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South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump calls for Maga base to end ‘Epstein files' obsession
US President Donald Trump urged his political base on Saturday to stop attacking his administration over files related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a case that has become an obsession for conspiracy theorists. Trump's Department of Justice and the FBI said in a memo made public last week that there was no evidence the disgraced financier kept a 'client list' or was blackmailing powerful figures. They also dismissed the claim that Epstein was murdered in jail, confirming his death by suicide at a New York prison in 2019, and said they would not be releasing any more information on the probe. The move was met with incredulity by some on the US far-right – many of whom have backed Trump for years – and strident criticism of Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. 'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!' Trump said Saturday in a lengthy social media post. 'We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and 'selfish people' are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,' he added, referring to his 'Make America Great Again' movement.


South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump hits Mexico and EU with 30% tariffs, escalating trade war
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that his administration would levy a 30 per cent tariff on goods from Mexico and the 27-nation European Union beginning August 1, targeting two of Washington's top trading partners after weeks spent trying to forge a more comprehensive deal. Trump's latest set of take-it-or-leave-it letters, addressed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, could affect more than US$1 trillion in annual imports from the two partners and increase the risk of a global trade war. They cap a week that has seen over two dozen nations receive similar letters announcing US tariffs of up to 50 per cent. It is not exactly clear what factors Trump has used to reach the tariff levels he metes out, although he has often said that 'intuition' and his 'gut' drive his policy decisions. The president is inordinately focused on trade deficits and sees import taxes as an effective way to rejuvenate US manufacturing, foster US surpluses and stem illegal drug use. 'We have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with The European Union, and have concluded that we must move away from these long-term, large, and persistent, Trade Deficits, engendered by your Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers,' the president told the EU on Saturday, describing the US trade deficit as a 'national security' threat. Donald Trump said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's failure to curb fentanyl and migrant flows was a reason for imposing tariffs on the country. Photo: EPA-EFE. The 'America First' president is no fan of multilateral groupings and has repeatedly claimed that the EU does not play fair with the US and that the bloc was created to 'screw' America.


South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump threatens to revoke Rosie O'Donnell's US citizenship
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he might revoke talk show host Rosie O'Donnell's American citizenship after she criticised his administration's handling of weather forecasting agencies in the wake of the deadly Texas floods, the latest salvo in a years-long feud the two have waged over social media. 'Because of the fact that Rosie O'Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,' Trump wrote on social media, invoking a deportation rationale the administration has used in attempts to remove foreign-born protesters from the country. 'She is a Threat to Humanity, and should remain in the wonderful Country of Ireland, if they want her. GOD BLESS AMERICA!,' he added. Under US law, a president cannot revoke the citizenship of an American born in the United States. O'Donnell was born in New York state. O'Donnell, a long-time target of Trump's insults and jabs, moved to Ireland earlier this year with her 12-year-old son after the start of the president's second term. She said in a March social media video that she would return to the US 'when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America'. 04:23 More than 160 people remain unaccounted for days after deadly Texas floods More than 160 people remain unaccounted for days after deadly Texas floods O'Donnell responded to Trump's threat in two social media posts, saying that the US president opposes her because she 'stands in direct opposition with all he represents'.