Trump blasts caravan, says he’s cutting Central American aid
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared Monday the U.S. will begin cutting aid to three Central American countries he accused of failing to stop thousands of migrants heading for the U.S. border. But across his administration there was no indication of any action in response to what he tweeted was a “National Emergy.”
For hours on Monday, White House officials were unable to provide an explanation for the president’s threats, which reflected both his apparent frustration with the migrant caravan and his determination to transform it into Republican election gains. Federal agencies said they’d received no guidance on the president’s declaration, issued as he attempts to make illegal immigration a focus of next month’s midterm elections.
If Trump should follow through with his threat to end or greatly reduce U.S. aid, that could worsen the poverty and violence that are a root cause of the migration he has been railing against, critics said.
Trump tweeted, “Sadly, it looks like Mexico’s Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States.” He added without evidence that “criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in.”
“I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy,” he wrote. “Must change laws!”
US general visits troops fighting Islamic State in Syria
AL-TANF, Syria — The top U.S. commander for the Middle East made an unannounced visit Monday to a key military outpost in southern Syria, pressing the need for a continued U.S. presence there to root out remaining Islamic State fighters and serve as leverage against growing Iranian activity in the region.
Striding through the rocky and dusty al-Tanf garrison, Army Gen. Joseph Votel said the outpost near the Iraq and Jordan borders still serves an important purpose even though U.S. and coalition troops have “largely eliminated” the Islamic State group from the area. But he said the overall mission has not shifted into a counter-Iran campaign.
“We have a defeat ISIS mission,” said Votel, referring to the Islamic State group. “But I do recognize that our presence, our development of partners and relationships down here does have an indirect effect on some of the malign activities that Iran and their various proxies and surrogates would like to pursue down here.”
An Associated Press reporter and journalists from two other media organizations accompanied Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, to the garrison. It was the first time that media members gained access to the garrison, which opened in 2015. For security reasons, his visit couldn’t be disclosed until after he left the country.
Votel’s visit to the base underscored the dual role it plays because of its strategic location.
CNN’s Jim Acosta calls for Trump to halt media attacks
NEW YORK — CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta, whose network is a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s “fake news” barbs, called on him Monday to stop attacking the media because he’s afraid someone will get hurt.
The past week may have signaled a turning point in journalists fighting back against Trump’s attacks, with the White House Correspondents Association issuing a statement condemning him for praising a Montana congressman who body-slammed a reporter last year during a successful congressional campaign.
Acosta, Maggie Haberman and WHCA President Olivier Knox talked about the personal toll the words have taken during a panel Monday at CNN’s “Citizen” conference. Knox said the day after Trump referred to some news organizations as enemies of the people, his child came to him in tears and asked if he was going to prison.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has been advised that his words against the media have an impact, but “he doesn’t seem to care,” said Haberman, who covered Trump as a New York real estate baron and now in the White House. A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, also said that he was glad Trump broke an agreement to keep a conversation the two men had off the record because it revealed publicly that he had made the same point to the president.