Donald Trump said on Sunday he could not rule out the possibility of a recession being triggered by uncertainty over his tariff war against the United States’s top trading partners.
“I hate to predict things like that,” the president told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures when pressed about the possibility. “There is a period of transition.”
Earlier on NBC’s Meet the Press, his commerce secretary Howard Lutnick also admitted the tariffs will mean higher prices for Americans buying imported goods but said the public should “absolutely not” brace for recession.
Trump also spent the weekend insisting that there is no feud between his secretary of state Marco Rubio and billionaire adviser and cost-cutting guru Elon Musk, writing on Truth Social that the pair have a “GREAT RELATIONSHIP” and anything else is “FAKE NEWS.”
Musk revealed that he and Rubio had had dinner together at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday night and had a “great conversation.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland has been vandalized in response to his recent remarks about the future of Gaza beyond any ceasefire agreement with Israel, with the president accused of engaging in ethnic cleansing.
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Key Points
- Donald Trump refuses to rule out recession amid tariff trade war confusion
- President insists Elon Musk and Marco Rubio get on after reports of cabinet bust-up
- Trump's Scottish golf resort vandalized over plan to 'ethnically cleanse' Gaza
New Canadian PM Mark Carney vows to fight U.S. trade war ‘until Trump shows respect
09:20
,
Joe Sommerlad
The former Bank of England governor won the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada’s new prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party on Sunday and wasted no time in vowing to take on Trump, urging his country to unite in a defiant acceptance speech.
Carney, who will be sworn in as Trudeau’s successor in the coming days, was elected last night in the middle of a tense moment for his country as tensions escalate with its closest neighbour over tariffs.
After seeing off a challenge from ex-finance minister Chrystia Freeland by securing 85.9 per cent of the votes cast by 150,000 Liberal Party members, Carney hit out at Trump for “attacking Canadian families” and wanting to “destroy the Canadian way of life”.
Carney: Canada never ever will be part of America in any way, shape, or form. We didn’t ask for this fight, but Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves. pic.twitter.com/MLSRpFP1Ix
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 9, 2025
Donald Trump refuses to rule out recession amid tariff trade war confusion
09:00
,
Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
The president said on Sunday he could not rule out the possibility of a recession being triggered by uncertainty over his tariff war against the United States’s top trading partners like Canada and Mexico.
“I hate to predict things like that,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures when pressed about the possibility.
“There is a period of transition.”
Urging Americans to take a long view of his work to reconfigure the U.S.’s policy towards free trade, Trump pointed to the supposed “100 year perspective” of Chinese economic and political strategists.
“The tariffs could go up as time goes by, and they may go up,” he added.
BARTIROMO: Are you expecting a recession this year?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 9, 2025
TRUMP: I hate to predict things like that. There is a period of transition. pic.twitter.com/zb5b9KzWfS
Trump: "There could be a little disruption. Look, what I have to do is build a strong country. You can't really watch the stock market. If you look at China, they have a 100 year perspective. We go by quarters. And you can't go by that." pic.twitter.com/xv5hQGDvw7
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 9, 2025
Trump on tariffs going forward: "We may go up with some tariffs. I don't think we'll go down. but we may go up." pic.twitter.com/68XwLB68PG
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 9, 2025
The remarks came after Trump dragged the U.S. and its neighbors through a dizzying week of tariff announcements and U-turns, which saw him imposing 25 percent tariffs against Canadian and Mexican imports before delaying them by one month a day later and moving to double the 10 percent duties it had already levied on China, inviting inevitable reprisals and panicking the markets.
Here’s more from John Bowden.
Rubio and Musk turn on Polish foreign minister in spat over Starlink use in Ukraine
08:30
,
Alex Woodward
The Trump administration’s top diplomat joined DOGE chief Elon Musk in picking a fight with Poland’s foreign minister on Sunday as the three squabbled over Musk’s Starlink system and its use in Ukraine.
Sunday’s three-way exchange was just the latest example of American foreign relations turning into a blame game as Marco Rubio, the secretary of State, reiterated the White House’s position that Europe was insufficient with its praise and gratitude after three years of US support for Ukraine’s defense.
John Bowden reports from Washington, D.C.
Trump won’t rule out US recession amid tariff trade war confusion
08:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump on Sunday would not rule out the possibility of Americans feeling economic hardships including a recession resulting from his efforts to provoke a trade war with Canada, Mexico and other nations.
He sat down for an interview with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo as his administration deals with backlash from both sides of the aisle and some business owners after another week of blustery threats about trade measures and his decision to relieve Canada of some planned tariff measures until at least April.
The Fox host asked Trump bluntly if he agreed with a prediction of impending recession made by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the US president hedged his answer.
John Bowden reports from Washington, D.C.
Trump, Cuomo are latest in politicians who have ‘rebounded’ from career-enders
07:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
Kelly Rissman writes:
“Our country is on the verge of a comeback, the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again.”
That is how President Donald Trump described the American dream and the current landscape of the country. But he could have been referring to himself.
Continue reading...
Trump calls Zelensky ‘ungrateful’ and dodges question on Russia allegiance
06:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump leaned into his personal feud with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.
The US president sat down for an interview with Fox News and reacted to criticism of his conduct during an Oval Office meeting with the Ukrainian leader more than a week ago in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance appeared to gang up on the European leader.
On Sunday, Trump reiterated that he thought Zelensky wasn’t “grateful” and added that he “took candy from a baby” — his description of the Biden administration’s policy of military and political support for Ukraine’s military.
John Bowden reports from Washington, D.C.
Editorial: Vladimir Putin is the only winner in Donald Trump’s risky intelligence game
06:00
,
Alex Woodward
From The Independent’s editorial team:
As Russia regains ground in Kursk, it’s up to Keir Starmer and other European leaders to act — fast.
ICE agents detain leader of Columbia pro-Palestine protests in front of heavily pregnant wife
05:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Plainclothes agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a recently graduated leader of the Palestine solidarity protests at Columbia University on Saturday, according to his lawyer and student organizers, sparking fears of a long-feared federal crackdown on campus activists.
Mahmoud Khalil, who is Palestinian, had just entered the lobby of his university-owned apartment building near the New York campus when agents approached him and his eight-months-pregnant wife, asking for his identification and saying he was under arrest because the State Department had revoked his student visa.
Josh Marcus has the details.
DOJ investigating soaring egg prices
04:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the surging price of eggs, which is expected to rise more than 40 per cent in 2025.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department sent a letter to egg companies instructing them to preserve documents about their pricing conversations with customers and competitors, in addition to communications with Expana, formerly Urner Barry, an American business publisher that tracks an egg index.
The department suggested that federal investigators want to review company communications about egg production and bird flu.
Michelle Del Rey has the story.
ICYMI: Trump administration wants to sell off hundreds of federal properties
03:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
The Trump administration has designated the headquarters of multiple cabinet departments and federal courthouses across the country as nonessential properties that can be sold off.
A website for the General Services Administration — the agency responsible for managing the government’s office space — detailing “buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations” now includes the headquarters of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the federal courthouse in Los Angeles, America’s second-largest city.
Andrew Feinberg has the details.
Trump’s Scottish golf resort vandalized over his plan ‘to ethnically cleanse Gaza’
01:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland has been vandalized by activists in response to his recent statements on Gaza.
The golf course in South Ayrshire, owned by the president, was targeted overnight on Friday, with activists painting “Gaza Is Not 4 Sale” in almost 10-foot-high letters on the lawn and damaging the greens, including the course’s most prestigious hole, used in Open Championships.
Red spray paint was used to deface the clubhouse at the 800-acre resort.
Read on...
Trump asks reporter 'What did he do?' when questioned about Putin
00:51
,
Alex Woodward
On Air Force One, Washington Post reporter Michael Birnbaum asked whether he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin was disrespecting him by attacking Ukraine while the parties try to broker a peace agreement.
“What did he do?” Trump asked.
“Well, he’s attacking Ukraine,” Birnbaum replied.
“Is he disrespecting me? Who are you with?” Trump said. "You've lost a lot of credibility.”
A White House account on X shared a clip of the exchange with the caption “No time for Fake News.”
No time for Fake News pic.twitter.com/Vie4fRH6P6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 10, 2025
Despite objections, Musk’s DOGE team gets access to sensitive child support database
00:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative has gained access to a sensitive child support database, over the objections of career civil servants.
The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to The Washington Post that DOGE officials have “read-only” access to the Administration for Children and Families-run Federal Parent Locator System, which contains income and federal benefits data for nearly every U.S. worker.
Josh Marcus reports.
Trump once again refuses to rule out a recession in 2025
00:14
,
Alex Woodward
Trump was asked about the likelihood of a recession by pool reporters on Sunday night after he refused to rule out a possible recession during a Fox News interview that aired this morning.
"I tell you what, of course, you hesitate. Who knows?” Trump said on Air Force One as he returned to Washington, D.C.
“All I know is this, we're going to take in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs, and we're going to become so rich you're not going to know where to spend all that money. I'm telling you, you just watch,” he said.
Trump doesn't commit to Ukraine aid even if minerals deal goes through
00:09
,
Alex Woodward
Trump, speaking to reporters as he returned to Washington, D.C. on Sunday night after a weekend golfing in Florida, did not commit to resuming aid to Ukraine even if there’s a minerals deal.
“I think they will sign the minerals deal. But we want them to, I want them to want peace, right?” he told reporters.
“Well, right now they haven’t shown it to the extent that they should. I think right now they haven’t, but I think they will be, and I think it’s going to become evident over the next two or three days,” he said. “I think eventually, look, we have to have peace.”
New Canadian PM rejects Trump's plans for statehood and vows to keep retaliatory tariffs in place
Sunday 9 March 2025 23:37
,
Alex Woodward
In remarks on Sunday night, new Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said retaliatory tariff measures will remain in place until the Trump administration commits to free trade.
“We cannot let him succeed, and we won't,” he said. "We are Canada strong.”
He said if Trump succeeds, the administration “would destroy our way of life.” He also refuted the idea that Canada would ever join the United States as its 51st state.
"America is a melting pot. Canada is a mosaic," he said.
"America is not Canada," he added. "Canada will never ever be part of America in any way, shape or form."
Just in: Mark Carney succeeds Justin Trudeau as Canadian prime minister
Sunday 9 March 2025 23:00
,
Alex Woodward
Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has been elected as Canada’s new prime minister by the country’s governing party amid a trade war with the United States.
The 59-year-old succeeding Justin Trudeau will have to negotiate with Donald Trump as he threatens additional tariffs that could cripple Canada’s economy.
Trump won’t rule out US recession amid tariff trade war confusion
Sunday 9 March 2025 23:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
President Donald Trump on Sunday would not rule out the possibility of Americans feeling economic hardships including a recession resulting from his efforts to provoke a trade war with Canada, Mexico and other nations.
He sat down for an interview with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo as his administration deals with backlash from both sides of the aisle and some business owners after another week of blustery threats about trade measures and his decision to relieve Canada of some planned tariff measures until at least April.
The Fox host asked Trump bluntly if he agreed with a prediction of impending recession made by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and the US president hedged his answer.
John Bowden reports from Washington, D.C.
SNL mocks peacemaker Trump after Elon Musk and Marco Rubio clash
Sunday 9 March 2025 22:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Saturday Night Live mocked President Donald Trump’s cabinet meeting this week in which he allegedly told secretaries they were in charge of their departments — not Elon Musk.
The show’s March 8 episode hosted by Lady Gaga opened with Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, standing in the Oval Office alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Marcello Hernandez) as Trump attempts to broker a truce between the two men.
Rubio has reportedly been furious with the world’s wealthiest man for effectively dissolving the U.S. Agency for International Development through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has led government-wide purges of staff and threatened billions of dollars in federal funds.
Michelle Del Rey has the story.
Trump confirms retribution campaign against law firms that clash with his agenda
Sunday 9 March 2025 22:15
,
Alex Woodward
Donald Trump is punishing law firms that have represented what he perceives as his political enemies by stripping their security clearances and access to government buildings, delivering severe legal retribution against people he believes are threatening his agenda.
“We have a lot of law firms that we’re going to be going after, because they were very dishonest people,” the president told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.
Trump’s targeting of lawyers follows his administration’s threats to members of the judiciary, with Elon Musk and Republican members of Congress repeatedly threatening to impeach or punish judges who issue decisions that brush against their agenda, which judges across the country and ideological spectrum are condemning as unconstitutional, discriminatory and illegal.
Scholars stranded in America and abroad amid funding freeze of state department programs
Sunday 9 March 2025 22:00
,
AP
Aubrey Lay — a Fulbright scholar — was supposed to get paid for three months of work by the U.S. government through his teaching assistantship at a school for Ukrainian refugees in Estonia. Instead, he only got about one week's pay, and no word on when he might see the rest of his grant.
Lay is among scholars around the world who depend on State Department funding to participate in long-established programs like Fulbright and who say their payments have been abruptly cut off after getting a notice that officials were reviewing their activities. The move appears to be in line with the White House’s initiative to sharply slash government spending - a shakeup that has affected scores of federal agencies.
Read on...
ON THE GROUND: Defiant Ukrainians blame Trump betrayal over aid and intelligence for latest battlefield horrors
Sunday 9 March 2025 21:45
,
Oliver O'Connell
Sam Kiley, reporting from Kyiv, writes:
On the ground, Ukrainians are acutely aware of the repercussions of Donald Trump’s hardline decision to cut aid and access to military intelligence in the wake of his fateful White House row with Volodymyr Zelensky.
During the last day of fighting alone, Russian commandos have reportedly spearheaded an assault using an abandoned oil pipeline to sneak behind Ukrainian forces occupying part of Russia’s Kursk region.
Elite airborne and marine units backed by North Korean soldiers also launched full-frontal assaults on the Ukrainians under a barrage of artillery, drones and air attacks.
The latest attacks come after Vladimir Putin’s escalated violence was described as “what anybody else would do” by Mr Trump.
And leaving Ukraine in the dark has certainly given Putin a crucial advantage. “We’re losing,” one Ukrainian fighting in Kursk wrote in a text message to The Independent.
Continue reading...
Trump calls Zelensky ‘ungrateful’ and dodges question on Russia allegiance
Sunday 9 March 2025 21:30
,
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump leaned into his personal feud with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday.
The US president sat down for an interview with Fox News and reacted to criticism of his conduct during an Oval Office meeting with the Ukrainian leader more than a week ago in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance appeared to gang up on the European leader.
On Sunday, Trump reiterated that he thought Zelensky wasn’t “grateful” and added that he “took candy from a baby” — his description of the Biden administration’s policy of military and political support for Ukraine’s military.
John Bowden reports from Washington, D.C.
ICE agents detain leader of Columbia pro-Palestine protests in front of heavily pregnant wife
Sunday 9 March 2025 21:15
,
Oliver O'Connell
Plainclothes agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a recently graduated leader of the Palestine solidarity protests at Columbia University on Saturday, according to his lawyer and student organizers, sparking fears of a long-feared federal crackdown on campus activists.
Mahmoud Khalil, who is Palestinian, had just entered the lobby of his university-owned apartment building near the New York campus when agents approached him and his eight-months-pregnant wife, asking for his identification and saying he was under arrest because the State Department had revoked his student visa.
Josh Marcus has the details.
DOJ says ending Louisiana petrochemical case helps 'dismantle radical DEI programs'
Sunday 9 March 2025 21:00
,
Oliver O'Connell
The Justice Department on Friday celebrated its decision to drop a federal lawsuit against a Louisiana petrochemical plant accused of worsening cancer risks for residents in a majority-Black community, saying the dismissal showed that officials are “delivering on President (Donald) Trump’s promise to dismantle radical DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) programs and restore integrity to federal enforcement efforts.”
The dismissal Wednesday of the two-year-old case underscored the Trump administration's commitment to “eliminate ideological overreach and restore impartial enforcement of federal laws,'' Justice said in a statement.
Continue reading...
Mexico's Sheinbaum rallies national pride after US tariff reprieve
Sunday 9 March 2025 20:45
,
Oliver O'Connell
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told supporters at a massive rally on Sunday that dialogue and respect had prevailed in achieving a pause on U.S. tariffs and that the sovereignty of Mexico would always come first.
Speaking to thousands of people who gathered in Mexico City's iconic Zocalo square for an event aimed at bolstering national pride, Sheinbaum highlighted the economic contributions that Mexico and its people make to the U.S. economy.
“We cannot give up our sovereignty, nor can our people be affected by decisions made by foreign governments or hegemonies. In that case, we will always act immediately,” Sheinbaum said, addressing the crowd packed with thousands waving flags and holding signs promoting Mexican pride and independence.
“The common history of our countries is marked by numerous episodes of hostility but also by numerous episodes of cooperation and understanding,” she added.
President Donald Trump, who stated that Mexico and Canada had not done enough to curb the flow of the deadly fentanyl opioid and its precursor chemicals into the United States, imposed a 25% tariff on goods from both countries on March 4.
In a measured approach, Sheinbaum said she would wait to announce countermeasures against the United States, including retaliatory tariffs, until after Sunday's event.
However, two days later, Trump announced that Mexico would not be required to pay tariffs on any goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal until April 2, out of “respect” for Sheinbaum following a phone call between the two leaders.
Sheinbaum then declared that Sunday's rally would be a “festival.”
“So far, it has yielded results and I think it will continue to do so,” Sheinbaum said of the “respectful dialogue” with the U.S.
“However, we must be aware and informed in case it is necessary for us to again gather in this public square. Do you agree?” she asked the crowd.
“Yes!” her supporters enthusiastically shouted in response.
With reporting from Reuters
Trump admin resumes detention of migrant families and kids. Critics warn it’s the ‘start of another dark chapter’
Sunday 9 March 2025 20:35