Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Trump news: President says Muslim congresswoman ‘has tremendous hatred of Israel’ as trade war with China escalates

Michigan Democrats defends herself against right-wing smears after controversial Holocaust comments

Chris Riotta
New York
,Joe Sommerlad
Monday 13 May 2019 08:00 EDT
Comments
Donald Trump says China 'broke the deal' after trade talks

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump has been accused of attempting to provoke the Democrats into impeaching him for “political advantage”, allowing him to cultivate his “Witch Hunt” narrative in the wake of the Mueller report and illicit sympathy from voters in time for the 2020 presidential race.

“He certainly seems to be trying and maybe this is his perverse way of dividing us more…He thinks that’s to his political advantage, but it’s certainly not to the country’s advantage,” said Adam Schiff, Democratic chair of the House Intelligence Committee.

The president has meanwhile lashed out at Democrat Rashida Tlaib over comments she made about the Holocaust, claiming she has "tremendous hatred of Israel and the Jewish people," while continuing to play hardball with China over ongoing trade tariff negotiations as far-right Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban flies in to meet him at the White House.

The Michigan Democrat told a Yahoo News podcast that she gets "a calming feeling" when she thinks of "the tragedy of the Holocaust" and how the suffering of her Palestinian ancestors helped in trying to create "a safe haven" for Jews in the new state of Israel.

The remark instantly ignited an online fight, with Republicans incorrectly describing Ms Tlaib's words as reflecting her feelings about the genocide itself that cost millions of lives, including those of 6 million Jews.

It was the latest upheaval over the words of some of the first Muslims in Congress after Ilhan Omar questioned Israel's influence in Washington. Senior Democrats rebuked her, and Ms Omar eventually apologised.

A Democratic leader has instead demanded an apology to Ms Tlaib.

"If you read Rep. Tlaib's comments, it is clear that President Trump and Congressional Republicans are taking them out of context," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland.

He added, “They must stop, and they owe her an apology."

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

"Obviously I don't think that she hates Israel or hates Jews," Dan Kildee, also a Michigan Democrat, on Fox News. "She's not a hateful person. She's not a bigoted person."

Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load

Despite US efforts to dismantle the Iran Nuclear Deal under Donald Trump, EU and German officials said on Monday they remained committed to the pact — so long as Iran continued complying with international inspections. 

“No one wants Iran to be in possession of a nuclear bomb,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, describing the deal as “necessary for our security.”

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 16:34

Donald Trump has just re-posted nearly the same messages he tweeted earlier today about US-Chinese trade negotiations, though it appears he may have added in some new edits: 

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 17:00

Tom Wright of the Brookings Institution makes a fair point here — it doesn’t appear that a single 2020 Democratic challenger to Donald Trump has called him out for meeting with the Hungarian prime minister at the White House today:

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 17:20

Donald Trump is being accused of “emboldening neo-Nazis” for his attacks on Rashida Tlaib after she discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a recent interview:

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 17:40

Here's my latest on the escalating feud between Donald Trump and Rashida Tlaib: 

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 18:00

Donald Trump’s escalation of trade wars with China has not proven successful in terms of today’s stock market: 

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 18:20

The president will soon greet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the White House for a meeting. 

Last week, the president’s US ambassador to Hungary said Mr Trump “would love to have Oban’s situation in Hungary.”

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 18:42

Just ahead of Donald Trump’s White House meeting with Hungariy’s Viktor Orban, Bernie Sanders has tweeted an attack at the US president over his relationship with the prime minister: 

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 19:07

Donald Trump has greeted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the White House. Images to come…

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 19:24

The first images of Donald Trump and Viktor Orban meeting at the White House are beginning to roll in...

Chris Riotta13 May 2019 19:27

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in