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Trump's next 100 days will make the first 100 look tranquil

Trump's next 100 days will make the first 100 look tranquil

Times04-05-2025
It's 7pm midweek on Capitol Hill and a crowd of Washington's new movers and shakers have gathered at Butterworth's restaurant, the salon of choice for the Maga right, to mark Donald Trump's first 100 days in office. A portrait of Queen Elizabeth hangs behind the wood-panelled bar, as guests — adhering to a dress code of 'elegant, patriotic' attire — sip on 'Freedom Fizz', 'Golden Age' Old Fashioneds and — in a nod to teetotal Trump — a cranberry-and-lime mix branded as 'Presidential Punch'.
'I miss Joe Biden,' declares a speaker to the surprise of some attendees. He goes on: 'I miss having to watch him struggle up the steps.' The crowd laughs. Pamphlets are scattered around the event — hosted by the conservative Heritage
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Trump news at a glance: president dismisses continued Epstein and Maxwell furore as ‘not a big thing'
Trump news at a glance: president dismisses continued Epstein and Maxwell furore as ‘not a big thing'

The Guardian

time37 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Trump news at a glance: president dismisses continued Epstein and Maxwell furore as ‘not a big thing'

Donald Trump continued to face questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein as he landed in Scotland ahead of meeting British prime minister Keir Starmer and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. The US president denied reports that he was briefed about his name appearing in the Epstein files after landing on Friday evening local time. He was also asked about the justice department's questioning of Ghislaine Maxwell and suggestions he might offer her clemency. Trump: 'I don't know anything about the conversation, I haven't really been following it.' 'A lot of people have been asking me about pardons [for Maxwell]. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons' he went on. 'You're making a very big thing over something that's not a big thing.' Here are the key US politics stories today: The furore over Donald Trump's ties with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continued on Friday as new revelations about the pair's relationship threatened to mire the president's golfing trip to Scotland, where he arrived late on Friday. After landing at Glasgow Prestwick airport at about 8.30pm local time, the US president denied reports that he had been briefed about his name appearing in files pertaining to the case against the late Epstein. He also said he had not 'really been following' the justice department's interview with Epstein's convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Read the full story The EU appears to be on the verge of signing a trade deal with Donald Trump after the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced she would meet the US president on Sunday during his four-day trip to Scotland. Trump landed in Scotland on Friday evening before the opening of his new golf course in Aberdeenshire. He said he was also planning to meet the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Saturday. Read the full story The deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, held a second in-person meeting on Friday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Blanche had confirmed the two met behind closed doors in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday, at the federal prosecutor's office within the federal courthouse in the state capital, and they met again on Friday. Read the full story Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was driving to his landscaping job with his mother and two male friends when they were pulled over by the Florida highway patrol. In one swift moment, a traffic stop turned into a violent arrest. Video of the incident captured by Laynez-Ambrosio, an 18-year-old US citizen, appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men. The video has put fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used by US law enforcement officials as the Trump administration sets ambitious enforcement targets to detain thousands of immigrants every day. Read the full story The White House has announced that it will release $5.5bn in frozen education funds back to US states. That announcement came on Friday after Donald Trump's administration decided to abruptly withhold the congressionally approved funds a day before their 1 July release for the 2025-26 school year. South Park co-creator Trey Parker had the briefest response to anger from the White House over this season's premiere, which showed a naked Trump in bed with Satan. Two high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were placed on administrative leave on Friday, fueling speculation that the Trump administration was retaliating against them for actions taken during the president's first term. Catching up? Here's what happened on 24 July 2025.

JD Vance breaks ranks with Trump and admits he has 'no idea' if president's letter to Epstein is real
JD Vance breaks ranks with Trump and admits he has 'no idea' if president's letter to Epstein is real

Daily Mail​

time37 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

JD Vance breaks ranks with Trump and admits he has 'no idea' if president's letter to Epstein is real

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Vance doubled down on his issue not with the content itself, but with what he described as irresponsible journalism. 'What I find absurd is the idea that Donald Trump was writing poems to Epstein, and I find it equally absurd that a major American paper would attack the President of the United States without revealing the basis for the attack.' He then accused the Wall Street Journal of running a partisan smear campaign. Vance's stance stands apart from the president's repeated claims that the letter is entirely made up 'They're going to dribble little details out for days or weeks in an effort to assassinate the president's character… The WSJ is acting like a Democrat SuperPAC. It's disgraceful, and it's why the president sued.' Indeed, Trump's legal team has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, calling the report 'fake news' and a 'sick fabrication.' Trump, for his part, has flatly denied ever writing such a letter - or ever writing anything like it. 'This is not me. This is a fake thing. It's a fake Wall Street Journal story,' Trump told the paper in response to the report. 'I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women. It's not my language. It's not my words.' But Vance's open-ended comments mark a rare public departure from the president, who is known to demand complete loyalty from his political allies, especially in matters concerning the explosive Epstein narrative. Following Vance's post on X, many chimed in that his stance showed weakness between him and and the president. One person wrote: 'This is really weak s**t from Vance.' Another highlighted the irony: 'Lawyers representing the Epstein estate: "We have the birthday book, including Trump's letter" JD Vance two days later: "Nobody even knows if the book exists!"' A third said: ' Is it me, or is it weird that ⁦Vance has 'no idea if the letter exists' (that Trump wrote to Epstein) instead of taking Trump's word for it?' 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Despite the denials, the issue continues to dog the White House, as Trump's trip to Scotland was overshadowed by renewed questions about Epstein and his imprisoned associate Ghislaine Maxwell. 'People should really focus on how well the country is doing,' Trump told reporters, brushing off the questions. 'I don't want to talk about that.' The birthday letter controversy is just the latest flare-up in an increasingly volatile administration battling internal divisions and external conspiracies. Despite having stacked the Justice Department with loyalists like Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, Trump has found himself boxed in by rising demands for transparency from his own supporters. Bondi previously suggested on Fox News that she had an Epstein 'client list' on her desk. Patel, along with Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, has long trafficked in Epstein conspiracy theories, demanding the public exposure of alleged abusers. But when the Justice Department recently released a letter denying the existence of a client list and declaring the case effectively closed, the backlash was immediate and furious, particularly among Trump's base. 'Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are,' Patel had said in a 2023 podcast- a sentiment still echoed by large swaths of MAGA supporters online. Now, those same supporters are increasingly doubtful of the administration's willingness to reveal the truth, especially as Trump attempts to shift focus back to his legislative agenda and away from the growing scandal. Behind the scenes, tensions are said to be boiling over. According to insiders, a contentious meeting earlier this month between Bondi and Bongino erupted into a shouting match, as the two clashed over how to manage the fallout from the Justice Department's abrupt about-face. Faced with a restive base and a deeply skeptical media, Trump has once again turned to his favorite fallback: the 'Russia hoax.' 'They have gone absolutely CRAZY,' Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social, 'and are playing another Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax but, this time, under the guise of what we will call the Jeffrey Epstein SCAM.' Trump has also relied on familiar figures to shift the narrative. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who recently appeared to split with Trump on foreign policy, returned to his good graces this week after pushing the release of old intelligence documents from the Russia probe in an apparent attempt to reignite grievances and distract from the present crisis.

Ukraine war briefing: Ending Russia's war in Ukraine key issue in Trump talks with EU, UK, sources say
Ukraine war briefing: Ending Russia's war in Ukraine key issue in Trump talks with EU, UK, sources say

The Guardian

time37 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Ukraine war briefing: Ending Russia's war in Ukraine key issue in Trump talks with EU, UK, sources say

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