambassador to the European Union and CEO of the United States Agency for Global Media on Truth Social.
The Defense Department is also set to send around 1,500 active duty troops to the US-Mexico border as the new president’s crackdown on illegal immigration begins.
Key Points
- Donald Trump sits down with Fox News host for first TV interview since returning to White House
- Trump threatens Joe Biden by hinting at investigation and saying it’s ‘sad’ he didn’t pardon himself
- President names latest appointments to his administration
- Trump orders thousands of active duty troops to the southern border
- Saudi crown prince pledges $600bn US investment in Trump call
Will Trump be able to retrieve US military equipment from the Taliban?
14:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
On the eve of his inauguration, Trump pledged at a public rally in Washington DC to strengthen the US military by getting back billions of dollars worth of equipment left behind in Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul in 2021.
But even if the president is advised to negotiate with the Taliban to bring back the equipment, the process will be far more arduous than it appears, experts tell Arpan Rai.
Immigrant detention beds could be maxed out as Trump moves to deport ‘millions and millions’
14:25
,
Joe Sommerlad
Trump’s inauguration day executive orders and promises of mass deportations will hinge on securing money for detention centers.
His administration has not publicly said how many immigration detention beds it needs to achieve its goals, or what the cost will be.
However, an estimated 11.7 million people are living in the US illegally and ICE currently has the budget to detain only about 41,000 people.
The government would need additional space to hold people while they are processed and arrangements are made to remove them, sometimes by plane.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates the daily cost for a bed for one adult is about $165.
Here’s more.
Watch: ‘MAGA Granny’ rioter rejects pardon and denounces Trump ‘cult’
14:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Pamela Hemphill, who spent 60 days in jail for her part in January 6 and has since renounced Trumpism, deserves a great deal of credit for her clear-eyed assessment of the events of that infamous day and for her bravery in speaking out.
Trump’s pardons revitalize a weakened American militia movement
13:55
,
Joe Sommerlad
Donald Trump’s mass pardoning of 1,500 January 6 participants, including the leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, has reinvigorated a weakened US militia movement and empowered white supremacists, experts have warned.
Dr Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, said the president had “brought back two organizations that have extremely long track records of violence” and likened the current moment to the re-emergence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.
“By letting violent white supremacists and militia types who engaged in this activity out of prison he has emboldened those movements, made them more powerful, and given them the sanction of the highest office,” she said.
Here’s Richard Hall’s report.
Led by Donkeys project Musk salute onto German Tesla factory
13:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
I think this one speaks for itself.
Tesla Gigafactory, Berlin
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) January 22, 2025
(In collaboration with @politicalbeauty) pic.twitter.com/xwRUiYX03p
Oath Keepers founder meets with lawmakers after leaving prison
13:25
,
Joe Sommerlad
Stewart Rhodes never entered the Capitol building on January 6 2021 after he conspired with members of his far-right anti-government Oath Keepers militia group to break into halls of Congress in what prosecutors described as an act of terrorism.
But two days after Trump released him from prison, Rhodes freely walked through congressional office buildings in the Capitol complex.
Rhodes – whose 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy was commuted by the president as one of his first official actions in the Oval Office – met with at least one member of Congress on Wednesday.
The Oath Keepers founder met with Republican Representative Gus Bilirakis of Florida to lobby for a pardon for fellow Oath Keeper and January 6 rioter Jeremy Brown, who was sentenced to seven years in prison on weapons charges.
From a source:
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 22, 2025
Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes, whose 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy was just commuted, is at the Dunkin’ Donuts in the Longworth House Office Building. pic.twitter.com/83cfEQhJUd
Here’s more from Alex Woodward.
Trump plan targets sanctuary cities if they don’t support deportations
13:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
The Trump administration is directing federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially bring charges against state and local officials who do not cooperate with its plans to carry out the nation’s largest campaign of mass deportations, according to an internal memo.
“The Supremacy Clause [of the US Constitution] and other authorities require state and local actors to comply with the Executive Branch’s immigration enforcement initiatives,” the Justice Department filing states.
Though it doesn’t mention such jurisdictions by name, the document is the latest statement by the Trump administration to suggest it will seek to force “sanctuary cities” that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement to get behind the White House’s hard-line agenda.
Josh Marcus reports.
Watch: Nigel Farage has fallen in Trump’s estimation because of Musk, ex-adviser claims
12:55
,
Joe Sommerlad
Byran Lanza says the Reform Party leader is “a much smaller person in Trump’s eyes than he was two weeks ago” because of the Tesla boss’s criticism of him on X.
RFK Jr tells Senate Republicans he’s actually ‘all for’ vaccines
12:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
The black sheep of the fabled Kennedy clan built a following online by questioning the scientific consensus surrounding the use of vaccines.
But under his new boss – one Donald J Trump – the failed independent presidential candidate is suddenly shifting his stance.
Kennedy is Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and, ahead of Senate confirmation hearings assessing his suitability for the role, he’s reportedly been assuring Republican senators that he’s actually “all for” polio vaccines and that he has no plan to ban them.
Graig Graziosi reports.
Watch: Trump calls attacks on police officers at deadly 6 January riots ‘minor incidents’
12:25
,
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s another shockingly brazen line from the president last night, which found him downplaying attacks on law enforcement in the interest of justifying his blanket pardoning of violent offenders.
Trump accused of using AI to compose garbled executive orders
12:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Legal experts are blaming Trump’s suspected use of artifical intelligence for the often “slipshod” language used in the multitude of executive orders he has fired out this week.
At least 16 orders signed on the first day of the new president’s term were “ripped straight from the pages” of the right-wing Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan for the Trump administration, economist Robert Reich claimed in a post on X, despite Trump saying throughout his campaign that he knew nothing about Project 2025.
16 of the 26 Day One executive orders signed by Trump were ripped straight from the pages of Project 2025.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) January 22, 2025
Russ Vought, an architect of Project 2025, testified before the Senate today as Trump's OMB nominee.
Project 2025 was always the MAGA agenda.
Many of Trump’s orders are difficult to read and understand, marked by errors and stilted language, observers have noted, which could be problem for the president if challenged in court, as many of them are likely to be.
Mary Papenfuss has more.
Watch: Elon Musk has a ‘shelf life’ with Trump, ex-US national security advisor warns
11:55
,
Joe Sommerlad
John Bolton, who had his security protection abruptly cut off by the new president in vindictive fashion earlier this week, has been speaking to ITV’s Robert Peston and forecasting the inevitable (as he sees it) breakdown of Trump’s relationship with Musk.
Read Biden’s farewell letter to Trump in full
11:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
The former president left behind a gracious note for his successor to find in a drawer of the Resolute Desk on Monday, which did not stop Trump making a sinister hint about ordering a retaliatory investigation into him to Hannity last night.
Here’s what the old commander-in-chief had to say to the new.
Meta admits some people can’t unfollow Trump on Instagram
11:25
,
Joe Sommerlad
Here’s Andrew Griffin with some more online weirdness currently ongoing that stands to benefit the new president, even if by only temporarily inflating his follower count.
‘US presidents in order:’ Google search results omits Biden’s presidency
11:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Former president Joe Biden’s four-year reign in the Oval Office was completely removed from Google search results for the term “US presidents” for a time on Thursday morning, a drastic revision of American history that may have been a genuine glitch or, as a number of BlueSky users suggested, the latest sop to Trump by a Big Tech sector keen to cosy up to the new man in the White House.
Paul Farrell reports.
Trump says Congo has ‘emptied’ its prisons into United States
10:55
,
Joe Sommerlad
Back to the Sean Hannity interview, which saw the president repeat a false claim he often made on the campaign trail last year alleging that the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries have “emptied their prisons out into the United States” to make the case for his illegal immigration crackdown.
The president offers no evidence for that tall tale or his scaremongering about violent gang members with face tattoos and nor is he asked for it by the Fox presenter, who allows it to pass unchecked.
Trump: "The Congo has emptied their prisons out into the United States. We're not thinking about the Congo. It's much more than South America. But prisons from all over the world have been emptied out into our country by Biden allowing it to happen.
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 23, 2025
"There are people coming in… pic.twitter.com/JpsUBofKqO
Saudi crown prince pledges $600bn US investment in Trump call
10:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke to Trump by phone yesterday and told him his kingdom wants to make a major investiment in the United States over the next four years, with the president in turn reportedly musing about returning to Riyadh as his first foreign trip.
Trump scores first big win on immigration as Laken Riley Act passes
10:25
,
Joe Sommerlad
The House of Representatives passed the act 263 to 156 on Wednesday, granting the president his first major legislative win and the powers to enact his hard-line immigration policies.
All House Republicans and 46 Democrats voted for the legislation as the opposition continues to grapple with how to shift their messaging on immigration after voters largely opposed it.
The legislation is named after Laken Riley, a student at the University of Georgia who was killed last year by Jose Ibarra, who entered the United States illegally from Venezuela.
Eric Garcia has this report.
Over 300 people arrested on first day of ICE raid, Trump’s border czar says
10:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Some 308 suspected illegal migrants were reportedly picked up on Tuesday in raids conducted across the US by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, with arrests made in their homes, on the street and after their being released from local jails in to the officers’ custody.
All agency field offices that could send officers out were asked to do so as part of the day one effort.
“We’re concentrating on the worst first, the public safety threats and national security threats,” border czar Tom Homan boasted on Fox last night.
“And just yesterday, in the last 24 hours, ICE arrested over 308... serious criminals.”
Michelle Del Rey has the very latest.
Trump orders thousands of active duty troops to the southern border
09:55
,
Joe Sommerlad
The Defense Department is set to send around 1,500 active duty troops to the US-Mexico border as Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration begins.
The Armed Forces will join the 2,500 National Guard and Reserve forces already stationed at the border and are expected to back up border patrol agents with logisitics, transportation and barrier construction work.
Kelly Rissman reports.
Trump names latest appointments to his administration
09:40
,
Joe Sommerlad
Elsewhere, the president has announced further appointments to his administration, naming a new Secret Service director (Sean Curran, previously leader of his personal detail), ambassador to the European Union and CEO of the United States Agency for Global Media on Truth Social.
It is my great honor to appoint Sean Curran as the next Director of the United States Secret Service. Sean is a Great Patriot, who has protected my family over the past few years, and that is why I trust him to lead the Brave Men and Women of the United States Secret Service.…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 23, 2025
I am pleased to announce that Andrew F. Puzder will serve as the next United States Ambassador to the European Union. Andy is a successful attorney, businessman, economic commentator, and author. In 2000, he was named Chief Executive Officer of CKE Restaurants, Inc., parent of…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 23, 2025
I am pleased to announce that L. Brent Bozell III will serve as the next CEO of the United States Agency for Global Media.
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 23, 2025
As Founder and President of the Media Research Center for 38 years, few understand the Global Media landscape in print, television, and online better than…
Analysis: Days after Biden serves Trump tea, the new president threatens to throw the book at him
09:25
,
Joe Sommerlad
The veteran Democrat tried to rise above politics but it evidently didn’t work with Donald Trump, writes John Bowden.
Trump says it’s ‘sad’ that Joe Biden didn’t pardon himself
09:10
,
Joe Sommerlad
Perhaps one of the most disturbing moments of last night’s interview was the president reflecting that it was “sad” that his predecessor Joe Biden had neglected to pardon himself before leaving office, hinting darkly that he could be placed under investigation.
Trump suggests possible prosecution for Biden: "The funny thing, maybe the sad thing, is he didn't give himself a pardon. And if you look at it, it all had to do with him." pic.twitter.com/OCQ14KOODL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 22, 2025
Trump on Biden: "He didn't give himself a pardon. And he didn't give some other people a pardon that needed it. I heard Schiff went to him and just begged for a pardon." pic.twitter.com/6ungTbID6O
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Hannity as Trump rants about Biden not pardoning himself: "Let me get to the economy."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Trump: "I don't care." pic.twitter.com/hJxaSNIg5n
Here’s Katie Hawkinson on Trump in Mafia Don mode.
Donald Trump sits down with Fox News host for first TV interview since returning to White House
08:55
,
Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
Donald Trump sat down with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday night for his first TV interview since returning to the White House.
The president took questions on everything from his controversial decision to pardon almost all January 6 defendants, even those who had assaulted police officers, the future of TikTok and the federal response to the Los Angeles wildfires.
Here’s a selection of choice clips:
HANNITY: Why did people who were violent with police get a pardon?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
TRUMP: Number one, they were in there for 3.5 years. A long time. And you know what they were there for? They were protesting the vote. You should be allowed to protest the vote. You should be allowed to. pic.twitter.com/dTf3KGSjj1
Trump on January 6 insurrectionists who assaulted police: "They were very minor incidents." pic.twitter.com/26HEWaz8kh
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Trump: "I don't think we should give California anything until they let water flow down." pic.twitter.com/uokR0CuK75
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Trump: "I won youth by 36 points." (This is an absurd lie -- Trump lost the youth vote.) pic.twitter.com/LcqvmnCQWu
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Trump on releasing JFK Files: I was actually asked my Mike Pompeo who was Secretary of State not to. I felt he knew something.. he felt it was not a good time to release them. You might ask him why. Maybe he’ll deny that even. But he did pic.twitter.com/XNooBgV1dj
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 23, 2025
Trump: "I don't think we should give California anything until they let water flow down." pic.twitter.com/uokR0CuK75
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Trump: "FEMA is gonna be a whole big discussion very shortly, because I'd rather see the states takes care of their own problems." pic.twitter.com/wiwRCeqSMc
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2025
Andrew Feinberg has this report on the president’s threat to shut down the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for “getting in the way” of disaster response.
CNN’s Jim Acosta grills GOP lawmaker for refusing to ‘take a stand’ on January 6 pardons
08:00
,
Justin Baragona
CNN anchor Jim Acosta accused Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) on Wednesday of “engaging in a game of whataboutism” and refusing to “take a stand” on President Donald Trump’s blanket pardons of January 6 rioters, all while wondering if Republicans were now “betraying the blue.”
After months of flirting with the idea of releasing what he called the “J6 hostages,” Trump returned to the White House and decided to issue sweeping pardons to nearly 1,600 defendants who were convicted of crimes related to the violent Capitol riots, which were sparked by Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 electoral loss.
Among those given clemency included over 600 people who were charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers. Additionally, Trump either pardoned or commuted the sentences of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and 13 of their acolytes who were convicted of seditious conspiracy or other violent crimes related to the January 6 attack. This was despite Vice President JD Vance assuring the public that nobody who “committed violence that day” should receive a pardon.
Read more:
Trump suggests Proud Boys and Oath Keepers might have a place in the ‘political conversation’ after Jan 6 pardons
07:00
,
Gustaf Kilander
President Donald Trump has suggested that far-right militias such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers may have a role to play in public life.
Trump was asked during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room on Tuesday if there’s room for the leaders of such groups in the political conversation.
“We’ll have to see,” Trump said.
“I thought the sentences for them were ridiculous and excessive,” he added. Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was just released from his 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy following Trump’s pardons and commutations for January 6 rioters.
Read more:
WATCH: Who's who among January 6 rioters pardoned by Trump
06:00
,
The Independent
Wisconsin man accused of setting fire to congressman's office over TikTok ban charged with arson
05:00
,
Todd Richmond
Prosecutors charged a Wisconsin man who allegedly told police he tried to burn down a congressman’s office because he was upset with the federal TikTok ban with multiple counts on Wednesday, including arson.
Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney filed a complaint against 19-year-old Caiden Stachowicz charging him with felony arson, making terrorist threats, attempted burglary and property damage. He would face more than 50 years behind bars if convicted on all counts.
Stachowicz, of Menasha, was scheduled to make his initial court appearance Wednesday morning. Online court records did not list an attorney for him.
Read more:
Saudi Arabia’s MBS tells Trump Riyadh wants to invest $600bn into the US
04:50
,
Graig Graziosi
Saudi Arabia’s Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman told Donald Trump early on Wednesday that Riyadh was planning to invest at least $600 billion into the US over the next four years, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Bin Salman was reportedly the first foreign leader to have a phone call with the newly-installed Trump.
The leaders also reportedly discussing potential partnerships to combat terrorism and further cooperation to promote peace and stability in the Middle East.
During his inauguration on Monday, Trump said he would make Saudi Arabia his first international visit if the nation bought at least $450 billion worth of American-made products. He made the same deal in 2017, and when Saudi Arabia hit the goal, Trump kept his word and visited the kingdom before he went anywhere else.
What big ticket items did the crown prince buy from the US to convince Trump to visit?
Then-Representative Tulsi Gabbard criticized the move, citing the nation’s record of human rights abuses, The Hill reported.
At the time, she said the kingdom was “a country with a devastating record of human rights violations at home and abroad and has a long history of providing support to terrorist organizations that threaten the American people.”
In the present day, Gabbard is awaiting confirmation to become Trump’s Director of National Intelligence.
Senator Adam Schiff says Trump is “slowing down” at only “3 lies a minute"
04:18
,
Graig Graziosi
Senator Adam Schiff responded to Donald Trump’s interview with Sean Hannity, calling three of the president’s claims lies, and then suggesting the 78-year-old was “slowing down.”
Trump suggested that Schiff begged former President Joe Biden for a pardon, that someone taped his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and that his call with the leader was “perfect.”“’Schiff begged for a pardon’” Nope. Quite the opposite. Trump’s phone call with Zelensky was taped. Wrong again. ‘It was a perfect call.’ Oh please, not that again. 3 lies a minute. Trump must be slowing down,” Schiff wrote.
"Schiff begged for a pardon"
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) January 23, 2025
Nope. Quite the opposite.
Trump’s phone call with Zelensky was taped.
Wrong again.
"It was a perfect call."
Oh please, not that again.
3 lies a minute. Trump must be slowing down. https://t.co/9SAlTK170H
Trump-appointed judge revives suit to restrict abortion pills access in latest salvo on reproductive rights
04:00
,
Kelly Rissman
A federal judge revived a lawsuit challenging access to the abortion drug mifepristone just days before the 52nd anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022, anti-abortion advocates launched a barrage of litigation, including a federal suit in Texas aimed at mifepristone, one drug in a two-drug regimen used in medication abortions.
Months after the Supreme Court threw out a challenge to mifepristone’s FDA approval, a federal judge in Texas on Thursday allowed a 2022 lawsuit to be revived, potentially opening the floodgates for restricted access. The widely-used drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration 25 years ago. However, the FDA has eased restrictions on the drug.
Read more:
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