Lula says BRICS do not want ‘emperor' after Trump threat
'We are sovereign nations,' Lula said as he ended a two day summit of 11 nations that include US allies and foes alike. 'We don't want an emperor.'
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Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Meme-lord Gavin Newsom riles Republicans with Trump-trolling posts
WASHINGTON: All-caps hyperbole, wild accusations and idiosyncratic spelling: not just an average Wednesday on Donald Trump's Truth Social feed, but a new digital media strategy for California Governor Gavin Newsom that is delighting Democrats — and riling Republicans. Newsom — hotly-tipped for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination — has been parodying Trump with a series of posts written in the Republican leader's distinct style that he hopes will show his party how to beat the social media master at his own game. In recent weeks the governor has posted all manner of manipulated images depicting him in the kind of over-the-top vignettes popular among Trump's 'MAGA' movement — superimposing his face on Mount Rushmore and appearing to pray with MAGA favorites Tucker Carlson, Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan. When Trump's one-word weekend post — saying simply 'Bela' — left the president's supporters scratching their heads, Newsom posted a screenshot alongside his own caption: 'DONALD (TINY HANDS), HAS WRITTEN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY THIS MORNING — UNFORTUNATELY (LOW IQ) HE SPELLED IT WRONG — 'BETA.'' The 57-year-old Democrat mocked Trump's salesman-like rhetorical style in a post about redistricting plans that he said had led 'MANY' people to call him 'GAVIN CHRISTOPHER 'COLUMBUS' NEWSOM (BECAUSE OF THE MAPS!).' And he has taken to ending his posts with the much-mocked sign-off that Trump, 79, made famous: 'THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!' The tweets have quickly gained currency among Newsom's supporters, who have shared their own 'Trumpian' memes of a shirtless Newsom with bulging muscles, brandishing pistols or riding into battle on a velociraptor. The governor called Trump's late-night social media tirades 'pathetic,' telling historian and podcast host Heather Cox Richardson that people who normally 'can't stand' politicians had been reaching out to compliment his new approach. 'And they're maybe paying attention to the childishness that is Donald Trump, that we've allowed him to normalize — the way he communicates, talking down to us, looking past us,' Newsom said. 'I've got kids, and I've got a whole generation of people who thinks this is normal. It is not, and it can't be normalized, and that's big part of what we're also pushing back against.' The posts are garnering the attention of X's algorithm while sparking the ire of Republicans, conservative-leaning political commentators and the right-wing media. Dana Perino, an anchor on Fox News, slammed Newsom's new strategy, telling viewers: 'If I were his wife, I would say you are making a fool of yourself, stop it.' 'NDS — Newsom Derangement Syndrome is a real thing,' Republican political consultant Mike Madrid posted on X, retooling the Republican accusation of 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' levied to dismiss criticism of the president. The snark appears to be working. The number of followers of Newsom's official press office account on X — where the cheeky announcement are being posted — has soared by 450 percent since mid-June, according to CNN, with huge strides also seen on Instagram and TikTok. Daily Google searches for Newsom are up 500 percent since August 1, the network reported. Newsom says the MAGA-coded posts are not only annoying Republicans, but redefining how Democrats can provide an effective opposition to one of the most media-savvy leaders ever to occupy the White House. Asked for comment, the White House shared with AFP an image it had initially sent US publication Politico repurposing a scene from the show 'Mad Men' to demonstrate that Trump is not just unfazed, but doesn't think about Newsom at all. Politico had called it the first official White House press statement delivered exclusively in meme form. Jeff Le, a deputy cabinet secretary for previous California governor Jerry Brown, said Newsom was responding to widespread discontent at the Democratic Party's perceived lack of fight when it comes to Trump — and the yawning leadership vacuum. 'His messaging has helped introduce him in a tongue-and-cheek manner that reflects the inside joke that many digital native Democrats understand,' Le told AFP. But he added that the strategy was 'not without risk.' 'If there is a terrible natural disaster — a catastrophic fire or mudslide — it's fair to say that the White House keeps score,' he said, 'and the president may be less inclined to provide timely federal government support and funding for the response.'
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Texas Republicans approve Trump-backed congressional map to protect party's majority
Texas legislators on Wednesday passed a new state congressional map drawn at the behest of President Donald Trump to flip five Democratic-held US House seats in next year's midterm elections, after dozens of Democratic lawmakers ended a two-week walkout that had temporarily blocked passage. Republican legislators, who have dominated Texas politics for over two decades, have undertaken a rare mid-decade redistricting to help Trump improve their party's odds of preserving its narrow US House of Representatives majority amid political headwinds. The map, which will have to be reconciled with the state Senate's version, has triggered a national redistricting war, with governors of both parties threatening to initiate similar efforts in other states. Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom is advancing an effort to redraw his state's map to flip five Republican seats. Democratic-controlled California is the nation's most populous state while Republican-led Texas is the second most populous. The Texas map would shift conservative voters into districts currently held by Democrats and combine some districts that Democrats hold. Other Republican states — including Ohio, Florida, Indiana and Missouri — are moving forward with or considering their own redistricting efforts, as are Democratic states such as Maryland and Illinois. Redistricting typically occurs every 10 years after the US Census to account for population changes, and mid-decade redistricting has historically been unusual. Whenever the maps are drawn, in many states, lawmakers manipulate the lines to favor their party over the opposition, a practice known as gerrymandering. Texas Democrats on Wednesday raised multiple objections to and questions about the measure. Representative John Bucy, a Democrat, said from the House floor before passage of the bill that the new maps were clearly intended to dilute the voting power of Black, Latino and Asian voters, and that his Republican colleagues bending to the will of Trump was deeply worrying. 'This is not democracy, this is authoritarianism in real time,' Bucy said. 'This is Donald Trump's map. It clearly and deliberately manufactures five more Republican seats in Congress because Trump himself knows the voters are rejecting his agenda.' Republicans argued the map was created to improve political performance and would increase majority Hispanic districts. Bucy was among the Democrats who fled the state earlier this month to deny the Texas House a quorum. In response, Republicans undertook extraordinary measures to try to force the Democrats home, including filing lawsuits to remove them from office and issuing arrest warrants. The walkout ended when Democrats voluntarily returned on Monday, saying they had accomplished their goals of blocking a vote during a first special legislative session and persuading Democrats in other states to take retaliatory steps. Republican House leadership assigned state law enforcement officers to monitor Democrats to ensure they would not leave the state again. One Democratic representative, Nicole Collier, slept in the Capitol building on Monday night rather than accept a police escort. Republicans, including Trump, have openly acknowledged that the new map is aimed at increasing their political power. The party currently controls 25 of the state's 38 districts under a Republican-drawn map that was passed four years ago. Democrats and civil rights groups have said the new map dilutes the voting power of racial minorities in violation of federal law and have vowed to sue. Nationally, Republicans captured the 435-seat US House in 2024 by only three seats. The party of the president historically loses House seats in the first midterm election, and Trump's approval ratings have sagged since he took office in January.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Top White House officials turn to public appearances with troops as a tense Washington watches
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump's law-enforcement crackdown on Washington expanded Wednesday and top administration officials visited National Guard troops to support a deployment that has left parts of the US capital looking like occupied territory. Anger and frustration dotted the city as the vice president lauded an operation that he asserted has 'brought some law and order back.' The tense situation, which began more than a week ago when Trump took control of the local police department, appeared primed for escalating confrontations between residents who say they feel under siege and federal forces carrying out the president's vision of militarized law enforcement in Democratic cities. Other residents have said they welcome the federal efforts as a way to cut crime and bolster safety. As Trump ratcheted up the pressure, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared burgers with soldiers at the city's main railroad hub as demonstrators gathered nearby. The appearance, a striking scene that also included White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, illustrated the Republican administration's intense dedication to an initiative that has polarized the Democratic-led city. Vance told the troops assembled in the Union Station Shake Shack that 'you guys are doing a helluva job' and 'we brought some law and order back.' While protest chants echoed through the restaurant, he rejected polling that shows city residents don't support the National Guard deployment as a solution to crime. Someone booed Vance loudly and repeatedly as he left. The vice president grinned and said, 'This is the guy who thinks people don't deserve law and order in their own community.' Trump has already suggested replicating his approach to D.C. in other cities, such as Chicago and Baltimore. He previously deployed the National Guard and the Marines in Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. Swaths of the city are on edge In the seven months since Trump took office for the second time, the traditionally liberal city of Washington has buckled under his more aggressive presidency. Thousands of federal employees have been laid off, landmark institutions like the Smithsonian are being overhauled on grounds of doctrine, and local leaders have been increasingly wary of angering the commander-in-chief. Now parts of the city are bristling with resentment over Trump's approach. Spectators chanted ' free D.C. ' at a soccer game. Residents share sightings of immigration agents to help migrants steer clear. In the Columbia Heights neighborhood, crowds jeered federal officers and flipped middle fingers as they drove away. On some nights, people bang pots and pans outside their front doors in a cacophonous display of defiance. Less than a mile from the US Capitol, an armored National Guard vehicle collided with a civilian car in the early morning on Wednesday, trapping the driver inside until emergency crews arrived. The massive military transport, designed to withstand improvised explosive devices in war zones, towered over the crushed silver sport utility vehicle. Bystanders gathered. 'You come to our city and this is what you do? Seriously?' a woman yelled at the troops in a video posted online. More troops have been arriving in the city, many from six Republican-led states. An estimated 1,900 are being deployed in total, with most posted in downtown areas like the National Mall, metro stations and near the park where baseball's Washington Nationals play. In addition, federal officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies have circulated through D.C. to make arrests. Col. Larry Doane, the commander of the joint task force in the D.C. National Guard, said they're trying to provide 'an extra set of eyes and ears' for police and 'helping them maintain control of the situation.' 'This is our community, too,' Doane said. That's not how D.C. native LaVerne Smalls, 46, feels. 'It's very different. It's very quiet,' she said. 'And I don't like it. It should be full of life.' Smalls knows D.C. has struggled with crime, but she didn't used to feel worried walking around. 'I feel even more threatened,' she said. 'And I think that's how they want us to feel.' The actions from law enforcement have occasionally veered beyond safety and crime reduction and into regulating expression. Over the weekend, masked agents took down a profane protest banner in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood — to the apparent delight of the administration, which posted a video of the incident online. 'We're taking America back, baby,' one of the agents said in the video. Corey Frayer, 42, who lives nearby, said 'that sends a message.' 'Mt. Pleasant has always been a very activist, outspoken neighborhood,' he said. 'And I think they think if they can show up here and scare us, then they'll have done their job.' Arrests are increasing as local officials navigate the situation The White House said more than 550 people have been arrested so far, and the US Marshals are offering $500 rewards for information leading to additional arrests. 'Together, we will make DC safe again!' Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media. City statistics show crime was already declining before Trump's intervention, despite his claims of a crisis necessitating the federal takeover of the D.C. police department. The number of people arrested each day in Washington has increased by about 20 percent since the government began sending in a surge of federal agents, according to law enforcement data. On average, there were 78 people booked in the city jail in the first 10 days, compared to 64 in the 10 days before that. Those numbers don't include immigration arrests, though they do include arrests by both local police and federal officers, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss data that has not been publicly released. Policing experts say it's tough to draw firm conclusions over such a short period of time, especially since increases in police presence can relocate crime instead of preventing it. Extending federal control of the city police department would require congressional approval, but Vance suggested the decision ultimately rests with Trump. 'If the president of the United States thinks that he has to extend this order to ensure that people have access to public safety, that's exactly what he'll do,' he said. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged the militarized backdrop in the city as she attended a back-to-school event with teachers and staff. She said it's important that children 'have joy when they approach this school year,' which starts on Monday. Those early overtures didn't stop Trump's executive order or his increasingly disparaging rhetoric about the city's leadership. Bowser has been measured but directly critical of the federal operation, saying officers should not be wearing masks and arguing that the National Guard should not be used for law enforcement. 'I don't think you should have an armed militia in the nation's capital,' she said. Meanwhile, the skewer-everyone cartoon television show ' South Park,' which has leaned into near-real-time satire in recent years, this week made the federal crackdown fodder for a new episode. This year, the show's 27th-season premiere mocked the president's body in a raunchy manner and depicted him sharing a bed with Satan.
