US politics live: Trump's wild question: ‘Volodomyr, can you hit Moscow?'
Donald Trump's decision to allow more US weaponry to be sent to Ukraine and his imposition of a 50-day deadline on Russia to come to a ceasefire continues to ricochet around Washington.
Ardent Trump backer but even more enthusiastic isolationist congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has slammed the support for Ukraine.
'Without a shadow of a doubt, our tax dollars are being used,' she said, despite the US president's insistence other NATO members would pay for weapons systems.
It's now been reported that Mr Trump asked Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelensky earlier this month if he could 'hit Moscow' to make Russians 'feel the pain'.
'Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons,' was the reply.
While Ukraine has hit Russia's capital with drones, hitting it with US made weapons would be an escalation.
Disquiet continues within Republicans over the White House's insistence there is nothing more to see from the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Influential Republican and Mr Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump has said that the White House needs to show 'more transparency' over its handling of the investigation into Epstein.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has gone on a missive against one of his most prominent critics.
He said Democratic Senator Adam Schiff was being investigated for 'possible mortgage fraud' and he 'always suspected... he was a scam artist'.
Mr Schiff said it was a 'baseless attempt at political retribution'.
Read on for more updates.
Originally published as US politics live: Trump's wild question: 'Volodomyr, can you hit Moscow?'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Sky News AU
18 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
ASX 200 rebounds after suffering major wipeout triggered by Donald Trump vowing pharmaceutical tariffs by end of July
The ASX 200 has bounced back following a $25 billion wipeout on Wednesday triggered by Donald Trump escalating his trade war in the worst day since May. The index is up 0.5 per cent in the first 40 minutes of trading, tracking gains in the US. Clarity Pharmaceuticals is up 4.8 per cent to recover from the shock of Trump revealing he would impose pharmaceutical tariffs by the end of this month. Buy-now-pay-later company Block has added four per cent, kitchenware manufacturer Breville Group is up 3.1 per cent and Auckland International Airport has risen 3.2 per cent. Qantas is up about one per cent after Citi upgraded the stock to a 'buy' recommendation and said it had a target price of $12.20, while the stock currently sits around $11.10. Investors were bolstered by the US President suggesting he would not fire Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell after repeatedly attacking the leader Trump appointed in 2017. 'I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely unless he has to leave for fraud,' Trump said in response to a question on whether he would sack Mr Powell. Wall Street was in the green on Wednesday with the Dow Jones jumping 0.5 per cent and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq adding 0.3 per cent. London's FSTE 250 Index fell 0.4 per cent, Germany's DAX shed 0.2 per cent and the STOXX Europe 600 dropped 0.6 per cent on Wednesday. Since trading began on Thursday, New Zealand's NZX 50 Index has risen one per cent while Japan's Nikkei 225 has sank 0.4 per cent.

Daily Telegraph
32 minutes ago
- Daily Telegraph
US politics live: Prosecutor in Jeffrey Epstein's case, Maurene Comey, fired
Welcome to our coverage of US politics. Maurene Comey, the federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, has reportedly been fired. Ms Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey – who Donald Trump sacked during his first term, was reportedly given a letter informing her of the termination on Wednesday, three people with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times. According to two of the people with knowledge of the matter, the letter given to Ms Comey said she was being fired under Article II of the US Constitution, which describes the powers granted to the President. The news followed Mr Trump unleashing on some of his own supporters in a furious tirade, calling them 'weaklings' and accusing them of falling for a 'bulls**t … scam' as the fallout from the Epstein files continues. Mr Trump is facing the most serious split of his political career from his famously loyal right-wing base over suspicions his administration is covering up lurid details of the convicted child sex offender's crimes in order to protect rich and powerful figures they say are implicated. Read on for the latest updates Originally published as US politics live: Prosecutor in Jeffrey Epstein's case, Maurene Comey, fired

Daily Telegraph
33 minutes ago
- Daily Telegraph
‘She took me back': Barack and Michelle Obama jokingly address divorce rumours
Don't miss out on the headlines from Marriage. Followed categories will be added to My News. Former President Barack Obama and wife Michelle have finally sought to shut down the long-running rumours they're headed for divorce – even though they've barely been seen together in months. The former first couple jointly addressed the speculation swirling around their three-decade marriage for the first time on Wednesday, The New York Post reports, joking on the latest episode of the ex-first lady's podcast that it was 'touch and go for a while'. 'He made time in his busy schedule. We are honoured,' Ms Obama, 61, told listeners before her co-host and brother, Craig Robinson, shot back, 'Wait, you guys like each other?' 'She took me back,' Mr Obama, 63, quickly chimed in. 'It was touch and go for a while.' Mr Robinson went on to note it was nice to have the couple in the same room together, prompting Ms Obama to say, 'I know. Because when we aren't, folks think we're divorced.' The Obamas had previously tried to quell speculation by posting cute photos on social media – even as they seemed to live mostly separate lives in public. The whispers hit fever-pitch when the former first lady noticeably skipped two high-profile events earlier this year: former President Jimmy Carter's funeral and President Donald Trump's inauguration. Barack and Michelle Obama during the Democratic National Convention last August. Picture: Michael Ngan/AFP 'There hasn't been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting on my man,' Ms Obama said during the episode. 'And we've had some really hard times, and we've had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I'm married to.' To which her husband responded: 'OK, don't make me cry now, right at the start of the show.' 'If there's one person I can always count on, it's you, Barack Obama. You're my rock. Always have been. Always will be. Happy Valentine's Day, honey!' Ms Obama captioned the above photo. Picture: Instagram/@michelleobama The show of unity came despite the pair rarely being seen side-by-side in public for months. They were last pictured stepping out for a date night at The Lowell Hotel restaurant in New York City on May 27, and cosying up for dinner at the bustling Osteria Mozza in Washington, DC in April. Before then, the Obamas hadn't been seen together since December 14 when they were snapped leaving the Mother Wolf restaurant in Los Angeles. They did, however, share the rare photo or two on social media to mark birthdays, holidays and anniversaries. The couple playfully addressed the rumours on the latest episode of Ms Obama and her brother's podcast. Picture: YouTube/@imopodcasts During the podcast, Mr Robinson acknowledged that he, too, had been dragged into the apparent marriage-woe saga, recalling one moment when a woman in Wichita, Kansas, asked him point-blank if the couple were still together. 'This woman came up to me. She was so nice. (She asked), 'Can I have a picture?',' he recalled. 'You know how you get the side hug? She was like, 'What did (Barack) do? … He did something, didn't he?' When Mr Robinson assured the woman that the couple was still going strong, 'she was so happy, you would have thought I gave her a Christmas gift', he added. 'I have become a better person because of the man I'm married to,' Ms Obama said during the episode. Picture: Instagram/@michelleobama Mr Obama, for his part, said he was largely unaware of the speculation. 'These are the kinds of things I just miss. I don't even know this stuff is going on and then somebody will mention it to me, and I'm like, 'What are you talking about?',' he said. Ms Obama has repeatedly addressed the rampant speculation surrounding her marriage in a spate of podcast interviews, blaming the whispers on the couple's age and her new-found independence. 'The fact that people don't see me going out on a date with my husband sparks rumours of the end of our marriage,' she told NPR's Wild Card podcast host Rachel Martin in one interview. 'It's like, 'OK, so we don't Instagram every minute of our lives. We are 60. We're 60, y'all'.' This article was originally published on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission Originally published as 'She took me back': Barack and Michelle Obama jokingly address divorce rumours