President Trump told dozens of law enforcement officers Thursday that his crime crackdown in Washington, DC, was having "incredible results" and that the capital would soon be "spotless" and the "best in the world."
"It's like a different city. It's the capital, it's going to be the best in the world. We're going to do what you're doing with law enforcement, and very importantly, also, we're going to physically do it," Trump said during a visit to a Park Police operations center in the high-crime Anacostia neighborhood.
President Trump, with law enforcement officers across the country gathered around, said that the crime crackdown in the nation's capital has had "incredible results." AFP via Getty Images
Trump made the announcement at the Park Police operations center in Anacostia, a high-crime area in Washington, D.C. AP
President Trump said the initiatives put into place in Washington, D.C., "will make it safe, and we're going to then go on to other places." AFP via Getty Images
"They're going to say, 'Boy, this place is spotless.'
"We're not playing games. We're going to make it safe, and we're going to then go on to other places, but we're going to stay here for a while," the president said.
More than a dozen of North Korea’s top military officers are returning home from Russia, suggesting Pyongyang’s contribution to the war in Ukraine could take a back seat during the ongoing peace talks, according to a new report.
The North Korean commanders, including Col. Gen. Kim Yong Bok and Maj. Gen. Sin Kum Chol, appeared suddenly in a welcome-home ceremony with leader Kim Jong Un praising their accomplishments in taking back Russia’s Kursk region, according to reports from Pyongyang on Thursday.
Kim Jong Un greeted his top generals returning from Russia with hugs, touting their work in helping Moscow secure the Kursk region. via REUTERS
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un have defended Pyongyang's deployment on the front lines. via REUTERS
The generals’ return is likely a signal that Russia is confident it can keep Kursk and fend off any Ukrainian counterattack, all while avoiding questions about Pyongyang’s involvement in the war, Michael Madden, a North Korea expert at the Stimson Center think tank, told the Wall Street Journal.
President Trump told conservative radio host Todd Starnes Thursday he plans on tagging along with DC police and National Guard members as they patrol the capital this evening.
"I'm going to be going out tonight, I think with the police and with the military of course," the president said. "So we're going to do a job — the National Guard is great, they've done a fantastic job."
Federal agents and local police detain a man during a surveillance patrol in the Marshall Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC, Wednesday. REUTERS
President Trump announced Aug. 11 he would deploy US National Guard troops to Washington and order an increase in the presence of federal law enforcement to assist in crime prevention in the nation's capital. Natascha Tahabsem/INSTARimages
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Thursday marked 10 days since Trump federalized the Metropolitan Police Department and called out the National Guard in response to a series of high-profile crimes in the district.
JUST IN: President Trump tells me that he's going out on patrol tonight with DC law enforcement and the military. Listen to my full interview with the president at 12P ET on The Todd Starnes Show. Listen on more than 170 radio stations or https://t.co/C4rDVyY4gT or on our social…
"I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State," Trump posted on Truth Social about the fine being thrown out. REUTERS
Second part to Trump's Truth Social post.
The case was led by New York state Attorney General Letitia James, who claimed Trump inflated his net worth to get more favorable loan terms.
"I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before," Trump wrote in a two-part Truth Social post.
New York state Attorney General Letitia James claimed Trump inflated his net worth to get more favorable loan terms. AFP via Getty Images
"I would also like to thank the Court for having the Courage to make this Decision, which is already going down as one of the worst business persecutions in the History of our Country."
Trump also called for two other court cases against him to be overturned, including his conviction for falsifying business records related to "hush money" paid to adult star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
And in December, a federal appeals court upheld a jury's finding that Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her, affirming a $5 million judgment against him. Trump is appealing that verdict and one requiring him to pay Carroll $83.3 million following additional defamation claims.
Trump would have had to pay more than $500 million prior to the judgment being thrown out. Matthew McDermott
The Appellate Division, First Department, overturned the whopping fine in the case in which Trump, 79, was found to have fraudulently inflated his net worth by billions of dollars over a decade to get better loan and insurance terms.
Trump would have had to pay a total of more than $500 million, including more than $100 million in interest, had the February 2024 ruling from Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron been upheld.
Elsewhere on Truth Social Thursday morning, Trump called for the release of Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk convicted of assisting an unlawful breach of voting systems in a failed attempt to find fraud following the 2020 presidential election.
"FREE TINA PETERS, a brave and innocent Patriot who has been tortured by Crooked Colorado politicians, including the big Mail-In Ballot supporting the governor of the State," Trump wrote.
Former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters looks on during her sentencing for her election interference case at the Mesa County District Court, Oct. 3, 2024, in Grand Junction, Colo. AP
Trump called for the release of Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk convicted of assisting an unlawful breach of voting systems in a failed attempt to find fraud following the 2020 presidential election. White House
"Let Tina Peters out of jail, RIGHT NOW. She did nothing wrong, except catching the Democrats cheat in the Election. She is an old woman, and very sick. If she is not released, I am going to take harsh measures!!!"
Peters was sentenced to nine years in state prison this past October. In March, the Justice Department said it was reviewing her case, writing that she "suffers from serious health issues and … while incarcerated, her physical and mental health have deteriorated."
President Trump has continued to post about US-Russia relations on Truth Social Thursday morning, posting a picture of him pointing at Vladimir Putin from close range during last week's summit in Anchorage, Alaska.
Below that, Trump included an image of then-Vice President Richard Nixon jabbing his finger at Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during the famous "Kitchen Debate" of 1959.
"It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders [sic] country. It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offensive. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia," Trump wrote.
President Trump fired off a Truth Social post Thursday morning defending Ukraine's counterattack on Russia.
The president could have been referring to Ukraine's strikes on oil refineries within Russia. An oil refinery in Russia's Rostov Oblast was set ablaze overnight after being hit with an apparent drone strike.
Ukraine also invaded Kursk, a portion of Russia, in 2024, and hit air bases deep inside Russia with a secret drone attack called "Operation Spiderweb" in June.
"Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND defend. How did that work out? Regardless, this is a war that would have NEVER happened if I were President - ZERO CHANCE. Interesting times ahead!!! President DJT," Trump went on in his lengthy post.
WASHINGTON — The US and European Union released more details on their trade framework Thursday, with tariffs as high as 15% expected to hit goods coming into America starting in September.
The US is expected to phase out tariffs on European cars and auto parts as the duties on American goods are stripped away.
The US is expected to phase out tariffs on European cars and auto parts. AFP via Getty Images
EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional relations and Transparency Maros Sefcovic during a press conference on the EU-US tariffs deal at the European Commission in Brussels. AFP via Getty Images
The EU still plans to purchase $750 billion in liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear energy from the US, along with $40 billion in artificial intelligence chips, while also investing an additional $600 billion in America through 2028.
There will be zero tariffs on all US industrial goods and providing "preferential market access" for American seafood — including lobsters — as well as agricultural goods like tree nuts, dairy products, fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, processed foods, planting seeds, soybean oil, and pork and bison meat.
Either a 15% tariff or Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate on goods coming from the EU will take effect starting Sept. 1. The MFN tariff will only be slapped on aircraft and aircraft parts, pharmaceuticals and some unavailable natural resources.
As many as five different locations have been pitched by various world leaders to host a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Among them is Budapest, Hungary — as President Trump reportedly pressed the country’s leader Viktor Orban to lift its block on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
Budapest, Hungary, is one of the possible locations for the meeting between Putin and Zelensky, with Trump reportedly pressing the country’s leader, Viktor Orban, to lift its block on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Daniel Torok/White House/UPI/Shutterstock
Hungary is an Eastern European nation that backs both Putin and Trump. AP
Hungary — an Eastern European nation that backs both Putin and Trump — has to date been an unacceptable location for Ukrainians to consider, given that it is not a neutral party. However, it may be a possibility if Orbán does as Trump asks, European officials have suggested.
Other possible locations include Geneva, Switzerland; Vienna, Austria; and the Vatican.
As Vice President JD Vance left a Shake Shack in Washington, DC, this afternoon — where he thanked members of the National Guard for their service in the city this past week, over burgers at the Union Station location — he brushed off a heckler who was booing him, loudly.
CNN's @AlejandraJMillo video of Vance being boo'ed as he leaves Shake Shake at Union Station:
"This is the guy who thinks people don't deserve law and order in their own community," Vance says. pic.twitter.com/5vK2Z2kXEP
The Democratic Party is bleeding registered voters, suffering a 4.5 million-name loss that could take years to recover from, according to a new report.
Between the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, Democrats lost about 2.1 million voters across the 30 states that track registration by political party, according to a New York Times analysis of data gathered by the L2 tracking firm.
Over the same period, the Republican Party gained 2.4 million registered voters.
Officially, there are still more registered Democrats than Republicans nationwide, but that number is incomplete because blue states like California and New York allow voters to register by party — as does the District of Columbia — while reliably red states like Texas, Missouri and Ohio do not.
