US2 min(s) read
Published 14:17 04 Mar 2018 GMT
There's never a dull moment with President Donald Trump. If he's not caught up in some scandal to do with grabbing women "by the p***y", or having affairs with former Playboy models and porn stars, or trying to start a trade war on Twitter, he's no doubt already thinking about the next stupid thing he wants to do.
Oh, who am I kidding? The guy doesn't think.
Just last night, in fact, the former Apprentice host made a very dubious statement to Republican donors at a closed-door fundraiser. Speaking of Chinese leader Xi Jinping - who recently refused to comply with China's current two-term presidency limit - Trump said: "He's now president for life. President for life. No, he's great. And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot someday."
Unsurprisingly, after CNN leaked the audio of this speech, people began to get just a little bit worried.
We already knew that Trump was planning to run in 2020, as he was busy hosting rallies only a matter of months after he first took office last year. Plus, he's already hinted that Brad Parscale, a former aide, could manage his campaign - so he doesn't appear to have any intention of stepping away from the role anytime soon.
However, this most recent statement (which was considered a joke by Republicans in attendance) is concerning, not just because it hints that Trump doesn't want to give up his tenure in the White House, but because it shows that he is willing to play fast and loose with the US constitution. After all, he'd already made a statement to lawmakers about acting without proper legislative powers when he said: "Take the guns first, go through due process second" - so what's to stop him making other rash decisions?
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And, though it has already been widely written off as a joke in poor taste, other people were cautious about describing it in such terms. "Calling it a joke, justifying it as a Jest, normalizing these dastard behavior as Jokes is Complicity in his Insanity," said one Twitter user.
"Republicans, the president of the United States praises a communist autocrat for becoming dictator for life and then suggests they keep him in power for life. Wake up," said Joe Scarborough.
Meanwhile, others made a good point about what would have happened if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton had said something like this.
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What's more, the White House's indications that it is not particularly concerned with Xi Jinping's actions seem very much like a step towards isolationism, as press secretary Sarah Sanders said last week that China's decision is not one that Trump should question.
The point is: even if this was a joke, it's really not something that somebody in Trump's position should be joking about. He already has a long and concerning track record of either seemingly misunderstanding or not caring about the proper due process in the USA, and implying that a dictatorship would be a good thing is absolutely something he should avoid.
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uncategorised5 min(s) read
Published 10:38 10 Feb 2018 GMT
1. On running for president
\nDonald Trump often voiced his aversion to politics in the past, but in a 1980 interview with Rona Barrett, Trump stated: "I would like to see somebody as the president who could do the job, and there are very capable people in this country ... I would love, and I would dedicate my life to this country but I see it as being a mean life, and I also see it in somebody with strong views, and somebody with the kind of views that are maybe a little bit unpopular, which may be right, but may be unpopular, wouldn’t necessarily have a chance of getting elected against somebody with no great brain but a big smile." Trump here seems to have rightly predicted that his comments and views would often prove divisive.\n\n\n2. On police brutality
\nIn May 1989, in response to the arrests of the Central Park Five, Trump took out an advert in the New York Daily News in which he stated: "Let our politicians give back our police department's power to keep us safe. Unshackle them from the constant chant of 'police brutality' which every petty criminal hurls immediately at an officer who has just risked his or her life to save another's." The case involved the prosecution of five people - four black and one of Hispanic descent - who were accused of raping and violently assaulting a white jogger in Central Park, New York City. The five innocent men were found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in prison each for the attack, but were later exonerated when DNA evidence proved that prisoner Matias Reyes had actually committed the crime. Despite the fact that the Central Park Five were proven innocent, Trump's support of the American police has been unwavering, and he has defended precincts from accusations of racial profiling by the Black Lives Matter movement.
\n\n\n\n3. On controversy
\nIn an interview on television talk show Hardball with Chris Matthews, Trump stated: "People want me to [run for president] all the time … I don’t like it. Can you imagine how controversial I’d be? You think about [Bill Clinton] and the women. How about me with the women? Can you imagine?" This sentiment seems to eerily predict the controversy provoked by the Billy Bush tapes, in which Trump was recorded stating that he would often attempt to grope women without their consent, as well as claims made by feminist activists that Trump is a misogynist.\n\n\n4. On oil
\n"When I look at some of the things that happened in government, I can't believe it. Countries that we're protecting are screwing us on oil prices. It's unthinkable. I wouldn't stand for it. How would I handle that? That's what it feels like to be me." This sentiment, expressed by Donald Trump in an interview with Esquire in 2004, seems to predict Trump's later pledge to secure more money for the US through fossil fuels. Indeed, the Trump administration has recently revealed plans to open almost all US offshore territory to oil and gas drilling, including previously protected areas of the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans.\n\n5. On climate change
\nMany people have accused Trump of climate change scepticism, and indeed, the following quote, taken from a 2012 tweet, seems to confirm this. "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." Trump has often claimed that he wants to put American jobs and American industry ahead of outsourcing and stated that he will deregulate profitable industries at the expense of the environment if it will give more Americans jobs and make more money.\n\n6. On the war in Iraq
\nIn an interview with Wolf Blitzer in 2007, Trump claimed: "I gained a lot of respect for [George Bush Senior] by the fact that he had the sense not to go in to Iraq. He won the war and then said let's not go the rest of the way and he turned out to be right. And Saddam Hussein, whether they like him or didn't like him, he hated terrorists. He'd shoot and kill terrorists. When terrorists came into this country, which he did control and he did dominate, he would kill terrorists. Now it's a breeding ground for terrorists. So, look, the war is a total catastrophe...and they have a civil war going on." His statement appears to predict the resurgence of terrorism in Iraq, as well (more generally) as in the Middle East, namely the radical fundamentalist paramilitary organisation ISIS.
\n\n\n\nHowever, if you want to see Trump in an alarming new light, then look no further than the following article, which will show you exactly what Donald Trump would look like with a normal haircut. Trust me: you'll want to see this.\n\n \n\nFeatured illustration by Egarciguus2 min(s) read
Published 15:09 20 Apr 2021 GMT
Donald Trump has admitted that he's "seriously considering" running for President again in 2024.
According to Fox News, the former POTUS hinted that he had ambitions to re-enter politics in an attempt to win a second term in a recent interview with anchor Sean Hannity.
Per Fox, when asked about the possibility of running for office again, Trump stated that it would be important to first endorse the right supporters in Congress.
Take a look at Trump's interview with Hannity in the video below:Trump claimed he was "all in" on behalf of Republican candidates in next year's midterm elections, and later stated:
"I've got tremendous numbers ... there is more popularity [for me] now than there was the day before the election. Because they see how bad things are at the border.
"They see what is going on, they see that their guns are gonna be gone ... their taxes are going up. Regulations are going through the roof. Job [losses] are going to go up.
"So I say this: I am looking at it very seriously. Beyond seriously. From a legal standpoint, I don’t want to really talk about it yet. It's a little too soon."
But this is not the first time that Trump has spoken about the possibility of making another bid for the American presidency.
When asked in a recent 18-minute-long interview with his daughter-in-law Lara Trump if his supporters would see him re-enter politics in the future, Trump replied: "You do have hope, that I can tell you, you do have hope.
"We love our country, this country, we all owe a lot to our country, but now we have to help our country."
Take a look at Trump's address to his supporters at the CPAC in the following video:Furthermore, in a speech made a speech at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, Trump again seemed to allude that his political ambitions had not yet been quelled.
Trump told a crowd of his supporters that: "With your help, we will take back the House, we will win the Senate, and then a Republican president will make a triumphant return to the White House – and I wonder who that will be?"
us3 min(s) read
Published 16:06 13 Sep 2021 GMT
Donald Trump has once again teased his feelings concerning a 2024 presidential run.
The 75-year-old former president was recently asked about his intentions regarding a potential White House bid in 2024 during his appearance on Fox News Digital.
Trump once again teased the possibility of once again running for the Oval Office, telling Fox that the country is "getting to a point where we really have no choice".
Describing the state of the country's current leadership as "disgraceful", Trump repeated: "I don't think we're going to have a choice."
And in yet another attack on the Biden administration's withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, said: "When you look at Afghanistan and what happened, and the death for no reason, just for no reason."
He added that parents of those in the military "want to speak with" him. "They don’t want to speak with Biden," Trump said, "They're just devastated."
The former POTUS then described the withdrawal as the "greatest embarrassment in the history of our country."
Branding President Joe Biden as "an incompetent person as the leader of our country", Trump would go on to describe the Biden administration as "divisive", saying:
"They keep telling everyone how they want to get together, to be inclusive – they're not inclusive. [...]
"They are very, very dividing and divisive."
Of course, this is not the first time that Trump has teases a 2024 presidential run.
Back in March, he sat down for an interview with daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who asked if his supporters would see him running for office again in the future. Trump replied: "You do have hope, that I can tell you, you do have hope. We love our country, this country, we all owe a lot to our country, but now we have to help our country."
Additionally, back in July, Trump was asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity if he had decided whether or not he will be running to reclaim the White House. After refusing to answer, Hannity said: "You're not going to answer, but I have to ask. Where are you in the process or let me ask you this, without giving the answer... Have you made up your mind [about running in 2024]?"
Without giving anything away, the wealthy businessman-turned-world leader simply responded: "Yes".
I guess only time will tell about what that decision is.
us2 min(s) read
Published 16:31 01 Jul 2021 GMT
Donald Trump has revealed that he has made up his mind about whether or not he will run for president once again in 2024.
Following Trump's tumultuous time in office, which saw a deadly insurrection at the US Capitol and an unprecedented double impeachment, the 75-year-old Republican has dropped a number of hints that he plans to run again once Biden's first term ends.
While nothing is set in stone as of yet, Trump has let it be known that he's made up his mind about running for president again when asked the question during a recent town hall.
During an appearance on Fox News, the former president spoke with Sean Hannity as the host asked about the ex-president's "future plans".
Check out the moment below:Hannity said: "You're not going to answer, but I have to ask. Where are you in the process or let me ask you this, without giving the answer... Have you made up your mind [about running in 2024]?"
And without giving anything away, the wealthy businessman-turned-world leader simply responded: "Yes".
Since leaving the White House at the start of the year, Trump has repeatedly teased a comeback in 2024.
"I may even decide to beat them for a third time," he said in a speech in February at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as he falsely implied that he was the rightful winner of the 2020 US presidential election.
Trump first teased a re-run for president last December - a month after he lost to Biden - telling guests at a White House Christmas party: "We are trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I'll see you in four years."
Elsewhere in his discussion with Hannity, the controversial ex-president spoke of migrants causing "incalculable" damage to the US, Independent reports.
He said: "You have not hundreds of thousands, but millions of people storming into our country."
Trump went on to say that these migrants include "some of the worst people on Earth."
He also claimed that his border wall played a substantial role in reducing migration, despite the fact that there was actually a surge in border crossings during the last few months of his presidency, according to the paper.
us news4 min(s) read
Published 09:58 31 Mar 2025 GMT
Donald Trump has revealed that he is not ruling out a third term as President of the United States - despite the rules currently stating that nobody can serve more than twice.
President Trump, 78, first served as the 45th President of the United States between 2017 and 2021, before he was defeated in the following election by Joe Biden.
Undeterred, he ran again and secured his spot as the 47th POTUS against Kamala Harris, meaning he will serve as the head of state from 2025 until 2029.
The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, states that "no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice", meaning this should be the last time he is allowed to hold office.
Trump has, however, suggested that he is exploring every loophole possible to potentially serve even longer.
He told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Sunday: "A lot of people want me to do it," explaining that "there are methods which you could do it."
One such loophole would be having Vice President JD Vance, 40, run for President with Trump as his Vice President, with him stepping up to the main role if Vance subsequently resigned from his post as President.
Trump added: "But there are others too," but did not elaborate further on what these methods may be.
He told the outlet: "I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration. I’m focused on the current."
Despite heading toward his 80s, Trump revealed he has no plans to slow down anytime soon, explaining: "I like working."
He added: "I’m not joking. But I’m not — it is far too early to think about it."
President Trump's supporters have often voiced their approval for his leadership, chanting "four more years" at his public appearances.
Currently, Franklin Delano Roosevelt is the only American President who was elected to more than two terms, dying partway through his fourth term.
The Constitution was amended after Roosevelt's presidency to make it a rule that each leader can only serve a maximum of two terms in office. Prior to Roosevelt's four-term run, other presidents had followed George Washington's example and stepped down after a maximum of two.
Trump is only the second president in US history to have served two non-consecutive terms and will be 82 years and seven months old when his current term comes to an end in 2029.
This will make him the oldest-ever commander in chief at the end of his current presidency, beating Joe Biden, who was 82 years and two months old when his time as POTUS came to an end.
If he were able to serve a third term, he would be close to 87 years old when it came to an end.
Biden's presidency was mired with concerns for his health and cognitive fitness, with fellow Democrats forcing him to abandon his quest for reelection, leading to Harris taking over as the candidate before losing out to Trump, including in all seven swing states.
Trump's quest to have a third term has potential to come to fruition as in January, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a constitutional amendment to allow Trump to be elected to a third term.
However, before that can happen, that legislation would need to be passed by two-thirds of the House and Senate and then be ratified by three-fourths of states, which could fail due to opposition from Democrats.
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