Trump slams protesters as 'slimeballs' after attack on ICE agents in California
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, 'I am on my way back from Texas, and watched in disbelief as THUGS were violently throwing rocks and bricks at ICE Officers while they were moving down a roadway in their car and/or official vehicle.'
He said the attack caused 'tremendous damage' to government vehicles and lamented what he called growing "disrespect" for law enforcement across the country.
Trump said he directed the Department of Homeland Security, along with South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and border advisor Tom Homan, to instruct ICE, Homeland Security, and law enforcement officers to arrest anyone who attacks agents or vehicles using 'whatever means is necessary.'
'AUTHORIZATION IMMEDIATELY GRANTED FOR ARREST AND INCARCERATION,' he declared.
The president also granted ICE officers broad authority to defend themselves if assaulted during operations, warning that he 'does not want to see law enforcement vehicles targeted again.'The incident occurred Thursday during an immigration enforcement operation at Glass House Farms in rural Camarillo, California, where federal agents encountered dozens of protesters.According to local media, the standoff escalated when agents used smoke canisters and flashbangs after being confronted by demonstrators. In response, some individuals reportedly threw rocks and other projectiles at federal personnel.Earlier on Friday, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump toured flood-hit areas in Texas, attending a roundtable with emergency responders and conducting an aerial inspection of the affected region.The clash in California has intensified debate around the use of force in immigration enforcement operations, especially in light of recent legal challenges to ICE practices in Los Angeles. — Agencies
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
12 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Says Coca-Cola to Switch to Cane Sugar in US
Beverage giant Coca-Cola has agreed to use real cane sugar in its US production, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday on social media. The company currently uses high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in its domestic beverages -- a sweetener that has long drawn criticism from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again movement, AFP said. "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them -- You'll see. It's just better!" The US president did not explain what motivated his push for the change, which would not impact his well-known favorite beverage, Diet Coke. Since his return to the White House, Trump has re-installed a special button in the Oval Office which summons a helping of the sugar-free carbonated drink. Coca-Cola did not immediately confirm the ingredient shift. "We appreciate President Trump's enthusiasm for our iconic Coca‑Cola brand. More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca‑Cola product range will be shared soon," the company said in a short statement. HFCS became popular in the 1970s, with its use skyrocketing thanks to government subsidies for corn growers and high import tariffs on cane sugar. Any shift away from corn is likely to draw backlash in the Corn Belt, a Midwestern region that has been a stronghold of support for Trump. Both HFCS and sucrose (cane sugar) are composed of fructose and glucose. However, they differ structurally: HFCS contains free (unbonded) fructose and glucose in varying ratios -- 55/45 in soft drinks -- while sucrose consists of the two sugars chemically bonded together. These structural differences, however, don't appear to significantly affect health outcomes. A 2022 review of clinical studies found no meaningful differences between HFCS and sucrose in terms of weight gain or heart health. The only notable distinction was an increase in a marker of inflammation in people consuming HFCS. Overall, both sweeteners appear similarly impactful when consumed at equal calorie levels. Despite this, Mexican Coke -- which is made with cane sugar -- is often sold at a premium in US stores and prized for its more "natural" flavor. Trump's prized Diet Coke is sweetened with aspartame -- a compound classified as a "possible carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
Arab News
42 minutes ago
- Arab News
US to destroy Pakistan and Afghanistan bound food aid in UAE after Trump-era freeze
With 1,100 metric tons of emergency food rations nearing expiry in a US government warehouse in Dubai after President Donald Trump's aid freeze, it took a warning of 'wasted tax dollars' for a top US official to eventually agree to a deal for the supplies to be used, sources told Reuters. The deal saved 622 metric tons of the energy-dense biscuits in June, but 496 metric tons, worth $793,000 before they expired this month, will be destroyed, according to two internal US Agency for International Development memos reviewed by Reuters, dated May 5 and May 19, and four sources familiar with the matter. The wasted biscuits will be turned into landfill or incinerated in the United Arab Emirates, two sources said. That will cost the US government an additional $100,000, according to the May 5 memo verified by three sources familiar with the matter. The delays and waste are further examples of how the freeze and then cutbacks, which led to the firing of thousands of USAID employees and contractors, have thrown global humanitarian operations into chaos. A spokesperson for the State Department, which is now responsible for US foreign aid, confirmed in an email to Reuters that the biscuits would have to be destroyed. But they said the stocks were 'purchased as a contingency beyond projections' under the administration of former President Joe Biden, resulting in their expiration. Trump has said the US pays disproportionately for foreign aid, and he wants other countries to shoulder more of the burden. His administration announced plans to shut down USAID in January, leaving more than 60,000 metric tons of food aid stuck in stores around the world, Reuters reported in May. The food aid stuck in Dubai was fortified wheat biscuits, which are calorie-rich and typically deployed in crisis conditions where people lack cooking facilities, 'providing immediate nutrition for a child or adult,' according to the UN World Food Programme. The WFP says 319 million people are facing acute levels of food insecurity worldwide. Of those, 1.9 million people are gripped by catastrophic hunger and on the brink of famine, primarily in Gaza and Sudan. FOOD SECURITY After Jeremy Lewin and Kenneth Jackson, operatives of the budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency, were appointed acting deputy USAID administrators and began terminating food security programs, USAID staff were barred from communicating with aid organizations that were asking to take the biscuits, two sources said. A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was 'entirely false' that USAID staff were barred from communicating with aid groups, and that 'there was no direction given ... not to engage.' Reuters, however, reported that a January 25 email sent by Jackson emphasizing a 'complete halt' to all foreign assistance banned USAID staff from any communications outside of the agency unless approved by their front office. 'Failure to abide by this result in disciplinary action,' said the memo reviewed by Reuters. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on May 21 that no food aid would be wasted, as USAID staff were waiting for Lewin to sign off on a deal to transfer the 622 metric tons of biscuits to the WFP for distribution before they began expiring in September. That agreement was approved in June after weeks of waiting, according to five sources familiar with the matter, and the May 19 memo verified by two of the sources. Both sources told Reuters that Lewin, who now runs the State Department's Office of Foreign Assistance, did not respond to the request for weeks. The State Department official said the memo had to go through revisions and edits before Lewin could sign it on June 2. Eventually, USAID staff sent a memo to Lewin warning him that the biscuits had a limited shelf-life and that the agency would have to pay an estimated $125,000 to have them destroyed, resulting in 'wasted tax dollars,' unless an agreement was struck with WFP to take them, both sources said. Lewin finally signed it, clearing the way for USAID staff to save the 622 metric tons of biscuits, valued at just under $1 million, now destined for Syria, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, according to the memo. Lewin did not respond to requests for comment. The State Department official said Lewin cleared the transfer in a 'timely manner,' and that consideration had to be given to finding shipping options that were not several times more expensive than the value of the biscuits. Both sources said it took until early July to begin sending the stocks because generally it requires weeks of work to rearrange shipments after supply chains are disrupted. A WFP official said it had signed an agreement to receive the biscuits. The supplies slated for destruction could have fed around 27,000 people for a month, according to a Reuters analysis using figures from WFP. Those stocks were originally intended for USAID partners in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Alexandra Rutishauser-Perera, the director of nutrition at Action Against Hunger UK, said: 'We knew the suspension of USAID funding would have immediate consequences, and the destruction of emergency food, at a time when acute hunger is at its highest on record, underscores the unintended consequences of such funding cuts.' The United States is the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38 percent of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. It disbursed $61 billion in foreign assistance last year, just over half of it via USAID, according to government data. The Trump administration notified Congress in March that USAID would fire almost all of its staff in two rounds on July 1 and September 2, as it prepared to shut down. In a statement on July 1 marking the transfer of USAID to the State Department, Rubio said the US was abandoning what he called a charity-based model and would focus on empowering countries to grow sustainably. 'We will favor those nations that have demonstrated both the ability and willingness to help themselves and will target our resources to areas where they can have a multiplier effect and catalyze durable private sector, including American companies, and global investment,' he wrote.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Ten Republican senators urge Trump to reverse school funding freeze
Ten Republican US senators wrote a letter to President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday urging it to reverse its decision to withhold $6.8 billion in congressionally approved federal funding for K-12 schools. Why it's important While Democrats have been critical of Trump's move, Republican lawmakers have not often publicly disagreed with the Republican president on policy issues or openly criticized his moves. The 10 Republicans who signed the letter included Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitch McConnell. Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was withholding previously approved funding to schools during what the White House called an ongoing review process. A coalition of mostly Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging the move. The freeze extended to funding used to support the education of migrant farm workers and their children; recruitment and training of teachers; English proficiency learning; academic enrichment; and after-school and summer programs. Key quotes 'These funds go to support programs that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support,' the lawmakers wrote to Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. The letter said the freeze contradicted Trump's stated goal of 'returning K-12 education to the states.' It added: 'We encourage you to reverse your decision and release this Congressionally-approved funding to states. Context The OMB said earlier this month there was an 'ongoing programmatic review' of education funding and initial findings showed what it called the misuse of grant funds to 'subsidize a radical leftwing agenda.' OMB raised objections to grant money used to support scholarships for immigrant students and lessons that involved LGBT themes. The Trump administration has threatened schools and colleges with withholding federal funds over issues like climate initiatives, transgender policies, pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel's war in Gaza and diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
