Trump … Tweets and tirades

Mexico abuse

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is continuing to hammer Mexico over trade and border security. The president wrote on Twitter yesterday that “Mexico has taken advantage of the US for long enough”.

He said “massive trade deficits & little help on the very weak border must change, NOW!”

Trump also ordered cuts in federal grants for immigrant-protecting “sanctuary cities” and a boost in the number of border patrol agents and immigration officers. – AP

Putin,Trump chat

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are expected to speak by telephone today, the Kremlin said, a first step towards what Trump has billed as a normalisation of relations after three years of tensions sparked by the conflict in Ukraine.

Trump will also have a telephone conversation today with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and that call is expected to focus on Russia, a source said. – Reuters

Trump’s choice

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump would favour Senate Republicans changing voting rules to allow a simple majority of the Senate to approve his nominee for the US Supreme Court if Democrats block his choice, he said this week.

Among the front runners for the post are three conservative jurists: Neil Gorsuch, a judge on the Denver-based 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals; Thomas Hardiman, who serves on the Philadelphia-based 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals; and William Pryor, who serves on the Atlanta-based 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals. – Reuters

Climate change

WASHINGTON: Rogue Twitter feeds voicing employee concerns at more than a dozen US government agencies have been launched in defiance of what they say are President Donald Trump’s attempts to muzzle federal climate change research and other science.

Representing scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency, Nasa and other bureaus, the accounts protest restrictions they view as censorship since Trump took office last Friday. – Reuters

Airport attack

NEW YORK: A man is accused of attacking a Muslim airline employee at John F Kennedy International Airport, allegedly kicking and shouting obscenities at the woman and telling her that President Donald Trump “will get rid of all of you”, authorities said.

Robin Rhodes was awaiting a flight to Massachusetts when he approached Delta employee Rabeeya Khan, who wears a hijab, while she was sitting in her office. – AP