‘Racist And Wrong': Trump Schooled After ‘Completely Embarrassing' White House Moment
After Liberian President Joseph Boakai spoke, Trump offered some unusual praise.
'Such good English. That's beautiful. Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?' Trump asked. 'Where were you educated? Where? In Liberia?'
Boakai replied, 'Yes, sir.'
Trump said, 'Well, that's very interesting. It's beautiful English. I have people at this table, can't speak nearly as well.'
Boakai's command of English shouldn't have surprised Trump.
Liberia was initially settled in part by formerly enslaved Americans, and many of those living there today are the descendants of African Americans who fled slavery in the United States.
While the nation has indigenous groups and its own dialect of English, many residents also speak other languages, and English remains the country's official language.
Trump's critics accused him of ignorance, racism and more ― and fired back on X:
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Fox News
a few seconds ago
- Fox News
DAVID MARCUS: I've seen enough human suffering in homeless encampments to know Trump's new policy is right
When the ambulance arrived in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia two years ago, an angry EMT got out and barked at the crowd, "Who called this in?" Standing next to my cameraman and above the prone body of a shirtless soul bedecked in boils and not moving, I said, "I did." He didn't say a word, he looked at me, then down the street at the dozens of strung out bodies, then back at me as if to say, "Look at all this, what do you want me to do?" I had no PEOPLE CAN BE REMOVED FROM STREETS BY CITIES, STATES IN NEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER Last week, President Donald Trump did answer that question with a much-welcome executive order (EO) intended to bring back civil commitment, in other words, the ability to put people who are a danger to themselves or others in institutions, even against their will. Civil libertarians are in a tizzy over the EO. They insist this is an abuse of due process and harkens to the bad old days, when hundreds of thousands of Americans were committed to mental institutions, sometimes for dubious reasons. But in examining and judging Trump's proposed policy here, it is important to understand and accept what the status quo on the ground is right now, and it is nothing short of horrific. I've traveled to homeless encampments all over America, from tucked-away Manhattan underpasses to the sprawling chaos of San Francisco's Tenderloin, a place you literally smell a block before you enter. In these encampments, your gag reflex is challenged by needles sticking out of necks and mountains of human detritus, but the real soul-crushing, existential sadness comes from knowing that these human beings are just being left to die. For decades now, Democrats have spent endless dollars on fruitless efforts to fix the homeless problem. In California alone, Gov. Gavin Newsom has spent $20 billion on failing to fix it, and only recently admitted the encampments have to go. In these encampments, your gag reflex is challenged by needles sticking out of necks and mountains of human detritus, but the real soul-crushing, existential sadness comes from knowing that these human beings are just being left to die. What the Trump administration realizes is that Democrats refuse to accept is that homelessness is, actually, two very distinct problems. One is financial, the other is a matter of addiction and mental health. Financial homelessness is fairly easy to address. The evicted mother living in her car can be given temporary housing and job assistance. She really does just need a hand up. Homelessness related to mental illness and addiction, however, isn't really a homelessness problem at all, it's an addiction and mental illness problem, and shockingly, just letting people in tents shoot up in what was once a thriving commercial district doesn't solve it. As I have wandered the streets of these hellscapes in city after city, my question hasn't really been if these people would be better off in an institution, but rather, if they weren't in a de facto open-air institution already. What does it matter if these places lack walls and locks? They are cages nonetheless, cruel prisons whether voluntary or not. As I have wandered the streets of these hellscapes in city after city, my question hasn't really been if these people would be better off in an institution, but rather, if they weren't in a de facto open-air institution already. Opponents of civil commitment insist you cannot take away people's freedom! But freedom to do what? Shoot fentanyl every day until they die on a curbside, pockets rifled by another desperate junkie? If it was your child on these broken and brutal streets of death, would you want them to be left in freedom to waste away, or would you want them taken somewhere where they could be protected and helped? Opponents will say that civil commitment can be abused. They will point to the 1950s when homosexuals were sent to institutions, but it's not 1950. We aren't going to institutionalize gay people, and we cannot be paralyzed by a bigoted past when trying to save lives today. Could there be abuses or mistakes made regarding civil commitment? Sure, but people are dying in the streets right now, and we must trust ourselves to actively help them, without stepping over the line. Annoyed with me, or not, that day in Kensington, the EMT revived the man at my feet, who, it turns out, wasn't dead, after all. Instead, he was angry, because the Narcan that woke him up also negated the high he had paid for. There are really only two sides to be on here: the side that says we are going to do everything we can to save that man's life, even against his will, or the side that condemns him to an open-air prison of his own making. President Trump has chosen wisely, and if local governments take heed, it is going to save a lot of lives across America.
New York Times
a minute ago
- New York Times
Tariffs on Medicines From Europe Stand to Cost Drugmakers Billions
The trade deal reached between the United States and the European Union on Sunday will impose a 15 percent tariff on imported medicines from Europe. Drugmakers manufacture some of their biggest and best-known blockbusters there, including Botox, the cancer medication Keytruda and popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic. The tariff rate is much lower than the levies of up to 200 percent that President Trump had threatened. Still, the new import costs stand to add billions of dollars in expenses for the drug industry and could lead to price increases for some medicines. That could translate into higher out-of-pocket costs and higher health insurance premiums for Americans. The 15 percent rate is final and will not be affected by the national-security-related tariffs that Mr. Trump is expected to impose on pharmaceuticals made elsewhere in the world, according to a White House official and senior European Commission officials. This outcome is something of a win for the pharmaceutical industry, which had feared that drugs from Europe would be hit with high levies related to national security. Both sets of pharma tariffs are expected to take effect simultaneously sometime next month, officials said. The pharmaceutical industry depends on a complex global supply chain: Production of most medications happens in multiple countries, with plants around the world handling different stages of the process. Europe is perhaps the most important piece of the global network that produces brand-name drugs — those with patent protection and typically high prices and fat profit margins. Pharmaceutical products are Europe's No. 1 export to the United States. European officials have expressed worries in recent months that pharma tariffs could prompt drugmakers to pull back on investments, at the expense of jobs, factories and tax revenue. Ireland in particular has become a pharma manufacturing hub, in part because doing business there helps drug companies lower their overall tax bills. Nearly all of the largest drugmakers have factories there. Last year, Ireland sent the United States $50 billion worth of pharma products, most of which were made by multinational drug companies. Europe manufactures the active ingredients for 43 percent of the brand-name drugs consumed in the United States, according to U.S. Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit that tracks the drug supply chain. No other region produces a greater share. Europe also makes active ingredients for 18 percent of the generic drugs taken in the United States, which have lower prices and account for a vast majority of Americans' prescriptions. Certain generic drugs made in Europe will be exempt from the new tariff, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said on Sunday. The White House and the European Commission did not respond to requests for comment on which generic drugs would be exempt. The threat of tariffs on generic medicines, which have thin margins, has raised concerns about exacerbating shortages. Experts who track pharmaceutical supply chains said they were not worried that brand-name drugs produced in Europe would go into shortage because they have such high profit margins. The new tariffs will be paid by drugmakers importing finished products or ingredients into the United States. Many are expected to try to pass at least some of the costs along to employers and government programs like Medicare that cover most of the tab for Americans' prescription drugs. Patients whose insurance requires them to pay a deductible or a percentage of a drug's price could eventually face higher out-of-pocket costs for some drugs. In some cases, however, contractual agreements and the threat of steep financial penalties may deter manufacturers from sharply raising prices. Some health insurance premiums are already set to rise. Insurers in New York, Oregon and Maryland recently told regulators that tariffs were prompting them to seek higher premium increases next year for certain health plans than they otherwise would have. The pharmaceutical industry has lobbied fiercely against the tariffs, saying that drugmakers could spend less on research and manufacturing in the United States as a result. 'Tariffs are not the answer for promoting greater domestic production of these products,' the drug industry's main lobbying group, PhRMA, said in a statement in May. For months, Mr. Trump has been promising to impose punishing tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals. His goal, he has said, is to bring more manufacturing back to the United States. In April, the Trump administration opened an investigation into whether imports of medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients threatened America's national security. Mr. Trump brought the inquiry under a legal authority known as Section 232, which he has used to justify tariffs on cars and other industries. With medicines from Europe exempt from Section 232 tariffs, those levies now threaten two of the other most important regions in the drug industry's global production network: India and China, both of which focus on generic drugs. India has been negotiating a trade deal that could address its giant generic drug industry and avert national-security-related tariffs from the United States. Ana Swanson and Jeanna Smialek contributed reporting.
Politico
a minute ago
- Politico
DOGE's favorite consulting firm
Presented by Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben For months, DOGE has made a show of targeting the government's biggest consulting contractors as examples of taxpayer-funded bloat. In March, the Trump administration demanded that agencies justify their relationships with firms like Accenture, Deloitte and Booz Allen. By June, the General Services Administration had sent formal letters to McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, EY and others as part of a sweeping review of consulting expenditures. 'Based on available procurement data, we have identified the 10 highest paid consulting firms listed below are set to receive over $65 billion in fees in 2025 and future years. This needs to, and must, change,' STEPHEN EHIKIAN, now deputy acting GSA administrator, wrote in the March letter. But while DOGE targets the major players, Ehikian and other DOGE leaders are also relying on the help of one lesser-known firm that has quietly emerged as a trusted partner for DOGE, according to private agency records viewed by POLITICO. That firm is MSI Consulting, a small outfit with around 40 employees working under contract at GSA, an epicenter of DOGE in the federal government, according to the documents. Half a dozen MSI consultants have worked closely with DOGE leaders including Ehikian, JOSH GRUENBAUM, THOMAS SHEDD and MATT PARKHURST-SESSION as executive assistants, according to agency records and two people familiar with the dynamics granted anonymity to discuss them. They've been providing important behind-the-scenes coordination that's allowed DOGE to execute its high-profile agenda, including managing calendars, preparing slide decks and other operational support, the people said. MSI staff have helped organize meetings on agency downsizing, including USDA's recent reorganization, and have taken part in discussions about real estate consolidation, IT audits and artificial intellligence projects across the federal government, according to one of the two people familiar with the internal dynamics granted anonymity to discuss them. The irony? These same MSI employees have been involved in meetings between DOGE leaders and some of the very firms previously under fire from the administration but now seeking to make nice or pitch new services to GSA. MSI COO ANDREW STEGMAIER has played a direct role in carrying out these requests on behalf of Ehikian, according to internal records. MSI worked with GSA during the Biden administration and the company's scope at GSA extends beyond supporting DOGE. Other consulting firms including Censeo Consulting and RMA Associates also have a presence at GSA, but no firm has been more directly involved with DOGE work than MSI consulting, according to agency records reviewed by POLITICO. MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@ Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe! POTUS PUZZLER President DONALD TRUMP remains in Scotland today, the birthplace of his mother MARY ANNE MacLEOD TRUMP. Who was the first president to boast Scottish ancestry? WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT JERSEY GIRL: A criminal defense attorney in New Jersey is pushing to get charges against his client tossed by arguing that the Trump administration illegally maneuvered to keep ALINA HABBA as the state's top federal prosecutor, despite the expiration of her 120-day tenure, our RY RIVARD, KYLE CHENEY and JOSH GERSTEIN report. The problems for the U.S. Attorney's Office could grow if other defense attorneys file similar motions. The Oval DEAL OR NO DEAL? The European Union admitted today it doesn't have the power to deliver on a promise to invest $600 billion in the United States economy, only hours after making the pledge at landmark trade talks in Scotland. That's because the cash would come entirely from private sector investment over which Brussels has no authority, two EU officials told POLITICO Europe's GREGORIO SORGI. Meanwhile, the EU's pledge to buy $250 billion worth of U.S. oil, natural gas and nuclear fuels per year for three years, is seen as more aspirational than realistic, the Wall Street Journal's GEORGI KANTCHEV and ED BALLARD report. Purchases of that size would require a major rearrangement of energy flows, and it isn't clear whether U.S. companies could even export that much. AND ABOUT THOSE ARMS: The EU-U.S. trade deal is unlikely to increase the amount of U.S. weapons purchased by EU countries beyond what was already planned, POLITICO Europe's CHRIS LUNDAY and LAURA KAYALI report. While Trump on Sunday said the EU would buy 'vast amounts' of American weapons, European officials – much more quietly – said nothing concrete on arms had been agreed to. WINDOWS INTO DIPLOMACY: Trump today used part of his bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister KEIR STARMER in Turnberry, Scotland to tout his golf course. It's the latest example of how Trump mixes international diplomacy with boosting his family's business empire, the Washington Post's CAT ZAKRZEWSKI and EMILY DAVIES report. 'If you take a look at the windows in the various dining rooms, they're magnificent,' Trump said during his meeting with Starmer in a minutes-long aside to discuss his property. White House officials noted that the golf courses are held in a trust managed by Trump's children. In the Courts NO ALLIGATOR WARDENS HERE: Legal challenges are gathering steam to the Trump administration's bid to outsource immigration detention to the state of Florida at the so-called Alligator Alcatraz jail deep in the Everglades, Josh writes in. U.S. District Judge RODOLFO RUIZ held a 90-minute hearing today on a lawsuit the ACLU filed last month over a lack of access to lawyers and immigration courts for prisoners kept at the makeshift jail built at a site once planned as an airport for supersonic aircraft. Ruiz, a Miami-based Trump appointee, said a 'paramount' issue in the case is whether the state or federal government is in charge. 'There seems to be some confusion as to who exactly is running the show at Alligator Alcatraz,' the judge said, saying he'll consider ordering the state and feds to quickly turn over any written agreements to the ACLU. Ruiz set a hearing for Aug. 18 on the group's request for improved communications with detainees and an expected bid to move the suit to central Florida. 'Anything that tries to transform the court into the warden of Alligator Alcatraz is not going to happen here,' the judge warned. MAXWELL APPEALS TO SCOTUS: GHISLAINE MAXWELL, the co-conspirator of JEFFREY EPSTEIN, made a final plea to the Supreme Court today to take up her appeal of her sex-trafficking conviction. But defense lawyer DAVID MARKUS made clear she's simultaneously making the case to Trump that he should pardon her or commute her 20-year prison sentence, Josh writes in. 'We are appealing not only to the Supreme Court but to the President himself to recognize how profoundly unjust it is to scapegoat Ghislaine Maxwell for Epstein's crimes, especially when the government promised she would not be prosecuted,' Markus wrote on X, days after Maxwell sat for an unusual two-day interview by Deputy Attorney General TODD BLANCHE. Maxwell's appeal argues that a controversial non-prosecution deal Epstein entered into with federal prosecutors in South Florida in 2007 protects Epstein's associates like Maxwell from prosecution. The Justice Department has argued the agreement did not bind federal prosecutors in Manhattan, where Epstein and Maxwell were charged about five years ago. Lower courts agreed. The Supreme Court is expected to announce in September or October whether it will take up Maxwell's case. Agenda Setting UNDOING MAJOR CLIMATE RULES: The Trump administration is planning to release a proposal Tuesday that would overturn a 16-year-old scientific finding that has allowed three administrations to regulate climate pollution, POLITICO's E&E News' JEAN CHEMNICK and ZACK COLMAN report. Revising the so-called endangerment finding for greenhouse gases would represent a milestone in the administration's efforts to weaken the government's authority to curtail carbon emissions from the energy and automotive industries, among others. It will be paired with a proposal for rolling back climate rules for cars and trucks. VITAMIN DEFICIENCY: Health Secretary ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. often speaks about how many vitamins he takes, causing many in the industry to believe their moment had arrived when he was confirmed. But STEVE MISTER, chief executive of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, says his initial excitement about having an ally in the administration has given way to disappointment, our AMANDA CHU reports. Mister's concerns underscore the tensions facing Kennedy ahead of the release of his final Make America Healthy Again report in August, which will include recommendations to fight chronic disease. DISASTER WARNING: Trump's plans to remake FEMA are bringing to the fore a paradox of disaster policy, The Economist reports. Disaster aid has typically come from the federal government, but decisions about how to use land — such as whether a building should go up in a flood-prone area — are made by local leaders. The Trump administration's decision about how to remake FEMA — the agency was originally going to be taken apart; more recently, administration officials say it will be revamped — should force states to think about reducing their risks related to climate change, Harvard professor SUSAN CRAWFORD told the publication. What We're Reading What is DOGE without Elon Musk? (Bloomberg's Cam Kettles and Gregory Korte) How NASA engineered its own decline (The Atlantic's Franklin Foer) Researchers quietly planned a test to dim sunlight. They wanted to 'avoid scaring' the public. (POLITICO's Corbin Hiar) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER JAMES MONROE, the fifth U.S. president, was the nation's first to come from Scottish ancestry. Monroe's paternal great-great-grandfather left Scotland for the U.S. in the 17th century.
