Trump news – live: Trump spreads White House cocaine conspiracy as DeSantis pledges interviews on policy

A former official in the Trump administration has made shocking new claims about Donald Trump’s time in the White House.

In his new book “Blowback”, former Trump administration official Miles Taylor claimed that Mr Trump wanted to “tap the phones” of White House aides who he suspected of leaks in 2018. The idea as quickly shut down by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly who told the then-president it “would be illegal”.

Over the weekend, his attendance at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event in Las Vegas on Saturday night sparked controversy on Twitter after he was spotted chatting to celebrity chef Guy Fieri.

Turning Point USA chief creative officer Benny Johnson, a Trump supporter, posted a picture of the two men to Twitter, referring in the caption to Fieri’s catchphrase: “Trump in Flavor Town”.

Trump supporters were thrilled to see the two men together, but critics slammed Fieri for mingling with the twice-impeached former president. “Literally one of the worst cooks out there hang with worst president ever,” one person tweeted.

Key points

• Trump’s encounter with Guy Fieri at UFC fight sparks mixed reactions

• New book claims Trump wanted to tap phones of White House aides

• Ex-president reveals he’s never been to a Dairy Queen

Meta backs down on Donald Trump Jr ‘misinformation’ warning

22:42 , John Bowden

It didn’t take very long for conservatives to pounce on Meta’s new Twitter competitor and accuse it of censoring a prominent conservative, forcing the social media giant to back down.

This time, the controversy is over a warning that Meta apparently attached to Donald Trump Jr’s account, before later removing it and claiming the label to have been a “mistake”.

Read more:

Meta backs down on Donald Trump Jr ‘misinformation’ warning

Voices — Let’s fact check Biden’s so-called mental decline

21:41 , John Bowden

Noah Berlatsky takes a look at questions about Joe Biden’s mental acuity ahead of 2024:

Let’s fact check Biden’s so-called mental decline

Trump leads DeSantis by 20 points in poll of Florida Republicans

21:13 , John Bowden

Gov Ron DeSantis just got some of his worst polling news yet.

A survey of likely Republican primary voters in the Sunshine State by Florida Atlantic University shows him firmly trailing former President Donald Trump, with the pair’s other rivals for the GOP nomination far out in the wilderness.

The poll affirmed two narratives involving the DeSantis campaign: The 2024 Republican primary, at present, is a two-candidate contest. And Mr DeSantis is losing.

Read more:

Trump leads DeSantis by 20 points in poll of Florida Republicans

Tucker Carlson’s Twitter show is haemorrhaging viewers with 85% drop from first episode, reports say

20:32 , John Bowden

Tucker Carlson’s Twitter show has reportedly suffered a significant drop in viewership since his debut episode of Tucker on Twitter.

His most recent episode, his eighth, only garnered 3.8m video views, according to Binder. It counts as a “view” if someone watched the video for more than two seconds.

The Independent has more on how Carlson’s latest gambit is turning out:

Tucker Carlson’s Twitter show is haemorrhaging viewers, reports says

Utah governor says he hopes Republican party can ‘turn the page’ on Trump in 2024

20:00 , John Bowden

When CBS News’ Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan asked Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox whether one of the many Republican governors running in the 2024 race could defeat Mr Trump in a primary election, Mr Cox said he hoped his party could move on from the former president.

His words revealed one thing: While GOP voters may have yet to sour on the former president, more and more elected officials are doing so.

Utah governor says he hopes Republican party can ‘turn the page’ on Trump in 2024

MSNBC panelist calling Casey DeSantis ‘America’s Karen’ sparks war of words with Fox News

19:31 , John Bowden

Remarks made by an MSNBC host about Casey DeSantis, spouse of the 2024 presidential candidate, have sparked a sort of war-of-words between the network and Fox News.

On Saturday, a discussion hosted by MSNBC and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart centred around a new advertisement released by the DeSantis campaign featuring Casey DeSantis stumping for her husband — and whether her persona and character would be found appealing by voters.

A former Republican congressman from Florida, Rep David Jolly, was invited to weigh in on the ad. He dubbed the first lady of Florida “America’s Karen”, and quipped: “It doesn’t matter if it’s presented in heels or boots, the DeSantis doctrine is a losing one.”

The cutting remarks elicited a reponse from Fox’s Brian Kilmeade.

Read on...

MSNBC panelist calling Casey DeSantis ‘America’s Karen’ sparks war of words with Fox

Trump spreads White House cocaine conspiracy

18:07 , John Bowden

Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Monday to comment on the row over a small bag of cocaine discovered at the White House, in a lobby on the West Wing during a period of time when Joe Biden and his family were absent from the residence.

The former president claimed (without evidence) that the president and his son, Hunter Biden, were somehow involved, and further insisted that the Secret Service was covering it up as the agency has apparently been unable to centre in on a suspect in the investigation into who transported the drugs into the building.

“The White House has Security Cameras (far more than Mar-a-Lago!) all over the place, especially the location in question. THEY 100% KNOW WHO IT IS. If they don’t release information, it means they destroyed the tapes & the Cocaine was for use by Hunter, & probably Crooked Joe, in order to give this total disaster of a President a little life and energy!” wrote Mr Trump.

Violent brawl breaks out at Michigan GOP committee meeting

17:33 , John Bowden

While the scuffles may be verbal as leading Republicans jostle to become the party’s 2024 presidential nominee, down at the state level things have actually turned physical — at least in Michigan, and not for the first time.

Tensions boiled over within the Michigan Republican Party on Saturday resulting in an altercation at a hotel to which the police were called.

It all took place as the GOP’s state committee came together for a meeting at the Doherty Hotel in Clare as members have been feuding over the party’s direction and the leadership approach of the new chairwoman, Kristina Karamo.

Read more:

Violent brawl breaks out at Michigan GOP committee meeting

Trump wanted to tap phones of White House aides, new book claims

16:56 , John Bowden

Donald Trump wanted to “tap the phones” of White House aides who he suspected of leaking information, according to bombshell claims made by a former Trump administration official.

Miles Taylor, who served as the Department of Homeland Security’s chief of staff under Mr Trump, has claimed in his new book Blowback that the then-president floated the idea “to pursue leakers by tapping phones” at some point in 2018.

The idea was quickly shut down by then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly who warned Mr Trump he would be breaking the law.

Read on...

Trump wanted to tap phones of White House aides, new book claims

Trump inadvertently reveals he’s never been to a Dairy Queen in viral video

16:26 , John Bowden

Former President Donald Trump has inadvertently revealed that he’s not a frequent visitor of the ice cream chain Dairy Queen.

During a stop at a Dairy Queen in Iowa, Trump appeared perplexed by requests for a Blizzard — the most famous item on the ice cream store’s menu.

“Everybody wants a Blizzard. What the hell is a Blizzard?” Trump asked while throwing his hands in the air, prompting laughter from the crowd.

Iowa Republican Party sets date for 2024 caucus

15:30 , John Bowden

Iowa Republicans have voted to hold their first-in-the-nation caucuses on 15 January 2024.

This is the earliest start to the presidential nominating process since 2012, when caucusgoers gathered on 3 January.

It also happens to be the third Monday in January, making it the Martin Luther King Day federal holiday.

The Independent has more on the changing 2024 primary calendar:

Iowa Republican Party sets date for 2024 caucus

Ethics board recommends Rudy Giuliani be disbarred for ‘destructive’ attempts to undermine 2020 results

15:00 , John Bowden

A disciplinary committee in Washington DC has recommended Rudy Giuliani be disbarred in the nation’s capital for his spurious efforts to overturn the results for the 2020 presidential election on behalf of Donald Trump.

The preliminary report is from a committee with the DC Bar Association, which follows a misconduct hearing in December, is not final; his case will be considered by DC’s Board on Professional Responsibility and by the DC Court of Appeals.

Mr Giuliani – who repeatedly and baselessly asserted that the election was fraudulent while pushing lawsuits to subvert the outcome in states that Mr Trump lost – is facing other professional sanctions, investigations and lawsuits tied to his efforts to overturn election results and sow doubt about the outcome of the 2020 election.

Read on in The Independent...

Disciplinary committee recommends Rudy Giuliani be disbarred

Trump vows to keep ‘communists and markers’ out of the US in latest gaffe

14:30 , John Bowden

Donald Trump fumbled his words while speaking at his largest campaign event in Iowa on Friday.

The former president appeared in Council Bluffs in the western part of the state that hosts the first caucus in approximately just over five months.

Speaking about immigration, Mr Trump was relaying a campaign promise to deny entry to leftist ideologues when he accidentally referred to them as “communists and markers” rather than Marxists.

Watch the amusing moment here:

Trump vows to keep ‘communists and markers’ out of the US in latest gaffe

DeSantis nervously laughs when asked about campaign ‘failure to launch’ in Fox News interview

14:00 , Rachel Sharp

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was left laughing and speechless after Fox News‘s Maria Bartiromo pointedly asked him “what happened” to his presidential campaign.

During an interview on her show Sunday Morning Futures, Bartiromo referenced a Politico article titled “Failure to Launch” that highlighted an assessment from a surrogate for Mr DeSantis who admitted “we are way behind” in polling.

“What’s going on with your campaign?” Bartiromo asked. “There was a lot of optimism about you running for president earlier in the year. … What happened?!”

Read the story here:

DeSantis nervously laughs when asked about 2024 ‘failure to launch’ in Fox interview

Utah governor says he hopes Republican party can 'turn the page' on Trump in 2024

13:40 , Rachel Sharp

Utah Governor Spencer Cox has said that he hopes the Republican party can “turn the page” on Donald Trump and “try something else” in the 2024 race.

Speaking on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, the Republican governor made it clear that he wants a different candidate for 2024 – and that he believes one of the country’s GOP governors is up to the job.

“There are at least six current or former governors, Republican governors, running for president right now. Can any of them defeat Donald Trump in a primary?” host Margaret Brennan asked him

“I hope so. I like governors. I think governors are great and have real experience. The great thing about governors is we have to get stuff done, right? We can’t just do the performance thing,” he said, adding: “Potholes aren’t partisan. You have to do those kind of things.”

AOC says DeSantis is trying to 'out-Trump' Trump

13:20 , Rachel Sharp

AOC has said that Ron DeSantis is trying to “out-Trump” Donald Trump – as she rejected the idea that he is a more level-headed Republican candidate than the former president.

In a clip shown on MSNBC on Sunday, the Squad member was asked about the opinion that Mr Trump would be easier for President Joe Biden to beat than Mr DeSantis.

“I think there’s something to be said about that,” she said before adding that Mr DeSantis “has made some very large, critical errors”.

She explained that “you can’t out-Trump Trump”.

“That’s what he’s been trying to do. His attacks on teachers, on schools, on LGBT Americans. I think it goes way too far in the state of Florida. I think that they are a profound political miscalculation, and an overcompensation,” she said.

“He may be trying to win a base, but that base belongs to Donald Trump. And he has sacrificed, I think, the one thing that others may have thought would make him competitive, which is this idea that he can somehow be more rational than Donald Trump, which, he isn’t.”

Trump says ‘damaged’ DeSantis is ‘desperately trying to get out’ of 2024 race

13:00 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump was back at it again on Truth Social over the weekend.

The ex-president is working to secure his victory in the Republican nominating contest before it even officially begins, swiping at any rival that dares to pull into competitive territory. At present, that largely means gratuitous attacks aimed at Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, who is the only other Republican consistently pulling double-digit poll numbers.

On Saturday, Mr Trump claimed that the Florida governor was now seeking to depart the presidential race after Mr DeSantis’s poll numbers dropped somewhat in the wake of the ex-president being indicted on state and federal charges.

Read more here:

Trump says ‘damaged’ DeSantis is ‘desperately trying to get out’ of 2024 race

Columnist calls Trump a 'big whale in a polo shirt' in clap back at Newsmax host

12:40 , Rachel Sharp

Columnist Ellis Henican called Donald Trump a “big whale in a polo shirt” in an expert clapback at a Newsmax host.

Mr Henican appeared on Newsmax over the weekend where host Michael Grimm hit out at President Joe Biden for taking some time out on a Delaware beach.

“So, Ellis, this is your guy on the beach, which, by the way, I want you to know, Ellis, I can’t get that vision out of my head, and I’m I’m I’m screwed up for the rest of the day,” Mr Grimm said.

“Is this the right look ahead of a major international meeting for Biden?”

Mr Henican pushed back – pointing out that there were no complaints when Mr Trump took time off while he was president.

“I can’t believe this is your argument. This is un-American, denying the man a chance to visit the beach. My God,” he said.

“This thing, honestly, Mike, you know, it’s just a test on how hostile you are to the president. You guys didn’t mind it when Trump, looking like a big whale in a polo shirt, was waddling around the golf course.”

He continued: “I guess you all thought that was, I don’t know what, attractive or manly or something. And you just hate it when Biden does it.”

NBA star writes 'Trump won!' on the side of his head at Big 3 game

12:20 , Rachel Sharp

NBA star Royce White wrote the phrase “Trump won!” on the side of his head as he competed at the “Big 3” basketball league at the weekend.

The image was shared by Trump’s War Room.

Trump strains relations with Iowa Republicans with no-show at charity event

12:00 , Rachel Sharp

Former president Donald Trump reportedly further strained his relationship with Republican party leadership in Iowa after failing to show up for senator Joni Ernst‘s annual “Roast and Ride” charity.

Except for Mr Trump, eight of the GOP 2024 presidential election hopefuls were present at the senator’s charity event last month – a combination of barbecue-rally and motorcycle rides that kick off a busy summer campaign season heading into the first-in-the-nation caucuses.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former vice president Mike Pence, US senator Tim Scott, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and other candidates dressed for the occasion in leather and reached out to supporters.

Read the full story:

Trump strains relations with Iowa Republicans with no-show at charity event

WATCH: Trump reveals he’s never been to a Dairy Queen

11:50 , Rachel Sharp

Trump wanted to tap phones of White House aides, new book claims

11:40 , Rachel Sharp

A former Trump administration official has made shocking new claims about his time in the White House.

In his new book “Blowback”, Miles Taylor claimed that Mr Trump wanted to “tap the phones” of White House aides who he suspected of leaks in 2018.

The then-president “had wanted to pursue leakers by tapping phones, but that Kelly pushed back and never carried it out,” he writes.

The idea as quickly shut down by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly who told the then-president it “would be illegal,” the book claims.

Mr Trump’s camp has denied the claim made in the book, with Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung telling Axios in a statement: “Miles Taylor is a loser and a lying sack of s***. His book either belongs in the discount bin of the fiction section or should be repurposed as toilet paper.”

Trump’s encounter with Guy Fieri at UFC fight sparks mixed reactions

11:33 , Rachel Sharp

Donald Trump’s attendance at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event in Las Vegas on Saturday night has sparked controversy after he was spotted chatting to celebrity chef Guy Fieri.

Turning Point USA chief creative officer Benny Johnson, a Trump supporter, posted a picture of the two men to Twitter, referring in the caption to Fieri’s catchphrase: “Trump in Flavor Town”.

Trump supporters were thrilled to see the two men together, but critics slammed Fieri for mingling with the twice-impeached former president. “Literally one of the worst cooks out there hang with worst president ever,” one person tweeted.

While Mr Trump enjoyed the UFC event – also attended by podcast host Joe Rogan – a former official made shocking new claims about his time in the White House.

Read the full story:

Trump’s encounter with Guy Fieri at UFC fight sparks mixed reactions