Awkward silence after Trump praises English of Liberian president
Boakai was advocating for US investment in his country and a joint approach to peace and security in the region. Trump asked him where he had 'learned to speak so beautifully', causing embarrassment
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NBC News
11 minutes ago
- NBC News
Democrats in a key state want to see their leaders 'fight' — and reach across party lines
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Democratic strategists, elected officials and voters in South Carolina are already eagerly looking forward, hunting for the next leader of their party after their 2024 presidential loss. They haven't had to look far: Prominent Democratic officials have flooded into the state, which was the first to vote in Democrats' 2024 presidential primaries, in recent weeks. Democratic Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Tim Walz of Minnesota, Gavin Newsom of California and Andy Beshear of Kentucky have all crisscrossed South Carolina so far this year, while Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is also planning an event just outside of Charleston this weekend. As potential candidates test themselves out in South Carolina, state Democrats are considering whom they want to see leading them into a post-Donald Trump era. In conversations with more than a dozen Democrats across the state, two themes emerged: They want someone ready to 'fight,' but they also want someone who can appeal across party lines. And while the two concepts might have seemed like an implausible match in the past, in today's populist political moment, the pairing makes more sense. Tyler Bailey, a civil rights attorney and Columbia City Council member who attended Beshear's event here, said he's looking for 'somebody who's not gonna just come in there and just say I'm not for Trump. It can't just be an anti-Trump message.' There is 'a hunger of people wanting to see some real leadership on the Democrat side,' Bailey added. Spoiling for a fighter Over and over, in interviews across the state, Democratic leaders had one word on their lips: fight. 'People want somebody who's going to fight,' former Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison told NBC News in an interview following Beshear's Columbia event. 'If there's a theme that I am constantly getting, it's they're tired of the party being a doormat for Republicans. They want somebody who's gonna give the Republicans just as much hell — if not more — and fight for them and their families and their communities.' Harrison, who once chaired the South Carolina state party, said anyone without a case to make that they were strongly standing up to Republicans shouldn't bother hitting the campaign trail. 'If you're coming here and your backbone is like a wet noodle or spaghetti, you might as well just not even — save your airfare,' he said with a laugh. Christale Spain, the current chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, echoed Harrison, telling NBC News in an interview at the party's headquarters that this moment calls for someone who is 'going to fight back against the current MAGA Republicans. We're looking for a leader that is a fighter.' Spain added that the desire for a 'fighter' has 'been clear to me for the last few months, just going around the state myself, talking to voters and seeing how they respond to different things.' Governors who have visited the state have consistently rebuked Trump, positioning themselves against his tariff agenda, against his cuts to the federal workforce and against the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' the massive GOP domestic policy package that congressional Republicans passed earlier this month. 'Make no mistake,' Beshear told union members at the South Carolina AFL-CIO's annual convention in Greenville. 'What Trump and his congressional enablers have just done is a direct attack on rural America and on Southerners like us. It is a betrayal.' Speaking across party lines Beyond looking for a fighter at this moment, Democrats in South Carolina are also looking ahead to a post-Trump era, when dozens of national Democratic leaders seem poised to throw their hat in the ring in a 2028 presidential primary. And former South Carolina Gov. Jim Hodges, the last Democrat to serve in the state's governor's mansion, summed up what he thought his fellow primary voters should be looking for: someone who 'knows how to win.' For a lot of Democrats who spoke to NBC News, that means a focus on who can draw in voters of all political stripes. 'I hear several things consistently. … It's critically important that we choose well in this next election cycle, whether we pick somebody who can draw independent voters, rally the base and get some Republican votes,' Hodges told NBC News in an interview following Beshear's Wednesday meet-and-greet. Towner Magill, a Democrat who attended Beshear's meet-and-greet in Charleston on Thursday, echoed Hodges. 'I'm looking for a uniter, not just in the Democratic Party. I think we need to run a uniter, but I also think that maybe we need a uniter in the White House,' Magill told NBC News. A call for plainer language and clearer issues Many Democrats in South Carolina said that to unite voters across party lines, Democratic leaders have to remain laser-focused on certain issues. 'We stopped talking about issues that, you know, that working-class folks care about: jobs, health care, education, community safety,' Hodges said. 'That's why we did more poorly with working-class voters — white, Black, Latino — because we stopped talking about the issues they cared about.' 'There needs to be an adjustment in our message to addressing the concerns that they have about their own lives,' the former governor added. State Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine called the messaging she's hoping to hear from potential Democratic candidates a focus on 'real things.' 'What I think most people are looking for is somebody who actually they feel like is speaking to them about real things,' Isaac Devine told NBC News after Beshear's Columbia event. South Carolina Democrats want leaders who are 'speaking real things, and not just … the culture wars or the political correct terms, but actually can talk to what their pain point is. They want people who are going to give solutions,' Isaac Devine added. South Carolinians aren't alone in that desire. Other rising Democratic leaders, including freshman Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Ruben Gallego of Arizona have also called for Democrats to stop using words like ' oligarchy ' or what Gallego calls ' Ivy League-tested terms ' — though Bernie Sanders pushed back on the criticism of his anti-oligarchy activism. Harrison pointed to the constant push for Democrats to use certain inclusive or technical language as a reason why some voters may have viewed Democratic candidates as inauthentic. 'For so long, I feel like Democrats, we put ourselves in straitjackets in terms of our language and how we talk to people and how we connect with folks,' Harrison said. 'We have to let our authentic selves step out. That means that we've got to be willing to take risks. That means that we should not be shy about making mistakes, because that makes us more human and more relatable,' he added. Bailey, the city council member in Columbia, pointed to character and relatability as something that could prove a major selling point for voters in his state. 'I think the relatability, people factor, is gonna be important. Because, you know, most communication is nonverbal,' he said. 'You can get a lot from somebody who's, for example, walks around scared, doesn't engage, doesn't talk, can't look you in the eye, can't shake your hand, seems, like, out of place eating fried chicken [and] would rather just have wine and cheese.'
Reuters
11 minutes ago
- Reuters
Europeans warn Iran of UN sanctions if no concrete progress on nuclear issue
PARIS, July 18 (Reuters) - France, Britain and Germany told Iran on Thursday that they would restore U.N. sanctions unless it reopened talks on its nuclear programme immediately and produced concrete results by the end of August. The foreign ministers of the so-called E3, along with the European Union's foreign policy chief, held their first call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago. A French diplomatic source said the ministers had urged Iran to resume diplomacy immediately to reach a "verifiable and lasting" deal, threatening to use the so-called 'snapback' mechanism if it failed to do so. But in a post on X, Araqchi dismissed the threat, saying he had told the ministers: "It was US that left the negotiation table in June this year and chose a military option instead, not Iran ... "If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly, and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the 'snap-back' for which they lack absolutely [any] moral and legal ground." He said talks would only be possible "when the other party is ready for a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial nuclear deal". The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 deal - from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. If Iran is found to be in violation of the terms, the "snapback" can be used to restore U.N. sanctions before the U.N. Security Council resolution enshrining the deal expires on October 18. The process would take about 30 days. "The ministers also reiterated their determination to use the so-called 'snapback' mechanism in the absence of concrete progress toward such an agreement by the end of the summer," the French diplomatic source said, without specifying what this would entail. Since the air strikes, inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, have left Iran. While Tehran has suggested it is open to diplomacy, there are no indications a sixth round of talks with Washington will resume soon. Even if they do, diplomats say reaching a comprehensive accord before the end of August - the deadline the Europeans have given - seems unrealistic, especially without inspectors on the ground. Two European diplomats said they hoped to coordinate strategy with Washington in the coming days with a view to restarting talks with Iran.
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Putin's final 'Hail Mary' meatgrinder assault: 160,000 Russian cannon fodder troops mass for advance in last chance to grab Ukrainian land before Trump's 50-day ultimatum ends
Donald Trump 's sanctions ultimatum issued to Vladimir Putin earlier this week may only encourage his Russian counterpart to step up his forces' offensive on Ukraine and maximise Moscow 's recent gains on the battlefield. The US President earlier this week announced he was 'very unhappy' with his opposite number in the Kremlin and would slap '100 per cent tariffs' on Russia - plus secondary sanctions on its trading partners - if a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine is not reached in 50 days. But there is little evidence to suggest that Putin and Kremlin insiders will heed Trump's warning. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov immediately dismissed Trump's declaration on Tuesday, remarking: 'Fifty days... it used to be 24 hours, it used to be 100 days - we've been through all of this.' Meanwhile, sources in the Kremlin told Reuters this week that Putin intends to simply seize more Ukrainian territory and believes his nation, which has thus far survived the toughest sanctions imposed by the West, can endure further economic hardship. 'Putin thinks no one has seriously engaged with him on the details of peace in Ukraine - including the Americans - so he will continue until he gets what he wants,' one source said. Russian analysts have said Moscow's forces will aim to bleed Ukraine dry with a strategy of 'a thousand cuts,' using drones and meat grinder assaults to relentlessly pressure many sectors of the front while increasing long-range aerial attacks against key infrastructure. CNN, citing Ukrainian officials, reported that up to 160,000 Russian troops are massing in preparation to pile into the front, but those numbers have not been verified. British Army veteran Shaun Pinner, who signed up to fight for Ukraine and was captured by Russian forces on the frontlines in 2023 before being released as part of a prisoner exchange, described the approach as a 'Kremlin Hail Mary'. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with workers at the Marnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works MMK, July 16, 2025 Since spring, Russian troops have accelerated their land gains, capturing the most territory in eastern Ukraine since the opening stages of Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022. DeepState Map, a Ukrainian open-source live mapping service, suggests Putin's soldiers have managed to secure 1,415 square kilometres (546 square miles) of land in the past three months. Now, they're closing in on the eastern strongholds of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region, methodically capturing villages near both cities to try to cut key supply routes and envelop their defenders. Capturing those strongholds would allow Russia to push toward Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, setting the stage for the seizure of the entire Donetsk region. If Russian troops seize those last strongholds, it would open the way for them to forge westward to the Dnipropetrovsk region. The regional capital of Dnipro, a major industrial hub of nearly 1 million, is about 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Russian positions. Putin's troops are also already in control of the entire Luhansk region, along with more than 70% of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, and small parts of the Kharkiv region, where they are encircling Lyman and Kupiansk. Russia's battlefield success of late is due in part to Ukraine's manpower and ammunition shortages after more than three years of brutal war, but can also be attributed in part to a refinement of frontline tactics, specifically the use of drones. Petro, a senior sergeant with the 38th Marine Brigade fighting near Pokrovsk, told the Kyiv Independent that his unit is experiencing a 'huge problem' with Russia's use of drones and glide bombs. Rather than relying on tanks and armoured vehicles to grind forward as they did earlier in the war, Russian forces are increasingly deploying swarms of first-person view (FPV) drones to bombard Ukrainian positions and limit the mobility of defenders. Roman Pohorilyi, co-founder of DeepState Map, added that Shahed-type attack drones are also being used along the contact line, not just to launch attacks on infrastructure. But groups of unfortunate foot soldiers are nonetheless forced to pile in behind them in a mad dash to overwhelm the defensive lines - a tactic Petro described as 'meat assaults in small groups'. 'Three (Russian soldiers) advance, two are killed, and one reaches the trench.' Since Trump's return to the White House in January, the US and Russian leaders have shared several personal phone calls. Trump also dispatched special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow for a diplomatic visit, and the US has proposed an unconditional ceasefire - but these actions have yielded no results. This is because there have not been any detailed discussions of the basis for a lasting peace plan - at least not one that takes into account Russian concerns, Kremlin sources told Reuters. The Russian President has declared repeatedly that any peace deal should see Ukraine withdraw from the four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022. He also wants Ukraine to renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces - demands Kyiv and its Western allies have rejected. Moscow's escalating attacks on Ukraine have tested Trump's patience, and his temper boiled over earlier this week during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office. 'We are very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 per cent,' he threatened. 'I'm disappointed in President Putin. I thought we would've had a deal two months ago,' he went on, in reference to the US-proposed ceasefire that Kyiv accepted but was rejected by Moscow. Perhaps more consequentially, Trump also threatened to levy secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian exports to discourage them from keeping funds flowing into the Kremlin's war chest. Until now, the US and its European allies have declined to impose measures that would restrict Russia from exporting its oil and gas elsewhere. Such a move would constitute a dramatic ramping up of Western efforts to back Ukraine as it would likely see Washington and the EU target countries such as China, India and NATO member Turkey, all of whom import huge quantities of Russian energy. In response, leading Russian propagandist Igor Korotchenko said Moscow must use the 50-day period before sanctions are imposed to win the war by dramatically increasing the intensity of attacks across the border. Korotchenko, a former colonel-turned-military analyst and editor-in-chief of National Defence magazine, told state-TV: 'Weakening the potential of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' rear support system will force Ukraine to accept Russia's terms. 'It is necessary to intensify Russian strikes… to the maximum extent possible. Scaling up this approach, we can achieve success.' Trump earlier this week also struck a deal with NATO counterparts in Europe to send sophisticated weaponry, including sorely needed Patriot air defence missiles, to Ukraine - but insisted that the US would not foot the bill. 'We've made a deal today where we are going to be sending [Ukraine] weapons and [Europe] is going to be paying for them,' he stated. 'We - the United States - will not be having any payment made. We're not buying it, but we will manufacture it, and they're going to be paying for it.' The workings of the deal struck between the White House and European nations to provide and finance the delivery of advanced weapons systems to Ukraine were not immediately clear. Many European countries appeared to get on board with the announcement, though Trump's move to take credit for the additional weapons headed to Ukraine created some mild friction in Europe. 'If we pay for these weapons, it's our support,' said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking after the Brussels meeting, adding that she welcomed Trump's decision. 'So it's European support, and we are doing as much as we can to help Ukraine ... If you promise to give the weapons, but say that somebody else is going to pay for it, it's not really given by you, is it?' Washington also retains some $3.85 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) left over from the Biden administration at its disposal to provide weapons to Ukraine. The PDA allows the president to draw from US weapons stocks to help allies in an emergency. Trump has not sent any weapons to Ukraine that were not previously approved under the Biden administration.
