Trump blames AT&T for tech issues in a call, AT&T says its network did not cause disruption
Trump blames AT&T for tech issues in a call, AT&T says its network did not cause disruption
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on June 30 blamed AT&T for technical issues in a conference call he held with American faith leaders, but the wireless carrier said its analysis showed the disruption was not caused by its network.
Mr Trump urged the wireless carrier's boss to handle the situation, and also said his administration may use another carrier's service in other calls.
'I'm doing a major Conference Call with Faith Leaders from all over the Country, and AT&T is totally unable to make their equipment work properly,' Mr Trump wrote on social media about the call on the afternoon of June 30.
'This is the second time it's happened. If the Boss of AT&T, whoever that may be, could get involved – It would be good. There are tens of thousands of people on the line!'
Mr Trump did not elaborate on the specifics of the issue.
AT&T said on X its initial analysis 'indicates the disruption was caused by an issue with the conference call platform, not our network.'
The company also said it was working to better understand the issue to help avoid such disruptions in the future.
Mr Trump apologised to faith leaders for what he described as a long wait on the conference call.
'We may have to reschedule the call, but we'll use another carrier the next time,' Mr Trump said on social media.
AT&T shares pared gains very briefly after Mr Trump's post and then recovered.
During his first White House term, Mr Trump criticised the company, which at the time owned CNN, about the news channel's coverage of his administration.
Earlier in June, Mr Trump's family business licensed its name to launch a US mobile service and a US$499 (S$634) smartphone, calling it Trump Mobile, in a deal brokered by the president's children. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
22 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US stocks mixed as Trump tax Bill advances, Tesla falls
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Traders working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York City, on July 1. NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks finished mixed on July 1 after the Senate approved Donald Trump's sweeping legislation to extend tax cuts and enact deep reductions in social spending. The Republican-led upper congressional chamber narrowly cleared Mr Trump's mammoth domestic policy Bill, sending the measure back to the House of Representatives, where the vote is also expected to be close. Equity market viewers have cheered the prospects of extending tax cuts while expressing misgivings about projections that the measure will add some US$3 trillion (S$3.8 trillion) to the US national debt. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9 per cent to 44,494.94. But the broad-based S&P 500 dipped 0.1 per cent to 6,198.01, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.8 per cent to 20,202.89. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at records on June 30. Data released on July 1 showed US manufacturing activity shrank in June for a fourth straight month, though by a slower rate than the prior month. The report comes ahead of key US data later in the week, including the closely watched monthly jobs report. Among individual companies, Tesla fell 5.3 per cent as the electric car company's chief executive officer Elon Musk sparred with Mr Trump over the tax and spending Bill. After Mr Musk lambasted the legislation as wasteful and misguided, Mr Trump warned of retribution against Tesla and other Mr Musk ventures. 'This high-profile feud introduces political risk,' said of the tiff. 'The personal nature of the conflict, amplified by Trump's comments implying Tesla's reliance on subsidies for survival, has sparked fears of broader policy shifts targeting Musk's business empire. This political uncertainty undermines investor confidence.' Meanwhile, rival automakers General Motors and Ford jumped 5.7 per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively, after reporting higher second-quarter US auto sales, as consumers accelerated purchases to get ahead of US tariffs. AFP
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Dollar pares losses against euro and Swiss franc after better-than-expected US jobs data
NEW YORK :The U.S. dollar gained ground against major currencies including the yen and the Swiss franc on Tuesday after data showed a better-than-expected increase in labor market demand, indicating the Federal Reserve will likely take its time to cut interest rates. The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate passed President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, approving a massive package that would enshrine many of his top priorities into law and add $3.3 trillion to the national debt. The bill will move to the House for final approval. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had reiterated that the central bank plans to wait for more data before it starts monetary policy easing, but he did not rule out a July cut. Powell spoke at a central banking conference in Portugal. The dollar pared losses against the Japanese yen and against the Swiss franc after Labor Department data showed job openings rose 374,000 to 7.769 million in May. It pared losses further against the yen and extended gains against the franc after the U.S. Senate cleared the spending bill. The dollar weakened 0.29 per cent to 143.58 against the yen and was down 0.16 per cent to 0.79175 versus the Swiss franc, compared with a drop of 0.46 per cent and 0.28 per cent respectively before the data. "It was the worst first half of the year for the U.S. dollar index since 1973 with a lot of that weakness being driven by concerns about trade policy and concerns about a slowing economy," said Matthew Weller, global head of market research at StoneX. "But I think on a very short-term basis we might be seeing the market get a little bit stretched here and I think there might be a case for a U.S. dollar bounce as we move through July." The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, reversed earlier gains and was down 0.08 per cent at 96.682 after being down 0.05 per cent to 96.71. U.S. Treasury yields advanced after the job openings data. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose 2.3 basis points to 4.25 per cent. "Two or three iterations of concern around the Fed or potential policy from the Fed all weigh against the dollar," said Marvin Loh, senior global market strategist at State Street in Boston. "If the Fed cuts, that closes interest rate differentials ... We've seen July expectations for a cut get a little more aggressive at 20 per cent; it was 0 per cent just a couple of weeks ago. It's certainly firming they're going to cut in September and there's a bit of a change in thesis." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer cleared the first hurdle in his quest to reform the welfare system, defeating an attempt by lawmakers opposed to the proposed law to halt its progress. The proposed reforms are designed to reduce the cost of Britain's growing welfare bill of 65 billion pounds, which the government has described as economically indefensible and morally wrong. The euro was down 0.13 per cent at $1.18020 after being up 0.05 per cent earlier in the day. The pound sterling reversed earlier declines and rose following the vote. It was last up 0.07 per cent to $1.374 against the dollar, on track for two straight sessions of gains.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Pro-Palestinian Georgetown student can remain free, US appeals court rules
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: A statue of John Carroll, first Archbishop of Baltimore and founder of Georgetown University, sits on the Georgetown campus in Washington June 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo A pro-Palestinian Georgetown University student from India, detained by President Donald Trump's administration but then released on a judge's order, can remain free while fighting deportation efforts, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday. A three-judge panel of the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 against the administration's request that Badar Khan Suri be returned to immigration detention. The 4th Circuit said it found no grounds to overturn the decision by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles to order Suri's release. "To allow the government to undermine habeas jurisdiction by moving detainees without notice or accountability reduces the writ of habeas corpus to a game of jurisdictional hide-and-seek," Judge James Andrew Wynn wrote on Tuesday. Habeas corpus refers to a procedure under which the legality of a person's incarceration can be challenged in court. Suri, 41, was arrested in Virginia in March and then moved by the U.S. government to Texas, where he was released in May after the ruling by Giles. Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown's Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, part of the Jesuit university's School of Foreign Service. The Trump administration has attempted to deport foreign pro-Palestinian student protesters while accusing them of being antisemitic, threats to American foreign policy and extremist sympathizers. Suri has denied the U.S. government's allegations that he spread Palestinian militant propaganda and antisemitism on social media. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, have said the U.S. government has conflated criticism of Israel's military assault in Gaza with antisemitism and advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. Human rights advocates have raised free speech and due process concerns over the administration's actions toward these students. Other pro-Palestinian students who were arrested by the government and subsequently released under judicial orders include Columbia University students Mahmoud Khalil and Mohsen Mahdawi and Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk. Suri's wife, Mapheze Saleh, is a U.S. citizen. Saleh is from Gaza, according to the Georgetown University website, which said she has written for Al Jazeera and Palestinian media outlets and worked with the foreign ministry in Gaza. Saleh was not arrested. REUTERS
