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As it happenedended

Trump threatens to close US border with Mexico on heels of raucous post-Mueller rally

The president feels newly emboldened

Chris Riotta
New York
,Joe Sommerlad,Andrew Buncombe
Saturday 30 March 2019 00:55 EDT
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Trump claims to 'know a lot about wind' in bizarre rant about Hillary Clinton at rally

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Donald Trump has claimed he may close the border with Mexico next week - the latest threat from an a newly emboldened president following the completion of the Mueller report.

Speaking to reporters at his estate in Florida, the president said he would take the step - potentially disrupting millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade - if Mexico did not stop immigrants reaching the United States. His words were an indication his mind is fixed firmly on the re-election battle he will soon be embroiled in, and the need to energise his base ahead of what will be a bitter fight.

“There’s a very good likelihood that I’ll be closing the border next week, and that will be just fine with me,” he said.

Reuters pointed out the president has repeatedly said he would close the US border with Mexico during his two years in office, and has not followed through. However, his latest threat comes as the government says it is struggling to deal with a surge of asylum seekers from countries in Central America who travel through Mexico.

Department of Homeland Security officials warned that traffic with Mexico could slow as the agency shifts 750 border personnel from ports of entry to help process asylum seekers who are turning up between official crossing points, the news agency said.

Some of those delays were already being felt on both sides of the international border. Reports said that on Friday afternoon, the wait was longer than usual on the Mexican side of the crossing between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas, with long lines of freight trucks carrying goods from Mexican factories into the United States.

Mr Trump’s threat was just the latest indication he is feeling newly empowered since the completion of the Mueller report. The report found his campaign did not collude with Russia, and while Mr Mueller pointedly did not reach a conclusion as to whether or not he obstructed justice, attorney general William Barr said he and his deputy, had decided there was insufficient evidence of a crime.

“Robert Mueller was a Hero to the Radical Left Democrats, until he ruled that there was No Collusion with Russia (so ridiculous to even say!). After more than two years since the “insurance policy” statement was made by a dirty cop, I got the answers I wanted, the Truth,” Mr Trump tweeted on Friday evening.

On Thursday evening, Mr Trump delivered a wild address to supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, branding the Mueller investigation “the single greatest political hoax in the history of our country” and accusing House Democrats of “defrauding the public with ridiculous bulls***”.

The president also thanked his friends at Fox News for their support, attacked renewable energy and asylum seekers and, bizarrely, applauded the nearby Great Lakes for their “record deepness”.

His son, Donald Trump Jr, smirked as the crowd chanted “AOC sucks!”, in reference to Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, on the same day that details of the president’s dodging an interview with the FBI special counsel during the 22-month probe began to emerge.

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Donald Trump has claimed he will close the US-Mexico border in a late-morning tweet storm that railed against US immigration law and claimed Mexico has the strongest laws surrounding migration in the world. 

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 15:50

Donald Trump’s rally last night featured attacks on everyone from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to asylum seekers. 

The president launched a tirade against migrants showing up at the nation’s borders, claiming without evidence they are told to lie in order to successfully apply for asylum:

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 16:00

Donald Trump has just launched a tirade against Democrats on Twitter, claiming the party’s lawmakers “have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World.”

“Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S.,” he added. “Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S.”

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 16:20

The president’s tweet storm is continuing with erratic interruptions in between his posts. 

Nearly 15 minutes after posting his first tweet, Donald Trump continued to rail against Mexico and US immigration law. 

“Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs,” he wrote. 

Stay tuned for more…

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 16:33

A teacher received death threats after asking students to review an essay which appeared to criticise Donald Trump.

The group of seventh grade (Year 8) pupils at a school near Houston, in Texas, were asked to read 10 essays written by students and determine what information could be inferred.

An excerpt from one of the essays, titled "Trump Against American Values", claimed some of the US president’s policies “have gone against what Americans value most, like freedom of opportunity” and that “we have witnessed insensitive remarks towards other racial and cultural groups”.

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 16:53

The head of Twitter’ legal, policy and trust has revealed the president’s favourite social media platform could soon label his tweets which violate its rules. 

Vijaya Gadde said he supports keeping Donald Trump’s tweets on the platform as they serve the public interest, but Twitter could mark which statements he makes that are otherwise offensive or inflammatory. 

“One of the things we're working really closely on with our product and engineering folks is, 'How can we label that?'" she said, without naming the president but referencing his tweets. “How can we put some context around it so people are aware that that content is actually a violation of our rules and it is serving a particular purpose in remaining on the platform."

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 17:15

Linda McMahon, the head of the Small Business Administration under Donald Trump, is set to resign from her post according to new reports. 

Ms McMahon, 70, is one of the only female Cabinet members in the Trump administration. 

The entrepreneur founded the World Wrestling Entertainment company with her husband, Vince McMahon and were crucial fundraisers to the president’s 2016 campaign.

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 17:17

A new investigation by Miami Herald explores how Cindy Yang managed to become so successful at marketing access to Donald Trump through his exclusive resort in Florida. 

The businesswoman and others managed to land the ability to market events at the resort after charities pulled out of Mar-a-Lago when the president said there were “very fine people on both sides” during the white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 17:35

Well this is pretty amazing. 

Lake Superior’s official Twitter account was forced to fact-check the president after he claimed the Great Lakes have “record deepness.” 

“I hate to admit this, but... no, not record deepness,” the account responded. Not in the world or in the United States.”

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 17:55

Donald Trump has reportedly appointed Heather Nauert to to the J William Fullbright Foreign Scholarship board. 

She was previously being considered for the position of the US Ambassador to the United Nations, but withdrew her name. 

Chris Riotta29 March 2019 18:15

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