Mugabe says ‘not dying’ amid concern
Trump replaces chief of staff
ZIMBABWE’S 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe, declaring “I am not dying,” sought on Saturday to brush aside growing concerns about his health after his wife urged him to name a successor.
Mugabe’s medical trips to Singapore have become frequent in recent years, fuelling questions about his health. His last visit was early this month for what was described as a “routine medical check-up”.
“There is the issue that the president is going. I am not going. That the president is dying. I am not dying,” Mugabe told thousands of supporters at a rally in his home town of Chinhoyi.
His remarks came after his wife Grace urged him to name a successor in a bid to end the factionalism threatening to tear apart his ruling ZANU-PF party.
“I thank God for having lived to this day. I thank God for the good life. I have an ailment here and there [but] my organs ... my heart and liver are very firm. Recently, doctors were actually surprised by the strength of my bones,” Mugabe said.
Mugabe, who spoke for more than an hour at the rally, now walks with difficulty and sometimes dozes off during meetings.
His health has been the subject of increased speculation and authorities in March arrested two journalists over a report alleging that he was “in bad shape”.
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump ousted his beleaguered Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Friday, replacing him with Homeland Security Secretary and former General John Kelly after vicious White House infighting spilled into the open.
Only hours after a humiliating defeat on health care reform had underlined his tenuous control over his party in Congress, Trump announced a second shakeup of his inner circle in barely a week.
Since entering the White House six months ago, Trump has parted company with his national security adviser, deputy national security adviser, FBI director, press secretary, communications director, acting attorney general, deputy chief of staff and now chief of staff, a turnover of top officials that is unparalleled in US political history.
Priebus has been under fire for months, seeing one White House ally after another resign or leave, culminating in the departure of Press Secretary Sean Spicer a week ago.
His exit appeared inevitable when Trump did not intervene as his new communications director Anthony Scaramucci publicly described Priebus as a “paranoid schizophrenic” in a foul-mouthed tirade that also saw him savage another top Trump aide.
Trump announced the switch on Twitter as he landed in Washington after a day trip, on which he was accompanied by both Priebus and Scaramucci.
“I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff,” Trump tweeted. “He is a Great American . . . and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration.”
As the tweet began to reverberate around Washington, Priebus exited Air Force One into the pouring rain and loaded into a black suburban with senior White House aides Steven Miller and Dan Scavino.
Moments later, Miller and Scavino got out and entered another van. Priebus’s vehicle then left the presidential motorcade.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said discussions about Priebus’s de- parture had been taking place for weeks.
Priebus later said he resigned on Thursday, but referring to his departure admitted that he and Trump “talked all the time about this subject”.
New law and order focus?
Kelly will be sworn in to his new post today.
His Department of Homeland Security is responsible for enforcing border security and has taken a tough line on immigrants inside the United States.
The move likely signals a greater focus on law and order issues and will put further strain on relations between Trump and the Republican establishment.
Both Priebus and Spicer were part of the Republican National Committee, and the bridge that linked the party to Trump.
“I think we’ve still got a good relationship, we’re going to continue working with the party,” said Sanders, trying to discount notions of a rift.
The announcement of Priebus’s departure came after three Republican senators defied White House pressure to vote against health care reforms, which experts predicted would have left millions more Americans without coverage.
The party rebellion – led by senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John McCain – is a deeply ominous sign for Trump, whose political brand is defined by his dealmaking acumen and a take-no-prisoners approach to politics.
There are growing signs that Trump’s threats against sceptical Republicans are losing potency, when Republicans not only killed efforts to dismantle Obamacare, but joined Democrats in supporting a new sanctions regime against Russia.
The sanctions bill – which also includes measures targeting North Korea and Iran – is designed to restrict Trump’s ability to lift punitive measures on Moscow.
Trump now faces a choice between swallowing a bill he deeply opposed and refusing to do so – a move that would intensify suspicions about his attitude to Russia and likely bring a humiliating veto override.
Infighting
The grim news from Congress came as an outburst from Scaramucci highlighted divisions within Trump’s administration.
In an eye-watering exchange with a New Yorker reporter published late on Thursday, Scaramucci described Priebus as a “paranoid schizophrenic” and chief White House strategist Steve Bannon as trying to build his own brand off Trump.
Scaramucci, a millionaire New York financier who is going through a divorce, arrived at the White House vowing to serve Trump’s interest and right a badly faltering administration. He did not apologise for the tirade, but said he would try to clean up his language in the future.
“I sometimes use colorful language. I will refrain in this arena but not give up the passionate fight for @realDonaldTrump’s agenda,” he tweeted.