Tag: Donald Trump

Trump tough talk on China worries US exporters

by Luc Olinga Agence France Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to slap punitive tariffs on Chinese goods is a worry for firms that trade with the country in the US Midwest, a decisive region in the Republican’s election triumph. Strong support across America’s “Rust Belt,” and frustration at lost industrial jobs blamed on globalization, carried Trump to victory last month in key battleground states, including Michigan and Ohio. But […]

Trump blasts ‘out of control’ costs for F-35 fighter

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President-elect Donald Trump took aim Monday at a second US aerospace giant in as many weeks, this time attacking the F-35 stealth fighter and its “out of control” costs. With a current development and acquisition price tag of $379 billion for a total of 2,443 F-35 aircraft — most of them destined for the Air Force — the Lockheed Martin-built plane is the most expensive in history, and costs are […]

Criticizing Trump, W.House says Taiwan ‘not a bargaining chip’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Barack Obama’s White House on Monday took aim at Donald Trump’s recent comments on Taiwan, saying the long-standing alliance should not be used as a “bargaining chip” with Beijing. “Taiwan is not a source of leverage, it’s a close partner of the United States,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, in an unusually direct criticism of Trump’s remarks. Earnest’s comments come after the president-elect suggested he could jettison Washington’s […]

Congress, at odds with Trump, eyes Russia hack probe

by Paul Handley with Jennie Matthew in New York Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Leading senators on Monday supported a congressional investigation into US intelligence assessments that Russia interfered in the election, putting top Republicans on a collision course with incoming president Donald Trump. The president-elect has dismissed the intelligence reports as “ridiculous” defying an increasing number of senators from his own party, as well as top Democrats, the Central Intelligence Agency […]

Trump’s cabinet picks so far — a quick guide

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday formally nominated retired Marine general John Kelly to be his secretary of homeland security — the third former general tapped to join the Republican billionaire’s inner circle. The following is a list of key cabinet and other nominations made so far by Trump, who takes office on January 20: Cabinet Attorney General: Jeff Sessions, 69 One of Trump’s earliest supporters during the campaign, the […]

Chinese media warn ‘immature’ Trump over Taiwan policy

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese media warned Donald Trump Monday that the one-China policy is “non-negotiable” and dropping it could lead to Beijing supporting US enemies, after the president-elect said he might do so unless Beijing made concessions. “The one-China policy cannot be traded,” an unsigned online commentary in the nationalistic Global Times said Monday, calling Trump “as ignorant of diplomacy as a child”. It warned that if the US openly supports Taiwan’s independence and […]

DiCaprio, Trump discuss green job creation

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Leonardo DiCaprio met President-elect Donald Trump to discuss climate change and how renewable, clean energy could boost the economy by creating millions of new jobs, the actor’s foundation said Thursday. Terry Tamminen, chief executive of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, said in a statement he and the Hollywood star presented the Republican property tycoon, his daughter Ivanka and other aides with a plan to unleash “a major economic revival” through […]

Trump says new Air Force One too costly: ‘Cancel order!’

by Jean-Louis Doublet WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President-elect Donald Trump called Tuesday — via Twitter — for the cancellation of a multi-billion dollar Boeing contract to build the next Air Force One, calling the ballooning costs “ridiculous.” Converting a pair of 747-8 jumbo jets to state-of-the-art luxury command centers by 2024 had been estimated to cost $3 billion when Boeing was picked for the job in January 2015, but since then costs have apparently […]

Trump says new Air Force One too costly: ‘Cancel order!’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – President-elect Donald Trump called Tuesday for the cancellation of a multi-billion dollar Boeing contract to build the next Air Force One, calling the ballooning costs “ridiculous.” “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!” Trump tweeted. Converting a pair of 747-8 jumbo jets to state-of-the-art luxury command centers by 2024 had been estimated […]

Chinese media offer stern warning to ‘rookie’ Trump

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Donald Trump is a “diplomatic rookie” who must learn not to cross Beijing on issues like trade and Taiwan, Chinese state media said Tuesday, warning America could pay dearly for his inexperience. A protocol-shattering call with Taiwan’s president followed by a Twitter tirade against Beijing’s policies by the president-elect could risk upending the delicate balance between the world’s two largest economies, Chinese editorials in major media outlets said. “Provoking friction and […]

Madonna on Trump victory: ‘Women hate women’

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Madonna is voicing despair over Donald Trump’s election victory and blamed women, saying they had a “tribal inability” to accept a female president. The election “felt like a combination of the heartbreak and betrayal you feel when someone you love more than anything leaves you, and also a death,” the pop icon told Billboard magazine in an interview published Monday. The pop icon, who campaigned for Hillary Clinton in […]

Trump meets on cabinet appointments

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – by Dave Clark Donald Trump girded Monday for a busy day of meetings to fill cabinet positions including secretary of state, a keenly awaited choice as American allies and foes watch the president-elect engage in his unique, Twitter-heavy brand of foreign policy. Trump will have “a very full slate of meetings” as he looks to finalise key positions, senior aide Kellyanne Conway said Sunday. America’s allies and others are keenly […]