Imane Khelif tells Donald Trump she's not ‘intimidated' and will defend Olympic title in LA 2028 Games
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Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Trump visits Texas flood zone, defends government's disaster response
President Donald Trump defended the state and federal response to deadly flash flooding in Texas on Friday as he visited the stricken Hill Country region, where at least 120 people, including dozens of children, perished a week ago. During a roundtable discussion after touring Kerr County, the epicenter of the disaster, Trump praised both Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for their response, saying they both did an "incredible job." The Trump administration, as well as local and state officials, has faced mounting questions over whether more could have been done to protect and warn residents ahead of the flooding, which struck with astonishing speed in the pre-dawn hours on July 4, the US Independence Day holiday. Donald Trump and Melania Trump greet first responders near the Guadalupe River following devastating flooding. AFP Trump reacted with anger when a reporter said some families affected by the floods had expressed frustration that warnings did not go out sooner. "I think everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances," he said. "I don't know who you are, but only a very evil person would ask a question like that." Some critics have questioned whether the administration's spending cuts at the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates the U.S. government's disaster response efforts, might have exacerbated the calamity. Donald Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (2L), and Melania Trump (L) meet with local officials and first responders near the Guadalupe River following devastating flooding. AFP Trump officials have said that cuts had no impact on the NWS's ability to forecast the storms, despite some vacancies in local offices. But the president has largely sidestepped questions about his plans to shrink or abolish FEMA and reassign many of its key functions to state and local governments. "I'll tell you some other time," Trump said on Tuesday, when asked by a reporter about FEMA. Before the most recent flooding, Kerr County declined to install an early-warning system after failing to secure state money to cover the cost. Lawrence Walker, 67, and a nearly three-decade veteran resident of Kerrville, said the county and state had not spent enough on disaster prevention, including an early-warning system. Asked about the quality of the government response, he said, "It's been fine since the water was at 8 feet." The Texas state legislature will convene in a special session later this month to investigate the flooding and provide disaster relief funding. Abbott has dismissed questions about whether anyone was to blame, calling that the "word choice of losers." DOZENS STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR Search teams on Friday were still combing through muddy debris littering parts of the Hill Country in central Texas, looking for the dozens still listed as missing, but no survivors have been found since the day of the floods. Heavy rains sent a wall of water raging down the Guadalupe River early on July 4, causing the deadliest disaster of the Republican president's nearly six-month term in office. As sun poked through dark clouds on Friday morning, search crews in hard hats painstakingly walked inch-by-inch along the ruined banks of the river, marking damage and looking through wreckage. After the president arrived in Kerr County in the early afternoon, Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott drove to an area near the river, where Trump received a briefing from first responders amid debris left in the wake of the flood. The county is located in what is known as "flash flood alley," a region that has seen some of the country's deadliest floods. More than a foot of rain fell in less than an hour on July 4. Flood gauges showed the river's height rose from about a foot to 34 feet (10.4 meters) in a matter of hours, cascading over its banks and sweeping away trees and structures in its path. Kerr County officials say more than 160 people remain unaccounted for, although experts say that the number of people reported missing in the wake of disasters is often inflated. The dead in the county include 67 adults and at least 36 children, many of whom were campers at the nearly century-old Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer retreat on the banks of the river. Jon Moreno, 71, a longtime Kerrville resident whose property on high ground was spared, praised the government response - local and federal. Reuters
Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Trump intensifies trade war with threat of 30% tariffs on EU, Mexico
President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union (EU) starting on Aug.1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. In an escalation of the trade war that has angered US allies and rattled investors, Trump announced the latest tariffs in separate letters to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum that were posted on his Truth Social media site on Saturday. The EU and Mexico responded by calling the tariffs unfair and disruptive while pledging to continue to negotiate with the US for a broader trade deal before the deadline. The EU and Mexico are among the largest US trading partners. Trump sent similar letters to 23 other trading partners this week, including Canada, Japan and Brazil, setting blanket tariff rates ranging from 20% up to 50%, as well as a 50% tariff on copper. Trump said the 30% rate was "separate from all sectoral tariffs," which means 50% levies on steel and aluminum imports and a 25% tariff on auto imports would remain. The August 1 deadline gives the targeted countries time to negotiate agreements that could lower the threatened tariffs. The spate of letters shows Trump has returned to the aggressive trade posture that he took in early April when he announced a slew of reciprocal tariffs against trading partners that sent markets tumbling before the White House delayed implementation. 'UNFAIR TREATMENT' But with the stock market recently hitting record highs and the US economy remaining resilient, Trump is showing no signs of slowing down his trade war. The US president promised to use the 90-day delay in April to strike dozens of new trade deals, but has only secured framework agreements with Britain, China and Vietnam. The EU has hoped to reach a comprehensive trade agreement with the US for the 27-country bloc. Trump's letter to the EU included a demand that Europe drop its own tariffs, an apparent condition of any future deal. "The European Union will allow complete, open Market Access to the United States, with no Tariff being charged to us, in an attempt to reduce the large Trade Deficit," he wrote. Von der Leyen said the 30% tariffs "would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic." She also said while the EU will continue to work towards a trade agreement, it "will take all necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including the adoption of proportionate countermeasures if required." Mexico's economy ministry said on Saturday it was informed the US would send a letter during a meeting on Friday with US officials. "We mentioned at the roundtable that it was unfair treatment and that we did not agree," the ministry's statement said. RATE FOR MEXICO LOWER THAN CANADA Mexico's proposed tariff level is lower than Canada's 35%, with both letters citing fentanyl flows even though government data shows the amount of the drug seized at the Mexican border was significantly higher than the Canadian border. "Mexico has been helping me secure the border, BUT, what Mexico has done, is not enough. Mexico still has not stopped the Cartels who are trying to turn all of North America into a Narco-Trafficking Playground," Trump wrote. Reuters
Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Bannon confronted over Jeffrey Epstein at MAGA event
Justin Baragona, The Independent MAGA world remains in a state of chaos over the Trump administration's Jeffrey Epstein memo, if the events of Friday are any indication. While the FBI's deputy director was taking a mental health day and considering resigning amid the continued fallout over the handling of the Epstein files, Steve Bannon got an earful from attendees at a MAGA youth event who declared that Donald Trump "has become the deep state" because he is "covering up for pedophiles." Nearly a week after the Department of Justice released an unsigned two-page letter concluding that Epstein committed suicide and the disgraced financier had no "client list" to blackmail prominent figures who took part in his underage sex trafficking, the administration is still facing fury from MAGA supporters who feel betrayed by the about-face. Much of that anger has been directed at Attorney General Pam Bondi, who breathlessly hyped the release of explosive evidence in the Epstein case and even said the long-fabled "client list" was on her desk, only to release binders of already-public documents and later put out a letter claiming the list never existed. Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, the FBI's top two leaders who spent years as right-wing podcasters who trafficked in Epstein conspiracy theories, have also taken heat from Trump fans for backing the memo. The pair had already come under fire in recent months for reversing course on claims Epstein was murdered in his jail cell - a theory they'd long promoted — and insisting the convicted sex offender killed himself. Amid the continued fallout over the Epstein memo, Bongino and Bondi were involved in a heated argument this week that resulted in Bongino taking the day off on Friday and threatening to quit. At the heart of the clash was Bondi's "publicly overpromised and underdelivered disclosures" about the "client list," and accusations that Bongino leaked a story about the FBI being held back on releasing more Epstein information. While this was going on within the Trump administration, MAGA youth organisation Turning Point USA was holding its Student Action Summit in Florida, which featured Bannon recording his War Room podcast from the lobby. Throughout the MAGA meltdown over the Epstein fiasco, the former Trump adviser has tried to thread a very fine needle due to his own personal connections with Epstein, which has featured former "first buddy" Elon Musk — who has long feuded with Bannon — claiming "Bannon is in the Epstein files." The world's richest man, who has called the Epstein memo the "final straw" regarding his support for Trump, did not elaborate on how he knew this was the case. Bannon has since reacted by calling for a special prosecutor to review "all" Epstein documents while urging Bondi to step aside. At the same time, much like the majority of MAGA media, he has largely steered clear of directly laying the blame at Trump's feet. That was put to the test, however, on Friday morning. A group of self-described "young right-wing men" who were attending SAS had gathered near the broadcast and were approached by War Room reporter Jayne Zirkle to chat with Bannon, only for them to complain that they were being "lied to" by the administration. "Yeah, we're getting lied to. The pedophiles aren't getting rounded up. The people aren't getting deported. We're not getting what we asked for," one attendee, who said his name was Julian, exclaimed. Asked by Zirkle what he would recommend, Julian added: "I would have ICE go into every house, kick them out. Release the files that we know exist. Maybe the guy with the computer implants turned them off!" Bannon would go on and ask the group what the "top three things" they would tell the president he should do right now, if they could currently speak with him. Another attendee, who identified as Blue Jackson, asserted that the Epstein case was at the top of the list. "There's no better question than who rules America. It's not the people. So we obviously need the declassification of the Epstein files," Jackson said, prompting Bannon to interrupt and wonder if he would really question if Trump was in charge of the nation. "I definitely would because it's a blackmail ring," Jackson responded. "And anybody who wouldn't isn't paying attention. Simply put, Epstein himself said he was best friends - on the stand - with Donald Trump. So anybody who thought these files were going to get declassified because we pressured him enough, or you voted hard enough, is just lying to yourself!" While Jackson said he agreed with Bannon that a special prosecutor was needed and that the DOJ and FBI had no credibility to investigate the matter anymore, he went beyond just blaming Bondi, Patel and Bongino. "In 2016, we trusted the plan with Trump, but now Trump has become the deep state," Jackson declared, leading Bannon to ask him to explain why he was going directly after the president. "What is more deep state than covering up for pedophiles? Why would you go to that island?" Jackson added, referencing Epstein's private resort. "Why? Tell me, why would you go to that island? Why would you go on the plane? Why are his top donors neighbours with Epstein?"
