Trump says his ballroom is an ‘honor’ as demolition crews get to work tearing down part of White House

WorldPolitics
21 Oct 2025 • 7:30 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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President Donald Trump said his new White House ballroom is an “honor” after demolition crews started tearing down parts of the White House’s East Wing on Monday to make room for the addition.

Trump highlighted the progress on the $250 million ballroom as he welcomed two Louisiana State University baseball teams to the White House on Monday afternoon.

“We're building a ballroom. They've wanted a ballroom for 150 years, and I'm giving that honor to this wonderful place,” Trump said at the event, as a group of LSU athletes stood behind him.

This comes comes after Trump met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and shared a tense moment with the Australian ambassador to the U.S., Kevin Rudd, in the White House Cabinet Room.

When a reporter asked Trump about Rudd’s past criticisms of him, the president said he doesn’t “know anything about him.” Trump then asked where Rudd is now — before realizing he was sitting at the table with him. Rudd, who previously served as prime minister, told Trump he made the remarks before taking his current position.

“I don't like you either, and I probably never will,” Trump told the ambassador.

Key Points

  • Donald Trump touts construction on new $250 million ballroom
  • Trump shares tense moment with Australian ambassador
  • Trump dismisses No Kings protests: ‘I think it’s a joke’
  • President posts meme threatening to rule into 2048 and beyond
  • Trump posts AI video of himself flying KING TRUMP jet and bombing protesters with brown liquid

Trump posts AI video of himself flying KING TRUMP jet and bombing protesters with brown liquid

Sunday 19 October 2025 15:00

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Kelly Rissman

After spending the day golfing while his allies downplayed and mocked millions of Americans marching against his administration, Donald Trump fired off a Truth Social post with an AI-created video showing himself wearing a crown, flying a “KING TRUMP” fighter jet, and bombing a crowd of No Kings protesters with brown liquid.

The video, shared on the president’s personal and government social media accounts, shows the president soaring above a protest crowd in what appears to be Times Square. The jet then dumps brown liquid on the demonstrators as Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” plays in the background, an apparent reference to the Top Gun movies.

In the lead-up to the No Kings demonstrations, which organizers estimate drew nearly 7 million people across all 50 states, Republicans have responded with a mixture of hyperbole, criticism, and mockery.

Alex Woodward and Josh Marcus have the story.

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Trump thinks Tony Blair is the man to bring peace to Gaza. I’m not so sure

Sunday 19 October 2025 15:13

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Kelly Rissman

As President Trump boarded the plane to travel to the Middle East for his Gaza peace summit this week, he stuck his head out of the plane window and told a gaggle of journalists that he would be looking to find out how popular Tony Blair was in the region before deciding on whether to appoint him to his new Board of Peace.

“I just don’t know that,” he said, rowing back on reports that Blair was a shoo-in for the top job. “I like Tony, I have always liked Tony. But I want to find out that he is an acceptable choice to everybody.”

The answer he gets will not be clear cut.

Read former UK ambassador in the Gulf Nicholas Hopton’s take.

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Trump weighs in his sense of the Ukraine deal: Putin's 'gonna take something'

Sunday 19 October 2025 15:23

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Kelly Rissman

Speaking with Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo, President Donald Trump weighed in on whether he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin would end Russia’s war in Ukraine without taking property from the country.

“Did you get any sense from Putin that he would be willing and open to ending this war without taking significant property from Ukraine?” Bartiromo asked in an interview that aired Sunday.

Trump replied: Well, he's gonna take something. I mean, they fought and he has a lot of property. I mean, he's won certain property.”

The president added that the U.S. is the “only nation that goes in and wins a war and then leads, like we did under President Bush in the Middle East.”

Trump lays out his vision for how the U.S. could develop Gaza

Sunday 19 October 2025 15:48

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Kelly Rissman

President Donald Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo about his “initial vision” for how the U.S. could help develop war-torn Gaza.

Watch part of the interview, which aired Sunday, here:

Santos lashes out at prison staff who ‘dehumanized’ him in first statement since Trump pardon

Sunday 19 October 2025 15:56

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Kelly Rissman

Former Congressman George Santos said he was “degraded and dehumanized” by prison wardens in his first public statement since President Donald Trump commuted his sentence.

The disgraced former New York Congressman had served just 84 days of his seven-year sentence when the president announced Friday he hadcommuted his sentence, which was handed down in April after the 37-year-old pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft stemming from several schemes to deceive donors and steal identities to fund his campaign.

In his first public comments since leaving New Jersey’s FCI Fairton, Santos posted on X that he holds “no anger toward anyone” — but then bashed two prison wardens by name: “No one should ever be dehumanized or degraded like I was by the FCI Fairton Warden Kelly and Assistant Warden Nobile.”

The Independent has asked the prison for comment.

Read the full story.

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WATCH: Trump post AI video of himself as king worshipped by Democrats

Sunday 19 October 2025 16:23

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Kelly Rissman

Trump says he expects Putin to keep some Ukrainian land in any peace deal

Sunday 19 October 2025 16:30

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Kelly Rissman

Donald Trump told a Fox anchor that he expected Ukraine to make territorial concessions in any peace agreement his administration could potentially orchestrate between Kyiv and Moscow to bring the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine to an end.

In an interview that aired on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, the U.S. president indicated that under the terms of a deal authored by the White House, Russia would likely be allowed to retain territory it has occupied since February of 2022.

Trump spoke with Russia’s Vladimir Putin by phone for two hours on Thursday, then met the following day with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House where all signs of the tension between the two men which had erupted at a meeting this spring had vanished.

John Bowden has the story.

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Trump says indictment of Bolton was a 'good thing'

Sunday 19 October 2025 16:44

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Kelly Rissman

Asked about the indictments against his perceived political rivals, President Donald Trump told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo that he’s “allowed” to be involved in the prosecutions, but he hasn’t “chosen to.”

“You know, I'm allowed to be involved in this. I'm the chief law enforcement officer of the United States,” the president said, praising Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.

“I didn’t know it was happening but I see John Bolton just got indicted. That’s a good thing, he’s a bad guy,” he added. “Stupid kind of a guy, actually.”

Watch some of the interview here:

Trump reveals where he hopes to send federal troops next

Sunday 19 October 2025 16:52

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Kelly Rissman

President Donald Trump signals his administration could be sending troops to San Francisco next.

“We're gonna go to San Francisco. The difference is I think they want us in San Francisco,” he told Maria Bartiromo in an interview aired Sunday.

San Francisco was once one of the great cities of the world, Trump said. But then, 15 year ago, it “went wrong, it went woke.”

The Trump administration has sent National Guard troops to several U.S. cities in recent months, including Los Angeles, Portland, Memphis, and Washington, DC.

He’s now trying to send troops to Chicago. After a lower court ruled that he couldn’t deploy troops to the Windy City, Trump has made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

Here’s what he told Bartiromo:

Trump again floats the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act

Sunday 19 October 2025 17:03

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Kelly Rissman

President Donald Trump repeated a threat that he could invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807.

“Don't forget I can use the Insurrection Act... And that's unquestioned power,” the president warned, speaking to Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo.

“I choose not to. I’d rather do this,” he said, apparently referring to sending troops to several U.S. cities. as part of his crime crackdown.

The Insurrection Act authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the United States to quell domestic violence or rebellion.

The law has been used dozens of times in U.S. history since its passage, but was most recently invoked by former President George H.W. Bush in 1992.

Earlier this month, Trump said he would invoke the law “if it was necessary,” but “so far it hasn’t been necessary.”

He added: “But we have an Insurrection Act for a reason.”

“If I had to enact it, I didn't. I do that if people were being killed ... and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I do that,” he said. “I mean, I want to make sure that people aren’t killed. We have to make sure that our cities are safe.”

Here’s more on the Insurrection Act.

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ICYMI: White House staff say ‘Your mom’ when asked who suggested Putin-Trump meeting location

Sunday 19 October 2025 17:16

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Kelly Rissman

Top White House officials told a reporter, “Your mom,” when asked who picked the location for President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump announced Thursday that he will soon meet with Putin in Budapest, Hungary, to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine. The choice has raised questions, because Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court. However, Hungary appears unlikely to cooperate with the warrant and is in the process of leaving the court, the Associated Press reports.

When HuffPost asked the White House who chose the location for the meeting, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt replied, “Your mom did.” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also followed up with, “Your mom,” the outlet reports.

Katie Hawkinson has the story.

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Hegseth reveals another strike against a suspected drug boat

Sunday 19 October 2025 17:30

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Kelly Rissman

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth revealed another military strike against a suspected drug boat, marking at least the seventh since last month.

The Pentagon conducted a “lethal kinetic strike” on Friday against a vessel affiliated with paramilitary group Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), Hegseth said in an X post Sunday.

“The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was traveling along a known narco-trafficking route, and was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics,” he wrote.

All three “narco-terrorists” who were on board were killed in the strike, which happened in international waters, he said. No U.S. forces were harmed.

“These cartels are the Al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere, using violence, murder and terrorism to impose their will, threaten our national security and poison our people,” Hegseth said.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Ben Stiller among celebrities in attendance at 'No Kings' protests

Sunday 19 October 2025 17:45

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Kelly Rissman

Celebrities were among the nearly 7 million demonstrators who showed up at Saturday’s No Kings protests to rally against Donald Trump’s presidency.

Held in small towns and major cities across the country, demonstrators showed up with creative signs and costumes just one day after the president insisted he’s “not a king” in an interview with Fox News.

Saturday’s event marked the third mass mobilization since Trump reclaimed the White House — and one of the largest single-day nationwide demonstrations in U.S. history, surpassing the more than 5 million demonstrators who turned up to the first iteration of “No Kings” protests in June, organizers said.

Caitlin Hornik has the story.

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Best signs and costumes from the nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests

Sunday 19 October 2025 18:00

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Kelly Rissman

Millions gathered for nationwide protests to denounce President Donald Trump administration’s “authoritarianism” — and they came equipped with clever signs and eye-catching costumes.

In what is expected to be one of the largest peaceful protests in U.S. history, demonstrators in cities across the country — from San Francisco to Chicago to New York — marched in protest of what organizers described as the president’s “authoritarian power grabs.” The president insisted he’s “not a king” in a Friday interview with Fox News.

Saturday’s mass protests came four months after the first “No Kings” protests in June, which were largely peaceful and saw few arrests. Demonstrators evoked their frustration with the current state of the country through powerful signs and wardrobe choices.

As one Washington, DC protester declared on a sign: “Less fascism! More fashion!”

Here are some of the best costumes and signs from Saturday’s protests.

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More than half of Americans think Trump wants to be king of US: poll

Sunday 19 October 2025 18:15

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Kelly Rissman

In a poll taken on Friday, one day before millions turned out to protest in “No Kings” rallies across the country, more than half of respondents said they believe President Donald Trump wants to be king.

According to the YouGov poll, 52 percent of the 9,959 U.S. adults surveyed said they think Trump wants to be the king of the United States, while only 36 percent said they think he didn’t. Another 12 percent said they were unsure.

Asked whether they think Trump should be king of the United States, an overwhelming 85 percent said “no,” seven percent said “yes” and eight percent said they were unsure.

GOP Senator says he doesn't think U.S. strikes against suspected drug boats were legal

Sunday 19 October 2025 18:40

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Kelly Rissman

When asked about whether he believes the U.S. strikes against suspected drug boats were legal, GOP Senator Rand Paul said “no.”

Before Secretary of War Pete Hegseth today revealed another military strike against a suspected drug boat, marking at least the seventh since last month, Paul joined Meet the Press.

He said he didn’t believe the strikes were legal.

“They go against all our tradition. When you kill someone, you should know that if you’re not at war, not in a declared war, you really need to know someone’s name at least. You have to accuse them of something. You have to present evidence,” the Kentucky Republican said.

“All of these people have been blown up without us knowing their name or any evidence of a crime,” he said.

Santos lashes out at prison staff who ‘dehumanized’ him in first statement since Trump pardon

Sunday 19 October 2025 19:00

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Kelly Rissman

Former Congressman George Santos said he was “degraded and dehumanized” by prison wardens in his first public statement since President Donald Trump commuted his sentence.

The disgraced former New York Congressman had served just 84 days of his seven-year sentence when the president announced Friday he hadcommuted his sentence, which was handed down in April after the 37-year-old pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft stemming from several schemes to deceive donors and steal identities to fund his campaign.

In his first public comments since leaving New Jersey’s FCI Fairton, Santos posted on X that he holds “no anger toward anyone” — but then bashed two prison wardens by name: “No one should ever be dehumanized or degraded like I was by the FCI Fairton Warden Kelly and Assistant Warden Nobile.”

Read the full story.

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WATCH: Trump posts AI video of himself flying KING TRUMP jet and bombing protesters with brown liquid

Sunday 19 October 2025 19:15

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Kelly Rissman

House Speaker Mike Johnson addresses why he hasn't sworn in the Democratic Rep-elect

Sunday 19 October 2025 19:30

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Kelly Rissman

House Speaker Mike Johnson discusses why he hasn’t sworn in Arizona Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva on This Week.

“As soon as we get back to legislative session, when Chuck Schumer allows to turn the lights back on,” the GOP House Speaker said.

He then claimed he was following the “Pelosi precedent,” which ABC’s Jonathan Karl pushed back on.

You can watch the exchange here.

Were the 'No Kings' protests peaceful?

Sunday 19 October 2025 20:00

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Kelly Rissman

Nearly 7 million people participated in the second “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration, organizers said.

The demonstrations were “overwhelmingly peaceful,” organizers said, but there were a few scattered incidents of arrests and unrest.

Police arrested a man in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, after he allegedly flashed a gun near a protest crowd.

In Denver, “several” arrests were made, police said. After most of the day’s demonstrations had dispersed, a “small group of protestors” tried to access the highway. A DPD spokesperson told KDVR “several loudspeaker announcements were made declaring it an unlawful assembly and for the group to disperse.” Smoke was deployed and 12 were arrested, police told the outlet.

In New York City, where 350,000 people attended the protests, there were no arrests made in connection with the demonstrations, NYPD said.

Trump mulls invoking the Insurrection Act

Sunday 19 October 2025 20:15

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Kelly Rissman

President Donald Trump strongly suggested that he was preparing to use the Insurrection Act to crack down on dissent nationwide in an interview Sunday while warning that National Guard deployments would take place in San Francisco next.

He spoke in a pre-recorded discussion that aired Sunday on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo about using the power of the federal government to militarize the National Guard in states where he and his team claim that Democratic officials are refusing to cooperate with federal law enforcement and crime-fighting efforts, including the White House’s mass deportation campaign.

During the conversation, he falsely asserted that nearly half of all U.S. presidents have invoked the act. Fifteen U.S. presidents have invoked the Insurrection Act (out of 45 men to hold the position in total).

John Bowden has the story.

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'Suspicious stand' found near Trump's Air Force One zone in Palm Beach

Sunday 19 October 2025 20:30

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Kelly Rissman

The Secret Service is investigating a “suspicious stand” near the Air Force One area at Palm Beach International Airport, FBI Director Kash Patel said.

The FBI is investigating, Patel wrote in an X post Sunday.

The stand was discovered on Thursday.

"Prior to the President’s return to West Palm Beach, USSS discovered what appeared to be an elevated hunting stand within sight line of the Air Force One landing zone," Patel told Fox News Digital.

"No individuals were located at the scene. The FBI has since taken the investigatory lead, flying in resources to collect all evidence from the scene, and deploying our cell phone analytics capabilities,” he said.

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi told the outlet that the agency discovered the stand during its "advance security preparations" before Trump landed.

Trump announces his special envoy to Iraq

Sunday 19 October 2025 20:45

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Kelly Rissman

Donald Trump tapped Mark Savaya, a Michigan-based Trump donor who runs a marijuana dispensary in Detroit, to serve as the special envoy to Iraq.

“I’m pleased to announce Mark Savaya will serve as Special Envoy to the Republic of Iraq. Mark’s deep understanding of the Iraq-U.S. relationship, and his connections in the region, will help advance the interests of the American people,” the president wrote on his Truth Social on Sunday.

“Mark was a key player in my campaign in Michigan, where he, and others, helped secure a record vote with Muslim Americans. Congratulations, Mark!”

Johnson diverts to Biden's autopen when asked about Santos' commutation

Sunday 19 October 2025 21:15

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Kelly Rissman

When asked about President Donald Trump’s decision to commute ex-New York Rep. George Santos’ sentence, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who served in the post when Congress expelled Santos, brought up former President Joe Biden’s autopen allegations.

“Well, the Constitution gives the president of the United States the full power of pardon and clemency and commutation. He chose to do that here,” Johnson told Fox News on Sunday. “I hope George Santos will make the most of this second chance at life. As a Christian I believe in redemption and second chances.”

“Contrast that with what Joe Biden did. He used the autopen to just grant pardons to just huge categories of violent and hardened criminals,” Johnson claimed.

The former president told the New York Times in July that he “made every decision” behind the clemency warrants, but did use an autopen to sign off on clemency and pardons issued at the end of his term.

Over the summer, the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into whether Biden’s cognitive abilities were “covered up” by his inner circle through the use of the autopen. Biden has denied these allegations.

Here are the 15 reporters who remain in Pentagon after press pledge prompted walkouts

Sunday 19 October 2025 21:30

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Kelly Rissman

After dozens of veteran reporters rejected the Defense Department’s prohibitive new press policy, and handed in their media badges this week, the only journalists left with credentials to enter the Pentagon were a mix of freelancers, foreign media members and staffers from MAGA-boosting outlets.

Dozens of print and broadcast journalists walked out of the Pentagon Wednesday in the wake of nearly every American news organization – including Trump-friendly networks Fox News and Newsmax – refusing to follow Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s media restrictions.

Among the new rules laid out in Hegseth’s 21-page policy, which he gave credentialed journalists until Tuesday evening to acknowledge, was a ban on reporters soliciting any information – classified or otherwise – from government employees without prior authorization from the Pentagon.

Justin Baragona has the story.

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'I agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene,' Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna says

Sunday 19 October 2025 21:45

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Kelly Rissman

California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said he agreed with GOP firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene on health care, shocking the Fox News host.

The government shutdown is in its third week as both sides of the aisle refuse to come to a deal on healthcare subsidies.

“I agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene. The health care system is broken,” he said.

“Wait, I never thought I’d hear you say that about anything,” Fox News’ Shannon Bream said as both laughed.

Earlier this month, Greene, who has recently sided with Democrats on several key issues, wrote on X: “Trying to make it clear that I think the entire system is messed up. Health insurance is vastly unaffordable for all Americans especially since the cost of living has sky rocketed in the past 4 1/2 years.”

“She said the cost-of-living insurance is terrible,” Khanna said Sunday. “They’re ripping off the American people. Premiums have gone up. That’s why I believe we need single-payer health care with Medicare for all in this country. But we have to deal with the here and now.”

If nothing is done by November 1, millions of Americans’ premiums are going to double, he warned.

“I don’t think the president wants that,” Khanna said. “So let’s get these subsidies extended and then let’s think after that on any long-term fix for healthcare.”

WATCH: Trump post AI video of himself as king worshipped by Democrats

Sunday 19 October 2025 22:00

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Kelly Rissman

'Nobody wants you here,' Newsom says after Trump signals he’ll send troops to San Francisco

Sunday 19 October 2025 22:30

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Kelly Rissman

California Gavin Newsom “fact checks” Donald Trump after the president signaled he could be sending troops to San Francisco next.

“We’re going to go to San Francisco and I think the difference is I think they want us in San Francisco,” Trump told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an interview that aired Sunday.

“San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world, and then 15 years ago, it went wrong. It went woke,” said the president. “But we’re going to go to San Francisco, and we’re going to make it great.”

Newsom wrote on X: “Fact check: Nobody wants you here. You will ruin one of America's greatest cities.”

The president has deployed troops to several cities across the U.S., including Portland, Memphis, and Washington, D.C.

He’s been met with resistance in some places, like in Chicago, Illinois, where city and state officials have insisted there’s no need for the National Guard.

Trump recently filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to allow him to deploy troops in the Windy City after a lower court judge rejected his request.

Nearly half of adults say they aren't 'confident' about finding a good job if they wanted to: poll

Sunday 19 October 2025 23:00

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Kelly Rissman

A growing number of U.S. adults are concerned about whether they could find a decent job if they wanted to under President Donald Trump, a new poll found.

Nearly half — 47 percent — are “not very” or “not at all confident” they could find a good job if they wanted to, a new AP-NORC poll found.

That figure shifted upward from October 2023, when 37 percent said they weren’t confident about finding a good job.

Roughly half of adults said the cost of groceries is a “major” source of stress.

Similarly, 4 in 10 feel the same about the amount of money they have saved, their income, or pay in taxes, as well as the cost of housing, health care and electricity, the survey found.

ICYMI: ‘No Kings’ protests pass in festival atmosphere as nearly 7 million rally

Sunday 19 October 2025 23:30

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Kelly Rissman

Nearly 7 million demonstrators in small towns and cities across the country showed up for No Kings protests to rally against Donald Trump’s presidency, according to organizers.

The president declared he was “not a king” on Fox News on Friday, but that didn’t stop millions of rally-goers in more than 2,500 locations across the United States from protesting the second Trump administration.

Saturday’s event marked the third mass mobilization since Trump reclaimed the White House and one of the largest single-day nationwide demonstrations in U.S. history, surpassing the more than 5 million demonstrators who turned up to the first iteration of No Kings protests in June, organizers said.

“Today, millions of people showed that we, the people, will not be silenced,” Deirdre Schifeling, chief political and advocacy officer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

Read the full story.

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Trump asked about his tariff 'back-up plan' if Supreme Court rules against him

Monday 20 October 2025 00:00

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Kelly Rissman

President Donald Trump was asked about his “back-up plan” if the Supreme Court ruled against most of his tariffs.

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo asked if Trump had a “back-up plan” if the nation’s highest court’s decision didn’t go his way.

“If that happened, we'd have to pay back money. So if anything would happen with that, that would mean they're allowed to use tariffs, and we're not,” the president said.

“If they took away tariffs, then they’ve taken away our national security,” he said.