Latest news with #Trumpland
New European
6 days ago
- Politics
- New European
Biden died and was replaced by a robot, claims Trump
Having initially called the news 'very sad', Trump last week told an Oval Office press conference that Biden was 'not a smart person, but a somewhat vicious person', adding: 'If you feel sorry for him, don't feel sorry for him, because he's vicious.' The president then took to his Truth Social platform to share a claim that Biden had been killed in 2020 and secretly replaced by a robotic clone. 'There is no #JoeBiden – executed in 2020,' the post read, going on to claim that the real Biden was replaced by 'clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities' and that 'Democrats don't know the difference'. The claims were predictably amplified by his supporters online, with some pointing to slight differences in Biden's earlobes in different pictures, and others spotting the 'clue' of a funeral cannon salute being given at Arlington National Cemetery on the day of his inauguration. It's entirely possible you missed this story as many media ignored it – although younger readers may be interested to know a sitting president claiming his predecessor had been replaced with a robot while in office would once have been quite big news. It's just another day in Trumpland, though!
The Guardian
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Germany hits back at Marco Rubio after he panned labeling of AfD as ‘extremist'
Germany's foreign ministry has hit back at the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, following his criticism of Germany's decision to label the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party as a 'confirmed rightwing extremist group'. On Thursday, Rubio took to X and wrote: 'Germany just gave its spy agency new powers to surveil the opposition. That's not democracy – it's tyranny in disguise. What is truly extremist is not the popular AfD – which took second in the recent election – but rather the establishment's deadly open border immigration policies that the AfD opposes.' Rubio went on to say: 'Germany should reverse course.' In a response on X, the German foreign ministry pushed back against the US secretary of state, saying: 'This is democracy. This decision is the result of a thorough & independent investigation to protect our Constitution & the rule of law. It is independent courts that will have the final say. We have learnt from our history that rightwing extremism needs to be stopped.' Germany's response to Rubio comes after its domestic intelligence service, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), designated the AfD as a 'confirmed rightwing extremist' force on Friday. The BfV's decision marks a step up from its previous designation of the country's anti-immigrant, pro-Kremlin and largest opposition party as a 'suspected' threat to Germany's democratic order. According to the BfV, the AfD's xenophobic stances based on an 'ethnic-ancestry-based understanding' of German identity are 'incompatible with the free democratic basic order' as indicated by the country's constitution. The spy agency added that the AfD 'aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, to subject them to unconstitutional unequal treatment and thus to assign them a legally devalued status'. It also said: 'This exclusionary understanding of the people is the starting point and ideological basis for ongoing agitation against certain individuals or groups of people, through which they are defamed and despised indiscriminately and irrational fears and rejection are stirred up.' During February's general election in Germany which was rocked by extensive US interference including public votes of confidence by staunch AfD supporters such as Elon Musk and JD Vance, the AfD amassed approximately 21% of the vote, finishing second. The far-right party's rise to popularity in Germany has come as a result of a broader wave of growing rightwing extremism across Europe. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion At the same time, public figures in the US have openly made remarks or gestures that are sympathetic to nazism, despite the Trump administration's sweeping crackdown on antisemitism across the country – a move which has been called into question by higher education institutions and Jewish senators who accuse Trump of targeting free speech. Musk, who had been given the designation of a 'special government employee' by the Trump administration, made back-to-back apparent fascist salutes during the president's inauguration rally earlier this year. Last month, during a Capitol Hill hearing that sought to explore supposed government censorship under Joe Biden, Republican representative Keith Self quoted Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister under Adolf Hitler. 'A direct quote from Joseph Goebbels: 'It is the absolute right of the state to supervise the formation of public opinion,' and I think that may be what we're discussing here,' he said.
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Senator Chuck Grassley grilled at Iowa town hall over ‘shameful' Trump policies
The Republican senator Chuck Grassley struggled to control a town hall meeting on Tuesday as constituents erupted in anger over border security policies and the Trump administration's aggressive deportation practices. The 91-year-old Republican lawmaker from Iowa is the latest elected official to get grilled by a packed room of constituents. Attendees in the Republican state were concerned about the treatment of asylum seekers stemming from the president's approach to immigration enforcement. 'I believe very strongly in my Christian faith. I preach on Sundays,' said one attendee, 'Turning away people who have come here for asylum is one of the most shameful things we are doing right here.' The attendee pressed Grassley on whether he would take action to ensure the United States better follows international law and upholds 'the ideals of our country to be a place of hope for others'. Grassley responded that he would 'welcome refugees, I would welcome people seeking asylum'. On Tuesday morning, Trump had posted on Truth Social that border crossings hit an all-time low in March. Tensions escalated further when another constituent accused Trump of ignoring the supreme court order regarding Kilmar Armando Ábrego García. Ábrego's deportation to El Salvador despite supreme court intervention has become a rallying point for immigration advocates, who cite it as evidence of the administration's willingness to flout judicial authority. In the White House press conference on Tuesday, the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, called Ábrego a 'human trafficker and gang member'. 'The president doesn't care,' one attendee at Grassley's town hall shouted. 'He's got an order from the supreme court and he's just said, 'No, screw it.'' Multiple attendees reminded Grassley, who has held his Senate seat since 1981, of his constitutional oath of office, with one asking whether the senator was acting upon that oath. The crowd grew increasingly frustrated as Grassley attempted to explain his position. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion 'I'm trying to recapture the constitutional authority of article 1, section 8,' Grassley responded, referencing a bipartisan bill he introduced aimed at addressing what he called 'mistakes that Democratic Congress has made in 1963'. Grassley's confrontational town hall comes as many Republican lawmakers have largely abandoned the practice of holding in-person constituent meetings during their congressional recess. The retreat from public forums follows other heated exchanges where Republican lawmakers faced sometimes abrasive criticism over issues like proposed budget cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and what they see as the erosion of constitutional checks and balances. While Grassley continues his 45th annual 99-county tour of Iowa, only a handful of Republicans, including the representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Byron Donalds, have publicly announced plans for similar events.
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Homeland security told US-born immigration lawyer to leave country
A Massachusetts immigration lawyer who is a US-born American citizen is speaking out after she received an email from Trump administration immigration authorities telling her she needed to leave the country. Nicole Micheroni described receiving an email on 11 April – and that its heading was 'notice of termination of parole'. 'It is time for you to leave the United States,' the email read. 'If you do not depart the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States.' Micheroni told NBC Boston: 'At first I thought it was for a client, but I looked really closely and the only name on the email was mine. She added, 'Probably, hopefully, [it was] sent to me in error. But it's a little concerning these are going out to US citizens.' News of Micheroni's email comes as the Trump administration has waged an aggressive effort to remove non-citizens from the United States, including people who are here legally and have not been charged with crimes. Trump has also openly mused about removing US citizens who commit unspecified crimes from the country and sending them to prison in El Salvador. Removing US citizens from the United States is clearly illegal, experts say. An official with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told NBC Boston that Micheroni may have received the notice because her name and contact information is on the paperwork for clients. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities 'used the known email addresses of the alien to send notifications', a DHS official told the network. 'If a non-personal email such as an American citizen contact was provided by the alien, notices may have been sent to unintended recipients. 'CBP is monitoring communications and will address any issues on a case-by-case basis.' Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Micheroni said, 'I think it's a scare tactic. 'I think they want people afraid of immigration.'
The Guardian
08-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Thousands sign petition urging Avelo airline to halt deportation flights for Ice
Several thousand people have signed a petition urging Avelo Airlines to halt its plans to carry out deportation flights in cooperation with the Trump administration. This comes as the budget airline company recently said it had signed an agreement to fly federal deportation flights for the administration from Mesa, Arizona, starting in May. Andrew Levy, the CEO of the Houston, Texas-based airline, said in a statement to the Associated Press that the company is flying for the US Department of Homeland Security's Immigration Customs and Enforcement (Ice) agency as part of a 'long-term charter program' to support the department's deportation efforts. The flights, the company said, will use three Boeing 737-800 aircraft based out of Mesa Gateway airport. 'We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic,' Levy said in a statement to 12News KPNX in Arizona. 'After significant deliberations, we determined this charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 crew members employed for years to come.' Recent job postings from the airline appear to advertise positions based in Mesa, Arizona. In one job listing for flight attendants, Avelo states that the 'flights will be both domestic and international trips to support DHS's deportation efforts' and that 'Our DHS charter service may consist of local day trips and/or overnights.' A petition was launched by the New Haven Immigrant Heritage Coalition and as of Tuesday afternoon, it has garnered about 4,200 signatures. 'We pledge to boycott the airline until they stop plans to profit off Ice flights that are tearing families and communities apart' the petition reads. Others, including the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut – where Avelo Airlines said in December it has its largest base – have criticized the agreement. In a statement to the New Haven Independent, the mayor, Justin Elicker, a Democrat, called Avelo Airlines' decision to run the charter operation for the deportation flights as 'deeply disappointing and disturbing'. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion 'For a company that champions themselves as 'New Haven's hometown airline,' this business decision is antithetical to New Haven's values,' he said. Elicker said that he called Levy over the weekend to express his objection to the deal and urged him to reconsider. 'Travel should be about bringing people together, not tearing families apart,' he added.
