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Donald Trump has been attacked for calling himself a “king” on social media, a day after rebuking Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator”, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul telling the president: “New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not going to start now.”
The president followed up his vicious attacks on Zelensky yesterday – whom he criticized for not holding elections during the three-year Ukraine war, after the Ukrainian leader accused him of living in a Russian “disinformation space” – by posting an endorsement of his position on Truth Social from billionaire ally Elon Musk, who dimissed the conflict as “pointless”.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance is addressing CPAC on Thursday as Trump and Musk’s purge of the federal government continues, with 6,700 probationary employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) set to be fired as tax season looms.
Speaking on Fox News on Wednesday, Trump’s commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said the administration’s goal was ultimately to abolish the IRS entirely.
Also yesterday, the president signed an executive order calling for the scrapping of federal benefits for undocumented migrants, the latest skirmish in his crackdown on illegal immigration.
RFK Jr. targets transgender protections, calling sex ‘unchangeable’ in new guidance
In his first few days as Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued new health guidance that defines sex as “unchangeable” in the Trump administration’s latest attack against transgender Americans.
The department released guidance and a new webpage called “Protecting Women and Children” to support President Donald Trump’s executive orders recognizing only two sexes and prohibiting federal funds from going toward gender-affirming care for minors.
“A person’s sex is unchangeable and determined by objective biology,” the webpage on the HHS’s Office of Women’s Health site states, adding that surgical interventions and hormones don’t “change a person’s sex because such actions do not change the type of gamete that the person’s reproductive system has the biological function to produce.”
Kelly Rissman has the story.
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 15:35
Watch live: JD Vance, Liz Truss and Nigel Farage to address CPAC
You can see a live feed from the Conservative Political Action Conference at the National Harbor in Maryland right here, with Trump’s veep among today’s speakers:
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 15:20
Truth Social: Trump still dreaming of Canada as 51st state and calls for balanced budget
Here’s the latest from the president on his social media platform, sounding only slightly deranged as he wishes the U.S. national ice hockey team well while fantasizing about taking over Canada:
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 15:15
Watch: George Clooney issues surprising message to Trump
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 15:00
Trump’s freeze on foreign aid could give China an opening on the world stage
The U.S. president’s restrictions on foreign aid and targeting of a key agency funding programs around the world may be offering an opening to America’s biggest adversary – China.
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 14:40
Why Trump is considering buying used Boeing planes to serve as Air Force One
The president said yesterday he is considering buying used Boeing aircraft to stand in for Air Force One as he fumed over the U.S. plane-maker’s delays in producing two specially modified ones for presidential use.
The planes, perhaps from an overseas seller, would be deployed when he’s aboard in the meantime as a stopgap measure.
“We’re looking at alternatives, because it’s taking Boeing too long,” he told reporters on Wednesday while aboard one of the two nearly 35-year-old Boeing 747-200 aircraft in current use.
“We may go and buy a plane,” Trump said, adding that he could then “convert it.”
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 14:20
Editorial: Donald Trump must be persuaded he is wrong about Ukraine
The U.S. president’s latest spurious outpourings – not least his suggestions that Volodymyr Zelensky is a “dictator” and that Kyiv is to blame for Russia’s invasion – have further perturbed European leaders.
It now falls to Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to Washington next week not only to set him straight, but also to beat Vladimir Putin to the role of most trusted “Trump Whisperer.”
Donald Trump must be persuaded he is wrong about Ukraine
Editorial: The US president’s latest spurious outpourings – not least his suggestions that Volodymyr Zelensky is a ‘dictator’ and that Kyiv is to blame for Russia’s invasion – have further perturbed European leaders. It now falls to Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to Washington next week not only to set him straight, but also to beat Vladimir Putin to the role of most trusted ‘Trump Whisperer’
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 14:00
Mike Pence erupts but most Republicans silent as Trump blasts Zelensky
Will Republicans in Congress stand up to the president on Ukraine?
Probably not, argues Eric Garcia.
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 13:40
Trump insists Republicans ‘united like never before’
This was the president on Truth Social just now:
That may be so, but some members of the GOP are reportedly privately unnerved by DOGE and have urged Elon Musk’s team to “slow down” and avoid any further firing blunders.
Here’s more on that from Kelly Rissman.
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 13:20
Trump’s ‘king’ claim met with derision
As we saw a little earlier, the president’s move to hail himself a king for blocking New York’s congestion pricing plan has attracted an angry response, particularly from state governor Kathy Hochul.
She reacted to Trump’s post by declaring saying: “New York hasn’t labored under a king in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not going to start now.
“In case you don’t know New Yorkers, we’re going to fight. We do not back down, not now, not ever.”
Here’s a few more spicy reactions to the president’s claim:
Joe Sommerlad20 February 2025 13:00