Trump lashes out after economic gloom deepens, as he jokes about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland

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

Donald Trump joked about awarding himself the Medal of Honor and trailed the idea of dumping thousands of captured Isis fighters on Europe in an address to the American Veterans 75th National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday evening.

Overlooking the fact that he himself has never served in the US military after receiving five draft deferrals for bone spurs ("You think I'm stupid? I wasn't going to Vietnam"), Trump's speech at the Galt House Hotel also saw him mock the very idea of blurring the line between official White House duties and campaign rallies - which he was flagrantly engaging in - and promoting a ketamine-related wonder drug made by Johnson & Johnson as the answer to veteran suicide.

Repeatedly stumbling over his words, the president cut an extraordinary figure before finally signing a memorandum wiping out student debt for disabled ex-servicemen and bowing out for the night.

But that was nothing.

The speech followed a particularly wild day for the president in which he retweeted praise from an evangelical broadcaster likening the affection in which he is held by Israeli Jews to “the second coming of God”, referred to himself as “the chosen one” in discussion with reporters on the White House lawn and labelled the prime minister of Denmark “nasty” over her refusal to consider selling Greenland to him.

Displaying signs of creeping authoritarianism and a burgeoning Messiah complex, Trump also spoke of how much the injured citizens of El Paso “loved him” when he visited them in hospital, speculated on serving more than two terms and raised the prospect of amending the constitution by executive order to end birthright citizenship.

Here's Phil Thomas keeping score on a day of wild pronouncements.

Let's zero in on that impromtu press conference in the sunshine yesterday afternoon.

Here is claiming to be "the chosen one", looking to the heavens for approval of his trade war with China that is hammering export-dependent Midwestern farmers...

...and here he is going after Danish PM Mette Frederiksen over Greenland, clearly angered by her suggestion his proposition was "absurd".

On the economy, he insisted that everything is fine and that talk of a coming recession is an invention of the "fake news media" - an argument he had already made on Twitter while simultaneously subjecting Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell to relentless abuse.  

On gun control, he was forced to defend his evident loss of appetite for reform in the face of opposition from the National Rifle Association (NRA).

He trailed his Isis line before seeking the approval of veterans on it later that evening....

...and repeated his outrageous attack on American Jews, making light of the round of condemnation he attracted for such blatant antisemitism. 

Perhaps the most troubling pronouncement of all was this on birthright citizenship...

... on which Clark Mindock has more.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo has been busy attempting to repair relations with Copenhagen after Trump abruptly cancelled his visit scheduled for 2-3 September, angered by Frederiksen's mockery over his bid to buy Greenland.

“She’s talking to the United States of America. You don’t talk to the United States that way, at least under me,” he frothed to reporters.

Foreign minister Jeppe Kofod has since tweeted this about his call with Pompeo:

Frederiksen herself had this response to the president.

Here's Jon Sharman's report on a ludicrous episode for diplomatic relations.

If that wasn't enough hot madness for you, Trump has also been on Twitter to invoke the memory of American automotive pioneer and industrialist Henry Ford in anger at US car manufacturers Ford and GM signing an agreement with California to lower emission standards

Following Trump's appalling remark that Jews who vote Democrat show "a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty", the decision to reference Ford, a famous antisemite admired by Adolf Hitler, has not gone down well.

A day after considering cutting taxes to promote economic growth, Trump yesterday made a complete U-turn on the subject saying he would abandon the idea because the nation already had "a strong economy." 

Trump's flip-flop came after recent market volatility and economic uncertainty and amid a debate about whether the United States was heading for a slowdown that would imperil his re-election chances.

Trump earlier this week acknowledged, for the first time, that his China trade policies may mean economic pain for Americans, though he insisted the tariffs are needed for more important long-term benefits. 

But his consideration of cutting payroll taxes appeared short-lived. 

"I'm not looking at a tax cut now," he told reporters at the White House. "We don't need it. We have a strong economy." 

Trump also knocked down the idea of indexing to the capital gains tax, which applies when investors sell assets, to inflation. He said he feared "it will be perceived, if I do it, as somewhat elitist." 

Analysts have warned that a slowdown, if not full-blown recession, could hit before next year's election. Trump, however, has largely praised the economy's performance and his handling of it. He has often blamed the Federal Reserve (and chairman Jerome Powell, his own appointee) and the global slowdown for creating dark clouds at home. 

"Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve have totally missed the call. I was right and just about everybody admits that," Trump said on Wednesday. "He raised interest rates too fast, too furious, and we have a normalised rate. And now we have to go the other direction."

Some White House advisers fear Trump has undercut Powell's credibility. They worry that the president's calls for rate cuts and his discussion of indexing or a payroll tax cut could spook, rather than reassure markets. 

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

"Somebody had to do it," Trump said on the White House lawn. "Somebody had to do it. So, I'm taking on China. I'm taking on China on trade."

China, though, said trade with the US has been "mutually beneficial" and appealed to Washington to "get along with us." A foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, expressed hope Washington can "meet China halfway" in settling disagreements. 

The US economy 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 fight with China. 

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

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 survey on Monday showed a big majority of economics expect a downtown to hit by 2021. 

Addressing that possibility, Trump focused anew on pressuring the Fed to cut interest rates. Presidents have generally avoided criticising the central bank publicly. Trump, however, has shown no inclination to follow that lead, positioning 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. 

Here's Clark Mindock on why the economy is quite so personally integral to Trump's re-election bid.

Trump is reportedly considering issuing an executive order that would allow states and local jurisdictions to deny entry to refugees, approved for resettlement, according to NBC.

"The federal government will resettle refugees only where both the relevant state and local governments have consented to participate" in the programme that allows refugees to resettle, a first draft of the order seen by reporter Julia Ainsley states.

The plans are currently under review by lawyers and at various government agencies, according to one unnamed senior Department of Homeland Security official.

A couple of comings and goings from the 2020 presidential race for you.

So farewell then, Washington state governor Jay Inslee. We hardly knew ye.

Inslee, who nobly fought to bring climate change to the front of the Democratic debate agenda, joins Eric Swalwell and John Hickenlooper in dropping out, with others expected to follow suit as the competiton gets ever tougher and the field narrows.

Speaking on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show, Inslee said “it has become clear I’m not going to be carrying the ball. I’m not going to become president.”

Kamala Harris was particularly gracious in response.

Meanwhile, Republican radio host and former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh has told Politico he is considering challenging Trump to a primary, calling the president the "unfit divider-in-chief".

“If I’m to do it, it’s going to happen soon... I’ve been really surprised by the amount of anxiousness from people across the spectrum who want this president to have a challenge, because there’s just a real concern that he’s absolutely unfit.”

Asked whether he has the cash to back himself, Walsh answered: "Abso-freaking-lutely. There’s a drumbeat from a lot of people out there for somebody who wants to take this on... I think if there is an alternative out there, the money will follow."

Ex-Arizona senator Jeff Flake and the former governors of Ohio and South Carolina, John Kasich and Mark Sanford, are thought to considering GOP challenges along with Bill Weld.

Speaking of the 2020 field, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has laughed off an audio glitch that left him with a squeaky autotuned voice worthy of Alvin and the Chipmunks as he appeared via video feed at an event for labour union Iowa ALF-CIO.

Marianne Eloise has more.

Hollywood actress, Broadway star and regular Trump antagonist Bette Midler has meanwhile written a naughty poem about Melania Trump.

The president famously branded her a "washed up psycho" back in June.

Here's Alexandra Haddow with more.