Trump kicks off 2020 campaign at Orlando rally
ORLANDO, Fla. — Jabbing at the press and poking the eye of the political establishment he ran against in 2016, President Donald Trump officially kicked off his reelection campaign Tuesday with a grievance-filled Florida rally that focused more on settling scores than laying out his agenda for a second term.
Addressing a crowd of thousands at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, Trump complained he had been “under assault from the very first day” of his presidency by a “fake news media” and “illegal witch hunt” that had tried to keep him and his supporters down.
And he painted a disturbing picture of what life would look like if he loses in 2020, accusing his critics of “un-American conduct” and telling the crowd that Democrats “want to destroy you and they want to destroy our country as we know it.”
The apocalyptic language and finger-pointing made clear that Trump’s 2020 campaign will probably look a whole lot like his improbably successful run three years ago. While Trump’s campaign has tried to professionalize, with shiny office space and a large and growing staff, and despite two-and-a-half years occupying the Oval Office as America’s commander-in-chief, Trump nonetheless remained focused on energizing his base and offering himself as a political outsider running against Washington.
And he appeared eager for a rerun of 2016, spending considerable time focused on former Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, whose name elicited “Lock her up!” chants, even though she is not on the ballot.
Xi supports North Korea’s direction on issues ahead of visit
SEOUL, South Korea — Chinese President Xi Jinping says North Korea is taking the “right direction” by politically resolving issues on the Korean Peninsula in a rare op-ed published by a North Korean state newspaper a day ahead of Xi’s visit to Pyongyang to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Xi didn’t mention stalled nuclear weapons talks between Washington and Pyongyang in the Rodong Sinmun article Wednesday. He said that his visit would “strengthen strategic communication and exchange” between the traditional allies.
Xi will visit North Korea on Thursday and Friday. Kim met Xi four times in China last year during a diplomatic outreach that also involved meetings with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.
EU fights to keep nuclear deal alive amid US, Iran pressure
BRUSSELS — A year after the United States pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement, the pact is at severe risk of collapse and the European Union is caught in the middle, struggling to keep supply lines open to the Islamic Republic’s wilting economy under the threat of U.S. sanctions.
With few real options left, their trust in the Trump administration running low, and fears rising that conflict could break out, major powers Germany, France and Britain have been reduced to repeating calls for restraint as pressure builds and Iran threatens to walk away from the painstakingly drafted 2015 deal.
In an effort to keep Iran’s economy afloat and save an agreement they believe has stopped Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, the Europeans are turning to diplomacy to try to encourage other countries to buy more Iranian oil. They also have set up a barter-type system to evade possible U.S. sanctions.
“We have to do everything to solve the conflict situation with Iran in a peaceful manner,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday. “We will do everything to impress on all sides, but especially to make clear to Iran, that this serious situation mustn’t be aggravated.”
The pact, which ensures that Tehran’s nuclear program be restricted to civilian uses in exchange for economic assistance, was signed by Iran, the U.S., Russia, China, France Germany and Britain. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the deal in May 2018.
“We are relying on Iran continuing to abide by it,” Merkel said. “If that isn’t the case, that will of course have consequences.”
With Hope Hicks interview, Dems breach Trump’s inner circle
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee will interview former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks behind closed doors on Wednesday, the first time lawmakers will hear from a person linked to the president’s inner circle since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
Obtaining the testimony from Hicks, a close and trusted former aide to President Donald Trump, is a significant victory for Democrats as Trump has broadly stonewalled their investigations. The committee originally subpoenaed Hicks to give public testimony, but agreed to the closed-door interview after negotiations. A transcript of the session will be released in the days afterward.
Still, it is unclear how much new information Hicks will provide. She already cooperated extensively with Mueller’s probe, and a White House lawyer who will be in the room for the interview is expected to try and block her from answering certain questions.
In a letter sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Tuesday, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone wrote that Trump had directed Hicks not to answer questions “relating to the time of her service as a senior adviser to the president.”
Cipollone cited executive privilege, or the power to keep information from the courts, Congress and the public to protect the confidentiality of the Oval Office decision-making process. Democrats say they disagree that her answers are covered by such privilege, especially since she has already cooperated with Mueller.
Harvard case offers reminder of perils of online misbehavior
The racist social-media posts were originally shared only among friends — in text messages and a Google document. But someone took screenshots, which led Harvard University to revoke an offer of admission to a Parkland high school survivor.
The decision announced Monday serves as a reminder to aspiring college students and all young people that online comments, even those considered private, can resurface and be used against them.
It’s relatively unusual for colleges to rescind admission offers. When they do, it’s more often for a slip in academic performance or disciplinary issues than social media posts. But experts say it’s not uncommon for offers of admission to be jeopardized by the emergence of damaging communications, sometimes because of people motivated by competition or jealousy.
Parents of students rejected by a college on many occasions have reported the social-media posts of other students who were accepted, said Jeff Fuller, former admissions officer at the University of Houston and now director of college counseling at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, also in Houston.
“The unfortunate thing is that this may be your best bud, but tomorrow it might not be,” Fuller said. Anything communicated in writing “is subject to somebody using it in a negative way against that individual.”
