Trump news: President 'doesn't regret' tweeting 9/11 video about Ilhan Omar, as first 2020 Republican challenger emerges
President also pledges his support to the people of France
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Your support makes all the difference.President Trump has pledged his support to the people of France after the iconic Notre Dame cathedral suffered a devastating fire last night. On Twitter, the president noted it was “horrible” to watch the scenes from Paris, and suggested “flying water tankers could be used to put it out.” It was confirmed this morning that the fire had been entirely extinguished.
The White House said it will offer France “assistance in the rehabilitation of this irreplaceable symbol of Western civilization.”
“The United States stands with French citizens, the city of Paris, and the millions of visitors from around the world who have sought solace in that iconic structure,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.
Closer to home, Trump is also facing his first Republican challenger for the 2020 presidential election in the form of Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, although is it deemed unlikely that anyone will seize the party’s nomination from the incumbent.
“I really think if we have six more years of the same stuff we’ve had out of the White House the last two years that would be a political tragedy, and I would fear for the Republic,” Mr Weld told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday. “I would be ashamed of myself if I didn’t raise my hand and run.
It was also announced late yesterday that the Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2020 presidential election, and any links to the Trump campaign, would be released in a redacted form to the public this Thursday.
The president also defended his attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar despite an onslaught of death threats the Muslim congresswoman received recently.
In an interview with a local news station in Minnesota, Mr Trump continued to disparage Ms Omar. “It’s unfortunate,” he said. “She’s got a way about her that’s very, very bad, I think, for our country. I think she’s extremely unpatriotic and extremely disrespectful to our country.”
Read The Independent’s updates as they happened below.
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Per the Hill:
"President Trump said he is not worried about the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, saying it will show the now-closed Russia investigation was 'a total phony.'"
“I heard it's going to come out on Thursday," Mr Trump told a local news station in Minnesota while promoting his tax law. "That's good. And there can't be anything there because there was no crime. There was no anything.”
President Trump wrote a statement offering condolences to French President Emmanuel Macron over the devastating fire that destroyed the Notre Dame Cathedral.
"Those bells will sound again," the statement read. "We stand with France today and offer our assistance in the rehabilitation of this irreplaceable symbol of Western civilization. Vive la France!"
Per CNBC:
"Newly appointed Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt is the latest member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to come under investigation by his own agency’s watchdog.
The Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General on Monday confirmed that it has opened an investigation into allegations of conflict of interest and other violations during Bernhardt’s tenure as the agency’s deputy secretary."
The White House announced the date of its Wisconsin "Make America Great Again" rally in Wisconsin for April 27, which is the same night as the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
President Trump tweeted out a video of a Fox News panel discussion over the release of the Mueller report with the following caption: "No Collusion - No Obstruction!"
Former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann referred to Donald Trump as a "biblical" president.
Per CNN:
"President Donald Trump's re-election campaign raised more than $30 million in the first fundraising quarter of 2019 -- an amount that rivals the combined fundraising haul of the top two Democrats in the first quarter and underscores his enormous financial head start over the crowded field of Democrats jockeying to face him in 2020.
Trump's re-election effort now has a substantial $40.8 million remaining in the bank, Tim Murtaugh, the campaign's director of communications, told CNN on Sunday."
The White House said it will offer "assistance" in the rehabilitation of the devastating fire that destroyed the Notre Dame Cathedral. It is uncertain what kind of assistance will be provided.
Rep. Elijah Cummings issued a subpoena for Mazars USA, a tax firm, to hand over President Trump's financial records for the last 10 years.
In response to the president's attack on her, Rep. Ilhan Omar received nearly $830,000 for her re-election campaign.
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