Trump lashes out after economic gloom deepens, as he jokes about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland
The president appeared to take a break today
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump had a much quieter day after yesterday's marathon spew. He started the morning off by renewing his criticism of the Federal Reserve, accusing it of “moving like quicksand” compared to Germany’s central bank, despite insisting the US economy is “strong”, refuting analysts' fears a recession is imminent and backing away from tax cuts. After that, he appeared to take the day off from social media, possibly at the hands of concerned aides, or maybe just after tiring himself out.
The morning's attack follows the president’s address to the American Veterans 75th National Convention in Kentucky on Wednesday evening, where he joked about awarding himself the Medal of Honor and trailed the idea of dumping thousands of captured Isis fighters on Europe.
That speech followed a particularly wild day for Mr Trump 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 and labelled the prime minister of Denmark “nasty” over her refusal to consider selling Greenland to him.
In 2020 news, the Democrats will not be granted a widely-anticipated climate change forum, after a top Joe Biden adviser came out against in at a DNC meeting. In a time with climate change is undeniably one of the country, and planet's, greatest threats, it's a confusing turn from the party in the US that actually acknowledges the existence of the existential threat.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders will take a new job at Fox News. The position has surprised practically no one.
Finally, four more representatives now support beginning impeachment proceedings, bringing the number to 135.
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A new poll has found that approximately six out of 10 Americans - or 62 per cent - actively disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance. According to the survey for AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, just 36 per cent approve of the work he's doing.
Casey Tolan of the East Bay Times noticed that a GOP fundraising group was selling shirts that feature Greenland as part of the US. It looks like they've either sold out or accepted that Greenland absolutely is not for sale, because the shirts don't appear on the group's website anymore.
Jay Inslee spoke with David Wallace-Wells of New York Magazine about the future of his climate change plans in the wake of his closed presidential campaign. The Democrat, who was running on a climate platform, has been praised for gracefully conceding. He told Mr Wallace-Wells that his plans will remain "open source," in the hopes of another candidate latching onto them.
He also said he believes Americans are finally waking up to the reality of climate change, saying that "As disasters continue to mount and the urgency of the crisis intensifies, people see that. It's already happening. Half of Republicans see this as a problem. It's just the politicians that can't break our addiction to fossil fuels."
Oliver Darcy of CNN notes that Sarah Sanders is only the latest ex-White House official to join Fox News, following Hope Hicks and Raj Shah.
But as Washington Post reporter Hamza Shaban points out, Fox isn't the only cable news network that keeps hiring people associated with the Trump administration.
The Russian state media is pretty excited about the president's recent remarks that the Russia should be readmitted to the G7, making it the G8. Translated audio of the comments, during which the Mr Trump also said that Vladimir Putin "outsmarted" Barack Obama, was met with applause in a broadcast, seen below.
The Washington Post reports that Mr Trump's slew of antisemitic remarks stem from one familiar reason: he's upset with his lack of popularity.
"Trump has become flummoxed that Jewish Americans are not in turn lining up to support his reelection, according to people familiar with his thinking, and he has lashed out in predictable fashion," writes Philip Rucker. Read the full story here.
Golfers who cancelled their membership with Donald Trump's Miami club, the Trump National Doral, may be waiting decades to get their deposits back. The Miami Herald reports that even before Mr Trump took office, the club was absurdly slow to return the owed sums, ranging from $10,500 to $19,000. Apparently, the problem hasn't gotten better.
Bernie Sanders today unveiled his climate policy, on the same day the DNC announced that they will not hold a climate change debate. You can take a look at the details of of the $16.3 trillion plan here.
Taking climate change seriously has been a dividing issue in the Democratic primary. Elizabeth Warren has released several climate-focused plans, and Beto O'Rourke unveiled his own trillion-dollar plan at a national park. But it looks like Joe Biden, still the frontrunner according to most polls, wasn't that excited about a climate forum, as a senior member of his campaign was among those who urged the DNC to back down from the voter-pushed debate.
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, calls for action as the Amazon is burned:
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