
Trump live: Mike Pence slams tariff plan in major intervention against former ally
Former Vice President Mike Pence has rebuked Donald Trump 's sweeping tariffs and the White House 's 'wavering support' for Ukraine in a bruising CNN interview.
A day after receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for his actions concerning the January 6 insurrection, Pence sat down with Kaitlin Collins Monday to deliver one of his most wide-ranging critiques of the president's second administration.
While the former vice president said he supports using tariffs to pressure China into trade talks, he argued Trump's broader levies on allies and trade partners will 'ultimately harm the American economy.'
Pence also expressed disappointment in Trump's support of Kyiv, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin 'doesn't want peace. He wants Ukraine' and that the Trump administration 'has only emboldened Russia.'
It came as Trump doubled down on his plans to resurrect Alcatraz as a prison after it had been shuttered for decades in an Oval Office press conference Monday. 'I mean, it represents something very strong, very powerful, in terms of law and order. Our country needs law and order,' he said.
Trump's former VP Mike Pence scorches president's sweeping tariffs
Donald Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence has the commander-in-chief's sweeping tariffs in a blistering CNN interview.
Pence sat down with Kaitlin Collins on Monday to deliver one of his most wide-ranging critiques of the president's second administration.
While the former vice president said he supports using tariffs to pressure China into trade talks, he argued Trump's broader levies on allies and trade partners will 'ultimately harm the American economy.'
'The administration is advancing policies that are not targeted at countries that have been abusing our trade relationship, but rather are essentially new industrial policy that will result in inflation, that will harm consumers and ultimately harm the American economy,' he said.
'My view always is free trade with free nations – that we ought to be engaging our trading partners across the free world to lower trade barriers, lower nontariff barriers and subsidies.'
Pence added that the U.S. 'ought to get tough' with authoritarian regimes
James Liddell6 May 2025 09:14
Trump announces Alcatraz reopening hours after 'Escape from Alcatraz' airing
Good morning and welcome to The Independent 's live blog.
During a Sunday evening blitz of social media posts, Donald Trump demanded that one of the most notorious prisons in American history be reopened.
Incidentally, the president's sudden push for the tourist destination of Alcatraz to once again become a maximum-security prison complex came just hours after a South Florida PBS station aired the 1979 classic film Escape from Alcatraz. The president spent the past weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort, which is located in Palm Beach.
During an Oval Office press conference Monday, the president was asked why he decided that he needed to resurrect Alcatraz as a prison after it had been shuttered for decades, prompting Trump to deliver a rambling response that included him touting his own cinematic vision.
'Well, I guess I was supposed to be a moviemaker,' Trump — who recently announced his intention to implement 100 percent tariffs on foreign films — declared
Justin Baragona has more:
Trump announced Alcatraz reopening hours after 'Escape from Alcatraz' aired on PBS
The 1979 film starring Clint Eastwood about the daring 1962 escape attempt aired on the local PBS channel just six hours before the president made his demand that the prison be reopened
James Liddell6 May 2025 09:10
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NBC News
39 minutes ago
- NBC News
Head of controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation refuses to reveal who funds it
TEL AVIV — The new executive chairman for the controversial American-backed humanitarian organization distributing aid in the Gaza Strip refused to reveal the donors who are financing the agency, though he did tell NBC News that to his knowledge the group is not funded by the Israeli government. Johnnie Moore, an evangelical Christian and former PR consultant who advised President Donald Trump during his first term, was appointed executive chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) last week as the organization reeled from the resignation of his predecessor. It has also faced criticism from the United Nations and aid groups for a lack of independence from Israel, which backs the organization along with the U.S. Since it started operating late last month, the group has set up aid distribution sites in Gaza in response to international pressure over serious malnutrition in Gaza, where Israel recently lifted an 11-week complete blockade on food, aid and medical supplies entering the enclave. But regular bouts of deadly violence in and around those sites has also brought increasing scrutiny on the GHF's source of funding and the degree of autonomy it has from Israel. In an exclusive interview with NBC News last week, Moore said it was 'a private foundation.' 'Like lots of private foundations, you know, it doesn't disclose its donors,' he said. 'Anything that we do and anything that we say publicly is going to distract from the mission, and we have one mission, just one mission, which is to feed Gazans.' Pressed on accusations that Israel was financing and controlling the organization, Moore said that 'based upon what I know, this is an independent initiative that is not funded by the Israeli government.' Other questions have also swirled around the GHF, even before it launched four aid distribution points in southern and central Gaza. A day before it began operations in the strip, Moore's predecessor Jake Wood resigned, saying in a letter published by Reuters that continuing to work with the group would compromise his 'neutrality, impartiality and independence.' United Nations agencies and major aid groups that previously ran hundreds of community kitchens and bakeries in the enclave have also refused to cooperate with it, saying it violates humanitarian principles by allowing Israel to decide who receives aid, forces widespread displacement in Gaza, and concentrates distribution in areas that may not be accessible to everyone. Setting up so few sites for food distribution meant crowd control problems were inevitable, according to Ciaran Donnelly, the senior vice president for international programs at the International Rescue Committee, which ran major relief operations in Gaza. 'No aid organization would recommend doing it that way,' he said. Inside Israel, as well, critics have questioned its independence. Last month in front of Israel's legislature, opposition leader Yair Lapid, without providing evidence, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of funding the GHF through foreign shell companies. And last week, citing unnamed public officials, Israel's public broadcaster, Kan, reported that the Israeli government had sent hundreds of millions of shekels to the group. Israel's government has repeatedly denied it funds the GHF. Any organization 'being used by occupying powers' would not be able to carry out its task according to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and independence, said Philip Grant, the executive director of TRIAL International, a Geneva-based nongovernmental organization that advocates for victims of war crimes. TRIAL International has called on the Swiss government to investigate GHF, whose only registered presence outside the U.S. is in Geneva. While the GHF has said it is working to open new sites, including in northern Gaza, no such distribution points have opened yet, forcing some Palestinians with advanced injuries and disabilities to walk long distances for aid — often through dangerous areas and extreme heat. Such onerous requirements for something as basic as food could amount to war crimes, Grant said, and could even lead to accusations that organizations like GHF are complicit. 'This operation comes with a huge risk in terms of violations of the Geneva Conventions,' Grant said. 'Especially the forced displacement of populations, which, if carried out, would be a participation in the war crime of enforced displacement of civilian population.'


The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Dan Bongino wants to move FBI training program from iconic Quantico HQ to Alabama: report
Leaders in the FBI are reportedly pushing to move one of the bureau's training programs from its headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, to Huntsville, Alabama, as part of President Donald Trump's desire to move federal agencies out of the Washington D.C. area. Dan Bongino, the FBI deputy director, has preliminarily proposed moving the FBI National Academy, a 10-week training academy for 250 domestic and international law enforcement officers, to Huntsville, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The FBI's training program for new bureau hires and other parts of its facilities, including the laboratory division, would remain at Quantico, people familiar with the discussion told The Post. While the proposal is still in preliminary stages, it aligns with Trump's April deadline asking agencies to create plans to move their headquarters from Washington D.C., to separate areas of the country to ' be where the people are.' However, the push to move to Huntsville, the most populous city in Alabama, has drawn criticism from some personnel who believe the move could be unjustifiably costly, The Post reported. While the FBI has operated at Redstone Arsenal, a U.S. Army base near downtown Huntsville, for decades, some expressed concern that sending hundreds of staff and agents to set up the training facility would require upgrades. 'If you look at FBI field offices, for example, you'll see many that are not located in downtown areas given the highly specialized nature of these facilities and their security requirements,' Norman Dong, the former Public Buildings Service commissioner under the Obama administration, told Federal News Network in April. 'In places like Atlanta or Sacramento, these FBI offices are located far outside of the central city,' Dong added. The FBI Academy is currently located in Quantico, a town in Prince William County, Virginia, which is approximately 35 miles outside of D.C. A spokesperson for the FBI said that any relocation options were being evaluated to determine if it could save the bureau money while also serving as a sufficient facility. Since Trump took office in January, the bureau has undergone significant changes, beginning with its leadership. Trump nominated Kash Patel to serve as FBI director despite Patel having a history of taking controversial pro-Trump stances. The president then tapped Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who became a popular right-wing podcaster, as deputy director. After Patel was sworn in, he said he would relocate roughly 1,000 staff and agents out of the D.C. office and said he'd move 500 people to the Huntsville facility so the FBI could have more of a presence in other cities. Trump proposed moving federal buildings and agencies outside of D.C. during his first administration, but the plan did not have immense success, in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Trump moved the Bureau of Land Management's headquarters from D.C. to Grand Junction, Colorado in 2019 so it could be closer to the land it manages. However, a review by the Biden administration found that the move caused more than 80 percent of the agency's employees to leave. Eventually, the headquarters were restored back to Washington D.C.


The Independent
39 minutes ago
- The Independent
Les Miserables actors drop out because Trump is attending show
President Trump and Vice President Vance, along with their wives, will attend a performance of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center, marking Trump 's first visit to the venue during his second term. Trump 's decision to assume control of the Kennedy Center, replacing previous leadership and vowing to eliminate 'woke' programming, has sparked controversy. In response to Trump 's involvement, some cast members of Les Misérables are expected to boycott the performance. Following Trump 's takeover, several high-profile performers and members resigned, and the center has experienced a significant drop in ticket sales, leading to canceled performances. Trump has expressed his fondness for Les Misérables, even suggesting the possibility of extending its run at the Kennedy Center, which is currently scheduled through July 13.