Donald Trump meets with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Donald Trump met with Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Doha amid growing controversy over Qatar's gift of a luxury plane for the president
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Dawn French ‘dismisses' Oct 7 Hamas attacks
Dawn French has been accused of dismissing the Oct 7 Hamas attacks in Israel in a new social media video. The British comedian and actress, 67, posted a video of herself to X in which she appears to mimic Israel's supporters amid the military campaign in Gaza. In the video, published by French on the social media platform on Thursday, she says about the conflict in the Middle East: 'Complicated, no, but nuanced. But [the] bottom line is no.' She then goes on to mimic apparent defences of Israel's military campaign in neighbouring Gaza since the Hamas-led massacre in 2023, saying: ''Yeah but you know they did a bad thing to us'... Yeah, but no. ''But we want that land and there's a lot of history…'. No. 'These people are not even people, are they really?' No.' In response to the viral tweet, which has been viewed more than half a million times in the 24 hours since it was published, Tracy-Ann Oberman, the West End star and playwright, branded French's tone as 'mocking'. I am so saddened by this post . This mocking voice 'bad thing' of October 7 that Dawn ( who I revere by the way) appears ro be mocking involved the most horrific terrorist attack involving rape sexual violence burning alive child mutilation and taking of civilian hostages .… — Tracy-Ann Oberman (@TracyAnnO) June 6, 2025 The Jewish actress, 58, reposted French's video and said: 'I am so saddened by this post. 'This mocking voice 'bad thing' of October 7 that Dawn (who I revere by the way) appears to be mocking involved the most horrific terrorist attack involving rape, sexual violence, burning alive child, mutilation and the taking of civilian hostages.' She added: 'Why would Dawn seem to deny that which has affected so many of us personally in the most painful way possible. 'I can mourn the horrors of the war in Gaza whilst also remembering the horrors of what started it. Is this how most of our industry feels now – Oct 7 was a 'little thing'? NO!' Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's massacre on Oct 7 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed by the terror group and 251 others were taken hostage. There are now 56 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Israel said its expanded offensive in the Strip, named Operation Gideon's Chariot, will increase the chances of returning the missing. 'Wow, this is really bad' The Hamas-run health ministry that operates in Gaza has said that at least 54,000 people have been killed in the territory during the war. Hamas has rejected proposed ceasefire and hostage release deals that do not guarantee a full Israel withdrawal from the Strip and an end to the war. Other responses to French's post include the financier Ben Goldsmith, who has been a strong defender of Israel's response to the Hamas terrorist attacks. He remarked: 'Wow, this is really bad. Who knew.' Elsewhere, comedy writer and self-described 'champion of Jewish rights' Lee Kern wrote: 'What you sneeringly mock as a 'bad thing' included the grieving children I met in hospital whose friends and family had been murdered, kidnapped and raped and who themselves were coming to terms with their own life-altering injuries. 'It also includes the 1,200 people murdered and tortured on October 7th… you proactively broadcast – with misplaced pride – a wicked glee in your mockery and dismissal of Jewish suffering, pain and death.' In a subsequent post following the criticism by Oberman, French clarified that she did not mean to 'support the atrocities of Oct 7th'. Writing on X, she said: 'I do not say 'a little thing'. In NO WAY do I support the atrocities of Oct 7th. Of course not. Appalling. Horrific. 'But starving innocent children is not the answer. NO is the answer to ALL of it, Tracy.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Breakingviews - Elon Musk picks a losing fight with Donald Trump
NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Money can buy power, but Elon Musk paid for someone else to have it. After spending more than $250 million backing Donald Trump's presidential campaign, an acrimonious schism erupted between the two and swiftly vaporized $150 billion of Tesla's (TSLA.O), opens new tab market value. By picking a losing fight, the carmaker's boss is putting even more at risk for himself and his investors. A cozy alliance between the world's richest man and its most powerful one pointed to a troubling oligarchy. Musk joined Team Trump to lead a controversial effort to slash costs from the U.S. bureaucracy. Tesla sales sank internationally, protests at showrooms escalated and concerns about the CEO's focus intensified. He left his Department of Government Efficiency post last week, with an amicable White House sendoff. The tone abruptly changed on Thursday. Musk's criticism of Trump's signature budget legislation and the president's retorts about government contracts with Musk's companies spiraled into a deeply personal social-media war of words. Musk is a formidable force, with a net worth approaching $400 billion, according, opens new tab to Forbes. His rocket company SpaceX accounted for 85% of orbit-bound cargo in early 2024 by one estimate. After paying $44 billion to buy Twitter, he remade it into a friendlier forum for the president's followers. Any tinkering with the algorithms might swing the tone, as could Musk's bulging wallet if used to support anti-Trump candidates. A threat, opens new tab from Trump to cut U.S. government purse strings from Musk's businesses flaunts the real balance of power, however. About $22 billion of contracts hang in the balance at SpaceX alone, Reuters reported. Tesla's deep ties in China, where it generated a fifth of revenue last year, also may tempt the president's ire as he wages a highly combative trade war with Beijing. Reprisals from President Xi Jinping also could be painful. Musk is doing his companies no favors either. He pivoted Tesla away from mass-market dominance to pursue autonomous driving instead. National regulators have nagging questions about robotic taxi services. A more hostile regulatory environment would undermine the moonshot, leaving a shrinking car business falling behind Chinese rivals. If Musk doesn't back down, as he hinted was a possibility, the costs are bound to escalate. Having already alienated pro-renewable-energy Democrats, he may scare off pro-Trump Republicans, too. An adversarial relationship with SpaceX is probably untenable for NASA. Raising money for his artificial intelligence venture may get harder, as would securing U.S. government contracts for his tunneling company. Musk achieved success by defying perceived scientific constraints, but he is now pushing up against the limits of money. Follow Jonathan Guilford on X, opens new tab and Linkedin, opens new tab.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Money can't buy him love: Republicans give Elon Musk the cold shoulder
Elon Musk may believe his money bought the presidential election and the House of the Representatives for the Republicans. But he is discovering painfully and quickly that it has not bought him love, loyalty or even fear among many GOP members of Congress on Capitol Hill. Faced with the choice of siding with Musk, the world's richest man, or Donald Trump, after the two staged a public relationship breakdown for the ages on Thursday, most Republicans went with the man in the Oval Office, who has shown an unerring grasp of the tactics of political intimidation and who remains the world's most powerful figure even without the boss of Tesla and SpaceX by his side. The billionaire tech entrepreneur, who poured about $275m into Trump's campaign last year, tried to remind Washington's political classes of his financial muscle on Thursday during an outpouring of slights against a man for whom he had once professed platonic love and was still showering with praise up until a week before. 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate,' Musk posted to his 220 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns – and which he has used ruthlessly to reshape the political agenda. It was a variation on a theme from a man who has repeatedly threatened to deploy his untold millions in funding primary challengers to elected politicians who displease him or who publicly considered blocking Trump's cabinet nominations. But a gambit that had been effective in the past failed to work this time – and might not be enough to sink the 'big, beautiful bill' that Musk this week condemned as a deficit-inflating 'abomination'. One after another, Republican House members came out to condemn him and defend Trump, despite having earlier been told by Musk that 'you know you did wrong' in voting for what has become Trump's signature legislation that seeks to extend vast tax cuts for the rich. Troy Nehls, a GOP representative from Texas, captured the tone, addressing Musk before television cameras: 'You've lost your damn mind. Enough is enough. Stop this.' It chimed with the sentiments of many others. 'Nobody elected Elon Musk, and a whole lot of people don't even like him, to be honest with you, even on both sides,' Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey congressman, told Axios. 'We're getting people calling our offices 100% in support of President Trump,' Kevin Hern, a representative from Oklahoma, told the site. 'Every tweet that goes out, people are more lockstep behind President Trump and [Musk is] losing favour.' Greg Murphy, a North Carolina Republican, called Musk's outburst of social media posts – that included a call for Trump's impeachment, a forecast of a tariff-driven recession and accusation that the president is on the Jeffrey Epstein files – 'absolutely childish and ridiculous'. Musk had 'lost some of his gravitas'. There were numerous other comments in similar vein. They seemed to carry the weight of political calculation, rather than principled sentiment. Republicans were balancing the strength of Trump's voice among GOP voters versus the power of the increasingly unpopular Musk's money – and most had little doubt which matters most. 'On the value of Elon playing against us in primaries compared to Trump endorsing us in primaries, the latter is 100 times more relevant,' Axios quoted one unnamed representative as saying. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Another said: 'Elon can burn $5m in a primary, but if Trump says 'that's the person Republicans should re-elect,' it's a wasted $5m.' Trump himself said on Thursday that he would have won the battleground state of Pennsylvania even without his former benefactor's significant financial input. But it is also evidence-based. In April, Musk discovered how finite his influence was when a Republican judge he had backed with $25m of his own money lost by 10 percentage points in an election for a vacant supreme court seat in Wisconsin. It was a chastening experience that bodes ill for any hopes he has of persuading Republicans to change their minds on Trump's spending bill. Yet Musk still has his sympathisers on Capitol Hill, even if they are a minority. With the 'big, beautiful bill' still likely to pass through the Senate, Thomas Massie, a senator for Kentucky – who has been labelled 'a grandstander' by Trump for his consistent criticism of the legislation – was unambiguous when CNN asked which side he choose between Trump and Musk. 'I choose math. The math always wins over the words,' he replied. 'I trust the math from the guy that lands rockets backwards over the politicians' math.' It was a rare case of economics trumping politics on a day when political self-interest seemed paramount.
