All posts tagged: Trumps

Iranian adviser disputes Trump’s claim that its economy is collapsing

Iranian adviser disputes Trump’s claim that its economy is collapsing

Published by Sam Flores

A former adviser to Iran’s central bank pushed back against U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that the country is on the brink of economic collapse, but warned that the United Arab Emirates’ decision to sever trade ties could deepen Iran’s contraction to about 5% this year. “We should be a little bit cautious about the view that the Iranian economy is simply on the verge of collapse,” Mehrdad Sepahvand, a former economic adviser to the Central Bank of Iran, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on “Access Middle East” on Thursday. His comments came hours after Trump vowed “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale” against Iran, declaring the regime is “hanging by a thread,” following the collapse of ceasefire talks. The announcement extends a pressure campaign the Trump administration has waged since April under the banner Operation Economic Fury, aimed at cutting off what it terms the regime’s global terror financing and revenue streams.  Iran’s gross domestic product is estimated to have contracted by 2.7% in the year ending March, according to the World Bank, …

Trump’s choice for Wyoming governor loses GOP primary

Trump’s choice for Wyoming governor loses GOP primary

Published by Sam Flores

President Trump’s pick to succeed term-limited Gov. Mark Gordon (R) is projected to lose the Republican primary, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ). GOP state Sen. Eric Barlow is set to defeat Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and three other Republican candidates, including 2022 gubernatorial contender Brent Bien. Degenfelder was also backed by… Source link

Who is Natalie Harp? Meet Donald Trump’s devoted 35-year-old aide who ‘will never leave’ him

Who is Natalie Harp? Meet Donald Trump’s devoted 35-year-old aide who ‘will never leave’ him

Published by Daniella Wilson

Donald Trump has surrounded himself with a fiercely loyal inner circle throughout his second term in the White House, but few aides appear to have become quite as indispensable as Natalie Harp. The 35-year-old executive assistant has been photographed at the President’s side everywhere from the Oval Office to the golf course, while her extraordinary devotion to her boss has now become a major talking point in Washington. Natalie has reportedly been described as Trump’s “human printer” because of her habit of carrying a portable printer to provide him with articles, social media posts and other material throughout the day. She also helps manage his Truth Social presence and has become one of the small group of aides with almost constant access to him. © Getty ImagesNatalie Harp, executive assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump Her relationship with the 80-year-old President has come under renewed scrutiny following revelations in Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, which details the extraordinary extent of Natalie’s loyalty. It comes as First …

Trump’s destruction of national parks is just getting started

Trump’s destruction of national parks is just getting started

Published by Sam Flores

The Trump administration’s construction project in Big Bend National Park, which is destroying the area’s pristine environment to build more of President Donald Trump’s border wall, is temporarily on hold following bipartisan outrage over the environmental damage. “CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation,” Rodney Scott, head of Customs and Border Protection, posted on X Monday. “CBP is firmly committed to protecting America, and that includes our national treasures like Big Bend National Park.” Last summer, Congress gave the Trump administration $46 billion to construct a wall from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, a project that is happening with little to no oversight in order to fast track construction.  Big Bend, bordering Mexico in West Texas, features volcanic dikes, dinosaur bones and stunning canyon views. In July, the Trump admin waived restrictions on construction, allowing bulldozing and parts of the border wall and roads to be built, drawing the ire of environmental groups and the National Parks Conservation Association, …

Trump’s Current Naval Fixation – The Atlantic

Trump’s Current Naval Fixation – The Atlantic

Published by Sam Flores

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Over the past nine years, Donald Trump has returned again and again to the concept of steam power. He loves the way that steam propels fighter jets off the decks of aircraft carriers, and he laments that the Navy has pivoted to electromagnetic launchers in its new ships. “That beautiful scene,” he rhapsodized at a rally in 2023: “That steam goes off, and that plane gets thrown the hell off; the power, beautiful. And it’s cheap!” By The Guardian’s accounting, Trump has spoken publicly about these steam catapults every year since 2017, when he claimed to have told the crew of the USS Gerald Ford that they’d be “going to goddamned steam.” The Gerald Ford is the only one of the Navy’s 11 operational aircraft carriers that’s not currently equipped with steam catapults. Instead, it uses the more modern …

Trump’s threat of 100% import tariff on UK ‘not a bluff’, US trade tsar warns

Trump’s threat of 100% import tariff on UK ‘not a bluff’, US trade tsar warns

Published by Sam Flores

Donald Trump’s threat of a 100 per cent import tariff on the UK over Britain’s digital services tax on American social media firms is “not a bluff”, a US trade representative has said. Back in June, the US president warned of imposing the tariff on European countries, including the UK which taxes companies, such as Google and Apple, with global digital revenues exceeding £500m. The two per cent levy is viewed as an important revenue stream for The Treasury, raising £800m in 2024/25, up from £678m in 2023/24. Mr Trump’s threat in June followed a similar warning the month before when he indicated that substantial tariffs could be imposed unless the UK reversed its digital services tax on American technology firms. However, despite the threats the US administration has so far not yet followed them up with action. But speaking to The Times, US trade representative Jamieson Greer said the warnings were “not a bluff” – although when asked about a deadline, he appeared to give new prime minister Andy Burnham some time to respond. …

Trump’s Oman bomb threat an attempt to get their ‘attention’: Ex-ambassador

Trump’s Oman bomb threat an attempt to get their ‘attention’: Ex-ambassador

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 06, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images U.S.-Iran peace talks have effectively stalled, a former U.S. ambassador told CNBC on Tuesday, with Washington pursuing a diplomatic solution that was never “seriously on the table.” The 60-day window for a negotiated settlement closed without a breakthrough on Monday, with ships still unable to safely transit the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman — an ally of Washington — if it “gets in the way” of negotiations with Iran. Tehran is in active talks with Oman over a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for international shipping that has become a key sticking point in negotiations with U.S. representatives. Speaking to CNBC’s Access Middle East on Tuesday, Marc Sievers, who served as U.S. ambassador to Oman between 2016 and 2019, said Trump’s threat to bomb the country …

The Incoherence of Trump’s Past Week of Foreign Policy

The Incoherence of Trump’s Past Week of Foreign Policy

Published by Daniella Wilson

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. A memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States, reached in June and intended to provide breathing room to end the conflict between the two countries, expired today. The agreement will be little missed: A cease-fire had effectively ended within about three weeks of its signing, and the MOU had failed to produce fruitful negotiations or a real opening of the Strait of Hormuz. The president’s actions in the days leading up to the deadline demonstrate that his approach to the world, always contingent and improvisational, has lost its last shred of coherence. The White House cannot agree on the goals of the Iran war, much less on how to achieve them. The president is clashing with long-standing allies, in conflict with his vice president on the aims of the war, and publicly at odds with uniformed commanders …

Supreme Court turns away Trump’s latest bid to block E. Jean Carroll award

Supreme Court turns away Trump’s latest bid to block E. Jean Carroll award

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday declined for a second time to take up President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn a jury verdict that awarded $5 million to writer E. Jean Carroll and found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. In an unusual move, the president had asked the court to reconsider its decision from June that rejected Trump’s initial appeal. The court almost never grants such requests. Trump has already turned over the $5 million, plus interest. The case arose from a federal lawsuit Carroll filed in New York City alleging that Trump sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a department store in 1996. The defamation claims relate to statements he made about her after his first term in office, in which he described her claims as a “con job” and “hoax.” Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has said he does not know Carroll. Trump has a separate appeal at the Supreme Court concerning a different defamation case in which Carroll won an $83 million judgment. That case concerns …