Trump says US will send Patriot missiles to Ukraine
Trump did not give a number of Patriots he plans to send to Ukraine, but he said the US would be reimbursed for their cost by the European Union.
The US president has grown increasingly disenchanted with Putin because the Russian leader has resisted Trump's attempts to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked for more defensive capabilities to fend off a daily barrage of missile and drone attacks from Russia.
"We will send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then bombs everybody in the evening. But there's a little bit of a problem there. I don't like it," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington.
"We basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military equipment. They are going to pay us 100 per cent for that, and that's the way we want it," Trump said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump pressures 17 pharma CEOs to cut US drug prices
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox US President Donald Trump has sent letters to the chief executives of 17 major pharmaceutical companies, urging immediate action to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Americans. WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump sent letters to the chief executives of 17 major pharmaceutical companies, urging immediate action to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Americans, the White House said on July 31. Letters were sent to top executives at Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Regeneron, Merck & Co, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca, among others. Copies of the letters were posted on Mr Trump's Truth Social account. The president is calling on the companies to extend most favoured nation pricing to Medicaid, guarantee such pricing for new drugs, and return excess overseas revenue to American patients and taxpayers, without providing details. Mr Trump has given the companies until Sept 29 to respond with binding commitments to those terms. 'According to recent data, the prices that Americans have been paying for brand name drugs are more than three times the price other similarly developed nations pay,' said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She added the administration will 'deploy every tool in our arsenal' to end 'abusive drug pricing practices.' REUTERS White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holding up a letter from US President Donald Trump to Mr David Ricks, Eli Lilly's CEO, during a media briefing on July 31. PHOTO: NYTIMES
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump's global trade policy faces test, hours from tariff deadline
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox US President Donald Trump has said that tariffs "are making America GREAT & RICH Again.' WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's dream of a new world trade order faced a crucial test on July 31, with dozens of economies – including key commercial partners like Canada – yet to secure US tariff deals ahead of a midnight deadline. The last-gasp scramble to strike bilateral accords came as an appeals court in Washington considered the legality behind Mr Trump's strategy of invoking emergency economic powers to declare sweeping duties on imports. The 79-year-old Republican doubled down on the wide-ranging levies, posting on Truth Social: 'Tariffs are making America GREAT & RICH Again.' He insisted in a separate post that the world's biggest economy would have 'no chance of survival or success' without protectionist measures. But question marks linger over the effectiveness of Mr Trump's grand plan – and whether he will really follow through on his most dramatic threats. With just hours to go before his declared deadline, Mr Trump announced that he was delaying a tariff hike on Mexican products, originally due on Aug 1, for 90 days after talks with his counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mr Trump will sign an executive order on July 31 to implement his various threatened tariff rates. Other road bumps remain. While Mr Trump has touted a surge in customs revenues since the start of the year, economists warn the duties could fuel inflation. And the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was hearing arguments on July 31 in cases brought against Mr Trump's blanket tariffs targeting various economies. A government lawyer told the court that Mr Trump's tariff orders were covered by 'broad discretion' he enjoys when it comes to handling national emergencies – including pressing economic issues. A lower court's ruling had blocked most of the duties from taking effect, prompting the Trump administration's challenge. The duties have been allowed to remain for now. Deal or no deal So far, Washington has announced pacts with Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and the European Union, with new rates expected to take effect on Aug 1. South Korea squeezed in a last-minute agreement on a 15 per cent tariff, significantly below the 25 per cent that Mr Trump threatened on its goods. But Mr Trump announced 50 per cent tariffs on Brazilian products – although delaying their imposition and allowing key exemptions – as an effort to pressure the US ally to drop its prosecution of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro on coup charges. He also unveiled a 25 per cent levy on Indian imports, and warned Canada it would face trade repercussions for planning to recognise a Palestinian state. And the details of agreements that have been made remain vague. The EU, while having reached a pact, continues pushing for a carve-out for its wine industry. Looming over the entire global economy is the still unresolved trade tussle between the United States and its chief rival China, with the superpowers in talks to maintain a truce after earlier imposing triple-digit tariffs on each other. Canada threat Washington has yet to finalise a deal with neighbouring Canada, while Mr Trump said he was maintaining existing 25 per cent duties on Mexican imports. Canada's trade relations with the United States came under renewed threat after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September. 'That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them,' Mr Trump warned on social media. Mr Carney said on July 30: 'It is possible that we may not conclude talks by Aug 1.' Goods covered by a North American trade pact have been excluded from Mr Trump's latest tariffs. Although Mexico and Canada were not originally targeted under Mr Trump's 'reciprocal tariff' plan, he had separately threatened both neighbours with the same Aug 1 deadline. The tariff hikes due on Aug 1 were announced in April when Mr Trump slapped a minimum 10 per cent levy on goods from almost all partners – citing unfair trade practices. This rate was set to rise to varying levels for dozens of countries, but Washington twice postponed their implementation. AFP
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
White House says no decision yet for location of 2026 G20 summit
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox WASHINGTON - The White House said on Thursday it is not yet ready to announce the location of next year's Group of 20 leaders' summit, following reports that President Donald Trump is considering hosting the event at his Doral golf club in Miami, Florida. "No firm announcement is ready to be made at this time," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Asked if Trump hosting the G20 summit, a forum of the world's largest economies, at his own property would raise concerns about profiting from the event, Leavitt responded, "I would reject that premise entirely." Trump attempted to host the 2020 G7 summit at the same Miami-area golf club during his first term but reversed the decision after backlash over using his own property for an international event. The Republican has continued to blur the lines between his presidential role and personal business interests. During a recent trip to Scotland, he visited two of his golf resorts, Trump Turnberry and Trump International Scotland, where he took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new 18-hole course. Trump said on Tuesday he might skip the G20 leaders' summit in South Africa in November and send someone else to represent the United States, citing his disapproval of South African policies. REUTERS
