logo
Trump Threatens to Arrest 2 Political Opponents in Same Press Conference, Hours After Entertaining Elon Musk Deportation

Trump Threatens to Arrest 2 Political Opponents in Same Press Conference, Hours After Entertaining Elon Musk Deportation

Yahoo01-07-2025
President Donald Trump threatened two left-leaning politicians in the same press conference on Tuesday, July 1
While speaking with reporters, Trump called N.Y.C. mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani a "communist," questioned his citizenship, and threatened to jail him if he wins the November election and interferes with ICE arrests
The president also pondered prison time for Joe Biden's former homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, who was impeached in 2024 by the Republican-led HousePresident Donald Trump went on several tirades about former friends and political opponents alike on Tuesday, July 1, even threatening to jail a rising political star and a former Biden Cabinet member.
After touring a new detention facility for detainees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida, Trump sat down with reporters at "Alligator Alcatraz" to answer a few questions.
Asked about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani — who had just officially earned the Democratic nomination on Tuesday — the president said, 'A lot of people are saying he's here illegally."
Mamdani, 33, was born in Uganda and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. He defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a major election upset as a self-described Democratic Socialist, which also earned Trump's ire.
'We don't need a communist in this country," he said. "But if we have one, I'm going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation... We're going to look at everything.'
Trump was also asked about Mamdani's campaign promises to "stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors."
His response? 'Well then, we'll have to arrest him.'
Mamdani later responded to Trump's claims, saying, "His statements don't just represent an attack on our democracy, but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: If you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation."
Trump also threatened to jail another political foe, former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who held the role from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden.
Mayorkas was successfully impeached by the Republican-led House of Representatives in January 2024 over claims that he was personally responsible for an uptick in illegal border crossings.
At the time, DHS called the impeachment proceedings "a distraction from other vital national security priorities and the work Congress should be doing to actually fix our broken immigration laws." Mayorkas was later acquitted by the Senate.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Nevertheless, Trump used the impeachment as a talking point during his 2024 presidential campaign, and criticized him once again on Tuesday when a reporter asked why Mayorkas hadn't faced further consequences, including imprisonment.
Trump responded that Biden gave preemptive pardons to some of his allies, and that he couldn't remember if Mayorkas was one of them. The reporter informed Trump that Mayorkas was not covered in the pardons, and therefore could be prosecuted.
"If he wasn't given a pardon, I could see looking at that," Trump said, before asking current Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "take a look at it."
"What he did is beyond incompetent. Something had to be done," he added. 'I'll take a look at that one."
Trump's latest tirades against Mamdani and Mayorkas came just a few hours after he rekindled his feud with Elon Musk over the tech billionaire's criticism of the president's expansive budget bill.
In a lengthy rant posted to Truth Social, Trump threatened to use the Department of Government Efficiency against its former leader to reevaluate Musk's government aid.
"Elon may get more [subsidies] than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa," the post said. "No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE."
While speaking to reporters later, Trump mocked: "DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn't that be terrible?"
He also told reporters that he doesn't know yet if he would try to deport Musk, who became an American citizen in 2002, adding, "We'll have to take a look."
Read the original article on People
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

New aerial footage captures ‘Alligator Alcatraz' from above
New aerial footage captures ‘Alligator Alcatraz' from above

USA Today

timea minute ago

  • USA Today

New aerial footage captures ‘Alligator Alcatraz' from above

New aerial footage is showing another view of the high-security immigration detention center in Florida's Everglades coined "Alligator Alcatraz." Under Gov. Ron DeSantis' directive, the facility opened on an airstrip earlier this month for thousands of undocumented immigrants while also serving as a "transitional shelter for migrants." The tent city was set up at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport located around 45 miles west of Miami and is only accessible through a two-lane highway, Reuters reported. Video shows the facility filled with rows of white tents, RVs and portable buildings all surrounded by a vast wetland. Officials have described the center as "escape-proof" due to its terrain. The Everglades is home to alligators, crocodiles, various snakes and the Florida panther, according the National Park Service. Florida's Division of Emergency Management oversees the site in coordination with federal agencies including ICE, Reuters reported. The state estimates the facility would cost more than $450 million annually to operate. See new angle of Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility Trump says its 'might be as good as the real Alcatraz' After touring the facility on July 1, President Donald Trump praised Florida officials for picking the isolated wilderness spot, adding "I think it's great government what we've done." "They did this in less than a week," Trump said, according to Reuters. "You look at it and it's incredible. … It might be as good as the real Alcatraz. Well, that's a spooky one, too. That's a tough site." Trump added that the center is "not a place I want to go hiking anytime soon" and that "the only way out is really deportation." The new facility comes as immigration advocates continue to express concerns over capacity at state and national detention centers amid Trump Administration's increased pace of immigrant apprehensions and removals from the United States. Critics have condemned the new detention facility for holding people without a criminal record and for conditions inside. The New York Times reported earlier this month that only about 60% of the detainees have criminal convictions and that 900 men are sleeping in tents. Others have voiced concerns over the facility's impact over the Everglade's itself, home to 36 threatened or endangered species, according to the National Park Service. Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY and Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post

Venezuelan Little League team denied travel visas to US for World Series
Venezuelan Little League team denied travel visas to US for World Series

New York Post

timea minute ago

  • New York Post

Venezuelan Little League team denied travel visas to US for World Series

A Little League baseball team from Venezuela has been denied visas into the US, leaving them unable to play in the Senior League World Series in South Carolina, officials said Friday. Little League International announced in a statement that the Cacique Mara team couldn't 'obtain the appropriate visas' to head the tournament after first traveling to Colombia two weeks ago. The team, which hails from Maracaibo, Venezuela, was expecting to participate in the Senior League World Series in Easley after winning the Latin American Little League championship in Mexico on June 16. Advertisement 3 Players from the Bronx and Curcao meet at the pitching mound together after the game at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA, in 2001. New York Post Senior League Baseball celebrated the Venezuelan victory, writing in a social media post, 'See you all in 40 days for the first pitch!' Now, Cacique Mara has lambasted Little League officials following the disappointing announcement and their failure to secure passage to the States. Advertisement 'It is a mockery on the part of Little League to keep us here in Bogota with the hope that our children can fulfill their dreams of participating in a world championship,' a statement from the team read. 'What do we do with such injustice, what do we do with the pain that was caused to our children?' It is not immediately clear the reason the team was denied travel visas. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently met with opposition leaders in Venezuela who oppose current President Nicolas Maduro, who the former Florida senator has called 'illegitimate.' Advertisement 3 Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently met with opposition leaders to Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. REUTERS Little League International announced that the team from Venezuela will be replaced by the second place Latin American team, Santa Maria de Aguayo Little League from Victoria, Mexico. The Trump administration issued partial travel bans on seven countries including Venezuela earlier this month — tacking on full bans for 12 other countries — citing national security concerns. 'We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm, and nothing will stop us from keeping America safe,' President Trump said in a video posted to X on June 4. Advertisement Cuba, which appears on the new travel restrictions list, has previously fielded teams in the Little League World Series and used to have its own dedicated region in the international baseball organization. 3 President Trump announced new travel restrictions on over a dozen countries earlier this month. / MEGA No team from Cuba qualified for the Senior or Little World Series tournament this year. The Senior League World Series will be played from July 26 through August 2. The US State Department did not respond to The Post's request for comment.

6 in 10 voters view Democrats negatively: WSJ poll
6 in 10 voters view Democrats negatively: WSJ poll

The Hill

timea minute ago

  • The Hill

6 in 10 voters view Democrats negatively: WSJ poll

The Democratic Party is viewed negatively by 63 percent of American voters — the lowest approval rating of the party in more than 30 years of The Wall Street Journal's surveys — according to a new poll from the newspaper. The survey found that while voters disapproved of President Trump's handling of a variety of issues, they generally said they trusted Republicans more than Democrats to take care of those issues in Congress. On tariffs, for instance, voters disapproved of Trump's policies by 17 percentage points, but trusted Republican lawmakers more than Democrats on the issue by seven points. Only 8 percent of voters viewed Democrats 'very favorably' in the poll. President Trump himself had an approval rating of 46 percent. The Wall Street Journal poll follows a survey from CNN released Thursday which found that just 28 percent of voters viewed the Democrats favorably. Democrats are confronting widespread voter malaise and perceptions that the party is listless ahead of the 2026 midterms as key parts of the party's national infrastructure have been rocked by infighting. Still, they are seeking to capitalize on Trump's more unpopular policies. They hope the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill,' with tax cuts favoring the wealthy alongside significant cuts to Medicaid and other social services, could galvanize voters. A slight majority — 52 percent — of voters in Friday's Journal poll disapproved of the bill. The ongoing controversy over the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — a flashpoint for MAGA voters that Democrats have sought to exploit — may also come into play as members of Congress head home for the August recess. The Journal's poll found that voters were highly skeptical that the Justice Department had thoroughly investigated the issue, with 65 percent of Democrats and 30 percent of Republicans saying they had 'no confidence' in the department's review. The poll of 1,500 registered voters was conducted between July 16 and July 20 with a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points. It was conducted by Democratic pollster John Anzalone and GOP strategist Tony Fabrizio.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store