Biden and Trump news: Biden to speak with Trudeau in first foreign leader ‘meeting’ as he declares major disaster in Texas

Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s up-to-the-minute coverage of all the latest news from the White House and beyond in US politics.

Western leaders met together for the first time since Joe Biden became the US president, with calls to repair the damage done in the turbulent and divisive years of Donald Trump, and take a united stand against pressing international challenges.

Following a virtual summit of G7 states in London, with a focus on the coronavirus pandemic with financial contributions pledged on a global vaccine rollout, they gave virtual addresses to the annual Munich Security Conference on problems lying ahead.

Mr Biden’s direct message was that democratic states must work together against the threat from autocratic China and Russia, with the reassurance that “America is back” after four years of Mr Trump’s “America First” which translated into repeated attacks against Nato and the EU, as well as criticism of allies in east Asia like South Korea and Japan.

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Joe Biden has declared a major disaster in Texas after winter storms plunged the state into an unusually deep freeze that has left millions struggling in homes without heat and power, an in many instances even water.

At least 59 deaths across the US have been blamed on the blast of unseasonable weather.

In an attempt to defend Ted Cruz for going on vacation as Texas struggled with the aftermath of Winter storm Uri, Donald Trump Jr appeared to get one important detail wrong in accusing the lawmaker’s critics of hypocrisy.

The senator for Texas is being eviscerated by the public and media after it emerged he had taken his family to Cancun, Mexico, as his constituents endured record cold temperatures with no heat, power, or water,

The eldest son of former president Donald Trump took to Twitter and hit out at “the hypocrisy of those trying to cancel Ted Cruz,” adding that their silence “on their Democrat Governor’s incompetence is telling.”

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Pro-Trump news network Newsmax has bizarrely attacked the state of Joe Biden’s dog.

“Did you see the dog?” asked host Greg Kelly. “I like dogs, but this dog needs a bath and a comb and all kinds of love and care. I’ve never seen a dog in the White House like this.”

He added: “This dog looks like from the junkyard.”

The criticism appeared to be directed at one particular photo, in which one of the president’s two dogs, Champ and Major, is seen sitting down looking, well, pretty normal.

Guest Craig Shirley, a conservative presidential historian, said: “He looks very dirty and dishevelled, and very unlike a presidential dog.”

Donald Trump would do “terrible things” anytime Dr Anthony Fauci disagreed with him publicly, the doctor revealed in a recently released interview.

The Mr Trump’s antagonistic behaviour towards Dr Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, inspired his supporters to do the same. Now, Dr Fauci has to live under the care of armed guards since last April.

During an interview with The Telegraph, Dr Fauci - who became a household name thanks to his press conference appearances in the early days of the coronavirus‘s spread throughout the US, often times looking dismayed by Mr Trump’s comments - said the former president was vindictive and used his loyalists in other government offices to undermine him.

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Donald Trump is continuing to rage at Republicans he deems insufficiently loyal, according to MSNBC.

The former president’s most public attack since his impeachment trial ended came against Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who he branded a “dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack”.

Karl Rove, a GOP political operative and now a leading critic of Mr Trump, is another figure reportedly subject to Mr Trump’s ire, as is the Senate’s number two Republican John Thune.

Both condemned Mr Trump’s role in last month’s Capitol insurrection.

Restaurant staff at Donald Trump’s Washington hotel have revealed the bizarre, secret rules of serving the ex-president and his “crazy VIP list”, including a seven-step Diet Coke pour process, making sure he heard the “pop” on the ketchup bottle being opened and ensuring he always has the biggest steak at the table.

From front-of-house managers being forced to dress like “Fox News anchors”, to bartenders making $100,000 in salary and tips, to suppliers deliberately selling the chef rotten vegetables and Hispanic kitchen staff being rejected by family and friends, life at The Trump International Hotel in DC wasn’t easy.

Current and ex staff at the BLT Prime restaurant in the Pennsylvania Avenue hotel have lifted the lid on four-years of “catering to the right wing elite”, in a new expose from The Washingtonian.

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Republican senator Mike Lee is holding a re-election fundraiser at Donald Trump’s private residence in Florida, according to Politico.

Reporter Marc Caputo shared a poster for the event, which will feature far-right GOP representatives Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert.

The event tonight comes in at more than $5,000 per head, and comes after media reports suggested Mr Lee had defended Mitt Romney’s vote to convict Mr Trump in his impeachment trial.

Mr Lee, who voted to acquit the former president, has since denied those reports.

Senator Lindsey Graham will become the latest Republican lawmaker to pay a visit to Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, according to reports, as the party remains split on whether to reach out to the ex-president.

A source told CNN that Mr Graham will travel to Mar-a-Lago at the weekend to meet with Mr Trump, amid concerns that a power struggle with Mitch McConnell will damage the Republican party’s midterm election chances.

The South Carolina senator and staunch Trump ally will reportedly visit with an aim to repair a rift between Mr Trump and the Republican leader in the Senate, which has emerged in recent weeks.

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