logo
Trump urges Commanders and Guardians teams to reverse name change

Trump urges Commanders and Guardians teams to reverse name change

Qatar Tribune6 days ago
DPA
Washington
US President Donald Trump on Sunday called for Washington's football and Cleveland's baseball teams to revert to their former names, which had long been criticized as racist.
'The Washington 'Whatever's' should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team. There is a big clamoring for this,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.
'Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past,' he wrote.
'Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen.
Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago.
We are a Country of passion and common sense.' Trump went on to say he may 'put a restriction' on the Washington team if they did not revert.
'I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington. The Team would be much more valuable, and the Deal would be more exciting for everyone,' Trump wrote.
The Redskins name was retired in 2020, in what was seen a major win for Native American activists who had long seen the team's name as an offensive slur against the indigenous people of the US. The team played as the Washington Football team for two seasons and rebranded as the Washington Commanders in 2022.
Cleveland dropped the name Indians in 2020, before announcing the switch to Guardians in 2021.
Many sports teams reconsidered their names amid a protest movement against racism, sparked by the 2020 death of George Floyd, a black man, in police custody.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

US-EU trade talks: Will the EU chief clinch a deal with Trump?
US-EU trade talks: Will the EU chief clinch a deal with Trump?

Al Jazeera

time4 hours ago

  • Al Jazeera

US-EU trade talks: Will the EU chief clinch a deal with Trump?

United States President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold crunch talks with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland after weeks of intense trade talks between the two sides as Brussels aims to ink a deal with Washington to avoid a transatlantic trade war. Von der Leyen, the European Commission president, will meet with the US president at his Turnberry golf club in Scotland on Sunday. European ministers are hoping the meeting will result in a deal to avoid the 30 percent tariffs that Trump has threatened on EU goods. According to people involved in the talks, European negotiators are aiming for tariffs to be set at 15 percent. Trump told reporters on Friday that the bloc 'want[s] to make a deal very badly'. On July 12, Trump threatened to impose the 30 percent tariffs if no agreement could be secured by his deadline, which expires on Friday. That would come on top of the 25 percent tariffs on cars and car parts and 50 percent levies on steel and aluminium already in place. The EU, Washington's biggest trading partner, has been a frequent target of Trump's escalating trade rhetoric with the president accusing the bloc of 'ripping off' the US. In 2024, EU exports to the US totalled 532 billion euros ($603bn). Pharmaceuticals, car parts and industrial chemicals were among the largest exports, according to EU data. Will the Trump-von der Leyen meeting achieve a breakthrough and end the uncertainty in transatlantic trade ties? What are the main differences between the two sides? The US president told reporters at Turnberry on Friday that there are '20 sticking points'. When asked what they were, he said: 'Well, I don't want to tell you what the sticking points are.' At the same time, he described von der Leyen as a 'highly respected woman' and predicted their meeting on Sunday would be 'good', rating the chances of a deal as '50-50'. On the European side, it is understood that a growing number of EU countries are calling for Brussels to push ahead with an already prepared retaliatory tariffs package on 90 billion euros ($109bn) of US goods, including car parts and bourbon, if talks break down. The two sides, which traded 1.6 trillion euros ($1.8 trillion) in goods and services in 2023, have been negotiating since April 9 when Trump paused what he calls his 'reciprocal' tariffs, which he placed on nearly all countries. During that time, the US has been charging a flat 10 percent levy on all EU products as well as 25 percent on cars and 50 percent on steel and aluminium. This month, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said: 'We have to protect the EU economy, and we need to go for these rebalancing measures.' Still, the bloc is understood to be rife with disagreement over trade policies with the US. While Germany has urged a quick deal to safeguard its industries, other EU members, particularly France, have insisted EU negotiators must not cave in to an asymmetrical deal that favours the US. On Saturday, von der Leyen spokesperson Paula Pinho said: 'Intensive negotiations at technical and political [level] have been ongoing between the EU and US. Leaders will now take stock and consider the scope for a balanced outcome that provides stability and predictability for businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.' What have the US and EU traded with each other? In 2024, the US-EU goods trade reached nearly $1 trillion, making the EU the single largest trading partner of the US. In total, the US bought $235.6bn more in goods than it sold to the 27 countries that make up the EU. On the other hand, the US earned a surplus on services trade with the EU. The US mainly bought pharmaceutical products from the EU as well as mechanical appliances, cars and other nonrailway vehicles – totalling roughly $606bn. The US exported fuel, pharmaceutical products, machinery and aircraft to the EU to the tune of $370bn. Why have they struggled to ink a deal so far? Like all the nations the US runs a trade deficit with, Trump has long accused the EU of swindling his country and is determined that Brussels adopt measures to lower its goods trade surplus with the US. Washington has repeatedly raised concerns over Europe's value-added tax as well as its regulations on food exports and IT services. Trump has argued that these controls act as nontariff trade barriers. Indeed, Sefcovic recently told the Financial Times that he wants to reduce the US-EU trade deficit by buying more US gas, weapons and farm products. And while European leaders want the lowest tariffs possible, they 'also want to be respected as the partners that we are', French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday. On July 14, meanwhile, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels that 'we should prepare to be ready to use all the tools'. He added: 'If you want peace, you have to prepare for war.' Negotiators in Scotland are hoping it doesn't come to that. This month, Oxford Economics, an economic forecasting consultancy, estimated that a 30 percent tariff could push the EU 'to the edge of recession'. Countermeasures from the EU would also hit certain US industries hard. European tariffs could reduce US farmers' and auto workers' incomes, which are key Trump constituencies.

Trump's ceasefire push fails to stop Thailand-Cambodia border clashes
Trump's ceasefire push fails to stop Thailand-Cambodia border clashes

Al Jazeera

time6 hours ago

  • Al Jazeera

Trump's ceasefire push fails to stop Thailand-Cambodia border clashes

Cambodia and Thailand have traded accusations of artillery attacks hours after United States President Donald Trump said both countries had agreed to hash out a ceasefire. The attacks on Sunday came after both sides said they were willing to start talks to end the fighting over their border dispute after Trump spoke to their leaders late on Saturday. Four days after the worst fighting in more than a decade broke out between the Southeast Asian neighbours, the death toll stood above 30, including 13 civilians in Thailand and eight in Cambodia. More than 200,000 people have also been evacuated from border areas in the two countries, authorities said. Cambodia said it fully endorsed Trump's call for an immediate ceasefire. Thailand, on the other hand, said while it was grateful to Trump, it could not begin talks while Cambodia was targeting its civilians, a claim that Phnom Penh has denied. 'We have proposed a bilateral between our foreign ministers to conclude the conditions for a ceasefire and drawing back troops and long-range weapons,' acting Thai Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters before heading off to visit border areas. But artillery fire erupted on Sunday morning, and both nations blamed each other for the attacks. Cambodia's Ministry of National Defence said Thailand shelled and launched ground assaults on Sunday morning at a number of points along the border. The ministry's spokesperson said heavy artillery was fired at historic temple complexes. The Thai army, meanwhile, said Cambodian forces fired shots into several areas, including near civilian homes, early on Sunday and were mobilising long-range rocket launchers. 'Both governments today … blaming the other side for initiating the attacks, saying they both want a ceasefire but the other side has to meet certain conditions first. … We are reaching this sort of deadlock where neither side is able to stand back,' Al Jazeera's Tony Cheng said, reporting from the Thai province of Surin along the Thai-Cambodia border. 'We just checked in with some contacts on the border. They say they are still hearing exchanges of artillery fire. There were heavy barrages going in from Thailand, most of it from the Thai side going across into Cambodia, but some … rockets coming back in exchange.' Thailand and Cambodia have bickered for decades over undemarcated points along their 817km (508-mile) land border with ownership of the ancient Hindu temples of Ta Moan Thom and the 11th century Preah Vihear central to the dispute. Preah Vihear was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962, but tensions escalated in 2008 after Cambodia tried to list it as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and skirmishes over several years killed at least a dozen people. Ceasefire push Trump on Saturday said he had spoken with Phumtham and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and they had agreed to meet immediately to quickly work out a ceasefire to end the fighting, which began on Thursday. 'Both Parties are looking for an immediate Ceasefire and Peace,' Trump wrote on social media, adding that tariff negotiations with both the countries were on hold until the fighting stopped. Hun Manet said his foreign minister, Prak Sokhonn, will speak with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate with the Thais and warned Bangkok against reneging on any agreement. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also urged both sides on Saturday to 'immediately agree to a ceasefire' and hold talks to find a lasting solution. As fighting continues, those evacuated from areas along the border in both countries are being 'relatively well cared for' at evacuation centres, Cheng said. 'They've got basic things like food, water, a little bit of bedding, but they came with virtually nothing, and they don't know if they're going to be here for days, weeks or even months,' he said from a centre in Surin, where 3,000 people are staying. Civilians on both sides are urging a ceasefire be implemented soon. 'For me, I think it is great if Thailand agreed to stop fighting so both countries can live with peace,' Phnom Penh university student Sreung Nita told the Reuters news agency. A resident in Sisaket in northeastern Thailand, Thavorn Toosawan, told Reuters that 'if there is a ceasefire, things will be better.' 'It's great that America is insisting on the ceasefire because it would bring peace.'

Donald Trump, Powell clash over renovation costs during tense Fed visit
Donald Trump, Powell clash over renovation costs during tense Fed visit

Qatar Tribune

time19 hours ago

  • Qatar Tribune

Donald Trump, Powell clash over renovation costs during tense Fed visit

Agencies After months of sharp criticism, President Donald Trump took his feud with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the Fed's front door on Thursday, publicly rebuking him over the escalating costs of a long-planned building project. Powell pushed back, disputing the president's latest price tag as incorrect. Wearing hard hats and grim faces, standing in the middle of the construction project, Trump and Powell addressed the cameras. Trump charged that the renovation would cost $3.1 billion, much higher than the Fed's $2.5 billion figure. Powell, standing next to him, shook his head. The Fed chair, after looking at a paper presented to him by Trump, said the president was including the cost of renovating a separate Fed building, known as the Martin building, which was finished five years visit represented a significant ratcheting up of the president's pressure on Powell to lower borrowing costs, which Trump says would accelerate economic growth and reduce the government's borrowing costs. Presidents rarely visit the Fed's offices, though they are just a few blocks from the White House, an example of the central bank's independence from day-to-day politics. 'We have to get the interest rates down,' Trump said later after a short tour, addressing the cameras this time without Powell. 'People are pretty much unable to buy houses.' Trump is likely to be disappointed next week, however, when Fed officials will meet to decide its next steps on interest rates. Powell and other officials have signaled they will likely keep their key rate unchanged at about 4.3%. However, economists and Wall Street investors expect the Fed may start cutting rates in September. Trump did step back a bit from some of his recent threats to fire Powell before his term ends May 26. Asked if the rising costs of the Fed's renovation, estimated in 2022 to cost $1.9 billion, was a 'fireable offense,' Trump said, 'I don't want to put this in that category.' 'To do that is a big move, and I don't think that's necessary,' Trump added. 'I just want to see one thing happen, very simple: Interest rates come down.' The Fed allowed reporters to tour the building before the visit by Trump, who, in his real estate career, has bragged about his lavish spending on architectural accoutrements that gave a Versailles-like golden flair to his buildings. On Thursday, reporters wound through cement mixers, front loaders, and plastic pipes as they got a close-up view of the active construction site that encompasses the Fed's historic headquarters, known as the Marriner S. Eccles building, and a second building across 20th Street in Washington. Fed staff, who declined to be identified, said that greater security requirements, rising materials costs and tariffs, and the need to comply with historic preservation measures drove up the cost of the project, which was budgeted in 2022 at $1.9 billion. The staff pointed out new blast-resistant windows and seismic walls that were needed to comply with modern building codes and security standards set out by the Department of Homeland Security. The Fed has to build with the highest level of security in mind, Fed staff said, including something called 'progressive collapse,' in which only parts of the building would fall if hit with explosives. Sensitivity to the president's pending visit among Fed staff was high during the tour. Reporters were ushered into a small room outside the Fed's boardroom, where 19 officials meet eight times a year to decide whether to change short-term interest rates. The room, which will have a security booth, is oval-shaped, and someone had written 'oval office' on plywood walls. The Fed staff downplayed the inscription as a joke. When reporters returned to the room later, it had been painted over. During the tour, Fed staff also showed the elevator shaft that congressional critics have said is for 'VIPs' only. Powell has since said it will be open to all Fed renovation includes an 18-inch (45-cm) extension so the elevator reaches a slightly elevated area that is now accessible only by steps or a ramp. A planning document that said the elevator will only be for the Fed's seven governors was erroneous and later amended, staff said. Plans for the renovation were first approved by the Fed's governing board in 2017. The project then wended its way through several local commissions for approval, at least one of which, the Commission for Fine Arts, included several Trump appointees. The commission pushed for more marble in the second of the two buildings the Fed is renovating, known as 1951 Constitution Avenue, specifically in a mostly glass extension that some of Trump's appointees derided as a 'glass box.' Fed staff also said tariffs and inflationary increases in building material prices drove up costs. Trump in 2018 imposed a 25% duty on steel and 10% on aluminum. He increased them this year to 50%. Steel prices are up about 60% since the plans were approved, while construction materials costs overall are up about 50%, according to government data. Fed staff also pointed to the complication of historic renovations – both buildings have significant preservation needs. Constructing a new building on an empty site would have been cheaper, they said. As one example, the staff pointed reporters to where they had excavated beneath the Eccles building to add a floor of mechanical rooms, storage space, and some offices. The Fed staff acknowledged such structural additions underground are expensive, but said it was done to avoid adding HVAC equipment and other mechanics on the roof, which is historic. The Fed has previously attributed much of the project's cost to underground construction. It is also adding three underground levels of parking for its second building. Initially the central bank proposed building more above ground, but ran into Washington, D.C.'s height restrictions, forcing more underground construction.

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