Trump 'seriously' considering ending birthright citizenship, as he doubles down on antisemitic comments and Denmark row

Hello and welcome to The Independent's rolling coverage of the Donald Trump administration.

Donald Trump has been condemned by Jewish leaders for perpetuating an antisemitic trope by suggesting that American Jews who vote Democrat show “either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty”.

Trump's claim triggered a quick uproar from critics and came amid his ongoing feud with Democratic congresswomen Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, both of whom are Muslim. 

Trump has closely aligned himself with Israel, including its conservative prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while the Muslim lawmakers have been outspoken critics of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Tlaib is a US-born Palestinian American, while Omar was born in Somalia. 

"Where has the Democratic Party gone? Where have they gone where they are defending these two people over the state of Israel?" Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty." 

At Trump's urging, Israel last week blocked Omar and Tlaib from entering the country. Israel later agreed to a humanitarian visit for Tlaib to visit her grandmother, who lives in the West Bank. Tlaib declined, saying her grandmother had ultimately urged her not to come under what they considered to be humiliating circumstances. 

Trump called Omar a "disaster" for Jews and said he didn't "buy" the tears that Tlaib shed Monday as she discussed the situation. Both congresswomen support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a global protest of Israel. 

Trump's comments were denounced swiftly by Jewish American organisations. 

"This is yet another example of Donald Trump continuing to weaponise and politicise antisemitism," said Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America. "At a time when antisemitic incidents have increased - due to the president's emboldening of white nationalism - Trump is repeating an antisemitic trope." 

"It's unclear who @POTUS is claiming Jews would be 'disloyal' to, but charges of disloyalty have long been used to attack Jews. As we've said before, it's possible to engage in the democratic process without these claims. It's long overdue to stop using Jews as a political football," Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted later on Tuesday.

Logan Bayroff of the liberal J Street pro-Israel group said it was "no surprise that the president's racist, disingenuous attacks on progressive women of color in Congress have now transitioned into smears against Jews." 

"It is dangerous and shameful for President Trump to attack the large majority of the American Jewish community as unintelligent and 'disloyal,"' Bayroff said. A number of groups noted that accusations of disloyalty have long been made against Jews, including in Europe during the 1930s. 

Ann Lewis and Mark Mellman of Democratic Majority for Israel called it "one of the most dangerous, deadly accusations Jews have faced over the years. False charges of disloyalty over the centuries have led to Jews being murdered, jailed and tortured." 

The Republican Jewish Coalition defended Trump, arguing that the president was speaking about people being disloyal to themselves rather than to Israel. 

"President Trump is right, it shows a great deal of disloyalty to oneself to defend a party that protects/emboldens people that hate you for your religion," the group said in a tweet. "The @GOP, when rarely confronted w/anti-Semitism of elected members always acts swiftly and decisively to punish and remove." 

2020 presidential contender Bernie Sanders said he was "a proud Jewish person and I have no concerns about voting Democratic".

Here's Zamira Rahim's report.

Recent polling shows that a majority of American Jews identify as Democrats. 

According to AP VoteCast, a survey of the 2018 electorate, 72 per cent of Jewish voters supported Democratic House candidates in 2018. Similarly, 74 per cent said they disapprove of how Trump is handling his job. 

A Pew Research Center poll conducted in April found that among Jewish Americans, 42 per cent said Trump is favoring the Israelis too much, 6 per cent said he's favoring the Palestinians too much and 47 per cent said he's striking the right balance. Jews were more likely than Christians to say Trump favours the Israelis too much, 42 per cent to 26 per cent. 

Omar was roundly criticised by members of both parties for saying during a town hall earlier this year that she wanted to discuss "the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country." 

This is not the first time Trump has been criticised for remarks seen by some as antisemitic. In 2015, Trump, then a candidate, spoke to the Republican Jewish Coalition and made a similar comment. 

"You're not going to support me because I don't want your money," he said then. "You want to control your politicians, that's fine." 

Later in the campaign, he tweeted a graphic critical of his opponent Hillary Clinton that featured a six-pointed star, a pile of cash and the words "most corrupt candidate ever." The star was believed by many to be the Star of David, which is featured on the Israeli flag. The campaign denied that the star carried any special meaning. 

(Twitter screengrab)

The president first attacked Omar and Tlaib, and two other Democratic congresswomen of colour, last month by telling them to "go back" to their home countries. All four are United States citizens. 

AP

A spokeswoman for the Danish royal palace has said Trump's decision to postpone a visit to Denmark next month came as "a surprise." 

The president had been due to visit the country on 2 and 3 September as part of a European trip but backed out last night by tweet after the Danish prime minister dismissed the notion of selling Greenland to the US as "an absurd discussion." 

"Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time," Trump said. 

This came a matter of hours after he joked about building a vulgar gold Trump Tower looming over the sleepy fishing nation.

On Sunday he had confirmed his interest in the project was serious - the country a desirable "real estate deal" because of its natural resources and geopolitical situation - saying: “Strategically it's interesting and we'd be interested, but we'll talk to them a little bit. It's not number one on the burner, I can tell you that."  

Here's Henry Austin with more.

Trump has also raised eyebrows by reportedly assuring the National Rifle Association (NRA) that universal background checks are off the table in gun control talks with the opposition, according to The Washington Post.

The president reportedly told the all-powerful lobby group's chief executive Wayne LaPierre by phone that the White House remained interested in proposals that would address weapons getting into the hands of the mentally ill, including the possibility of backing so-called "red flag" laws that would allow the police to temporarily confiscate guns from people who have been shown to be a danger to themselves or others.

LaPierre said in a post on Twitter that they "discussed the best ways to prevent these types of tragedies."

While Trump has insisted his administration is engaged in "meaningful" talks with Democrats about gun legislation after the latest mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, congressional aides downplayed the discussions as low-level and not very productive.

Democrats have accused Trump of reversing course after he initially voiced support for tougher background checks following the latest shootings to rock the United States, so that "sick people don't get guns." He also suggested earlier this month that the NRA might ease its strong opposition to gun restrictions.

Since then, Trump has shifted his approach, however, calling the shooters mentally ill and saying the administration had to look at building more mental institutions.

"These retreats are heartbreaking, particularly for the families of the victims of gun violence," Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said on Twitter. He urged Trump to press Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell to permit a vote in the upper chamber on a background check bill supported by the House of Representatives.

Speaking to reporters at the White House yesterday, Trump declined to say whether he endorsed any of the gun legislation backed by House Democrats. But he said the administration had been engaged in talks with Democrats.

"We are in very meaningful discussions with the Democrats and I think the Republicans are very unified," Trump said. He added that Democrats were weaker in their support for gun rights than Republicans and he wanted to protect against gun controls becoming too restrictive.

"We're looking at different things. And I have to tell you that it's a mental problem, and I've said it a hundred times, it's not the gun that pulls the trigger, it's the person that pulls the trigger. These are sick people," Trump said.

Democrats have been demanding action on guns after shooters earlier this month in El Paso and Dayton that killed 31 people with semi-automatic rifles using high-volume magazines.

The White House held a staff-level meeting with Senate Judiciary Committee staff on Friday, congressional aides said.

House Judiciary Committee staff meanwhile met with White House aides on Tuesday, focusing mainly on gun bills the panel plans to take up in a meeting scheduled for 4 September. The aides said there was no productive discussion about legislative priorities or measures that the White House could support.

Trump suggested on Tuesday he might agree to some changes to improve background checks but did not offer details.

"We have very, very strong background checks right now. But we have, sort of, missing areas, and areas that don't complete the whole circle," Trump said.

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said later that "meaningful background checks remain on the table" for the president but that he "has not mentioned supporting universal background checks."

Trump's latest comments on gun control came in the Oval Office yesterday in a Q&A with reporters as he hosted Romanian president Klaus Iohannis for talks on efence, energy and law enforcement co-operation.

He said a great many other things in that session.

On Russia, the president agreed the country should be allowed back into the G7 after it was pushed out in 2018 for annexing Crimea from Ukraine.

“I think it’s much more appropriate to have Russia in. It should be the G8 because a lot of the things we talk about have to do with Russia,” he said, accusing his predecessor Barack Obama of holding a grudge after Vladimir Putin "outsmarted him".

Also on Moscow, Trump trailed the prospect of nominating John Sullivan as the new US ambassador to the country. Currently a deputy to Mike Pompeo at the state department, Sullivan would succeed Jon Huntsman.

“He’s somebody that’s being put up and respected very much. Very respected,” Trump said.

Elsewhere, the president said the White House Office of Management and Budget is toying with cutting $4.3bn (£3.5bn) in international aid.

"We’re looking at it, and we’re looking at it in different ways," he said. "We’re talking to Republicans and Democrats about it and certain things we could save." 

"We have some things on the table very much, and we’ll let you know over the next probably sooner than a week," he added.

Meanwhile, his flimsy grasp of geopolitics and world history continued to let him down.

He also waffled hopelessly on corruption overseas and was distrubingly evasive on LGBT+ discrimination.

Here's Jon Sharman's report.

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Perhaps most significantly of all, Trump acknowledged his aggressive trade policies targeting China may mean economic pain for Americans but insisted they're needed for more important long-term benefits. He contended he does not fear a recession but is nonetheless considering new tax cuts to promote growth. 

Asked if his trade war with China could tip the country into recession, Trump brushed off the idea as "irrelevant" and said it was imperative to "take China on." 

"It's about time, whether it's good for our country or bad for our country short term," he said. 

Paraphrasing a reporter's question, Trump said, "Your statement about, 'Oh, will we fall into a recession for two months?' OK? The fact is somebody had to take China on." 

The president indicated that he had no choice but to impose the tariffs that have been a drag on US manufacturers, financial markets and, by some measures, American consumers. 

Trump was clear that he didn't think the nation is at risk of a recession and that a boom was possible if the Federal Reserve would slash its benchmark interest rate. 

"We're very far from a recession," Trump said. "In fact, if the Fed would do its job, I think we'd have a tremendous spurt of growth, a tremendous spurt." 

Yet he also said he is considering a temporary payroll tax cut and indexing to inflation the federal taxes on profits made on investments - moves designed to stimulate faster growth. He downplayed any idea that these thoughts indicate a weakening economy , saying, "I'm looking at that all the time anyway." 

Asked about his remarks, White House spokesman Judd Deere said, "The president does not believe we are headed for a recession. The economy is strong because of his policies." 

Trump faces something of an inflection point on a US economy that appears to be showing vulnerabilities after more than 10 years of growth. Factory output has fallen and consumer confidence has waned as he has ramped up his trade war with China. In private, Trump and his advisers have shown concern that a broader slowdown, if not an outright recession, could arrive just as he is seeking reelection based on his economic record. 

Trump rattled the stock and bond markets this month when he announced plans to put a 10 per cent tax on $300bn (£247bn) worth of Chinese imports. The market reaction suggested a recession might be on the horizon and led Trump to delay some of the tariffs that were slated to begin in September, though 25 per cent tariffs are already in place for $250m (£206m) in other Chinese goods. 

The president has long maintained that the burden of the tariffs is falling solely on China, yet that message was undermined by his statements to reporters Tuesday prior to his Oval Office session with the president of Romania. 

"My life would be a lot easier if I didn't take China on. But I like doing it because I have to do it," Trump said. 

The world economy has been slowing in recent months, and recent stock market swings have added to concerns that the US economy is not immune. A new survey on Monday showed a big majority of economists expecting a downturn to hit by 2021. 

Addressing that possibility, Trump focused anew on pressuring the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. Presidents have generally avoided criticising the Federal Reserve publicly, but Trump has shown no inclination to follow that lead. Rather, he's positioning Fed chairman Jerome Powell to take the fall if the economy swoons. 

"I think that we actually are set for a tremendous surge of growth, if the Fed would do its job," Trump said. "That's a big if." 

Trump recommended a minimum cut of a full percentage point in the coming months. 

AP

While Trump and his administration may insist again and again publicly that there is no need to fear recession, that is not what Republican donors attending a fundrasing luncheon in Jackson, Wyoming, yesterday were told by chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

Politico reports that Mulvaney admitted to the gathering of wealthy diners that they should brace themselves for a "moderate and short" recession after all.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were headlining this august event and took a surprise phone call from President Trump, which brought about this queasy scene. "Hi Daddy!" Ivanka said when answering the call.

That of course followed this nauseating tweet from the president yesterday, which was rightly and roundly mocked.

The Trump administration is reportedly set to announce a rule change that would allow the government to hold migrant families in detention camps indefinitely. 

Currently, children crossing illegally into the US from Mexico can generally be held for a maximum of 20 days, a limit Trump has blamed for encouraging undocumented families to arrive at the border. 

Under the new rule, which would likely require court approval, the Department for Homeland Security could hold children in detention for the entirety of their immigration proceedings, which can take months or even years. 

Here's Tom Embury-Dennis's report on what sounds like the latest cruel idea from White House senior adviser Stephen Miller.

For a slight change of pace, here's the latest troubling Jon McNaughton painting of Trump.

It has, of course, already been memed and subjected to QAnon conspiracy theories, as is the custom of the country these days.

Here's Alexandra Haddow with more.