Trump threatens tariffs on Russia and allies unless they end war in Ukraine
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump has threatened to impose “high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions” on Russia and its allies if it does not stop its invasion of Ukraine.
The post comes after Trump failed to achieve his campaign promise of ending the war in the country within 24 hours of taking office. Here’s what the president wrote:
I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a “deal,” and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!
Key events
Democratic senator reveals details of new abuse allegations against Pete Hegseth
Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate committee considering Pete Hegseth’s appointment to lead the defense department, has released details of alleged abuse by the former Fox News host towards his second wife.
In a statement, Reed, the ranking member on the Senate armed services committee, said he had received an affidavit from an unspecified individual detailing Hegseth’s behavior in his second marriage. Media outlets have earlier reported that the individual is Hegseth’s former sister-in-law.
“As I have said for months, the reports of Mr Hegseth’s history of alleged sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and public misconduct necessitate an exhaustive background investigation. I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this affidavit confirms that fact,” Reed said in a statement.
Here are the details of Hegseth’s alleged behavior, from Reed:
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Mr Hegseth abused alcohol regularly and his volatile behavior caused family members to fear for their safety.
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Mr Hegseth’s second spouse had an ‘escape plan’ that involved texting a ‘safe word’ to friends and family to urgently request assistance without putting herself in more danger with Mr Hegseth. This escape plan was executed on at least one occasion.
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On at least one occasion, Mr Hegseth’s second spouse hid in her closet out of fear of him.
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While drunk in his military uniform – a violation of military laws – Mr Hegseth was so inebriated that his brother had to carry him out of a Minneapolis strip club. This occurred during a drill weekend with the Minnesota national guard.
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Mr Hegseth regularly became so drunk that he passed out, threw up, and had to be carried out of family events and public settings, sometimes shouting sexually and racially offensive statements.
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Mr Hegseth said that women should not vote or work, and that Christians needed to have more children so they could overtake the Muslim population.
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Several other accounts of abusive behavior and public drunkenness.
Here’s more on the new allegations against the defense secretary nominee, who currently appears on track to be confirmed by the Senate:
Yesterday, Donald Trump announced a big infrastructure project to build data centers for AI technology.
Now, two billionaires are fighting about it on X. You won’t be surprised to learn that one of the two combatants is the billionaire megastar and apparent Trump White House official, Elon Musk. Responding to a tweet announcing the infrastructure project from OpenAI, Musk wrote:
They don’t actually have the money
And:
SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a fellow billionaire who is nonetheless worth much less than Musk, the world’s richest man, wrote back:
wrong, as you surely know.
want to come visit the first site already under way?
this is great for the country. i realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you’ll mostly put [america] first.
Here’s more about the project at the heart of the squabble:
Republican House speaker Mike Johnson earlier in the day downplayed Donald Trump’s blanket pardons for January 6 rioters, and said, “We’re not looking backward, we’re looking forward.”
But the speaker did not hesitate to glance in the rearview mirror when asked to comment on Joe Biden’s pardons, in his final minutes as president, to members of his own family.
“It was shocking what President Biden did on the way out, pardoning his family for more than a decade of whatever activity, any non-violent offenses. It was breathtaking to us. I don’t think that’s anything like that’s ever been anticipated,” Johnson said.
“It probably proves the point, the suspicion that, you know, they call it the Biden crime family, if they weren’t the crime family, why do they need pardons?” The House will investigate the decision, he said.
What do Ukrainians think of Donald Trump’s claims that he can swiftly bring peace to their country? The Guardian’s Luke Harding asked around Kyiv to find out:
People in Kyiv expressed a mixture of hope and scepticism on Tuesday that Donald Trump can end the war in Ukraine, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the US president as a “decisive” leader who would bring about a “just peace”.
Trump described himself as a “peacekeeper” who would avoid entangling the US in damaging foreign wars in his inauguration speech, but did not mention Ukraine, or explain how he might persuade Vladimir Putin to engage in negotiations almost three years after his full-scale invasion.
Speaking later to reporters in the White House, Trump claimed 1 million Russian soldiers had died in the war and suggested that it was in the interests of both sides to stop fighting. “He [Putin] is destroying Russia. He should make a deal. Zelenskyy wants to make a deal,” Trump said.
Ukrainians outside Lukianivska metro station in Kyiv the next morning – where a Russian missile killed three people on Saturday – said they were anxiously waiting to see what happened next. Behind them was the wrecked facade of an office building and a damaged branch of McDonald’s, the first in the Ukrainian capital.
“I think a deal is unrealistic. Trump is blah blah blah,” Valeriia, a 23-year-old shop worker, said. “He promised to end the conflict in 24 hours. That won’t happen. My friends are split 50-50 between those who think he can do something, and those who don’t.”
Trump threatens tariffs on Russia and allies unless they end war in Ukraine
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump has threatened to impose “high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions” on Russia and its allies if it does not stop its invasion of Ukraine.
The post comes after Trump failed to achieve his campaign promise of ending the war in the country within 24 hours of taking office. Here’s what the president wrote:
I’m not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin – and this despite the Radical Left’s Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose Economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT’S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don’t make a “deal,” and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let’s get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way – and the easy way is always better. It’s time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!
Donald Trump’s blanket pardons for January 6 rioters have put congressional Republicans in a somewhat uncomfortable spot.
The president freed from jail and dropped charges against both violent and nonviolent rioters, a decision that does not quite square with the GOP’s stated fidelity to “law and order” policies. House speaker Mike Johnson was asked for his thoughts on the pardons at the Capitol today. Here’s what he said, from NBC News:
Everybody can describe this however they want. The president has the pardon and commutation authority. It’s his decision. I think what was made clear all along was that peaceful protests and the people who engage in that should never be punished. There was a weaponization of the Justice Department. There was a weaponization of the events — the prosecutions that happened after January 6. It was a terrible time and a terrible chapter in America’s history. The president’s made his decision. I don’t second-guess those. And yes, it’s kind of my ethos, my world view, we believe in redemption; we believe in second chances … We’re not looking backward, we’re looking forward.
Trump to sit for Oval Office interview with conservative commentator Sean Hannity
Donald Trump’s first sit-down interview since being inaugurated president will be with conservative Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, the network announced.
The (undoubtedly friendly) interview will air at 9pm today, and take place in the Oval Office.
Trump executive order leaves refugees cleared to enter US stranded globally
Among the many executive orders Donald Trump signed on Monday was one that has prevented refugees who have been cleared to resettle in the United States from reaching the country, the Associated Press reports.
It’s a situation not unlike what played out at the start of his first term, when he signed a similar executive order to stop refugees from coming into the US. Here’s more on the latest move, from the AP:
Refugees who had been approved to travel to the United States before a Jan. 27 deadline suspending America’s refugee resettlement program have had their travel plans canceled by the Trump administration.
Thousands of refugees are now stranded at various locations around the globe.
The suspension was in an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday. It left open the possibility that people who had undergone the lengthy process to be approved as refugees and permitted to come to the U.S., and had flights booked before that deadline, might still be able to get in under the wire.
But in an email reviewed Wednesday by The Associated Press, the U.S. agency overseeing refugee processing and arrival told staff and stakeholders that “refugee arrival to the United States have been suspended until further notice.”
Among those affected are the more than 1,600 Afghans cleared to resettle in the U.S. as part of the program that the Biden administration set up after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. That number includes those who worked alongside American soldiers during the war as well as family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel.
Trump’s order had given the agency until Jan. 27 before it began to halt all processing and traveling. Now, however, it appears the timing in the order was moved up. It was not immediately clear what prompted the change.
A new poll finds that increasing border security and deporting undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes are relatively popular proposals with Americans.
But Donald Trump’s hardline approaches to immigration more broadly – including ending birthright citizenship and deporting all undocumented immigrants, even those who have not interacted with the criminal justice system – are more divisive, the survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found.
What it found about border security:
Half of U.S. adults think increasing security at the border should be a high priority for the federal government, according to the poll, and about 3 in 10 say it should be a moderate priority. Just 2 in 10, roughly, consider it a low priority.
The vast majority of U.S. adults favor deporting immigrants convicted of violent crimes, and the Trump administration’s deportation efforts may begin there. But Trump’s initial executive orders have gone far beyond that — including efforts to keep asylum-seekers in Mexico and end automatic citizenship.
And Trump, a Republican, is continuing to signal an aggressive and likely divisive approach, with promises to deport millions of people who entered the country illegally while declaring a “national emergency at our southern border.” About 4 in 10 American adults support deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and a similar share are opposed.
And about Trump’s more extreme actions:
Removing immigrants who are in the country illegally and have not committed a violent crime is highly divisive, with only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults in support and slightly more than 4 in 10 opposed.
And relatively few Americans, about 3 in 10, somewhat or strongly favor changing the Constitution so children born in the U.S. are not automatically granted citizenship if their parents are in the country illegally. About 2 in 10 are neutral, and about half are somewhat or strongly opposed.
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The poll finds that a shift toward arresting people in the country illegally at places like churches and schools would be highly unpopular. Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults somewhat or strongly favor arresting children who are in the country illegally while they are at school, and a similar share support arresting people who are in the country illegally while they are at church. Solid majorities, about 6 in 10, oppose these kinds of arrests.
Even Republicans aren’t fully on board — less than half favor arrests of children in schools or people at church.
Yesterday, the homeland security department released a memo that allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents to arrest suspected undocumented immigrants at hospitals, churches, schools and other sensitive locations where they were prohibited from doing so under Joe Biden.
In an interview today with CNN, Chad Wolf, a former acting homeland security secretary, said that any actions by Ice agents at those locations would be “targeted”:
What we’re talking about is targeted enforcement operations. And if you have a criminal aliens that is, you know, near a school, near a church, near a court house. What I think the Trump administration is saying is that it’s OK to arrest that individual, to remove them out of that community, to remove them out of that situation and – and deport them. So, I think it’s important – again, we’re not talking about raids here, we’re not talking about just wandering through neighborhoods. That’s not how ICE conducts their operations.
Here’s more about the new policy:
Justice department may investigate attempts to block immigration enforcement
Federal prosecutors could investigate state and local officials who do not cooperate with Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, the Associated Press reports, citing a justice department memo authored by an appointee of the new president.
The policy marks an attempt by the new Trump administration to overcome local efforts to resist his plans for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Some cities and states have passed laws or approved policies that limit their cooperation with immigration authorities, and the memo from acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove signals prosecutors could be tasked with going after officials who follow those laws.
Here’s more, from the AP:
The Justice Department is directing its federal prosecutors to investigate any state or local officials who stand in the way of beefed-up enforcement of immigration laws under the Trump administration, according to a memo to the entire workforce obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Written by Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, the memo also says the department will return to the principle of charging defendants with the most serious crime it can prove, a staple position of Republican-led departments meant to remove a prosecutor’s discretion to charge a lower-level offense.
Much of the memo is centered on immigration enforcement. Bove wrote that prosecutors shall “take all steps necessary to protect the public and secure the American border by removing illegal aliens from the country and prosecuting illegal aliens for crimes” committed in U.S. jurisdiction.
The memo also suggests state and local officials who stand in the way of federal immigration enforcement could themselves come under scrutiny. It directs prosecutors to investigate any episodes in which state and local officials obstruct or impede federal functions.
“Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing and otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests,” the memo says. “The U.S. Attorney’s Offices and litigating components of the Department of Justice shall investigate incidents involving any such misconduct for potential prosecution.”
Donald Trump’s blanket pardons to January 6 rioters have been condemned by a major police union that had endorsed his candidacy, the Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt reports:
The largest police union in the US, which endorsed Donald Trump during his campaign, said Trump’s decision to pardon more than 1,500 people convicted over the January 6 insurrection “sends a dangerous message”, in a statement on Tuesday.
The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), which endorsed Trump in September 2024, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) warned that the blanket clemency offered to rioters – including those convicted of violent offenses, and several leaders of the attack on the Capitol – threatened Americans’ safety.
“The IACP and FOP are deeply discouraged by the recent pardons and commutations granted by both the Biden and Trump administrations to individuals convicted of killing or assaulting law enforcement officers. The IACP and FOP firmly believe that those convicted of such crimes should serve their full sentences,” the IACP and FOP statement said.
It continued: “Crimes against law enforcement are not just attacks on individuals or public safety – they are attacks on society and undermine the rule of law. Allowing those convicted of these crimes to be released early diminishes accountability and devalues the sacrifices made by courageous law enforcement officers and their families.
The top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, Dick Durbin, met with Kash Patel yesterday, and released a statement saying that Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director is the wrong man for the job.
Here’s what Durbin had to say:
Kash Patel has neither the experience, the temperament, nor the judgment to lead the FBI.
We were reminded on 9/11 that the FBI is the first agency we rely on to keep America safe. The 30,000 professionals at the FBI have the skills and resources to protect us. They deserve a leader who understands the gravity of their mission.
Mr Patel’s political grievances make him a favorite of the MAGA world, but they have not prepared him to work night and day to keep us safe from violent crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, and other threats. Mr. Patel is the wrong choice to lead the FBI.
Politico reports that Patel’s confirmation hearing before the committee has been scheduled for 29 January.
Trump’s second inauguration had smallest US TV audience since 2013
Associated Press reports the Nielsen Company says an estimated 24.6 million people watched coverage of President Donald Trump’s second inauguration in the US.
It says that is the lowest audience since 2013, when Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term. Nielsen says it is also down from the 33.8 million who saw Joe Biden’s inauguration, and the 30.6 million who saw Trump take office for the first time in 2017.
President Trump issued an executive order earlier this week instructing the federal government to ensure passports only reflect two sexes, preventing the use of taxpayer funds for gender-affirming healthcare, and mandating that prisons are designated by sex assigned at birth.
Alaina Demopoulos reports for the Guardian on the reaction of the trans community in the US, with one trans man describing the move as “a twist of the knife”.
Read Alaina Demopoulos’ report here:
There has been some dissent among Republican ranks about Donald Trump’s decision to issue a blanket pardon to people involved in the January 6 Capitol riot, including those who were convicted of violent crimes.
North Carolina’s senator Thom Tillis expressed concerns with pardons for “people who did harm to a police officer”, while Alaska’s senator Lisa Murkowski said she was “disappointed” that the pardon included “those who caused harm – physical harm – to our police officers.”
Indian and US diplomats are trying to arrange a meeting in February between Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump in Washington, two Indian sources familiar with the discussions have told Reuters.
Trump demands apology from bishop who asked him to show mercy
Overnight on social media Donald Trump responded to Bishop Budde, the leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, calling on him to show mercy, by saying that “she brought her church into the world of politics in a very ungracious way.”
In a post to his Truth Social network, Trump said:
She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.
He added that “the so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater … she and her church owe the public an apology!”
The Right Rev Mariann Budde had said “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives. You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now.”
Trump executive order lays groundwork for Muslim ban repeat, civil rights group says
Ashifa Kassam
One of the largest Arab American civil rights organisations in the US has spoken out against one of the executive orders issued by Donald Trump on Monday, warning that it lays the groundwork for a repeat of Trump’s so-called Muslim ban in 2017.
Signed as part of Trump’s barrage of executive orders, the new order instructs top homeland security and national intelligence officials to jointly submit a report within 60 days identifying countries whose vetting and screening processes are deemed “deficient.”
The list could then trigger either partial or full bans on nationals from these countries, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said in a statement.
The organisation also expressed concern that the new order is seemingly wider-reaching than the 2017 ban, in that it targets perceived ideologies. The new order would allow the government to be allowed to deny visas or entry based on perceived political opinions, religious beliefs or cultural background, it said.
“Such practices echo some of the most troubling chapters in our nation’s history, when the government barred and scrutinized people solely for their viewpoints or associations rather than any credible security concern,” the committee noted.
Others groups in the US have also expressed concerns about the order. On Tuesday the National Iranian American Council warned that the order sets the stage for a ban to be announced any day through March. As it instructs officials to report on visas issued in the past four years, the council worried that it could pave the way for the deportation of Iranians and other individuals who lawfully secured visas after Trump’s previous ban was repealed in 2021.
