Richard Gere slams ‘bully' Donald Trump as he warns world is on ‘slippery slope'
Richard Gere labelled Donald Trump a 'bully and a thug' as he warned the world is on 'slippery slope'.
The Hollywood actor made the comments while accepting a lifetime achievement honour at Spain 's Goya Awards over the weekend.
The An Officer and a Gentleman star talked about the state of play in the US amid Trump's second term in office.
He said: 'We're in a very dark place in America where we have a bully and a thug who's the President of the United States.'.
Gere, who recently moved to Spain with his wife, added: 'It's not just in the US. It's everywhere.'
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The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
A US territory's colonial history emerges in state disputes over voting and citizenship
Squeezed between glacier-packed mountains and Alaska's Prince William Sound, the cruise-ship stop of Whittier is isolated enough that it's reachable by just a single road, through a long, one-lane tunnel that vehicles share with trains. It's so small that nearly all its 260 residents live in the same 14-story condo building. But Whittier also is the unlikely crossroads of two major currents in American politics: fighting over what it means to be born on U.S. soil and false claims by President Donald Trump and others that noncitizen voter fraud is widespread. In what experts describe as an unprecedented case, Alaska prosecutors are pursuing felony charges against 11 residents of Whittier, most of them related to one another, saying they falsely claimed U.S. citizenship when registering or trying to vote. The defendants were all born in American Samoa, an island cluster in the South Pacific roughly halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. It's the only U.S. territory where residents are not automatically granted citizenship by virtue of having been born on American soil, as the Constitution dictates. Instead, by a quirk of geopolitical history, they are considered 'U.S. nationals' — a distinction that gives them certain rights and obligations while denying them others. American Samoans are entitled to U.S. passports and can serve in the military. Men must register for the Selective Service. They can vote in local elections in American Samoa but cannot hold public office in the U.S. or participate in most U.S. elections. Those who wish to become citizens can do so, but the process costs hundreds of dollars and can be cumbersome. 'To me, I'm an American. I was born an American on U.S. soil,' said firefighter Michael Pese, one of those charged in Whittier. 'American Samoa has been U.S. soil, U.S. jurisdiction, for 125 years. According to the supreme law of the land, that's my birthright.' Confusion over voting is not just an Alaska problem The status has created confusion in other states, as well. In Oregon, officials inadvertently registered nearly 200 American Samoan residents to vote when they got their driver's licenses under the state's motor-voter law. Of those, 10 cast ballots in an election, according to the Oregon Secretary of State's office. Officials there determined the residents had not intended to break the law and no crime was committed. In Hawaii, one resident who was born in American Samoa, Sai Timoteo, ran for the state Legislature in 2018 before learning she wasn't allowed to hold public office or vote. She had always considered it her civic duty to vote, and the form on the voting materials had one box to check: 'U.S. Citizen/U.S. National.' 'I checked that box my entire life,' she said. She also avoided charges, and Hawaii subsequently changed its form to make it more clear. Is U.S. citizenship a birthright? Amid the storm of executive orders issued by Trump in the early days of his second term was one that sought to redefine birthright citizenship by barring it for children of parents who are in the U.S. unlawfully. Another would overhaul how federal elections are run, among other changes requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship. Courts so far have blocked both orders. The Constitution says that 'all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.' It also leaves the administration of elections to the states. The case in Whittier began with Pese's wife, Tupe Smith. After the couple moved to Whittier in 2018, Smith began volunteering at the Whittier Community School, where nearly half of the 55 students were American Samoan — many of them her nieces and nephews. She would help the kids with their English, tutor them in reading and cook them Samoan dishes. In 2023, a seat on the regional school board came open and she ran for it. She was the only candidate and won with about 95% of the vote. One morning a few weeks later, as she was making her two children breakfast, state troopers came knocking. They asked about her voting history. She explained that she knew she wasn't allowed to vote in U.S. presidential elections, but thought she could vote in local or state races. She said she checked a box affirming that she was a U.S. citizen at the instruction of elections workers because there was no option to identify herself as a U.S. national, court records say. The troopers arrested her and drove her to a women's prison near Anchorage. She was released that day after her husband paid bail. 'When they put me in cuffs, my son started crying," Smith told The Associated Press. "He told their dad that he don't want the cops to take me or to lock me up.' A question of intent About 10 months later, troopers returned to Whittier and issued court summonses to Pese, eight other relatives and one man who was not related but came from the same American Samoa village as Pese. One of Smith's attorneys, Neil Weare, grew up in another U.S. territory, Guam, and is the co-founder of the Washington-based Right to Democracy Project, whose mission is 'confronting and dismantling the undemocratic colonial framework governing people in U.S. territories.' He suggested the prosecutions are aimed at 'low-hanging fruit' in the absence of evidence that illegal immigrants frequently cast ballots in U.S. elections. Even state-level investigations have found voting by noncitizens to be exceptionally rare. 'There is no question that Ms. Smith lacked an intent to mislead or deceive a public official in order to vote unlawfully when she checked 'U.S. citizen' on voter registration materials,' he wrote in a brief to the Alaska Court of Appeals last week, after a lower court judge declined to dismiss the charges. Prosecutors say her false claim of citizenship was intentional, and her claim to the contrary was undercut by the clear language on the voter application forms she filled out in 2020 and 2022. The forms said that if the applicant did not answer yes to being over 18 years old and a U.S. citizen, 'do not complete this form, as you are not eligible to vote.' A dispute entangled with a colonial past The unique situation of American Samoans dates to the 19th century, when the U.S. and European powers were seeking to expand their colonial and economic interests in the South Pacific. The U.S. Navy secured the use of Pago Pago Harbor in eastern Samoa as a coal-refueling station for military and commercial vessels, while Germany sought to protect its coconut plantations in western Samoa. Eventually the archipelago was divided, with the western islands becoming the independent nation of Samoa and the eastern ones becoming American Samoa, overseen by the Navy. The leaders of American Samoa spent much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries arguing that its people should be U.S. citizens. Birthright citizenship was eventually afforded to residents of other U.S. territories — Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Congress considered it for American Samoa in the 1930s, but declined. Some lawmakers cited financial concerns during the Great Depression while others expressed patently racist objections, according to a 2020 article in the American Journal of Legal History. Supporters of automatic citizenship say it would particularly benefit the estimated 150,000 to 160,000 nationals who live in the states, many of them in California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Alaska. 'We pay taxes, we do exactly the same as everybody else that are U.S. citizens,' Smith said. 'It would be nice for us to have the same rights as everybody here in the states.' Legal questions over status to be tested anew But many in American Samoa eventually soured on the idea, fearing that extending birthright citizenship would jeopardize its customs — including the territory's communal land laws. Island residents could be dispossessed by land privatization, not unlike what happened in Hawaii, said Siniva Bennett, board chair of the Samoa Pacific Development Corporation, a Portland, Oregon-based nonprofit. 'We've been able to maintain our culture, and we haven't been divested from our land like a lot of other indigenous people in the U.S.,' Bennett said. In 2021, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to extend automatic citizenship to those born in American Samoa, saying it would be wrong to force citizenship on those who don't want it. The Supreme Court declined to review the decision. Several jurisdictions across the country, including San Francisco and the District of Columbia, allow people who are not citizens to vote in certain local elections. Tafilisaunoa Toleafoa, with the Pacific Community of Alaska, said the situation has been so confusing that her organization reached out to the Alaska Division of Elections in 2021 and 2022 to ask whether American Samoans could vote in state and local elections. Neither time did it receive a direct answer, she said. 'People were telling our community that they can vote as long as you have your voter registration card and it was issued by the state,' she said. Finally, last year, Carol Beecher, the head of the state Division of Elections, sent Toleafoa's group a letter saying American Samoans are not eligible to vote in Alaska elections. But by then, the voting forms had been signed. 'It is my hope that this is a lesson learned, that the state of Alaska agrees that this could be something that we can administratively correct,' Toleafoa said. 'I would say that the state could have done that instead of prosecuting community members.' ___ Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska, and Johnson from Seattle. Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this report.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
JD Vance reveals how President Trump really feels about Elon's attacks and reacts to awkward call for impeachment
Vice President JD Vance revealed behind-the-scenes details of Elon Musk 's blow-up on social media on Friday and President Donald Trump 's reaction. Vance spoke about the incident in a podcast interview with comedian Theo Von that was recorded on Thursday as the fight between the pair of billionaires escalated. The vice president found himself reacting in real time to some of Musk's posts on X during the interview, including an awkward post where Musk endorsed the idea of impeaching President Trump and installing Vance as president. 'I just think the idea that the president should be impeached, I'm sorry, it's insane. It's totally insane, Vance said, describing Musk's social media tirade as 'not helpful.' He said that obviously Musk had the First Amendment right to disagree with the president but that it was a mistake for him to attack Trump. Vance also shot down Musk's claim that the president was 'in the Epstein files' even though he admitted he hadn't even seen the post before the interview. 'Absolutely not. Donald Trump didn't do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein. Like, there's the guy is whatever the Democrats and the media says about him, that's totally BS,' he said. The vice president was with the president when Musk's criticism of Trump began, but had not seen all the posts as he traveled to Nashville for the interview with Vonn. Theo Von asks JD Vance about Elon Musk's attacks against President Trump 'I know the president, for a couple of days, I'll tell you, I don't want to reveal too many confidences, but he was getting a little frustrated, feeling like some of the criticisms were unfair coming from Elon,' he said. Vance said that Trump was actually quite restrained in his response to Musk, again asserting that Musk's attacks were not good for the country. 'But I think it's been very restrained because the president doesn't think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk. I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine,' he said. Musk signaled his opposition to the 'Big Beautiful Bill' on Thursday and posted criticism of the president on social media. Trump responded to Musk in real time, speaking to reporters during his meeting with the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat beside the president as he spoke, but did not speak about Musk themselves. The president's comments in the Oval Office further aggravated Musk, after clips of the news conference made their way to his social media feed. The highly-anticipated interview between Vance and Von was the first time the vice president spoke on camera about the feud. He reserved his public reaction for several hours as Musk fumed on social media about the president. The vice president defended President Trump on social media Friday morning. 'There are many lies the corporate media tells about President Trump. One of the most glaring is that he's impulsive or short-tempered,' Vance wrote on X. 'Anyone who has seen him operate under pressure knows that's ridiculous. It's (maybe) the single biggest disconnect between fake media perception and reality,' he continued. The vice president teased his interview with Von on social media, joking that he had no idea what they would talk about. Musk shared the post with a laugh-crying emoji, suggesting that the vice president had lightened the mood. Vance also posted a statement in support of Trump late in the evening. 'President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I'm proud to stand beside him,' Vance wrote at 10:30 pm EST on X. Vance has sided with Trump, but has demonstrated caution about attacking Musk, as he is still a very powerful and influential political donor. The vice president considers Musk a friend, and he defended the unpredictable billionaire as he prepared to exit the administration as a special advisor. 'I am going to miss him. Elon's become a very good friend,' Vance told Newsmax host Greg Kelly in an interview last week. Vance and Musk already had a relationship prior to the campaign, but their friendship has deepened since the election. 'He and his kids have come to our house and had dinner with our kids. I'm very close to him,' Vance said.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Elon Musk makes stunning Epstein U-turn after taking on Trump in war that cost him $27billion
Elon Musk has deleted the extraordinary claim from his X profile that implicated President Donald Trump as being 'in the Epstein files'. As the commander-in-chief and the X boss battled it out in a war of words over social media, Musk said 'it was time to drop a really big bomb'. In doing so he posted: '@RealDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public,' Musk wrote. 'Have a nice day, DJT!' The post has since disappeared from his X profile and he has appeared to backtrack on some of the remarks he made against Trump earlier this week. On Friday Trump had said he would look into canceling the loans and subsidies, telling reporters: 'I would certainly think about it, but it has to be fair.' He had also told reporters that he wished the South African businessman 'well', to which Musk replied in a post to X saying: 'Likewise'. Musk had also responded to the clip of Trump talking about canceling his grants, saying: 'Fair enough'. Trump had threatened to cut off huge federal loans and subsidies to Musk's companies after they fell out over the 'Big Beautiful Bill'. Elon Musk dramatically charged that President Donald Trump's name appears in the files of known pedophile Jeffrey Epstein The calmed remarks from Musk came after he lost around $27 billion from his net worth when the Tesla stock price tanked on Thursday. Trump didn't directly respond to Musk's Epstein charge, instead posting what amounted to a shrug on Truth Social, while also continuing to back the 'big, beautiful bill.' 'I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,' Trump wrote. 'This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.' Following the outbreak of their feud, Trump and his allies have said Musk turned on the bill because it cuts the subsidies. Musk has said he doesn't need them anyway. The fallout between Trump and Musk - who were political allies for a little less than a year - started in recent weeks when the billionaire started resisting Republicans' 'big, beautiful bill,' arguing that the spending wiped out DOGE's cost-cutting efforts. Then, on Thursday, when Trump was supposed to be hosting the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, he was asked about Musk's recent criticism. From there the dam broke. 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more, I was surprised,' Trump told reporters. The president suggested that Musk was angry - not over the bill ballooning the deficit - but because the Trump administration has pulled back on electric vehicle mandates, which negatively impacted Tesla, and replaced the Musk-approved nominee to lead NASA, which could hinder SpaceX's government contracts. 'And you know, Elon's upset because we took the EV mandate, which was a lot of money for electric vehicles, and they're having a hard time the electric vehicles and they want us to pay billions of dollars in subsidy,' Trump said. 'I know that disburbed him.' Over the weekend, Trump pulled the nomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman had worked alongside Musk at SpaceX. Musk posted to X as Trump's Q&A with reporters was ongoing. 'Whatever,' the billionaire wrote. 'Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,' he advised. 'In the entire history of civilization, there has never been legislation that [is] both big and beautiful. Everyone knows this!' Musk continued. 'Either you get a big and ugly bill or a slim and beautiful bill. Slim and beautiful is the way.' The spat quickly turned personal with Musk then posting that Trump would have lost the 2024 election had it not been for the world's richest man - him. Musk publicly endorsed Trump on the heels of the July 13th assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania and poured around $290 million into the Republican's campaign. The billionaire also joined Trump on the campaign trail when he returned to the site of the Butler shooting in early October, a month before Election Day. After his meeting with Merz, Trump continued to throw punches online. He asserted that he had asked Musk to leave his administration and said he was 'CRAZY!' 'Elon was "wearing thin," I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!' Trump wrote. It was after that post that he then threatened to pull SpaceX and Tesla's government contracts. Musk then taunted Trump to act. 'This just gets better and better,' he wrote. 'Go ahead, make my day …' In a follow-up post, Musk said he would 'begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.' Trump continued his 'crazy' remarks on Friday when speaking with CNN Anchor and Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash. He said: 'I'm not even thinking about Elon. He's got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem.' Their explosive feud comes after a report from the New York Times in which he was accused of using a cocktail of drugs on the campaign trail. The Tesla CEO has previously said he was prescribed ketamine for depression and was taking the drug roughly every two weeks. But insiders allege Musk, 53, was taking the powerful anesthetic, which is known to have hallucinogenic properties, so frequently that it was affecting his bladder, the bombshell report claims. He also took ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and travelled with a daily pill box that contained about 20 different drugs, including Adderall, sources allege. Those around him claim that his consumption blurred the lines between medicinal and recreational, with Musk allegedly having taken drugs at private gathering across the US and in at least one foreign country, according to the NYT report which was based on a series of texts the outlet reviewed, as well as interviews with insiders. Musk has claimed in interviews that he only takes 'a small amount' of ketamine and that 'I really don't like doing illegal drugs', but his erratic behaviors, including making an apparent Nazi salute at Trump's election day event, seemingly suggest otherwise.
