logo
Trump rants about ‘crime, murder and death' in DC ahead of press conference: Live

Trump rants about ‘crime, murder and death' in DC ahead of press conference: Live

Independent14 hours ago
President Donald Trump has announced that he will be holding a press conference at 10am ET (3pm GMT) on Monday morning to address what he says is the 'out of control' state of violent crime in Washington, D.C, a verdict not supported by the official figures.
The nation's capital city 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World,' Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend, pledging: 'It will soon be one of the safest!!!'
The White House announced a plan to utilize federal law enforcement on the streets of Washington on Thursday, an initiative seemingly motivated by the recent attack on former DOGE employee Edward Coristine, who was assaulted in an attempted carjacking.
Trump has since insisted that D.C.'s homeless citizens must 'move out, IMMEDIATELY' to make the city more 'beautiful.'
'We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,' he posted. 'The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong.'
It has also been reported that the president is sending in 120 FBI agents on overnight shifts to help local law enforcement battle crime in the district.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump wants to mobilize troops in DC – it went horribly for him in Los Angeles
Trump wants to mobilize troops in DC – it went horribly for him in Los Angeles

The Independent

time9 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Trump wants to mobilize troops in DC – it went horribly for him in Los Angeles

Trump made a much-teased announcement on Monday that he would invoke a never-before-used presidential authority to seize control of Washington, D.C.'s police department from local control to his Attorney General Pam Bondi. The president also announced he would deploy the National Guard on the streets of the nation's capital as a plan to 'rescue' the city from rampant crime, despite the fact that crime dropped in Washington by 35 percent last year after it spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic. Trump had teased a federal takeover of Washington and has decried homelessness and graffiti in the city. Republicans have encroached on Washington, D.C's home rule for decades. The fact it is a majority Black city with a Black political establishment has also made it easy to attack the same way Trump has attacked Baltimore and other cities run by Black mayors. Of course, this is not the first time that Trump has taken control of a major American city. Earlier this year, after protests against raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles without the consent of the governor of California or the city's mayor. Trump may be hoping his actions will boost his approval ratings, which have been sagging in recent months. But a simple look at the numbers shows that it might backfire precipitously. First, let's get to the kernel of truth in Trump's idea. Voters in Democratic cities did vote against their leaders partially because of crime. New York City elected Eric Adams, a former police officer, as mayor in 2021. Voters in San Francisco kicked out mayor London Breed and voters in Los Angeles and Alameda beat back progressive prosecutors for lax policies toward crime. While almost no Democratic presidential candidate has supported defunding the police it became a tagline for Republicans use to hit at Democrats. That being said, it's fairly clear that Trump's approval ratings took a hit after he dispatched troops and the National Guard to Los Angeles. When Trump first came into office this year, and even after he began his tariff regime, Americans continued to support him on immigration. In February, according to an Economist/YouGov poll, he only cracked 50 percent approval on immigration. That number began to dip in April, after Trump sent Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the immigrant based in Maryland, to El Salvador. In April, Trump's approval number on immigration went to 45 percent. But by May, the same poll showed his approval on immigration started to rebound to 48 percent. That would go 'poof' in June once Trump began to send troops to Los Angeles. By the middle of June, a plurality of Americans thought that his response to the anti-ICE protests was too aggressive and 52 percent disapproved of his policies on immigration. By the end of June, 50 percent of Americans opposed Trump's policies on immigration. and his number has stubbornly stayed there. Not only that, as The Independent reported last month, polling from CBS News and CNN bore that out as well. The CNN poll also found that 59 percent of Americans opposed the deployment of National Guard troops without the consent of the governor and 55 percent of respondents said it was justified. While much of the attention when it comes to Trump's approval tends to focus on Jeffrey Epstein, it's clear that his approval began to collapse long before that scandal, when he began to deploy troops into the second-largest city in the United States. Trump may be trying to bait protesters by having troops roving throughout Washington in hopes that it will create the type of unrest that happened in 2020 and in Los Angeles. But the numbers show he might come to regret that. Voters may not like disorder and crime but they dislike overzealous responses from the government even more.

AriZona Iced Tea is considering raising its prices for the first time in almost 30 years
AriZona Iced Tea is considering raising its prices for the first time in almost 30 years

The Independent

time9 minutes ago

  • The Independent

AriZona Iced Tea is considering raising its prices for the first time in almost 30 years

AriZona Iced Tea is considering raising the price of its signature "Big Cans" for the first time in nearly 30 years. The potential price increase is a direct result of Donald Trump 's 50 percent tariff on aluminum imports. Co-founder Don Vultaggio expressed strong reluctance to abandon the $0.99 price point, which has been maintained since 1997, emphasizing customer loyalty. The company imports 20 percent of its aluminum from Canada, and the tariffs are expected to drive up costs for both imported and domestic materials. Industry groups and political figures have criticized the tariffs, warning of their detrimental impact on American manufacturers and consumers.

Texas businessmen indicted for allegedly bribing officials at Mexico's Pemex
Texas businessmen indicted for allegedly bribing officials at Mexico's Pemex

Reuters

time10 minutes ago

  • Reuters

Texas businessmen indicted for allegedly bribing officials at Mexico's Pemex

MEXICO CITY, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Two Texas businessmen were indicted for allegedly bribing officials at Mexico's state energy company Pemex with $150,000 and luxury items to secure contracts, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Monday. Between 2019 and 2021, Ramon Rovirosa and Mario Avila, both Mexican citizens and U.S. lawful permanent residents, conspired to pay bribes to officials at Pemex and its exploration and production arm, known as PEP, according to an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Texas. Rovirosa is also alleged to have ties to Mexican cartel members, the Department of Justice said in a statement. Rovirosa, 46, was arraigned while Avila, 61, remains at large. Reuters was unable to immediately contact the lawyers for Rovirosa and Avila. Pemex did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Together with co-conspirators, Rovirosa and Avila allegedly paid bribes in the form of cash and luxury goods, including from Louis Vuitton and Hublot, to at least three Pemex and PEP officials. In exchange, those Pemex officials are accused of helping companies associated with Rovirosa obtain contracts worth at least $2.5 million, the statement said. Mexico and its ailing state company Pemex have for decades been awash with corruption, with several former senior officials facing charges, including former Chief Executive Officer Emilio Lozoya. Lozoya, in turn, has accused ex-presidents Felipe Calderon and Carlos Salinas of corruption, along with former President Enrique Pena Nieto, his ex-finance minister, Luis Videgaray, and more than a dozen others. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who was Mexican president during the time covered in the indictment, had vowed to root out the corruption that had plagued the country and its most important company for decades. Even so, Mexico's corruption ranking, opens new tab slipped. Rovirosa and Avila are each charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and three substantive violations of it. The act makes it illegal for citizens, U.S. companies, or foreign persons and businesses in the United States to pay foreign officials to win business.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store