The nickname “Sleepy Joe Biden,” which Trump repeatedly uses, can also be read there. Trump used this term several times during the presidential election campaign to portray his opponent as weak. The plaque also states that the 2020 election, from which Biden emerged as the winner, was fraudulent – a claim by Trump that has been refuted. The Democrat is also blamed for the start of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump is falling in favor with US citizens. When he took office in January, Trump had an approval rating of 47 percent; in a survey conducted by the Ipsos Institute for the Reuters news agency, the US President now achieved a rating of 39 percent. This is the second lowest rate of his second term in office; in November it was at 38 percent.
While Trump recently celebrated his foreign policy successes with the Peace Medal from the World Football Association Fifa, the US population is particularly hurt by rising prices. Accordingly, only 33 percent of the US population agreed with the US President’s economic policy – the lowest value this year.
Even within his own party, dissatisfaction has increased – something his former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene also warns about. Only 72 percent of Republicans rated his economic policy course positively, according to the Reuters/Ipsos survey completed on Sunday and published on Tuesday. At the beginning of December it was still 78 percent.
US President Donald Trump has ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers to and from Venezuela and has classified the country’s government as a terrorist organization. The price of oil then rose. US WTI crude oil rose in price on Wednesday by 1.3 percent to $55.99 per barrel. It was initially unclear how the US government planned to enforce the blockade. However, in recent months it has deployed thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships, including an aircraft carrier, to the region.
video | US soldiers storm oil tankers
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“Because of the theft of our assets and for many other reasons, including terrorism, drug smuggling and human trafficking, the Venezuelan regime has been declared a foreign terrorist organization,” Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday. He also threatened to begin US ground operations in the South American country soon. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the US of wanting to colonize his country in order to seize its oil, gas and gold wealth. He accuses the US government of wanting to use its military presence to bring about a coup in order to gain control of the world’s largest oil reserves.
Trump’s previous campaign in the region has already included more than two dozen military strikes on ships, killing at least 90 people. After the seizure of a tanker by the USA the previous week, a de facto naval blockade had arisen. Ships loaded with millions of dollars’ worth of oil remained in Venezuelan waters to avoid the risk of being seized as well. Venezuela’s oil customers, including Chinese refiners, are demanding higher discounts because of the increased risk. According to insiders, discounts for the main Venezuelan variety Merey for deliveries to China have widened to up to $21 per barrel below the reference price for the North Sea Brent variety.
US President Donald Trump has announced a speech for Wednesday evening. “My fellow Americans: I will be delivering an address to the nation tomorrow night, live from the White House, at 9 p.m. local time (3 a.m. German time). I look forward to ‘seeing’ you then. It’s been a great year, and the best is yet to come!”
US presidents typically use addresses to the nation to mark significant moments, make important announcements, or to explain their own policies.
A group of 16 US states have sued President Donald Trump’s administration over the suspension of two funding programs for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Tuesday that the Washington Department of Transportation has refused to approve new funding from those two programs. These were created by Congress in 2022 as part of a trillion dollar infrastructure bill. One of the programs provides $2.5 billion for the development of charging and hydrogen filling station infrastructure.
Trump’s actions put $1.8 billion in federal funds at risk for dozens of states and municipalities, according to the lawsuit led by California, Washington and Colorado, and in which the District of Columbia is also participating. “This is just another reckless effort that will stall the fight against air pollution and climate change, slow innovation, thwart green job creation and deny communities access to clean, affordable transportation,” Bonta said.
The US administration of President Donald Trump has expanded the list of countries whose citizens do not receive entry visas to the US to include five more countries. In the future, citizens from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Syria and South Sudan will also not receive an entry permit for the USA.
The Trump administration created the list in the summer. It was last expanded after the fatal attack on members of the National Guard in Washington in November. The arrested suspect was a member of the Afghan security forces who had worked with US troops in the Hindu Kush. He came to the USA through a special program.
In total, the Trump administration has issued an entry ban for seventeen countries. Strict entry restrictions have been imposed for seven other countries.
The relationship between US President Donald Trump and entrepreneur Elon Musk has cooled significantly. But in the dispute with Europe, Musk can hope for the support of the White House. The US government has threatened the EU with retaliation after a fine against the online platform X. The Office of the US Trade Representative accused the European Union “and certain EU member states” of “discriminatory and harassing” actions on Tuesday on X. They will “use every means available” to respond to the discrimination against US service providers. While EU companies could operate freely in the USA, US providers in Europe would be affected. If countermeasures become necessary, US law allows the imposition of fees or restrictions on foreign services.
The authority cited the German companies Siemens, SAP and DHL as well as the music streaming service Spotify as examples of European companies that benefited from free US market access.
The EU authorities had fined X €120 million for violating transparency rules for online content. Trump called the measure a “nasty one” and said Europe had to be “very careful.” However, Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejected the criticism. Just as European companies in the USA have to follow the laws there, American companies also have to accept the rules in Europe, said Merz. X owner and Tesla boss Musk rejected the punishment and called for the EU to be dissolved.
In a series of unusually open conversations with journalist Chris Whipple, Susie Wiles, US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, had clear words about her boss. Wiles told Vanity Fair magazine that Trump governs with the feeling “that there is nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.” Although the president is considered a teetotaler, she described him by saying, “He has the personality of an alcoholic.” Such personalities are “amplified when they drink – and I’m a bit of an expert on big personalities.” Wiles is the daughter of alcoholic US sports presenter Pat Summerall.
In the more than ten interviews for the magazine article, Wiles repeatedly expressed doubts about Trump’s decisions. In their view, his actions in Venezuela – where Trump ordered attacks on boats – were part of a plan for “regime change”, although officials presented it differently. Trump also apparently repeatedly ignored her advice on domestic issues, such as pardoning violent participants in the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. When asked about possible political retaliation against opponents such as former FBI chief James Comey, Wiles replied: “I can’t tell you why you shouldn’t think that it looks like revenge.”
After the quotes were published, Wiles distanced himself from parts of the reporting. She wrote on Platform X that the article was a “distorted attack on me and the best President, the best White House team and Cabinet in history.” A lot of things were “taken out of context”. Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also jumped to her side: Wiles is “the president’s most loyal advisor” and the government is “unitedly behind her.” Read more about this here.
