Latest news with #TrumpCampaign
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
FBI to probe effort to impersonate top Trump advisor
The FBI is investigating an effort by one or more unknown people to access the personal phone of Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, sources told the BBC's US news partner key Trump ally told people that her phone had been hacked after a impersonator - or impersonators - used her contacts file to message other top US officials, sources told recipients of the messages raised suspicions after they were asked if they could continue a conversation in another platform, such as Telegram."The White House takes the cybersecurity of all staff very seriously, and this matter continues to be investigated," a White House spokesperson said. The period of time over which the messages were received is unknown. The Wall Street Journal first reported the incident and the FBI probe launched in impersonation was targeted at her personal phone, not government phone, the Wall Street Journal reported. It also reported that the recipients included US senators, governors and top business is the first female White House chief of staff and was seen as a key architect of US President Donald Trump's re-election is not the first time she has been at the centre of concerns around year, three members of a cyber espionage unit associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards - a powerful branch of Iran's armed forces - were indicted for launching cyber attacks on the Trump campaign team, which Susie Wiles to the latest incident, FBI director said in a statement to CBS News: "The FBI takes all threats against the President, his staff, and our cybersecurity with the utmost seriousness; safeguarding our administration officials' ability to securely communicate to accomplish the President's mission is a top priority."
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Trump's Aviation Company Earned $18 Million From His Campaign Apparatus—After It Received $13 Million From The Secret Service
The Secret Service has paid about $13 million for air travel since 2016 to Donald Trump's political campaigns and fundraising committees—which then paid his private aviation company, Tag Air, $18 million, underscoring how Trump's political operation can generate revenue, including from the taxpayers, for his business empire. The Secret Service has paid Trump's political committees about $13 million for air travel since 2016, a spokesperson confirmed to Forbes, to cover the costs of having the security detail travel with Trump. Federal Election Commission data from Trump's committees, which runs through Dec. 31, list $10.4 million in payments and about another $5 million in outstanding bills, and the Secret Service says the difference probably involves invoices paid after Dec. 31 as well as those it might not have processed yet. Trump's political entities have paid his aviation company, Tag Air, $18 million for flights since 2016. Secret Service payments to past presidential campaigns include $830,000 to Kamala Harris, $3.1 million to Joe Biden, $8.8 million to Hillary Clinton, $4.1 million to Barack Obama, $1.8 million to Mitt Romney and $2.6 million to John McCain. Those earlier campaigns, however, do not appear to have passed the funds on to companies the candidates own. A spokesperson for the White House declined to comment on the record, while a representative from the Trump Organization did not respond to an inquiry. Trump maintains control over and can profit from his businesses through a revocable trust—a structure he also used during his first term—of which he is both the sole donor and sole beneficiary. The trustee is Donald Trump Jr. Through his trust, Trump owns 100% of Tag Air. In an April 2025 court filing in the United Kingdom, the Trump Organization confirmed Trump still oversees his business interests. The Secret Service reimburses campaigns for travel when agents accompany protected candidates (it is also legal for campaigns to patronize the candidate's businesses). 'In such cases, the agency reimburses associated costs in accordance with federal regulations,' a spokesperson for the Secret Service said in a statement. 'Once reviewed and approved, invoices are processed and paid.' While the agency sets rates, the Government Accountability Office reported in 2018 that payments should not exceed the cost of first-class airfare—and found that Trump's 2016 campaign submitted incomplete and duplicate invoices, which the agency paid without dispute. It's unclear whether all of the Secret Service payments covered flights aboard Trump's personal aircraft or if some involved planes chartered from other providers. Trump is no longer flying on Tag Air—as president, he uses the government-funded Air Force One—so this revenue stream for Tag Air is closed. But Trump still has some money coming his way: his political committees owe Tag Air $160,000, according to FEC filings. The next round of disclosures, which could reveal new payments, is due at the end of July.. While Trump profiting from his campaigns and presidencies has been a decade-long story, the scale has exploded during his second term, fueled by three new ways—Trump Media & Technology Group, World Liberty Financial and the $TRUMP meme coin—that allow supporters to buy into Trump-branded ventures with few concrete benefits in return. Thursday night, for example, Trump hosted a dinner at his D.C.-area golf club for top investors in his meme coin, a group who have collectively thrown hundreds of millions of dollars at his cryptocurrency. $33,846,072.69. That's the total amount the Secret Service has paid to political committees since 2003, according to FEC records. Trump's Boeing 757, the same jet often used on the campaign trail, was previously owned by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. Trump customized it with touches like 24-karat gold-plated seatbelt buckles. A 2024 report by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee found the Secret Service spent at least $1.4 million at Trump-owned properties during his first term—often paying above authorized per diem rates—and called that figure likely just a fraction of total agency spending at his businesses. For comparison, the agency paid Joe Biden about $172,000 between 2011 and 2023, largely for renting office space at his Wilmington, Delaware, home, with payments apparently ending in 2017, according to the Secret Service's response to Forbes' Freedom of Information Act request. Forbes estimates Donald Trump's net worth at approximately $5.3 billion, with the bulk of his wealth tied to his stake in Trump Media & Technology Group. Trump Businesses Hauled In $317,000 From RNC In March—Even As Crypto Ventures Soar (Forbes) Trump Store Debuts Merchandise Collection Pegged To Election Victory (Forbes) Trump Media Warns Of 'Material Weakness' In Financial Controls (Forbes) Trump's New Jersey Golf Clubs Can Keep Selling Alcohol—For Now—Despite President's Felony Conviction. Here's Why. (Forbes) Trump Store Touts 'Presidential Gold Note' As Tariffs Rattle Markets And Gold Prices Soar (Forbes) Trump Breaks Tradition By Redirecting Inaugural Swag Funds To His PAC (Forbes) Trump's Golf Courses Keep Pushing Legal Boundaries With Presidential Seal Markers (Forbes)
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
'HE IS SO PATHETIC!' Joe Concha SLAMS James Comey For 'Teenage Girl' Response to Alleged Trump Social Media Threat
Joe Concha, Fox News Contributor and author of the new book The Greatest Comeback Ever: Inside Trump's Big Beautiful Campaign , joined The Guy Benson Show today to weigh in on Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' the likelihood of its passage, and why Speaker Mike Johnson has done a surprisingly strong job corralling Republican support. Concha also dove into the latest revelations about President Biden's cognitive decline, arguing that his book underscores the irony of Democrats having counted Trump out too soon while Biden was in too long. He previewed his new book further, touching on the Trump assassination attempts, the MSG rally, and other campaign flashpoints and pushed back on former FBI Director James Comey's strange claim that his '8647' Instagram post had no deeper meaning. Listen to the full interview below! Listen to the full interview below: Listen to the full podcast below:
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Exact moment of Kamala Harris' blistering split with Joe Biden revealed in bombshell new book
was furious after Joe Biden put on a hat endorsing Donald Trump for president during her presidential campaign. A new book by CNN 's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson details the struggles the Biden-Harris team had with each other as Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential campaign and ultimately endorsed Harris to take his place After Biden dropped out of the race in July, the Harris campaign distanced themself from the president even as he was anxious to get on the road and help her win according to Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. But one event in particular reportedly incensed Harris and her team who were running neck and neck with former President Trump in the latter part of the campaign. Biden met with a group of volunteer firefighters as part of his presidential duties during a commemoration of the 9/11 terror attacks in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The president got into a conversation with an elderly man wearing a Trump 2024 hat and autographed the hat when he was asked. When someone in the hat shouted that Biden should put on the hat, he obliged, earning applause and cheers from the crowd. The Trump team couldn't believe it. 'Thanks for the support, Joe!' the Trump campaign playfully wrote on social media, sharing photos of the moment. 'What is he doing?' Harris asked her team, according to the book. 'This is completely unhelpful. And so unnecessary.' The Harris campaign decided they would no longer campaign with Biden in the future, as they were trying to emphasize her leadership qualities and push the president into the background. No matter how hard they tried to sideline Biden, he continued making news that the Harris campaign considered unhelpful. In October, Biden told supporters 'we got to lock him up,' when talking about former President Donald Trump, at a time when Trump and his supporters were accusing Biden and Harris of 'lawfare' to remove him from the presidential race. Later that month, Biden also referred to President Trump's supporters as 'garbage,' which the campaign famously branded as an insult to working class Americans. 'That's terrible. Remember Hillary? She said 'deplorable.' And then she said 'irredeemable,' right?…' Trump asked at a rally as he paraded into the event in a Trump brand garbage truck. 'That didn't work out. 'Garbage' I think is worse, right?' The Harris team struggled mightily with Biden from the very beginning of the race. When Biden made his decision to drop out of his reelection campaign he told Harris he wanted to wait a week before endorsing his vice president. The president phoned Harris to inform her of his decision and said he wanted Harris to run in his place. But when the president's team emailed her a draft of Biden's planned statement, she grew alarmed after it contained no endorsement of her for president, Tapper and Thompson write. According to the book, Harris spoke with Biden to express her concern, but the president explained he wanted to wait to endorse her until his official announcement in the Oval Office the following week. The president's aides Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti reportedly explained they and the president wanted Biden's statement to stand on its own. But Harris wouldn't budge. 'That open airtime will be filled with speculation about why you're not endorsing your own vice president. It will cripple our ability to get off to a strong start,' she told Biden. They later conceded to Harris' wishes. Biden would announce his departure from the race and he would endorse Harris in a separate statement later in the afternoon. Twenty-seven minutes after Biden dropped his bombshell announcement he followed up by endorsing Harris. 'My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it's been the best decision I've made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,' he wrote. Even though Biden endorsed Harris, there were many on his team who did not think she could actually win, the book notes. Harris was notoriously protective of her personal political brand and frequently turned down requests from the president's team to assist the president. Original Sin confirms Harris was distrustful of the president's team as she felt they were setting her up for failure by assigning her politically toxic issues for her to handle such as the migrant crisis.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump adds a new piece of art to the Oval Office - a statue of himself moments after the assassination attempt in Butler
President Donald Trump has a miniature statue on display in the Oval Office, depicting the moments immediately after he survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. The statue, complete with the Secret Service agents who bundled the president to the ground, captures the moment Trump raised his fist in the air and shouted, 'fight, fight, fight,' after he was struck by shooter Matthew Thomas Crooks' bullet on July 13 last year. The figure was created by sculptor Stan Watts and 'symbolizes the divine intervention as well as the man and his message of unity and resilience for which America stands,' according to the Trump Statue Project's website. Photographs of the statue emerged Friday while Trump was signing legislation about household consumer energy policies in the Oval Office. There are plans to create a 9-foot-tall version in bronze in the works, according to the project's website. The site asks for contributions ranging from $10, which will earn donors a vote on the location of where the statue will be permanently installed, to $25,000 to receive a limited quarter-life-size bronze replica. Contributors who give $4,500 will receive a 12-inch sculpture. 'These sculptures are the same one's [sic] being offered to big money donors to The Trump Campaign,' the site says. It is one of the latest additions spotted in the Oval Office, which has had a major makeover since Trump's predecessor, former President Joe Biden, left office. Gold is a strong theme, with eagles and medallions decorating the fireplace. Trump's Georgia mug shot also hangs just outside the Oval Office, The president has also tripled the number of pictures of his predecessors on the walls, adding portraits of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan, amongst others.
