Trump talks about reporters being shot and says he shouldn’t have left White House after 2020 loss

Trump talks about reporters being shot and says he shouldn’t have left White House after 2020 loss
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump waves to supporters at the conclusion of a campaign rally at Kinston Regional Jetport in Kinston, North Carolina, on Nov. 3, 2024. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Updated 04 November 2024
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Trump talks about reporters being shot and says he shouldn’t have left White House after 2020 loss

Trump talks about reporters being shot and says he shouldn’t have left White House after 2020 loss
  • With Election Day fast approaching, Trump continues to promote falsehoods about elections and argue that he can only lose to Democrat Kamala Harris if he is cheated
  • That’s what he did four years ago, kicking off a process of fighting the election results that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol

LITITZ, Pennsylvania: Donald Trump gave a profane and conspiracy-laden speech two days before the presidential election, talking about reporters being shot and suggesting he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
In remarks Sunday that bore no resemblance to his standard speech in the campaign’s closing stretch, the former president repeatedly cast doubt on the integrity of the vote and resurrected old grievances about being prosecuted after trying to overturn his defeat four years ago. Trump intensified his verbal attacks against a “grossly incompetent” national leadership and the American media, steering his rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, at one point on to the topic of violence against members of the press.
The GOP nominee for the White House noted the ballistic glass placed in front of him at events after a gunman’s assassination attempt in July at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump talked about places where he saw openings in that protection.
“I have this piece of glass here,” he said. “But all we have really over here is the fake news. And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that so much.”
It was the second time in recent days that Trump has talked about guns being pointed at people he considers enemies. He suggested former Rep. Liz Cheney, a prominent Republican critic, wouldn’t be willing to support foreign wars if she had “nine barrels shooting at her.”

With less than 48 hours before Election Day, Trump continues to promote falsehoods about elections and argue that he can only lose to Democrat Kamala Harris if he is cheated, even though polls suggest a tight race.
Some of his allies, notably former chief strategist Steve Bannon, have encouraged him to prematurely declare victory on Tuesday even if the race is too early to call. That’s what Trump did four years ago, kicking off a process of fighting the election results that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol.
For much of this year, Trump has run a relatively disciplined campaign that emphasized the issues and voters his aides believe could deliver him victory, even as he clung to false theories about voter fraud and went on frequent digressions stirring controversy. But that discipline is increasingly collapsing.
Trump in recent weeks has joked about golfer Arnold Palmer’s genitalia, continued using gendered or sexist language in his efforts to win over women and staged a rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden that included crude and racist insults that dominated headlines.
Trump co-campaign manager Susie Wiles, long credited with bringing order to his often-chaotic political operation, watched the former president silently from off stage Sunday.
His campaign later sought to clarify his meaning in talking about the media.
“President Trump was brilliantly talking about the two assassination attempts on his own life, including one that came within 1/4 of an inch from killing him, something that the Media constantly talks and jokes about,” campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. “The President’s statement about protective glass placement has nothing to do with the Media being harmed, or anything else.”
Harris was campaigning Sunday in Michigan, where she told a predominately Black church congregation in Detroit that God offers America a “divine plan strong enough to heal division.”
The two major candidates offered starkly different tones with the campaign almost at an end, as Harris said voters can reject “chaos, fear and hate.”
Trump usually veers from subject to subject, a discursive style he has labeled “the weave.” But outside the Lancaster airport, he went on long tangents and hardly mentioned his usual points on the economy, immigration and rote criticisms of Harris.
Trump referred to John Bolton, his former national security adviser and now a strident critic, as a “dumb son of a b— .” And he repeated familiar and debunked theories about voter fraud, alleging that Democrats could only win by cheating. Public polls indicate a tight and competitive race across the battleground states that will determine the Electoral College outcome.
“It’s a crooked country,” Trump said. “And we’re going to make it straight. We’re going to make it straight.”
Harris pushed back at Trump’s characterizations of US elections, telling reporters after the church service that Trump’s comments are “meant to distract from the fact that we have and support free and fair elections in our country.” Those “good systems” were in place in 2020, Harris said, and “he lost.”
The vice president said she trusts the upcoming vote tally and urged voters, “in particular people who have not yet voted to not fall for this tactic, which I think includes, suggesting to people that if they vote, their vote won’t matter.”
“Trump’s unhinged ramblings and dangerous rhetoric confirm what those closest to him have already told us: he is completely unfit to lead and would put our democracy and the rule of law at risk if given a chance,” Alex Floyd, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement, referring to former Trump aides who have warned against returning him to the White House, including retired military officers who said he’s a fascist.
Trump, for his part, acknowledged that he was sidestepping his usual approach with his conspiratorial speech. He repeatedly talked about disregarding the advice of his aides, repeating their feedback in a mocking voice and insisting that he had to talk about election fraud despite their objections.
Trump at one point suggested that he wouldn’t deliver this version of his speech again: “I hope you’ve enjoyed this,” he said, “because I’m only doing this one time.”
Indeed, his next speech a few hours later at an airport in Kinston, North Carolina, drifted between prepared remarks and familiar stories. Trump praised David McCormick, the businessman running for Senate in Pennsylvania, appearing to briefly lose track of his location but quickly recovering.
“Where’s David? Is he around some place?” Trump said. “You know we just left him. He’s a great guy.”
Some rallygoers began leaving almost immediately. One of them was Whitney Riley, 60, who said she desperately wanted to stay but had another event. She noted Trump started late.
“I got to see him land. I got to see him open,” said Riley, wearing Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” hat and an American flag scarf. “And that’ll have to be enough.”


Ukrainian drones hit fuel storage area in central Russia, attack other areas

Ukrainian drones hit fuel storage area in central Russia, attack other areas
Updated 14 December 2024
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Ukrainian drones hit fuel storage area in central Russia, attack other areas

Ukrainian drones hit fuel storage area in central Russia, attack other areas

Ukrainian drones attacked an infrastructure facility storing fuel in central Russia’s Oryol region, sparking a fire and smashing windows in homes, regional governor Andrei Klychkov said early on Saturday.
Klychkov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said a “mass attack” on an infrastructure site caused fuel to catch fire. Fragments from downed drones smashed windows in homes, he said.
Video posted on Ukrainian military blogs showed a fire blazing at what was described as a fuel storage facility. Reuters could not independently verify reports from either side.
Drone attacks were reported in other Russian regions.
The governor of Krasnodar region, Vladimir Kondratyev, said air defenses had destroyed Ukrainian drones in several areas of the region south and east of Ukraine. One drone smashed windows in village houses, but there were no injuries.
Air defenses destroyed seven drones over Bryansk region on Ukraine’s northern border, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said.
And in Russia’s Belgorod region, often targeted by Ukraine’s military on the northeastern border, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Ukrainian forces attacked two villages, injuring one resident and triggering a fire in a house that was quickly extinguished.


South Korea’s Yoon faces second impeachment vote over martial law bid

South Korea’s Yoon faces second impeachment vote over martial law bid
Updated 14 December 2024
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South Korea’s Yoon faces second impeachment vote over martial law bid

South Korea’s Yoon faces second impeachment vote over martial law bid
  • Growing number from president’s party support impeachment

SEOUL: A defiant South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a second impeachment vote on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, a move that shocked the country, split his party and imperilled his presidency half way through his term.
His move to impose military rule on Dec. 3 was rescinded barely six hours later after parliament defied troops and police to vote against the decree, but it plunged the country into a constitutional crisis and triggered widespread calls for him to step down for breaking the law.
Opposition parties plan to hold an impeachment vote at 4 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Saturday, with large demonstrations planned ahead of the vote.
Yoon’s conservative People Power Party boycotted the first impeachment vote a week earlier, preventing a quorum.
Since then, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon has urged party members to vote for impeachment on Saturday, and at least seven PPP members have said they would vote to impeach.
The opposition parties control 192 of the 300 seats in the single-chamber parliament so they need at least eight PPP votes to reach the two-thirds threshold for impeachment.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a PPP lawmaker among those backing Yoon’s impeachment, said in a Facebook post on Saturday that he would vote for impeachment “for the sake of swift stabilization of people’s livelihood, economy and diplomacy.”
The PPP floor leader said on Friday, however, that the party’s stance is still to oppose impeachment.
PPP lawmakers are due to meet on Saturday morning to decide whether to change that position.
If impeached, Yoon would lose authority but remain in office until the Constitutional Court either removes or reinstates him. In the meantime, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo would serve as acting president.
If the court removes Yoon or he resigns, a presidential election must be held within 60 days.
Yoon is separately under criminal investigation for alleged insurrection over the martial law declaration and authorities have banned him from traveling overseas.
He has not signalled a willingness to resign and in a speech on Thursday vowed he would “fight to the end” and defended the martial law decree as necessary to overcome political deadlock and protect the country from domestic politicians who are undermining democracy.
Yoon, president of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, hopes political allies will rally to support him, but the fiery remarks appeared to find mixed reception among PPP lawmakers.
A Gallup Korea poll on Friday had two-thirds of supporters of Yoon’s party opposing the impeachment, though three-quarters of all respondents supported it.
Elected in 2022, Yoon was widely welcomed in Washington and other Western capitals for his rhetoric defending global democracy and freedom, but critics said that masked growing problems at home.
He clashed with opposition lawmakers that he has labelled as “anti-state forces” and press freedom organizations have criticized his heavy-handed approach to media coverage that he deems negative.
The crisis and ensuing uncertainty shook financial markets and threatened to undermine South Korea’s reputation as a stable, democratic success story.
South Korean shares rose for a fourth straight session on Friday on hopes that the political uncertainty would ease after this weekend’s parliamentary impeachment vote.


Scholz says ‘integrated’ Syrian refugees ‘welcome’ to stay in Germany

Scholz says ‘integrated’ Syrian refugees ‘welcome’ to stay in Germany
Updated 14 December 2024
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Scholz says ‘integrated’ Syrian refugees ‘welcome’ to stay in Germany

Scholz says ‘integrated’ Syrian refugees ‘welcome’ to stay in Germany

BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday said that well-integrated Syrian refugees are welcome to stay, as far-right and conservative politicians called for them to return to their home country after the overthrow of Bashar Assad.
“Those who work here, who are well integrated, remain welcome in Germany. That’s obvious,” the social-democrat leader said in a post on X, noting that “some declarations these past days have deeply destabilized our fellow citizens of Syrian origin.”
Around one million Syrians live in Germany, most of whom arrived in the country during the 2015 migration crisis sparked by the civil war that broke out in Syria in 2011.
Some have since obtained German nationality but the majority have not, making them more vulnerable to expulsion.
Germany, like other European countries including Austria and Sweden, on Monday announced they were suspending new asylum applications by Syrians — just a day after Assad’s government fell.
Later that day, Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, said Germany’s borders “are closed, we will not accept any more.”
AfD gained a huge popularity boost over the fears created by the sudden influx of migrants.
The party is tipped to finish second in February’s elections, in which Weidel is aiming to claim the chancellorship.
The center-right opposition CDU party — currently tipped to top the polls — has also called for Syrian refugees to return home.
CDU MP Jens Spahn suggested that Berlin charter flights to Syria and offer 1,000 euros ($1,057) to “anyone who wants to return.”
A German study on Friday said that the country could face labor shortages if the Syrians returned home, particularly in the health care industry where, according to news magazine Der Spiegel, there are 5,758 Syrian doctors working in Germany.


Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ from fall on official trip to Luxembourg

Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ from fall on official trip to Luxembourg
Updated 14 December 2024
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Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ from fall on official trip to Luxembourg

Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ from fall on official trip to Luxembourg
  • The former leader’s fall comes two years after her husband Paul was attacked by a man with a hammer at their San Francisco home

WASHINGTON: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been hospitalized after she “sustained an injury” during an official engagement in Luxembourg, according to a spokesman.
Pelosi, 84, was in Europe with a bipartisan congressional delegation to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Her spokesman, Ian Krager, said in a statement that she is “currently receiving excellent treatment from doctors and medical professionals” and is unable to attend the remainder of events on her trip.
He did not describe the nature of her injury or give any additional details, but a person familiar with the incident said that Pelosi tripped and fell while at an event with the other members of Congress. The person requested anonymity to discuss the fall because they were not authorized to speak about it publicly.
Krager said that Pelosi “looks forward to returning home to the US soon.”
Among the members on the trip was Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who posted on social media that he was “praying for a speedy recovery,” for Pelosi. The two lawmakers were captured holding hands in a group photo Friday at the US Embassy in Luxembourg.
“I’m disappointed Speaker Emerita Pelosi won’t be able to join the rest of our delegation’s events this weekend as I know how much she looked forward to honoring our veterans,” McCaul wrote on X. “But she is strong, and I am confident she will be back on her feet in no time.”
The former leader’s fall comes two years after her husband Paul was attacked by a man with a hammer at their San Francisco home. The man, who was sentenced in October to 30 years in federal prison, broke into their home looking for Pelosi.
Pelosi, who was first elected in 1987 and served as speaker twice, stepped down from her leadership post two years ago but remained in Congress and was re-elected to represent her San Francisco district in November.
She has remained active in the two years since she left the top job, working with Democrats in private and in public and attending official events. Last summer, she was instrumental in her party’s behind the scenes push to urge President Joe Biden to leave the presidential ticket.
She attended the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington last weekend and was on the Senate floor Monday to attend the swearing in of her former Democratic House colleagues, Adam Schiff of California and Andy Kim of New Jersey.
Earlier this week, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, 82, tripped and fell in the Senate, spraining his wrist and cutting his face. McConnell, who is stepping down from his leadership post at the end of the year, missed Senate votes on Thursday after experiencing some stiffness in his leg from the fall, his office said.

 


UK minister defends 2013 vote against Syria military action

UK minister defends 2013 vote against Syria military action
Updated 13 December 2024
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UK minister defends 2013 vote against Syria military action

UK minister defends 2013 vote against Syria military action
  • Downfall of Bashar Assad reawakens debate over Western inaction
  • Britain’s decision not to intervene derailed Obama’s chemical weapons ‘red line’ response

LONDON: The former leader of the UK’s Labour Party has defended his 2013 decision not to support the government in taking military action against Bashar Assad in Syria.

The British Parliament voted against attacking Syrian government targets after it used chemical weapons against a rebel-held Damascus suburb.

Labour were in opposition at the time and its MPs were directed by Ed Miliband not to support Prime Minister David Cameron’s motion in favor of striking Assad.

The UK vote derailed the US military’s response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria — something President Barack Obama had declared a “red line.”

Without the support of its main Western ally, Washington held back. Many observers believe the decision emboldened Assad and opened the way for Russia to enter the conflict in support of his government.

The downfall of Assad last weekend has reawakened the debate over whether the UK should have taken action, with Labour cabinet ministers openly disagreeing over the course taken more than 10 years ago.

On Thursday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who was not an MP at the time, told a BBC politics TV show that “if the West had acted faster, Assad would have been gone.”

He added: “The hesitation of this country and the US created a vacuum that Russia moved into and kept Assad in power for much longer.”

Miliband, who is now energy secretary, said on Friday that his cabinet colleague was wrong.

Miliband said the decision not to support military strikes against Assad was grounded in the lessons learned from the 2003 Iraq invasion.

“The decision I was confronted with in 2013 was whether we did a bombing of President Assad without any clear plan for British military engagement, where it would lead and what it would mean,” Miliband told Times Radio.

“And I believe then, and I do now, that one of the most important lessons of the Iraq War is we shouldn’t go into military intervention without a clear plan, including an exit strategy.”

Miliband said that when President Donald Trump ordered bombing raids on Syria in 2017 in response to another chemical weapons attack, it did not lead to the downfall of Assad.

“So when people say that somehow if we bombed President Assad in 2013 he would have toppled over, frankly, it’s just wrong,” he said.

The fall of the Assad government after a lightning offensive by opposition militants has further revealed the extent of the suffering in Syria under his rule, leading to soul-searching in capitals around the world.

The Syrian War, which started in 2011 as anti-government protests, killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 13 million.