Watch: Jeffries concludes record-breaking 8-hour House floor speech
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Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
Despite his 'love' of Scotland, damage caused by Donald Trump's tariffs show he's no true friend
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... When, on what he called 'Liberation Day' earlier this year, Donald Trump unveiled his board of eye-watering tariffs on countries around the world, it had something of the air of an amateurish, comedy gameshow. However, his accompanying claim that this unprecedented economic assault on long-standing American allies was justified because they had 'looted, pillaged, raped and plundered' the US for years underlined, in distasteful terms, just how serious he was. Despite our 'Special Relationship', the UK was not spared, subjected to a 10 per cent general tariff and 25 per cent on steel and aluminium, which could double to 50 per cent if a deal is not reached by the deadline next week, when Trump's temporary tariff 'pause' is due to end. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Since then, the US has collected an extra $80 billion in extra taxes from the US firms who pay the tariffs, according to NBC News, although it noted this 'pales beside the multi-trillion-dollar gyration markets have undergone in that time'. For example, the Liberation Day announcement was swiftly followed by the loss of $5 trillion in value from the S&P 500 stock market index. Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports from many countries on what he called 'Liberation Day' in April (Picture: Chip Somodevilla) | Getty Images Faltering growth Scotland is far from immune from all this economic turmoil, with a new report by the Fraser of Allander Institute saying the slowdown in this country's economic growth was 'largely due to higher global uncertainty, particularly from the announcement of tariffs in the US and elsewhere'. Institute director Professor Mairi Spowage said: "After a strong start to the year, the Scottish economy has faltered in March and April and is essentially the same size in real terms as it was six months ago.' The think tank now expects Scotland's economy to grow by just 0.8 per cent this year and 1 per cent next year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There are, of course, other reasons for our troubles. However – despite Trump's oleaginous remarks about his love for this country, which he sometimes calls 'home', and his business interests here – we should remember his economically illiterate and counter-productive tariffs are causing very real damage to this country and, indeed, the world.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Stars, stripes and soundbites: Trump celebrates his 'big, beautiful' win
Why you can trust Sky News It couldn't have been more American. Stars, stripes and soundbites at the Iowa State Fairground on the eve of the fourth of July. The stars had aligned for President Trump, celebrating the passage of his signature tax and spending bill. "There can be no better birthday for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago when Congress passed the big, beautiful bill to make America great again," he told the crowd at Des Moines. In recent weeks, his administration has earned its stripes, chalking up unexpected successes: an Israel/Iran ceasefire, agreement at NATO and a legislative breakthrough. It was a small margin - 218 votes to 214 - but a huge win for Donald Trump because the wide-ranging legislation effectively bankrolls his second-term agenda. He feels invincible right now, even joking when a bang interrupted his Iowa speech. "Don't worry, it's only fireworks, I hope. Famous last words… You always have to think positive. I didn't like the sound of that either," he laughed. Democrats have branded the bill "the big, ugly betrayal", claiming 11 million lower-income Americans will lose their healthcare to fund Trump's tax cuts and spending priorities. 👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 Their leader in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, vowed to "press on for democracy" in a record-breaking speech lasting eight hours and 11 minutes. But the Democrats will struggle to press on anywhere until they find a leader and a coherent opposition strategy to rally around. Republican representatives greeted the result with chants of "USA, USA", but their ownership of the bill makes them accountable for its impact. How Donald Trump handles this degree of power will define this presidency.
The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump's spending bill passes: Does it have a stimulus check?
House Republicans won final passage by a four-vote margin, with all Democratic members, as well as Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Thomas Massie of Kentucky voting against it. The mega-bill does not include provisions a stimulus check, despite Trump previously floating that he would consider a payment connected to claimed savings from the Department of Government Efficiency. Here's what to know about a potential stimulus check in 2025. Is there a stimulus check in the Trump mega-bill? No. The legislation, dubbed the "big beautiful bill," will touch nearly every aspect of the American economy, from the social safety net and income taxes to business and clean energy incentives. The largest cut is to Medicaid, which will pull roughly $1 trillion from the joint federal and state program over the next decade, according to recent estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The Senate's version of the bill could leave 11.8 million Americans uninsured by 2034, according to the report. GOP passes Medicaid cuts: Trump's megabill heads for White House, securing a big win for Republican's agenda What about a DOGE check? A push on social media for a so-called "DOGE check" swirled following the sweeping cuts from the quasi-government agency formerly fronted by Elon Musk that left thousands of workers fired or put on administrative leave. Trump previously claimed he was considering a stimulus payment, but no legislative action has been put forward to create a stimulus payment. The February pronouncement came on the same day as reporting from USA TODAY showed that DOGE's website published misleading information on the amount of money it has claimed to save, including a nearly $8 billion error. Did people receive stimulus checks in 2025? Some did, yes. The IRS issued a stimulus check to taxpayers who did not claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns. The credit was for taxpayers who did not receive previous stimulus payments. The stimulus, announced in December under the Biden administration, was authorized after internal IRS data showed that many eligible taxpayers who filed a 2021 tax return did not claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. The stimulus payments were issued in December and January. Those who were eligible received up to $1,400, according to the IRS. The deadline to claim the previous stimulus passed on April 15. Contributing: Kathryn Palmer and Greta Cross, USA TODAY
