Latest news with #TrumpMeeting
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Merz Has Courted and Criticized Trump From Afar. Now They Meet
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has veered between boasting about common ground with Donald Trump to bemoaning the US president's volatility and even mocking his bravado. Now, for the first time, he gets to deal with him face to face. After nearly a month in office and following weeks of negotiations, the 69-year-old conservative will travel to Washington for his inaugural meeting with Trump on Thursday. Past meetings between the two countries' leaders have often been formalities to reinforce their unshakable postwar partnership: This time is different.
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Balance of Power: Early Edition 5/29/2025
On the early edition of Balance of Power, Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz discuss President Donald Trump's meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. On today's show, Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall, Former General Counsel for the Office of the United States Trade Representative Greta Peisch, Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis, Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress Senior Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino, Former Republican Congressman and Bloomberg Contributor Patrick McHenry. (Source: Bloomberg)
BreakingNews.ie
26-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Public expressed outrage at Conor McGregor's meeting with Donald Trump
Members of the public expressed their anger at Conor McGregor's St Patrick's Day meeting with US president Donald Trump in messages to Taoiseach Micheál Martin. The vast majority of messages were critical of McGregor, with many accusing the UFC fighter of "hijacking our identity". Advertisement Mr Martin met the US president on March 12th, and the Government was blindsided by McGregor's St Patrick's Day trip to the White House, in which he made a number of unfounded claims about immigration into Ireland. Claims McGregor made about crime levels in Dublin were also found to be from a discredited 'study' published by an online gambling company. In messages to the Taoiseach, seen by after a Freedom of Information request, people expressed anger at McGregor's White House appearance. At 10.15pm on March 17th, one email to Mr Martin read: "You did a great job on your recent visit to the White House, congratulations on your diplomacy, but I'm furious with that clown (and I'm being generous) McGregor hijacking our identity." Advertisement The email continued: "He doesn't speak for us, please don't let this go!" In messages to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, members of the public expressed anger over Conor McGregor's White House meeting with Donald Trump. The majority of the emails referred to the legal action in which a jury found McGregor civilly liable in a case taken by a woman who accused him of rape. Nikita Hand, also known as Nikita Ní Laimhín (35), was awarded damages and costs after a three-week trial last year in which the jury found him civilly liable for assault. A judge at the High Court in Dublin later said the jury had 'conclusively determined' that McGregor had raped Ms Hand in the Beacon Hotel in Sandyford on December 9th, 2018 . McGregor is appealing against the outcome. Advertisement A lengthy email addressed to Mr Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris read: "First, the invitation extended to Enoch Burke's family, and now, the carefully orchestrated elevation of Conor McGregor to take centre stage on St Patrick's Day. It is clear now that your meeting with president Trump was deliberately scheduled for the 12th, ensuring that McGregor would be given the international platform on the 17th in your absence. "Allowing him to speak as if he represents us, he insulted not just those of us in Ireland, but the 75+ million people worldwide who hold their Irish heritage close to their hearts. This was not a misstep or unfortunate oversight, it was deliberate, calculated, and a disgrace. I urge you both, Taoiseach and Tánaiste, to draw the line now. To stand up, not just as a diplomat, but as an Irish leader with dignity. I fully understand the necessity of diplomacy, but at what cost?" McGregor does not define Ireland. The author called on the Government to address McGregor's appearance directly with Mr Trump. "McGregor does not define Ireland. Musk does not define Ireland. Trump does not define Ireland. But if we allow these insults to go unchecked, we risk losing control over who gets to represent us. I sincerely hope that you will not let this moment pass without a clear, public statement condemning what has happened. We may be a small country, but we are a proud and dignified one, and that should count for something." Advertisement Another email criticised Mr Martin for not stepping in when Mr Trump praised McGregor during their White House meeting on March 12th. Speaking in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said: 'I do happen to like your fighter.' 'He's got the best tattoos I've ever seen,' he said, referring to Mr McGregor. 'Conor's great, right. But you have a lot of great Irish fighters actually, great fighters," Mr Trump continued, before moving on to ask the Taoiseach about his father's boxing career. Advertisement Two messages expressed support for McGregor's views on immigration. "Regarding the recent coverage of Conor McGregor's visit to the White House, the three of you have been quick to criticise him, insisting that he does not speak for Ireland. You are wrong. While his visit and remarks were self-initiated, a significant portion of the Irish public agrees with his message far more than agree with any of you, even combined." One person wrote: "Before you dismiss me as just another critic, understand this: I have financially contributed to each of your parties multiple times, up to the maximum €600 per donation, and considerably more to Leo Varadkar before I saw through him. I have stood in social settings with each of you, exchanged words, and am someone you are all comfortable speaking to in your own circles. "The fact that the President of the United States chose to engage with McGregor rather than with career politicians like yourselves should be a wake-up call. Instead of sounding weak, jealous, and desperate in your attempts to discredit him, perhaps you should reflect on why he commands the support of both the Irish people and the US President, while your own standing continues to erode." World President Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin 'has go... Read More One person praised Mr Martin and Mr Harris for their response to McGregor's meeting with Mr Trump. "I am particularly proud of the way both you and Simon Harris have responded to what happened yesterday with Conor McGregor- you are right, he does not speak for me. Thank you for being so clear and unequivocal about it." Another person wrote: "I firmly believe that by inviting McGregor to the White House for St Patrick's Day, Donald Trump and his team have deliberately undermined you, the Irish government and more so the Irish public. "While I understand the importance of 'playing politics' there has to come a point where we stop kowtowing to our supposed friends in America especially if they're welcoming our convicted criminals into the White House."
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Into the mouth of Trump hell'? South African president says White House meeting wasn't so dramatic
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The sentiment in South Africa ahead of its leader's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday was one of fear and trepidation. 'Into the mouth of Trump hell" was how one newspaper headline described his mission. South Africans worried that President Cyril Ramaphosa was exposing himself to the kind of public thrashing that Trump and Vice President JD Vance meted out on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of the world's media three months ago. But after being confronted by Trump with baseless allegations that there are widespread killings of white farmers in South Africa — and made to watch a video of a fringe South African politician repeating a chant referring to the killing of white farmers — Ramaphosa seemed to think the Oval Office meeting wasn't that dramatic. 'You wanted to see drama and something big happening,' Ramaphosa said to reporters afterwards. 'I'm sorry that we disappointed you somewhat." Ramaphosa is renowned in his home country as a calm, measured politician who is hardly ever emotional. He made his name, though, in some of the toughest, highest-profile political negotiations his country has ever faced. Ramaphosa was the African National Congress party's chief negotiator during the talks in the early 1990s that ended the apartheid system of white minority rule that had forced racial segregation on South Africans for nearly a half-century. After apartheid, he was seen by some as the logical successor to Nelson Mandela as South African president. He missed out but returned to politics more than a decade later and became president in 2018. Ramaphosa sought out the meeting with Trump in an attempt to correct what he said were mischaracterizations of South Africa by the U.S. — and to negotiate critical new trade deals. Many South Africans didn't want him to go to the headquarters of an administration that has made serious and false allegations against their country, including that Ramaphosa's government is allowing white farmers to be routinely killed in what Trump has repeatedly called a 'genocide." 'I honestly don't understand why Ramaphosa is actually in the United States when Trump has made it very clear how he feels about South Africa," said college student Dumisani Mnisi in Johannesburg. Ramaphosa's spokesperson said that the video, the newspaper clippings of farm murders that Trump produced, and the overall confrontation in the Oval Office made for 'an orchestrated show for the cameras,' and the real business was the closed-door meeting afterwards. Ramaphosa said he was pleased after that meeting and listed what he counted as successes to take home from Washington. He said he thought he had persuaded Trump to attend the Group of 20 summit in South Africa in November after the Trump administration said it would boycott. South Africa will hand over the rotating presidency of the G20 to the U.S. next year. Ramaphosa said he believed he had started to change Trump's mind over South Africa, although he conceded that would probably be 'a process.' Ramaphosa said talks had started on several areas of trade and cooperation. And he also said the South African delegation had received souvenirs to mark their visit to the White House, and he and Trump had swapped gifts. They gave each other a book. 'So that was good,' Ramaphosa said. ___ More AP news on the Trump administration: Gerald Imray, The Associated Press
News24
23-05-2025
- Politics
- News24
Trump vs Ramaphosa: Not quite game, set and match
Editorial: Not quite game, set and match Did the presence of businessman Johann Rupert and golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen give President Cyril Ramaphosa and his team a false sense of security when they entered the Oval Office on Wednesday? Surely, they were aware that US President Donald Trump would need to save face from the glare of why he gave refugee status to 49 Afrikaners from South Africa if there was no 'white genocide' as he claimed. If the team had prepared for the meeting as a sports team prepares to win a match, maybe things would have gone smoother. A game-plan was needed on what to do when Trump, well-known for his antics, such as giving a war leader a dressing down for not wearing a suit, pulled out his card. Instead of the South African team tagging each other and calmly steering the ship through Trump's ambush, it degenerated into an airing of the country's dirty laundry. The result was not what Trump had been looking for. Still, in front of international media, the delegation revealed the country had a massive and uncontrollable crime problem. What's worse, as News24 columnist Jonny Steinberg pointed out in last week's Friday Briefing, South Africans are inured to violence. This had been the basis upon which Trump had been able to leverage to build all his lies and misinformation. Perhaps in some ways, this meeting will serve as an intervention, and now, finally, the South African government will work harder to make this a better and safer place for all. In this week's Friday Briefing, News24's investigations editor Pieter du Toit writes that while Ramaphosa may have handled himself well, the show was an indictment of SA's poor governance. We also have input from author John Matisonn and political analyst Mpumelelo Mkhabela on Wednesday's meeting. We end off with a Q&A with Investec's chief economist, Annabel Bishop, about Budget 3.0, which also took place on Wednesday. You can read the submissions below. SA's grim night in Washington must lead to positive change – and 'Kill the boer' must go President Cyril Ramaphosa carried himself with dignity and aplomb – but the reality of the South African situation demands urgent and fundamental change, writes Pieter du Toit. Read the rest of the article here. Ramaphosa did South Africa proud, but it's time to worry John Matisonn writes that on Wednesday night, Cyril Ramaphosa showed once again why you want him by your side in a tight diplomatic spot, but it also revealed a country that needs to fix its crime and its economy. Read the rest of the article here. Mud games in diplomacy and Johann Rupert's stunning intervention It was astonishing to see Donald Trump, who once condemned 'fake news' and thus popularised the phrase, rely on fake news to make policy in full view of the world, writes Mpumelelo Mkhabela. Supplied Q&A with Annabel Bishop | 'Credit rating agencies unlikely to react negatively' to Budget 3.0 Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop tells in-depth writer Muhammad Hussain that the third SA Budget is a more balanced and realistic approach that would have avoided a lot of market disruption had it been presented in the first place. Read the rest of the article here.
