Trump news: President says moon is 'part of' Mars as he's criticised for 'making a fool of himself' in D-Day speech
Follow the latest updates as the president heads home to Washington
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump is flying home to Washington on Friday after a five-day state visit to Britain, Ireland and France to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day but can expect to find himself immediately confronted with a number of major issues left stewing in his absence.
After the enjoying the pageantry of his royal reception in London, the president will arrive home this afternoon to face escalating trade tensions with Mexico and China and further calls for his impeachment, with House speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly telling her fellow Democrats on Tuesday: “I don’t want to see him impeached, I want to see him in prison.”
Mr Trump hit back at Ms Pelosi, calling her “a disaster” during an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News staged in front of the Normandy American Cemetery in plain view of 9,000 war graves, an insensitivity for which both the president and the network have been heavily criticised.
The president also caused mass confusion on Twitter when he urged NASA not to plan any further trips to the moon, instead directing all of their efforts to Mars.
“For all of the money we are spending, NASA should NOT be talking about going to the Moon - We did that 50 years ago,” he wrote on Twitter.
He added, “They should be focused on the much bigger things we are doing, including Mars (of which the Moon is a part), Defense and Science!”
Mr Trump also declared Friday that now “there is a good chance” the US will strike a deal with Mexico to avert the tariffs he had scheduled for Monday to force the nation’s ally to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States.
“If we are able to make the deal with Mexico, & there is a good chance that we will, they will begin purchasing Farm & Agricultural products at very high levels, starting immediately,” Mr Trump tweeted from aboard Air Force One as he flew home from Europe. “If we are unable to make the deal, Mexico will begin paying Tariffs at the 5% level on Monday!
The tweet marked a change in tone from earlier Friday, when his spokeswoman Sarah Sanders had told reporters in Ireland before Mr Trump took off: “Our position has not changed. The tariffs are going forward as of Monday.”
US and Mexican officials were holding a third day of talks at the US State Department Friday trying to hash out a deal that would satisfy Mr Trump’s demand that Mexico dramatically increase its efforts to crack down on migrants.
Ms Sanders had said earlier that the two sides had “made a lot of progress” but not enough.
Additional reporting by AP. Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Donald Trump just met with Irish schoolchildren before departing to head back to the US:
The president is soon expected to travel from Shannon Airport in Ireland to Washington.
He and the first lady are due to land at 4:25pm, and will return to the White House twenty minutes later. He does not have any public meetings listed on his schedule.
Donald Trump has been criticised for using an interview on the anniversary of D-Day to attack Nancy Pelosi as "Nervous Nancy" and call her a "disaster".
The US president made the detour into domestic politics during an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham taped at a cemetery in France just before a ceremony at Normandy American Cemetery.
Donald Trump has posted a message wishing Vice President Mike Pence a happy birthday on Twitter:
Donald Trump's signature on top of the D-Day proclamation has raised eyebrows around the world:
Donald Trump's refusal to draw strict boundaries between official duties and his private businesses has stirred controversy as his family's trip to the UK raises questions among critics:
Here’s video of Donald Trump discussing his tariffs on China before departing from Ireland to Washington:
The latest job growth numbers reflect a lower level throughout Donald Trump’s first 28 months compared to former President Barack Obama -
The New York Times has a new comprehensive look at how Donald Trump has rolled back massive environmental regulatory efforts:
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