Trump warned he would have to sell Mar-a-Lago, setting off ‘second-tier' rant against ally Hawley over stock bill
On Wednesday, Trump attacked Hawley, a Republican ally from Missouri, calling him a 'second-tier' senator after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed his legislation to ban members of Congress and other federal elected officials as well as their spouses from trading stocks.
Hawley spoke to Business Insider' s Bryan Metzger and The New York Sun's Matt Rice and said that other Republican senators told Trump that the president would need to sell his Mar-a-Lago property under the legislation.
'What he said is that he had a number of people call him and say that the bill had been changed at the last minute to force him to sell Mar-a-Lago and his assets, which is, of course, totally false,' Hawley said, adding: 'It exempts them.'
The legislation would only require members to sell their stocks when their next term began, which Chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized during deliberation of the bill, since he said it should also apply to Trump.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) also criticized the legislation and tried to include a stipulation to investigate former House speaker Nancy Pelosi 's stock trading.
That meant that the legislation passed through committee with Hawley being the only Republican who supported the legislation.
'When we walked through the text of the bill, he was like 'oh, okay,'' Hawley said. 'And I said 'your assets are all protected. I mean, it doesn't apply. It applies to the next president.' So, yeah. He finished by saying 'you're exonerated Josh, we love you.''
Members of both parties ardently support legislation banning members from trading stocks. Sens. Elisabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) all support some version of it. In the House of Representatives, Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) support similar legislation.
But it has failed to get off the ground for many years. Hawley had sought to entice Republicans to support his bill by calling it the PELOSI Act. It was later renamed the HONEST Act and Pelosi, who still serves in the House of Representatives, later came out in favor of it.
'The HONEST Act, as amended, rightly applies its stock trading ban not only to Members of Congress, but now to the President and Vice President as well,' she said. 'I strongly support this legislation and look forward to voting for it on the Floor of the House.
Despite the fact the bill made it out of committee, it will likely not make it to the floor of the Senate any time soon. The Senate will break for recess after this week. And when Congress returns, it will have to pass spending bills to avoid a shutdown. In addition, the Senate is going into overtime to move through Trump's nominations.
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Reuters
6 minutes ago
- Reuters
German finance minister to push for steel quotas on Washington trip
BERLIN, Aug 4 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil will advocate for a quota system on steel exports to be included in the EU's trade deal with the United States at a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Scott Bessent, later on Monday, he told a radio broadcaster. "There is talk of a quota system for steel, and it would be good if there were one," Klingbeil told Deutschlandfunk radio on Monday before his planned meeting in Washington. There are a number of chapters that have not yet been finalised in the trade deal struck, said Klingbeil, and steel is a particularly important issue for the German economy and jobs. "I will test out what steps the American government is prepared to take and what the solution might look like," said Klingbeil, even though the EU is responsible for negotiations. The EU's trade deal with Trump in July was greeted with a mix of relief and anger, with tariffs set at 15% for most products but negotiations continuing for certain sectors, including steel and aluminium, which carry tariffs of 50%. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had said on Friday the EU will negotiate with the United States on steel, with a focus on quotas that can be exported without too high tariffs. Klingbeil also urged quick clarification of other outstanding details in the trade dispute, including the investments promised by the EU and in the energy sector. "It should happen in the next few days," he said.
The Guardian
12 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘He has trouble completing a thought': bizarre public appearances again cast doubt on Trump's mental acuity
Donald Trump's frequently bizarre public appearances, which this month have seen the president claim, wrongly, that his uncle knew the Unabomber and rant unprompted about windmills on his recent trip to the UK, have once again raised questions about his mental acuity, experts say. For more than a year Trump, 79, has exhibited odd behavior at campaign events, in interviews, in his spontaneous remarks and at press conferences. The president repeatedly drifts off topic, including during a cabinet meeting this month when he spent 15 minutes talking about decorating, and appears to misremember simple facts about his government and his life. During his presidency, Joe Biden was subjected to intense speculation over his mental acuity – including from Trump. After Biden's disastrous debate performance in June 2024, when he repeatedly struggled to maintain his train of thought, scrutiny over Biden's fitness eventually led to him not running for re-election. Trump, however, has largely been saved the same examination, despite examples of confusion and unusual behavior that have continued throughout his second term and were on full display on his recent trip to the UK. Over the weekend Trump, during a meeting with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, abruptly switched from discussing immigration to saying this: 'The other thing I say to Europe: we've – we will not allow a windmill to be built in the United States. They're killing us. They're killing the beauty of our scenery.' Trump proceeded to speak, non-stop and unprompted, for two minutes about windmills, claiming without evidence that they drive whales 'loco' and that wind energy 'kills the birds' (the proportion of birds killed by turbines is tiny compared with the amount killed by domestic cats and from flying into power lines). The abrupt changes in conversation are an example of Trump 'digressing without thinking – he'll just switch topics without self-regulation, without having a coherent narrative', said Harry Segal, a senior lecturer in the psychology department at Cornell University and in the psychiatry department at Weill Cornell Medicine. For years, Trump has batted away questions about his mental acuity, describing himself as a 'stable genius' and bragging about 'acing' exams – later revealed to be very simple tests – which check for early signs of dementia. But Democrats have begun to more aggressively question the president's fitness, including Jasmine Crockett, the representative from Texas, and California's governor, Gavin Newsom, and this week alone offered multiple examples of Trump exhibiting odd conduct. Asked about the famine in Gaza on Sunday, Trump seemed unable to remember the aid the US has given to Gaza, and forget that others had also contributed. Trump claimed the US gave $60m 'two weeks ago'. He added: 'You really at least want to have somebody say thank you. No other country gave anything. 'Nobody acknowledged it, nobody talks about it and it makes you feel a little bad when you do that and you know you have other countries not giving anything, none of the European countries by the way gave – I mean nobody gave but us.' Trump seemed to not realize or remember that other countries have given money to Gaza – the UK announced a £60m ($80m) package in July, and the European Union has allocated €170m ($195m) in aid. And the Guardian could not find any record of the US giving $60m to Gaza two weeks ago. In June, the US state department approved a $30m grant to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a group backed by Israeli and US interests which has been criticized by Democrats as 'connected to deadly violence against starving people seeking food in Gaza'. The White House did not respond to questions about Trump's claimed $60m donation. Segal said another characteristic of Trump's questionable mental acuity is confabulation. 'It's where he takes an idea or something that's happened and he adds to it things that have not happened.' A high-profile example came in mid-July, when Trump claimed his uncle, the late professor John Trump, had taught Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, at MIT. Trump recalled: 'I said: 'What kind of a student was he, Uncle John? Dr John Trump.' I said: 'What kind of a student?' And then he said: 'Seriously, good.' He said: 'He'd correct – he'd go around correcting everybody.' But it didn't work out too well for him.' The problem is: that cannot possibly be true. First, Trump's uncle died in 1985, and Kaczynski was only publicly identified as the Unabomber in 1996. Second, Kaczynski did not study at MIT. 'The story makes no sense whatsoever, but it's told in a very warm, reflective way, as if he's remembering it,' Segal said. 'This level of thinking really has been deteriorating.' Aside from the confabulation, there have been times when Trump seems unable to focus. During the 2024 campaign there was the bizarre sight of Trump spending 40 minutes swaying to music onstage after a medical emergency at one of his campaign rallies. Trump's rambling speeches during his campaign – he would frequently drift between topics in a technique he described as 'the weave' – also drew scrutiny. The White House removed official transcripts of Trump's remarks from its website in May, claiming it was part of an effort to 'maintain consistency'. It is worth reading Trump's remarks in full, however, to get a sense of how the president speaks on a day-to-day basis. At the beginning of July, Trump was asked, 'What is the next campaign promise that you plan to fulfill to the American people?' He then rambled about meeting foreign leaders and removing regulations, adding: Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion I got rid of – just one I got rid of the other night, you buy a house, they have a faucet in the house, Joe, and the faucet the water doesn't come out. They have a restrictor. You can't – in areas where you have so much water they don't know what to do with it. Uh, you have a shower head the shower doesn't uh, the shower doesn't, you think it's not working. It is working. The water's dripping out and that's no good for me. I like this hair lace and [sic] – I like that hair nice and wet. Takes you – you have to stand in the shower for 20 minutes before you get the soap out of your hair. And I put a, a thing – and it sounds funny but it's really not. It's horrible. And uh, when you wash your hands, you turn on the faucet, no water comes out. You're washing whole – water barely comes out it's ridi – this was done by crazy people. And I wor – wrote it all off and got it approved in Congress so that they can't just change it.' 'Any fair-minded mental-health expert would be very worried about Donald Trump's performance,' Richard A Friedman, a professor of clinical psychiatry and the director of the psychopharmacology clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, wrote in the Atlantic, after a stumbling performance from Trump in his debate against Kamala Harris last September. He added: 'If a patient presented to me with the verbal incoherence, tangential thinking, and repetitive speech that Trump now regularly demonstrates, I would almost certainly refer them for a rigorous neuropsychiatric evaluation to rule out a cognitive illness.' At a recent cabinet meeting called to discuss the flooding tragedy in Texas, the war in Ukraine and Gaza, the bombing of Iran, and global tariffs, Trump went on a 13-minute monologue about how he had decorated the cabinet meeting room. After talking about paintings which he said he had personally selected from 'the vaults', Trump said. 'Look at those frames, you know, I'm a frame person, sometimes I like frames more than I like the pictures,' and added he had overseen the cleaning of some china. As department heads, including the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, waited to be dismissed so they could go and do their jobs, Trump continued: Here we put out – you know these, these lamps have been very important actually, whether people love them or not but they're if you see pictures like Pearl Harbor or Tora! Tora! Tora!, you see movies about the White House where wars are being discussed, oftentimes they'll show those lamps or something like those lamps, something that looks like them. Probably not the reals, because I don't think they're allowed to – this is a very important room, this is a sacred room, and I don't think they made movies from here. You never know what they do. But they were missing, er, medallions. See the medallions on top? They had a chain going into the ceiling. And I said: 'You can't do that. You have to have a medallion.' They said, 'What's a medallion?' I said: 'I'll show you.' And then we got some beautiful medallions, and you see them, they were put up there, makes the lamps look [inaudible] so we did these changes. And when you think of it, the cost was almost nothing. We also painted the room a nice color, beige color, and it's been really something. The only question is, will I gold-leaf the corners? You could maybe tell me. My cabinet could take a vote. You see the top-line moldings, and the only question is do you go and leaf it? Because you can't paint it, if you paint it it won't look good because they've never found a paint that looks like gold. You see that in the Oval Office. Er, they've tried for years and years. Somebody could become very wealthy, but they've never found a paint that looks like gold. So painting is easy but it won't look right.' The White House pushes back aggressively on the issue of Trump's mental fitness. 'The Guardian is a left-wing mouthpiece that should be embarrassed to pass off deranged resistance leftists as 'experts'. Anyone pathetic enough to defend Biden's mental state – while being labeled as unethical by their peers – has zero credibility. President Trump's mental sharpness is second to none and he is working around the clock to secure amazing deals for the American people,' said White House spokesperson Liz Huston. So do his political allies. 'As President Trump's former personal physician, former physician to the president, and White House physician for 14 years across three administrations, I can tell you unequivocally: President Donald J Trump is the healthiest president this nation has ever seen. I continue to consult with his current physician and medical team at the White House and still spend significant time with the president. He is mentally and physically sharper than ever before,' said congressman Ronny Jackson. In April, Trump's White House physician, Dr Sean Barbabella, wrote that the president 'exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the commander-in-chief and head of state'. He said Trump was assessed for cognitive function, which was normal. That report hasn't stopped people from questioning Trump's mental acuity. 'What we see are the classic signs of dementia, which is gross deterioration from someone's baseline and function,' John Gartner, a psychologist and author who spent 28 years as an assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University Medical School, said in June. 'If you go back and look at film from the 1980s, [Trump] actually was extremely articulate. He was still a jerk, but he was able to express himself in polished paragraphs, and now he really has trouble completing a thought and that is a huge deterioration.' Gartner, who during Trump's first term co-founded Duty to Warn, a group of mental health professionals who believed Trump had the personality disorder malignant narcissism, warned: 'I predicted before the election that he would probably fall off the cliff before the end of his term. And at the rate he is deteriorating, you know … we'll see. 'But the point is that it's going to get worse. That's my prediction.' The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post See our guide at for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each.
The Herald Scotland
14 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Who will win Senate majority in 2026? These are 11 key races to watch.
Heading into 2026, congressional Republicans look to keep their legislative advantage but face the challenge of precedent. Often, the party that does not hold the White House - Democrats, currently - fares better in midterm congressional elections. In need of a pick me up after last year's bruising presidential and congressional elections, Democrats are trying to flip the upper chamber back to blue by winning a handful of states scattered from the South to the Great Lakes. More: What to expect when you're expecting a GOP trifecta For their part, Republicans trying to defend their majority in next November's races must first weather some base-splitting primaries, in which established GOP incumbents hope to hold on against challengers from inside their own party. Here are 11 Senate races to watch across the country heading into the 2026 midterm elections. 1. North Carolina More: Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announces run for Senate in a win for Democrats North Carolina's two-term senior senator, Republican Thom Tillis, announced in June he would not be seeking reelection. His news, which Tillis called "not a hard choice," came as debates over Trump's sweeping tax, spending and policy bill engulfed Congress and pitted GOP members against one another. The news was music to Democrats' ears. Already a top target for the liberal party in next year's midterms, the North Carolina race was set to be one of the most competitive Senate battles in 2026, even with Tillis on the ballot. More: After Lara Trump opts out, president endorses RNC Chair Whatley for NC Senate race Now, the open seat has attracted high-profile contenders on both sides of the aisle. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, announced his campaign formally on July 28, following weeks of speculation. On the Republican side, Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law and former co-chair of the Republican National Committee, said she considered jumping in. However, after she announced July 24 she would not run for the seat in North Carolina, President Trump gave his backing to Republican National Committee chair and former North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley. Primary elections in the state will be held March 3. 2. Michigan In Michigan, another retiring incumbent has set the stage for a toss-up race next year. Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat, announced in January he would not seek a third term representing the Great Lakes State in the Senate. More: Michigan's Gary Peters won't run for US Senate reelection next year His absence leaves the race open for either party's taking. Republican Mike Rogers, a former congressman with Trump's endorsement, is his party's expected nominee. Rogers ran in 2024, narrowly losing to Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Among Democrats, Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow lead the pack of 2026 candidates. Primary elections in the state will be held Aug. 4, 2026. 3. Georgia Georgia's Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff must fend off a pack of conservative lawmakers in order to hang onto his seat in 2026. Alongside fellow Georgia Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock, Ossoff's win in a Jan. 2021 runoff election secured him a first term in Congress and his party a chamber majority. Once again, his race will be key in determining whether Democrats win control of the Senate. Republicans looking to unseat him include Rep. Buddy Carter, a former pharmacist who represents the Savannah area. Carter was first to throw his red hat in the ring. But others, including Rep. Mike Collins, have since joined the contest. Both Carter and Collins are coveting Trump's support, an endorsement that could carry weight with Georgia's deep red electorate pockets. Georgia's primary elections are set for May 19. 4. Texas Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn stands a good chance of winning a fifth term against a Democratic challenger next November, in the red-leaning Lone Star State. But first, he must make it through what is promising to be a tough primary against the state's attorney general, Ken Paxton. Cornyn has served in the Senate since 2002, but early polls showed him down double digits to Paxton. More: Texas AG Ken Paxton's wife files for divorce 'on biblical grounds' National Republicans have expressed concern that Paxton, who has faced indictments, impeachment and, more recently, a very public divorce, could cost the GOP their safely held Texas seat in a general election. Democrat and former Rep. Colin Allred, who ran unsuccessfully against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, has announced his campaign for 2026. Texas state Rep. James Talarico has said he is "seriously considering" a run as well. More: Former congressman Colin Allred launches 2026 campaign for US Senate Primary elections in the Lone Star State are scheduled for March 3. 5. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, has also drawn a GOP challenger in his 2026 bid for reelection. Paul Dans, the original author of Project 2025, a sweeping conservative agenda to overhaul the federal government, announced his entrance into the race at an event in Charleston July 30. More: Lindsey Graham gets Republican challenger: Project 2025 author to announce Senate bid The primary contest will likely pit MAGA voters in the Palmetto State against one another. Though Graham has previously been a regular target of criticism from Trump - displeased by the lawmaker at times breaking from the GOP leader - he is currently an ally to the president and has already received Trump's "complete and total endorsement." Dans' primary challenge will be an uphill battle. Should Graham come out on top, he is heavily favored to win a fifth term representing the Palmetto State. A pack of Democrats are vying to face Graham or Dans in the general, though South Carolina is generally considered a safely red seat. Both party primaries will be held June 9. 6. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is about to wrap her fifth term in the Senate, and while she has yet to formally announce her bid for reelection, many colleagues expect her to run again. Her position as one of the upper chamber's most independent voices has kept her in favor, and in office, with her left-leaning state, though Democrats still see this upcoming race as one of their top pick-up opportunities if two-term Gov. Janet Mills decides to run. Collins has garnered a reputation for being one of the few congressional Republicans willing to tell Trump no. She voted against two of his major legislative priorities this summer - a sweeping tax and spending bill, as well as a $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid funding - and has openly criticized some of the president's nominees. More: 'See you in court.' Trump, Maine governor clash in tense exchange at White House Willingness to oppose Trump typically comes with the president's full public ire - and often a MAGA-aligned primary opponent. However, Collins is the only Republican senator to have won a state in which Democrats won the popular vote in 2024. Her unique position seems to, at least for now, have kept Trump from speaking out against who many view as the GOP's best chance to keep their seat in Maine. Several Democratic candidates have announced campaigns against Collins, including David Costello, who ran unsuccessfully against Maine's Independent Sen. Angus King in 2024. All eyes are most focused on Mills, the state governor who has also tussled with Trump but hasn't yet said if she will run. Maine will have its primaries on June 9. 7. Minnesota Minnesota's Democratic Sen. Tina Smith announced earlier this year her plan to retire at the end of her current term, calling the decision "entirely personal." With the state's blue tilt, Smith's seat has a good chance of staying in Democrats' hands. More: 'Entirely personal': Democrat Tina Smith to not seek reelection in 2026 Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Annie Craig are among the frontrunners for their party's nomination. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' running mate, opted back in February not to run for Senate. On the Republican side, former NBA player Royce White is running again, after losing his bid against Sen. Amy Klobuchar in 2024. Former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze has also announced his campaign for the GOP nomination. The Minnesota primaries will be held Aug. 11. 8. Ohio The Buckeye State represents one of Democrats' few pick up opportunities, and even then it will not be an easy flip. Republican Sen. Jon Husted was picked by Ohio's governor to fill the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance at the start of the year, and Husted will be on the ballot next November to keep his spot. Ohio has become reliably red in recent years, making the fight to flip it tough for Democrats. Their best shot likely is former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his bid for reelection last year to Sen. Bernie Moreno. Axios reported that Brown met with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in late July, as part of the top Senate Democrat's efforts to lobby Brown to run again. 9. New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire announced she would not be seeking another term in 2026 either. Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who launched his campaign in April, is widely seen as a strong contender to succeed Shaheen. More: Former GOP Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown running for Senate in New Hampshire Republican Scott Brown, a former Massachusetts senator and ex-ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa under Trump's first term, is among a handful of candidates competing on the GOP side. Like Minnesota, Cook Political Report has rated New Hampshire's race leaning Democrat. 10. Iowa In Iowa, Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican, has the advantage, with Cook Political Report rating her race likely Republican. Three Democrats so far have launched bids in hopes of beating those odds: Nathan Sage, the former chamber of commerce director from Knoxville; state Rep. J.D. Scholten; and state Sen. Zach Wahls. More: Iowa Democratic Rep. and minor league pitcher J.D. Scholten to run against Sen. Joni Ernst Trump's sweeping tax, spending and policy bill, passed into law earlier this summer, is expected to be a defining issue in Iowa's race. Ernst was one of 50 Senate Republicans who voted in favor of the legislation, which her Democratic opponents decried as a move "to gut Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of Iowa children and families." The primary in Iowa is scheduled for June 2. 11. Nebraska Nebraska is widely seen as a Republican stronghold with incumbent GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts, though there could be a surprisingly competitive race in 2026 with Independent candidate Dan Osborn jumping back into a statewide election. More: Nebraska independent Dan Osborn could be poised to shake up U.S. Senate Osborn came within seven percentage points of beating Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024, a closer-than-expected margin in the GOP-dominated state. Osborn, a former labor leader, is a registered Independent but received campaign contributions from Democrats in his last campaign (money he told NBC he did not ask for). Ricketts, a former Nebraska governor and part owner with his family of the Chicago Cubs, is running for a full term after being appointed to the job in January of 2023 upon the resignation of Republican Sen. Ben Sasse.
