More stories

  • in

    The ethnic cleansing of the US will destroy it | Heba Gowayed

    Trump’s racist remarks on Ilhan Omar and Somali immigrants reveals his vision for the US as a white Christian nationA rally on affordability in Pennsylvania on 9 December devolved into a racist tirade when Donald Trump said to the crowd: “We only take people from shithole countries. Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few? … From Denmark. Do you mind sending us a few people? Send us some nice people. But we always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.”Referring to the US representative Ilhan Omar’s hijab as a “little turban”, Trump continued: “She should get the hell out. Throw her the hell out.” His supporters erupted in chants of: “Send her back.” Continue reading… More

  • in

    The Trump administration keeps picking fights with pop stars. It’s a no-win situation | Adrian Horton

    By using music from SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo in ICE videos, the government is playing a game of rage-baitLast week, as the Trump administration was engulfed in controversy over its illegal military strikes near Venezuela (among numerous other crises), a Department of Homeland Security employee – I picture the worst sniveling, self-satisfied, hateful loser – got to work on the official X account. The state-employed memelord posted a video depicting Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officials arresting people in what appeared to be Chicago, celebrating the humiliation and incarceration of undocumented immigrants as some sort of patriotic achievement. The vile video borrowed, as they often do, from mainstream pop culture; in this case, a viral lyric from Sabrina Carpenter’s song Juno – “Have you ever tried this one?”, referring to sex positions – overlaid on clips of agents chasing, tackling and handcuffing people, cheekily nodding to all the methods in ICE’s terror toolbox.Carpenter, as a pre-eminent pop star, was caught in an impossible position. Say nothing, as her friend and collaborator Taylor Swift did weeks earlier when the White House used her music in a Trump hype video, and risk appearing as if you condone the administration’s use of your art for a domestic terror campaign (the administration hasn’t yet used Swift for an ICE video, but I’m sure it’s coming); or engage, even if to honestly express your utter disgust, and risk bringing more attention to objectionable propaganda designed to provoke a response. Continue reading… More

  • in

    Donald Trump is pursuing regime change – in Europe | Jonathan Freedland

    The US made it clear this week that it plans to help the parties of the European far right gain power. Keir Starmer and his fellow leaders have to face this new realityWhen are we going to get the message? I joked a few months back that, when it comes to Donald Trump, Europe needs to learn from Sex and the City’s Miranda Hobbes and realise that “He’s just not that into you”. After this past week, it’s clear that understates the problem. Trump’s America is not merely indifferent to Europe – it’s positively hostile to it. That has enormous implications for the continent and for Britain, which too many of our leaders still refuse to face.The depth of US hostility was revealed most explicitly in the new US national security strategy, or NSS, a 29-page document that serves as a formal statement of the foreign policy of the second Trump administration. There is much there to lament, starting with the sceptical quote marks that appear around the sole reference to “climate change”, but the most striking passages are those that take aim at Europe.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading… More

  • in

    ‘Somalis are the scapegoat’: fear rises as Trump targets Minneapolis community

    Residents have had to adjust how they’re living – staying home, carrying passports – since Trump launched his attackOn Tuesday morning, just a few stalls were open among the dozens that normally sell food, rugs, clothing and jewelry at Karmel mall, a Somali community hub in Minneapolis. Longtime Minnesotans said they had never seen the mall as quiet as it has been in recent days, almost jarringly still.The bustle was replaced by unease and fear over the Trump administration’s menace toward Somalis and increased immigration agents in the city, tasked with targeting Somalis for deportation. Continue reading… More

  • in

    Trump turns on Europe: will he pull support for Ukraine? | The Latest

    Donald Trump has loomed large over Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with European leaders, after the US president took aim at the Ukrainian leader once again. It comes in the wake of a new White House national security strategy that has caused fear in Europe, but drawn praise from the Kremlin. Lucy Hough speaks to our Europe correspondent Jon Henley. Continue reading… More

  • in

    Trump says he and Hegseth didn’t know about second strike on alleged Venezuelan drug boat – video

    President Donald Trump has said he didn’t know anything about a second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat on 2 September. He also stood by his defence secretary, saying Pete Hegseth didn’t know a US navy admiral had ordered a second strike. Hegseth also denied knowledge of it, but stated the admiral ‘had the complete authority’ to launch itUS politics live Continue reading… More

  • in

    Georgia prosecutor confirms final criminal case against Trump is ‘over’

    State prosecutor dismisses charges against US president and others in election interference caseThe case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants in Georgia ended on Wednesday with a filing for dismissal by the state prosecutor who took over after the removal of Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney.Pete Skandalakis, the prosecutor and the executive director of the prosecuting attorneys’ council of Georgia, confirmed to the Guardian that “it’s over”after superior court judge Scott McAfee issued a one-page order on Wednesday dismissing the 2020 racketeering case. Skandalakis said he would be making no further comments about the matter. Continue reading… More