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      Keep calm (but delete your nudes): the new rules for travelling to and from Trump’s America

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      Kindness doesn’t cost a thing. Putting up a big “no foreigners welcome” sign, threatening to annex your neighbour, and throwing visitors to your country into detention for minor visa infractions, however? Such actions are expensive. The United States is on track to lose $12.5bn (£9.4bn) in international travel spending this year, according to a study published on Tuesday by the World Travel and Tourism Council.If the Trump administration is concerned that its aggressive rhetoric is costing tourist dollars, it’s not showing it. During a recent press conference about the 2026 Fifa World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, vice president JD Vance joked about deporting football fans who outstay their welcome. “We’ll have visitors from close to 100 countries. We want them to come…” Vance said. “But when the time is up, they’ll have to go home, otherwise they’ll have to talk to [Homeland Security] secretary Noem.” That’s Kristi Noem, the woman who shot her own dog. Not someone you want to talk to when she’s in a bad mood.Judging by the drop-off in visitors, many people have decided that a trip to the US just isn’t worth the risk right now. As a green card holder – and someone with family in the UK who have been thoroughly put off coming to visit the US – this is a question I’ve been wrestling with for the past few months. So, for somewhat selfish reasons, I spoke to a number of immigration lawyers and civil rights experts to try to figure out the new rules, across different demographics, for travelling to and from Trump’s America.View image in fullscreenFirst, though: the big picture. It is hard to quantify exactly how much things have changed at the border since the start of Trump’s second term. There have been plenty of scary stories in the news but that might not reflect a policy shift – it could just mean the media is paying more attention to the subject. Murali Bashyam, an immigration lawyer based in North Carolina, believes that while “there are more issues at the port-of-entry than before”, fears of being detained “are overblown to some extent”.Other immigration lawyers are more worried. Camille Mackler, executive director of a legal service provider collaborative called Immigrant Arc, stresses: “Things have fundamentally shifted – although whether that shift is happening systematically at the airport level or on an individual officer level is harder to say.” But, she says, there seems to be a clear trend: “The Trump administration wants to increase deportation numbers, and they’re going after any case they can. Enforcement has become much more aggressive.”According to Golnaz Fakhimi, legal director of Muslim Advocates, one of the biggest shifts is “the targeting of non-citizens based on viewpoints and ideology”. There are two executive orders that set the stage for this targeting: EO 1461 Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, and EO 14188, Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism. The first EO lays the groundwork to deport or deny entry to foreigners based on their political and cultural views. The second uses a broad definition of antisemitism that includes criticism of Israel’s policies or government.Since Trump passed those orders, says Fakhimi, “there’s been a lot of rhetoric reinforcing those policies and we’ve seen actual instances of what looks like viewpoint-based scrutiny. All of this points to a kind of risk that non-citizens – including lawful permanent residents – should be aware of, especially when it comes to ideological expression.”View image in fullscreenCriticism of the Israeli government or support for Palestinian rights seems to be at the “forefront of what’s being targeted” now, says Fakhimi. “But many of us worry that the scrutiny won’t stay limited to those viewpoints. It may already be expanding. There was one case reported in the media involving a French researcher who was denied entry, possibly because of content on their phone that was critical of the US president. Inside the US, we’ve also seen targeting of immigrant-rights activists – Jeanette Vizguerra in Colorado for example.”Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born researcher at Harvard Medical School who has been detained since February, may have been targeted because of her political views. “So it’s important for non-citizens to be clear-eyed about what viewpoints they’ve publicly expressed – especially online – when considering the risks of international travel.”View image in fullscreenIt’s also prudent to assume that your social media activity has been examined. “Social media identifiers are now required on forms like the visa application or Esta [for the visa waiver programme],” says Sophia Cope, senior staff attorney on the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s civil liberties team. “We’ve heard anecdotal reports of agents referencing social media during questioning.”It is not only non-citizens who should be worried. Hasan Piker, a left-wing YouTuber and US citizen, was recently held and questioned for hours by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in Chicago after returning from France. In a video, Piker says the agents seemed to know who he was and asked about his political beliefs, including repeated questions about his views of Hamas. A CBP official called the suggestion that Piker was targeted for his political views “baseless”.View image in fullscreenAmir Makled, a Lebanese-American lawyer representing one of the University of Michigan pro-Palestine campus protesters, was recently stopped at Detroit Metro airport and interrogated by a tactical terrorism response team agent. Makled has said the agents knew exactly who he was; his phone was searched and they asked about his contacts. Eventually, he was allowed to go home.The Makled case was very troubling, says Cope, because it suggests targeting based on political association. “CBP denied this, but during the inspection, they asked to see his contact list. That implies they weren’t interested in him, but in who he knew. That’s outrageous. We litigated a case on this for four years – unfortunately, the courts didn’t rule in our favour – but we learned that CBP believes it has the authority to search devices not just when the traveller is a suspect, but also to gather intelligence on someone else the traveller may be connected to … It’s a form of dragnet intelligence gathering.”When it comes to intelligence gathering at the border, officials have carte blanche. After your international flight lands on US soil and before you clear customs, you are in something of a no man’s land in relation to civil rights. “The normal fourth amendment requirement of a warrant or individualised suspicion doesn’t apply,” says Nate Freed Wessler, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union. Some states offer slightly more protection than others, however. In the ninth circuit, which covers the western US, the rules are “most protective”, says Wessler. “For a manual search (where an agent is just scrolling through your phone), no individual suspicion is needed, but the search must be for digital contraband – like classified documents.“For a forensic search, where they plug your phone into a device to extract and analyse the entire contents, there must be reasonable suspicion that the phone contains digital contraband. And if the purpose is anything else, like gathering intelligence or helping another domestic agency, then a warrant would be required.”For most of the country, however, it’s anything goes. “The only minimal protection CBP has in their policy is distinguishing between manual and forensic searches. For a forensic search, they say they need reasonable suspicion, but they don’t define what that means. For a manual search, there are no guardrails. They argue it’s less invasive, but that’s just not true. They can still do keyword searches and spend hours combing through your device.”View image in fullscreenThey don’t have access to everything on your phone, however. Customs and Border Protection policy requires agents to put devices in flight mode before searching, to avoid accessing cloud data. It’s not a bad idea to put your phone in flight mode before you travel to understand what is stored on the cloud and what is local.What if you refuse to give your passcode to officers or say you don’t consent to a search? Consequences differ depending on your immigration status. If you’re a green card holder or citizen they can still take your phone. “They can’t compel you to give your passcode, but they can seize the phone and send it to a forensic lab, where it might sit for weeks or months while they try to break into it,” says Wessler. “For visa holders, it’s trickier. If you refuse to unlock your phone, they may just deny you entry, claiming you’re not cooperating in assessing admissibility.” And in the very worst scenario they might throw you into a detention centre before sending you home.Searches, to be clear, are still very rare. “Claims that CBP is searching more electronic media due to the administration change are false,” CBP assistant commissioner of public affairs Hilton Beckham said in a statement last month. “CBP’s search numbers are consistent with increases since 2021, and less than 0.01% of travellers have their devices searched … Allegations that political beliefs trigger inspections or removals are baseless and irresponsible.”If you’re worried these allegations aren’t quite as baseless as CBP insists, Wessler says: “The safest approach is not to travel with data you wouldn’t want the US government to access.”Let’s say you’re a British citizen who has been outspoken, on social media and elsewhere, about your pro-Palestinian or anti-Trump views. Would it be a foolish idea to travel to the US right now? “I wouldn’t say ‘don’t come,’ but I’d say evaluate your risk and risk tolerance,” says Wessler. “The government is being extremely aggressive with students and activists, and there’s always a chance a border agent might act on something they find politically disagreeable. Most travellers are still fine – but the risk is real and well above zero.” So, basically, nothing is very clear? Pretty much, says Wessler. “The law is a complete mess, and people’s options are a complete mess. People just have to make a risk assessment based on extremely imperfect information.”The first step in making that risk assessment is to thoroughly understand the rules for the specific visa you’ll be travelling on or your immigration status. “The Foreign Affairs Manual is a great resource,” says immigration lawyer Tahmina Watson. “It’s what consular officers use, and it’s publicly accessible. It lays out what officers are looking for, visa by visa. We’re now advising clients more than ever to understand the B1/B2 visa rules. B1 is for business, B2 for tourism. When CBP asks why you’re here, they’re listening for key phrases – ‘I’m visiting my grandmother,’ ‘I’m going to Disneyland,’ etc. The manual also talks about proof of ties to your home country – job, house, bills. That stuff matters.”Having any sort of criminal record or contact with the criminal legal system is a major part of a risk assessment. “I just spoke with a US citizen who had married a green card holder,” says Watson. “They were returning from their honeymoon when he was detained. He had a conviction from when he was 18, served his time, and had travelled internationally for more than 30 years since without issue. But this time, he was detained, and it will be very difficult to get him out.”If you’re a green card holder with a criminal record, Watson strongly advises against leaving the country. “Not until you’ve spoken with a lawyer. Even a long-ago conviction can result in detention now.” If you’ve ever overstayed a visa, even for a day, you should also speak to a lawyer before travelling.Students have their own set of issues to look for. “For students or others with campus affiliations, we’d want to know if there’s been any scrutiny or disciplinary action at the university level,” says Fakhimi. “Another factor is whether any third parties have tried to spotlight or mischaracterise your views to attract federal attention. Groups like Betar US, for example, have devoted resources to building lists of political protesters they want deported.”And then, of course, you’ve got to think about any public statements you’ve made and whether you can or should delete them. “For some, minimising the visibility of their views might feel like the right way to reduce risk,” says Fakhimi. “For others, staying publicly vocal and visible with their beliefs might feel too important to compromise. It’s really about what trade-offs someone is willing to make, and what decision they can live with.”One thing that sustains Fakhimi, she says, is how many people are unwilling to censor themselves for their safety. “I’ve been incredibly moved and inspired by the courage of non-citizens – people with precarious status, even undocumented – who continue to speak out on a range of injustices. They see these issues as interconnected, and despite the risks, they’re standing firm.” Sometimes, staying true to your beliefs is more important than a trip to Disney World. More

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      Trump news at a glance: President shrugs off Qatar jet fury, announces $96bn Boeing deal

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      As Donald Trump brushed off fierce criticism over his plan to accept a $400m luxury jet from the Qatari government, the president announced a lucrative deal for Boeing to supply the Gulf nation with 210 planes.Trump announced the $96bn contract – the largest-ever order of widebody Boeing planes – during a trip to Doha on Wednesday. The White House claims the aviation agreement will support 154,000 American jobs annually, though it was unclear how those figures were calculated.Trump has said Qatar’s offer for a Boeing 747-8 jetliner to use as Air Force One was too good to refuse, complaining the current presidential aircraft in underwhelming.“The plane that you’re on is almost 40 years old,” Trump told the Fox News host Sean Hannity during an interview on Air Force One. “When you land and you see Saudi Arabia, you see UAE and you see Qatar, and they have these brand-new Boeing 747s, mostly. You see ours next to it – this is like a totally different plane.”US-Qatar strike deals worth $243bnThe Qatar Airways purchase of Boeing jets formed the centrepiece of several economic agreements signed in Doha valued at more than $243bn. Trump also secured a statement of intent for more than $38bn in future defense investments from Qatar, further intertwining America’s economic and security relationships with the Gulf state now offering him a luxury aircraft.Read the full storyTrump meets Syria’s ‘attractive’ president Trump met Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia, telling the former jihadist he had an “extraordinary opportunity” and said Washington is exploring normalizing ties with Damascus. His comments come a day after he announced all US sanctions on Syria would be lifted.Read the full storyRFK Jr tells Congress ‘people shouldn’t take medical advice from me’The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, refused to say whether he would vaccinate his children if he had to choose today, and defended Republicans’ proposal to cut healthcare to fund tax cut extensions.While he said he would “probably” vaccinate his children for measles, he added that his “opinions about vaccines are irrelevant … I don’t want to seem like I’m being evasive, but I don’t think people should be taking advice, medical advice, from me.”Read the full storyJudge orders release of Indian academic held by IceA Virginia federal judge has ordered the immediate release of Georgetown academic Badar Khan Suri from Ice detention during a hearing. Khan Suri was among several individuals legally studying in the US who have been targeted by the Trump administration for pro-Palestinian activism. He has spent two months in detention.Read the full storyTrump official scrutinized for links to El Salvador crypto Trump administration’s commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and his family have had extensive business interests linked to El Salvador, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Office of Government Ethics, as well as public records in the US and El Salvador. The country’s authoritarian leader, Nayib Bukele, has grown close to the White House and has courted controversy by allowing the imprisonment of people deported in the US’s immigration crackdown to a notorious Cecot prison.Read the full storyRepublican tax bill may exclude millions of families from creditsRepublicans’ newest tax bill threatens to exclude millions of families from a tax credit meant to ease household financial burdens, even as conservatives are increasingly claiming policies designed to entice families to have more babies.Read the full storyLindsey Graham to brief European leaders on Russia sanctionsUS senator, Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Donald Trump, is expected to brief European leaders on Thursday in Antalya on his plans to push through Congress sanctions designed to devastate the Russian economy if Vladimir Putin does not show a willingness to negotiate the future of Ukraine in good faith.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      California’s governor wants his state to stop enrolling more low-income immigrants without legal status in a state-funded healthcare program in 2026.

      A former special counsel prosecutor invoked the fifth amendment during a deposition before a Republican-led committee probing alleged politicization in Trump’s prosecutions.

      The Trump administration’s transportation secretary switched his wife’s flight to help her avoid flying out of troubled Newark Liberty airport, one of the busiest in the New York area.
      Catching up? Here’s what happened on 13 May 2025. More

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      in US Politics

      Elon Musk shows he still has the White House’s ear on Trump’s Middle East trip

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      Over the course of an eight-minute interview, Elon Musk touted his numerous businesses and vision of a “Star Trek future” while telling the crowd that his Tesla Optimus robots had performed a dance for Donald Trump and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, to the tune of YMCA. He also announced that Starlink, his satellite internet company, had struck a deal for use in Saudi Arabia for maritime and aviation usage; looking to the near future, he expressed his desire to bring Tesla’s self-driving robotaxis to the country.“We could not be more appreciative of having a lifetime partner and a friend like you, Elon, to the Kingdom,” Saudi Arabia’s minister of communications and IT, Abdullah Alswaha, told Musk.Although Musk has pivoted away from his role as de facto leader of the so-called “department of government efficiency” and moved out of the White House, the Saudi summit showed how he is still retaining his proximity to the US president and international influence. As Musk returns to his businesses as his primary focus, he is still primed to reap the rewards of his connections and political sway over Trump.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionStarlink diplomacyMusk’s Starlink announcement comes after a spate of countries have agreed to allow the satellite communications service to operate within their borders. Several countries that have approved Starlink did so after US state department officials mentioned the company by name or pushed for increased satellite services in negotiations over Trump’s sweeping tariffs, according to internal memos obtained by the Washington Post.Concerns over whether Musk and the Trump administration are leveraging their power to force countries into adopting Starlink has prompted calls for a state department inspector general investigation into whether there is undue influence at play in these agreements. On Wednesday, a group of Democratic senators issued a letter requesting a broad review of the state department’s alleged efforts to assist Starlink.“These reports indicate that Mr Musk may be using his official role and his proximity to the President as leverage for his own personal financial benefit – even if it comes at the expense of American consumers and the nation’s foreign policy interests,” the senators wrote.Musk’s empire expands in Saudi ArabiaThe Saudi-US Investment Forum summit was held in Riyadh and featured top ministers from the kingdom’s government as well as US cabinet secretaries Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick. Saudi Arabia has been sinking billions into tech and artificial intelligence in recent years as it expands its portfolio of investments, in addition to its already extensive deals in industries such as defense and energy. The White House and Saudi government announced an arms deal worth $142bn following the event.Musk was one of a long list of Silicon Valley moguls and top executives of major US companies to attend the summit. The CEO of Palantir and Musk ally, Alex Karp, took part, as did the OpenAI CEO and Musk rival, Sam Altman. Amazon’s chief executive, Andy Jassy, and Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, were some of the other tech leaders present. The list also included CEOs from a range of boldface names such as Boeing, Coca-Cola and Halliburton.Earlier on Tuesday, Musk talked with Trump and Prince Mohammed inside the Saudi Royal Court and warmly greeted both leaders. Weeks before Musk’s arrival in Riyadh, his Twitter/X social media platform had managed to refinance some of its billions in debt with help from a Saudi fund. Tesla also launched in Saudi Arabia last month, opening a new showroom in the capital. More

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      in US Politics

      ‘So many are devastated’: Trump’s federal firings and their ripple effect

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      Naomi Anderson was on leave looking after her young baby when she was told her US Department of Agriculture job helping farmers in developing countries was being cut. A former volunteer with the Peace Corps, which sends young Americans overseas to projects in emerging economies, Anderson had expected to spend her whole career in international development.“I had taken this job two years ago expecting to stay here for at least 10 years, and you know, we had started to make a community and build up our life here. In January, we had started looking at buying a home,” she says.Now Anderson is having to consider giving up the apartment in the Washington DC commuter town of Reston, Virginia, that she shares with her husband and their four-month-old baby and almost two-year-old toddler.“Financially, it’s a little bit precarious, and honestly we’re not sure what we’re going to do,” says Anderson, who is also an activist with the local branch of the AFSCME union and dabbles in selling political merchandise. “We’re thinking about moving back to Ohio, where I’m from, where my family is. You know, it’s a lot cheaper there.”Anderson is far from alone. “In our apartment complex, there’s been lots of yard sales, people selling things and moving away. It really does seem like people are just picking up and leaving, because it’s too expensive to live here without a job,” she says.Tough life-decisions like these have been forced on hundreds of thousands of former federal employees in the past couple of months, as the so-called department of government efficiency (Doge), which is headed up by Donald Trump’s favourite tech billionaire, Elon Musk, has slashed jobs in a cost-cutting spree.Data from the latest monthly Challenger jobs report suggests Doge has been responsible for 281,452 job cuts so far – almost eight times the number of workers the government let go in the entire year to April 2024.Brendan Demich is among those to be dismissed, losing his job as an engineer at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. All his colleagues working on mine safety, as well as those in their sister laboratory testing equipment such as respirators, are also leaving – more than 200 in total – as part of a wave of cuts initiated by Trump’s health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.“So many people are devastated,” says Demich, chief steward of the local AFGE union branch. He says so many workers have been removed at once that their colleagues have barely been able to give them any kind of send-off. “It’s just unceremoniously leaving, because they had their package processed and they had to walk out the door.”Each of these cuts has its own human impact, but experts are warning of a growing risk that they combine to trigger an economic retrenchment – particularly in areas with a heavy concentration of government jobs.View image in fullscreenLiz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO federation of 63 trade unions, which together represent more than 15 million US workers, is trying to build a nationwide campaign to highlight the devastating impact.“The trick is connecting the dots because there’s already a national narrative around what’s happening but it’s not quite being felt yet,” Shuler says. “Elon [Musk] has his ‘department of government efficiency’. We established the ‘department of people who work for a living’. That’s kind of cheeky, but it’s kind of serious, because we’re saying we’re the ones working on the frontlines. We know what’s efficient and what’s not.“Obviously as the labour federation we’re worried about jobs and people’s livelihoods, but it’s also connected to community, and the fact the economy is being impacted in such a stark way, that ripples out across all of the industries that we represent,” she adds.These ripples are being felt especially strongly in the towns and counties around Washington DC, where job losses and government cuts crop up constantly in conversation.Kate Bates is the president of the chamber of commerce in affluent Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from the US capital. She compares the current uncertainty to the pandemic, “but during Covid, the federal government was the backstop, whereas right now it’s the federal government that’s causing a lot of this,” she says.Bates reports that her members are warning of a slowdown across real estate and hospitality, as well as among government contractors, with several reporting they have already had to make job cuts.“What we hear from a lot of people is that if they could plan for the cuts, they would be in an OK position, right? But because things are changing, going back and forth, that’s causing a lot of stress,” she says.View image in fullscreenBusinesses that rely on government workers for custom are also feeling the chill. Saamir Nizam, the general manager of Arlington’s Barley Mac restaurant, which is part of a small family-owned chain, has noticed trade declining in just about every one of their usual customer groups.The nearby hotels are less occupied; bookings for “happy hour parties” by the accountants and consultants who serve the federal government are down by two-thirds; and many older local residents have been spooked by market volatility.“We can only do so much to turn things around: we can’t pull people to Washington, or convince companies to go out and do things,” Nizam says. “Barley Mac serves great food, it gives great service, but it exists, like many restaurants, on the financial margin. And if the whole year is on the margin then restaurants like ours will go under, because we’re not part of a huge national chain which has deep pockets.”View image in fullscreenJess Miller, who set up Rock Spring Real Estate Solutions a couple of years ago, has been hosting a breakfast roundtable for clients, on the top floor of an as yet unoccupied new office block in Arlington.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionShe has noticed clients responding to the shifting climate, pulling out of deals and hoping to negotiate unusually short leases. The owners of this building are splitting the floors instead of looking for one anchor tenant.“Just how they’re making decisions is different – the cutbacks we’re seeing,” Miller says. “It hit the NGOs first and then it hit, you know, the corporations and the contractors, and it’s a lot of the senior management.”Katherine D’Zmura Friedman is a co-founder and the chief executive of Thumbprint, an Arlington-based startup offering an artificial intelligence platform for designing office layouts.View image in fullscreen“There’s no universe in which something like the last few months happens and there’s not serious consequences,” she says. “We’ve had family friends, we’ve had neighbours lose their jobs, and these are not people who would normally be subject to layoffs. These are people who are at the peak of their career, and hyper-specialised.”As far as the business effects are concerned, D’Zmura Friedman says: “Certainly on the commercial side, there’s been hesitancy about launching into things.”At her office nearby, Renata Briggman, a residential estate agent, plays down the idea that the housing market in Arlington could be hit, pointing to the many local employers broadly unaffected by federal spending – such as Amazon, which is headquartered here.However, she does acknowledge signs of change. “It’s definitely shifting. We’re not seeing any fire sales, it’s too soon for that. It’s very, very slow, and we’re just going to start seeing it, it’s just on the cusp … end of June, we’ll have a better idea.”View image in fullscreenSuch challenges are being replicated across the region. Jimmy Olevson, the president and chief executive of National Capital Bank, which serves Washington DC and the surrounding areas, says the bank is not yet seeing signs of financial distress, such as rising arrears, but the mood is “uneasy”. Many customers who have had a recent mortgage application approved seem to have put house-hunting on hold.Some experts fear this widespread mood of unease bodes badly for the coming months. Analysis by Dr João Ferreira, an expert in regional economics at the University of Virginia, suggests more than 320,000 people in the state are employed directly by the federal government – and another 441,000 jobs depend on taxpayer-funded contracts, of the kind that are being cut.In some sectors – construction, for example – the same firms fretting about whether their contract will be cut are also contending with the rising price of materials, as a result of tariffs. Although some of the border taxes have been paused or reduced, those restrictions that remain mean costs are still far higher than at the start of the year.In theory, the Trump administration could lift the gloom by drawing a line under budget cuts as Musk heads back to his day job running the electric carmaker Tesla. But key members of the cabinet, including Kennedy and the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, have boasted of how much they plan to slash from their budgets – and White House trade policy continues to see-saw.Ferreira says: “I think, as an economist, I’ve never seen so many things happening at the same time. But they all lead to the same direction, and that’s a recession.”He says Virginia has often been cushioned from economic downturns in the past by federal funding, but in this cycle he expects the state to lead the way. “We definitely might see that Virginia, and other regions like Maryland, will be the frontrunners in this recession period,” Ferreira says.Meanwhile, for many of the affected individuals, the future looks highly uncertain – despite the US treasury secretary Scott Bessent’s suggestion they should go work in manufacturing. “For us on our team, we work in international development,” says Anderson. “We have a background in humanitarian work, and the Trump administration is trying to cut international foreign aid. So where do you go from there?” More

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      Michelle Obama 2.0 – the reinvention of the former first lady

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      Hello and welcome to The Long Wave. This week, I review Michelle Obama’s new podcast, IMO, which is surprising in the ways it breaks with the Michelle of the past.I came to sneer – and stayed to cheerView image in fullscreenFirst, a disclaimer: I had never fully bought into the Michelle Obama hype. I felt her now legendary line “When they go low, we go high” encapsulated a troubling and complacent form of respectability politics, in which Black people have to maintain coolness and grace under fire to be taken seriously. As the first lady, Michelle often seemed like a sanitising presence, wheeled out so that her national treasure status could serve as a smokescreen to obscure more honest and damning assessments of Barack Obama’s political record.Also, I am not a huge fan of the celebrity podcast genre, which is a vehicle for high-profile figures to chat to their friends in return for huge pay packets. So I was sceptical when Michelle’s podcast was launched in March. Yet when I listened to it, I was immediately charmed and hooked. In truth, I came to sneer and stayed to cheer. She is honest, reflective and vulnerable in ways that are profoundly resonant of a universal Black female experience, something that her icon status had rarely spoken to previously. The irony is that just as Michelle is finding her voice, her popularity appears to be falling – the podcast received poor ratings on launch, though it’s arguably the best thing she’s ever done.A great orator has the conversation of her lifeView image in fullscreenThe most arresting thing about IMO, despite the genuinely interesting high-profile Black guests such as Keke Palmer and the Wayans brothers, is Obama herself. She has always been one of the great orators in US politics – one of the superpowers that made her and Barack, another impressive public speaker, such a compelling couple on the world stage. In her podcast, Michelle uses this talent to reflect on her life and the challenges of ageing, losing her parents and the constant demands placed upon her.The fact that she co-hosts the show with her brother, Craig Robinson – a genial and down-to-earth foil for her confessions – gives the podcast such an intimate air that you feel like you’re in the presence of everyday people, not celebrities. I found myself listening not to hear any snippets of political gossip or insight into the Obamas’ lifestyle, but to receive some exceptionally articulated wisdom from an older Black woman who has seen a lot and gone through milestones we will all experience.She is also funny. Her account of how differently men and women socialise is familiar and hilarious. Michelle describes catching up with her female friends as a “multiday event”, something that leaves Barack perplexed as to why it takes two days for a basic meetup.There is pathos and uncertainty, too. In a recent episode, Michelle talks about the death of her mother, who lived in the White House during the Obamas’ tenure. Michelle says that, at 61, only now does she feel that she has finally become an adult, having had to reckon with her own mortality after the loss of her parents. The former first lady has revealed that she is in therapy, and that she is still trying to navigate this phase of her life.And, in a striking segment, she speaks with barely restrained annoyance about her reasons for not attending Trump’s inauguration, an absence that triggered divorce rumours that have been swirling for months. She says “it took everything in [her] power” to choose what was right for her in that moment. Yet that decision was met with “ridicule” because people couldn’t believe she was saying no to the inauguration for any other reason than she just did not want to be there – they had to “assume my marriage was falling apart”. Oof. It caught my breath.Beyond Black Girl Magicskip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionView image in fullscreenThis Michelle is worlds away from the Michelle of the 2010s. The publishing juggernaut and icon of Black social mobility, who rose to first lady from a bungalow in the south side of Chicago, was the product of a particular moment in feminist and racial discourse.The start of that decade brought the rise of Black Girl Magic, a cultural movement that focused on the exceptional achievements and power of Black women. It intersected with Black Joy, which moved away from defining the Black experience primarily through racism and struggle. Both unfolded against the backdrop of “lean in” feminism, which glorified hard graft, corporate success and having it all. The result was the marketing of women such as Michelle to promote popular narratives of inspiration and empowerment.That energy has since dissipated, losing steam culturally and overtaken by more urgent battles. The gains of the Black Lives Matter movement triggered a rightwing backlash against diversity and inclusion that is spearheaded by Trump. Now the Obamas seem like relics of a naively optimistic and complacent time.‘We got out of the White House alive – but what happened to me?’View image in fullscreenBut all that change and disappointment seems to have freed Michelle from the expectation that she should project graceful power and guru-like wisdom at all times. The podcast may not be the runaway hit it might have been 10 years ago, but that speaks to its authenticity and refreshing lack of a cynical big marketing campaign. Michelle is not trying to catch a moment – she even looks different. Gone is the silk-pressed hair, the minimalist jewellery and the pencil dresses. She now embraces boho braids, long colourful nails and bold gold jewellery. In an episode of IMO, she asks herself: “What happened that eight years that we were in the White House? We got out alive; I hope we made the country proud. But what happened to me?” There is so much urgency in her voice. And though her high-octane political experience may not be relatable to the average person, that question is one that I and many women of a certain age are asking as we emerge, blinking into the light, from the tunnel of navigating racism, establishing careers against the odds and having families. What happened to me?To receive the complete version of The Long Wave in your inbox every Wednesday, please subscribe here. More

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      Donald Trump says lifting sanctions on Syria ‘gives them a chance of greatness’ – US politics live

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      Donald Trump has said that lifting sanctions on Syria “gives them a chance of greatness”.“The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful,” he added. He said the US will drop “all of the sanctions on Syria, which I think will be a good thing.”He said that he is looking to normalise relations with Syria.President Donald Trump continues his visit to the Middle East with a Qatari state visit later today.According to a schedule released by the White House, the president will arrive at Doha’s Hamad International Airport within the next hour, before stopping off to visit Amiri Diwan.He will then arrive at St Regis Doha for the state visit shortly before 4pm local time.Trump is also scheduled to attend a state dinner at the Lusail Palace this evening at 8pm.The meeting between Donald Trump and Syria’s president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia was the culmination of months of diplomacy by the Syrians, as well as their Turkish and Saudi allies, who believed face time with Trump would help end Syria’s international isolation, writes William Christou.Damascus had prepared a pitch to Trump that included access to Syrian oil, reassurances of Israel’s security and a proposal to build a Trump tower in Damascus.A meeting with Trump was seen as a key step towards recognition of the legitimacy of the new authority in Damascus after Bashar al-Assad was ousted as Syria’s president in December.The Trump administration had previously been wary of engaging with Sharaa, a former leader of the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.Though sanctions were originally imposed on Assad after his bloody crackdown on peaceful protesters in 2011, the US and other countries retained their economic embargo on Syria as they evaluated the new Islamist-led government in Damascus.The US state department had handed the Syrians an extensive list of conditions to end sanctions and were in the process of negotiating when Trump suddenly announced the lifting of US sanctions on Tuesday night.At the end of his speech to the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, Trump told leaders in the region that he wants them to forge a Middle East that is “thriving” and the “geographic centre of the world”. He said the “whole world is talking about what you are doing”.He added that it had been a pleasure to spend time with Mohammed bin Salman before he criticised the “fake news” media.Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has told Donald Trump that Arab Gulf states were seeking to work with the US to de-escalate tensions in the region, as the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza continues to drag on and destabilise the Middle East.According to a White House spokesperson, Donald Trump called on Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa to ‘“deport Palestinian terrorists” and to help the US to prevent the resurgence of Islamic State. He urged Syria to sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel.Al-Sharaa invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas.During Trump’s speech to Arab leaders, he said he wants a future of “safety and dignity” for Palestinians but warned that was impossible if leaders in Gaza continued down a path of violence.He praised the “constructive role that the leaders in this room have taken trying to bring this conflict to an end”.He also thanked those involved in helping secure the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander.Donald Trump has said that lifting sanctions on Syria “gives them a chance of greatness”.“The sanctions were really crippling, very powerful,” he added. He said the US will drop “all of the sanctions on Syria, which I think will be a good thing.”He said that he is looking to normalise relations with Syria.Donald Trump has said he wants to make a deal with Iran, but it can only go ahead if the regime stops “supporting terror” and abandons its nuclear plans.“Many are watching with envy,” Trump told assembled Arab leaders during a speech and said there “are incredible deals within reach for this region”.He accused the Biden administration of “creating bedlam by being incompetent”.The US president says “people at this table know where my loyalties lie”.In related news, Iran’s deputy foreign minister will meet with European diplomats for nuclear talks in Istanbul on Friday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday.Reuters reported on Tuesday that Iran would hold talks on the now moribund 2015 nuclear deal with European parties, which include France, Britain and Germany.Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said Donald Turmp’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria is of historic importance, Turkish state-owned Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday.Erdoğan met online with Donald Trump, Mohammed bin Salman and Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa.Speaking at an investment forum on Tuesday, Trump said that he planned to lift sanctions on Syria after holding talks with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said.Ahmed al-Sharaa’s pitch to woo the US president offered access to Syrian oil, reconstruction contracts and to build a Trump Tower in Damascus in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions on Syria.Though the details of the sanctions relief were still unclear, Sharaa’s team in Damascus was celebrating, writes William Christou in Beirut.“This is amazing, it worked,” said Radwan Ziadeh, a Syrian writer and activist who is close to the Syrian president. He shared a picture of an initial mockup of Trump Tower Damascus. “This is how you win his heart and mind,” he said, noting that Sharaa would probably show Trump the design during their meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday.Donald Trump has met Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia after agreeing to lift sanctions on Syria.Despite concerns within sectors of his administration over the Syria’s leaders’ former ties to Al Qaeda, Trump said on Tuesday during a speech in Riyadh he would lift sanctions on Syria. The onetime insurgent leader spent years imprisoned by US forces after being captured in Iraq.The White House says Trump agreed to “say hello” to al-Sharaa before the US leader wraps up his visit to Saudi Arabia and moves on to Qatar.Trump is also scheduled to attend a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the grouping of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. He then sets off for Qatar, the second stop in his Gulf tour. Trump will be honored with a state dinner in Qatar.Al-Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, stormed Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.Trump said he decided to meet with al-Sharaa after being encouraged to do so by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The president also pledged to lift years-long sanctions on Syria.“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” Trump said in a wide-ranging foreign policy address Tuesday in which he announced he was lifting the sanctions that have been in place in Syria since 2011. “That’s what we want to see in Syria.”Trump also urged Iran to take a “new and a better path” as he pushes for a new nuclear deal and said he wanted to avoid conflict with Tehran.The United States and Saudi Arabia signed a $142bn arms deal touted by the White House as the “largest defence sales agreement in history” in the first stop of Donald Trump’s four-day diplomatic tour to the Gulf states aimed at securing big deals and spotlighting the benefits of Trump’s transactional foreign policy. More

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      Wednesday briefing: Is Zelenskyy playing political poker – or Russian roulette?

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      Good morning.Talks. Istanbul. Thursday. In the geopolitical equivalent of a playground challenge, the latest move in the back-and-forth brinkmanship between Russia and Ukraine has seen President Zelenskyy call Putin’s bluff.The Russian president crushed moves by Ukraine and its European allies to force a ceasefire by instead demanding peace talk negotiations in Istanbul tomorrow. In response, Zelenskyy challenged him to travel to Istanbul to meet him face to face.Putin has yet to respond, but these latest manoeuvres by both Ukraine and Russia – who seem very far away from being able to negotiate a mutually agreeable peace deal – share one thing: a desire to get Donald Trump on their team at the negotiating table.With Trump signalling that he could take a break from browsing private jet interiors in Saudi Arabia to join the party in Istanbul, we are either gearing up for an extraordinary photo opportunity or a complete damp squib if neither Trump nor Putin shows and the deadlock continues.For today’s newsletter I talked to our central and eastern Europe correspondent, Shaun Walker, about the latest round of power games, and whether there really is any prospect for peace in Ukraine.Five big stories

      US politics | Donald Trump says he will lift sanctions on Syria and meet with the country’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, during his tour of the gulf states. Sharaa’s pitch to woo the US offered access to Syrian oil, reconstruction contracts and to build a Trump Tower in Damascus.

      UK news | Peter Sullivan, who has spent 38 years in jail, has had his murder conviction quashed in what is thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history. Sullivan was wrongly convicted in 1987 for the frenzied murder of a florist and part-time pub worker, Diane Sindall, 21, in Merseyside.

      Conservatives | An MP has been charged with sexual assault over alleged incidents at London’s Groucho Club in 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service has said. Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, was charged with two counts of sexual assault against two separate women, said the CPS.

      Assisted dying | At least five MPs have decided to vote against the UK assisted dying bill, the Guardian understands. It comes as the Scottish parliament votes to consider a bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill people for the first time.

      UK news | A man has been arrested in connection with a series of suspected arson attacks on property linked to Keir Starmer, Scotland Yard has said. The 21-year-old was arrested in the early hours on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and remained in custody, the Metropolitan police said.
      In depth: ‘Putin doesn’t want to be in a room with Zelenskyy. This is what Ukraine is banking on’View image in fullscreenThe past few days have seen intricate displays of diplomatic cat-and-mouse as Ukraine and Russia try to gain the upper hand while facing increasing pressure to end the war in Ukraine.There is much at stake. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians have lost their lives. Last night the air raid sirens were still wailing across Kyiv as hopes of an imminent ceasefire were once again crushed.What moves towards a peace deal have happened in the past few days?Last weekend, things seemed to be going well for Ukraine. Zelenskyy’s one-to-one meeting with Trump at the Vatican had helped repair the rupture caused by the extraordinary press conference in the White House, and momentum appeared to be with him.After recent attempts to get Russia to agree – and actually stick to – a ceasefire had failed, last weekend saw frustrated European leaders travel to Kyiv with an ultimatum for Putin: agree to a ceasefire or face new, tough sanctions.Yet Putin had other ideas. Undermining Zelenskyy’s insistence that a full ceasefire should begin ahead of any peace negotiations, Putin went on Russian TV to propose direct talks between Russia and Ukraine and named the time and place: Istanbul, on Thursday 15 May.Trump weighed in. Posting in his usual capital letters on his Truth Social platform, the president said that Ukraine should agree to Putin’s demand for a meeting immediately. “I’m starting to doubt that Ukraine will make a deal with Putin,” he wrote. “HAVE THE MEETING NOW!!!”Zelenskyy took Putin’s challenge and raised the stakes. He said he would travel to Istanbul personally and challenged Putin to do the same, saying that the two leaders should meet face-to-face for the first time since 2019.Since then, Putin has gone quiet. With the Kremlin refusing to comment, Ukraine has been ramping up the pressure. Yesterday, Shaun attended a bullish press briefing and then a sit-down interview with Zelenskyy. “His message is Ukraine is not the one to blame,” says Shaun. “He is saying to Trump that we are doing everything you ask. We’re not the problem here.” What are the peace talks in Istanbul?At the moment there is no detail on what will and won’t be discussed on Thursday, or even who will be the ones doing the negotiating.Shaun says that while Putin’s holding position is to give the impression that he wants to negotiate, Russian demands at the talks on Thursday – regardless of whether Putin shows or not – are likely to be pretty much the same as the demands they were making at the beginning of the conflict, which include Ukraine dropping its aspirations to join Nato, give up territories taken by Russia and scale back its military.On the other side, Ukraine wants to be a sovereign nation and an independent, democratic country with links – and ideally Nato membership – to the West. They will find it politically difficult to cede territory to their enemy.“My reading is that it is very clear that Putin’s only goal for Ukraine is for it not to be a threat – in the way he perceives it – to Russian interests, and become this beacon of ‘anti-Russianness’ that will cause him problems,’” Shaun says. “At the talks, the Russian delegation will most likely continue pushing for terms that will still be fully unacceptable to Ukraine.”How likely is it that Putin will show?Shaun says that he’d be very surprised if Putin makes a personal appearance in Turkey on Thursday. “Putin doesn’t like being pressured into things. He doesn’t want to be in a room with Zelenskyy. This is what Ukraine is banking on,” he says. “I’d give it about a 5% chance that somehow Putin and Trump talk to each other this week and both go. I think the most likely scenario is that we’ll have Zelenskyy in Istanbul on Thursday recording a video saying, ‘Look, I’m here but nobody else turned up.’”At the moment Zelenskyy is travelling to Ankara, the Turkish capital, to meet with its president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and will go to Istanbul if Putin shows. It’s unclear if he will be bringing a delegation with him who could start talks with the Russian team in the absence of Putin.In some ways, Zelenskyy calling for a personal summit with Trump is potentially a high-stakes move, because if Putin does show up then Ukraine could face pressure to show they are willing to concede to some of Russia’s demands. Yet Shaun thinks a Putin no-show at this point is almost certain.How much is this all about Trump?Shaun says that the only thing uniting both Russia and Ukraine at the moment is their desire to get Trump onside.“Ever since that disastrous White House meeting, Zelenskyy has been trying very hard – and with some success – to get Trump back on Ukraine’s team,” says Shaun.Trump knows he wields huge power and influence on the global stage and hasn’t been afraid to use it. Since he took office, he has become increasingly frustrated with the Ukraine war and wants to show that he can do what he promised the US voters would be easy – to end the war and use whatever aggressive boardroom tactics he has at his disposal to force the two sides to bend to his will.He is currently in Saudi Arabia for a lavish four-day trip where he hopes to enrich both the US and his own family with a raft of multi-billion dollar deals (and fly home in his new Qatar-gifted luxury jet). Trump will want to build on this momentum and return home triumphant, able to say that he is dictating the terms of global politics.The danger for Ukraine, says Shaun, is that even though the Biden administration moved much slower than the Ukrainians would have liked, America has been Ukraine’s most significant ally, providing weapons, intelligence sharing and other support.“Now with Trump they know he doesn’t like it when things get difficult so their fear will be that he’ll just give up and say, ‘Sorry, this is your mess to fix,’ and walk away like he’s promised to do so many times,” says Shaun.Shaun says that for Russia, Trump bailing on the war would be a good outcome. “If the negotiations fail and Trump walks then Ukraine could risk losing US support, which would be catastrophic for them.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionIf the talks fail, what next?Shaun says that in the event that nothing is agreed in Turkey, the big question will be whether the Europeans can get Trump on board and once again ratchet the pressure up on Moscow for a ceasefire. European leaders have indicated they will press ahead with further sanctions if talks this week fail to achieve real progress.The issue, as ever, is Trump’s unpredictability. “We know from experience that there could be a new command or request from the Americans at any time and everything could change again,” he says.In such a high-stakes game of political poker, it’s impossible to place a safe bet on what will happen next. Until then, the sirens will continue and the war will grind on.What else we’ve been readingView image in fullscreen

      In a gripping interview, Hannah al-Othman meets Nicola Packer, who was acquitted of using abortion pills to illegally end a pregnancy last week after a near five-year ordeal. “Abortion is healthcare. It should not be treated as anything other than that,” she says. Charlie Lindlar, acting deputy editor, newsletters

      With Reform UK on the rise and young men increasingly forming a core part of their voting bloc, Damien Gayle goes in search of answers as to why so many are increasingly turning to the right in this fascinating and sometimes chilling film. Annie

      Even as a Eurovision agnostic, Angelica Frey’s rundown of the 10 best songs at this year’s contest is a hoot. Estonian rap-dance, thinly veiled double entendres and … space dogs? There’s something for everyone. Charlie

      In this interview by Steve Rose for the Guardian’s long-running How we survive series, painter Patrick Dougher talks about how art saved him from the wreckage of generational addiction and gifted him a second chance at life. Annie

      In case you missed it: the online news site HuffPost turned 20 this month, and this oral history of the site, told through the bizarre and poignant splash headlines that became its trademark, is a joy. (It’s good to see many alumni have, like me, kept the pyjamas gifted to us by founder Arianna Huffington each Christmas.) Charlie
      SportView image in fullscreenFootball | Goodison Park has been saved from demolition and will become the country’s first major stadium dedicated solely to a women’s team next season, the Guardian can reveal. Hailed as a gamechanging move for women’s football, Everton Women will kick off their first season at Goodison in September.Cycling | Sir Bradley Wiggins has revealed he became addicted to cocaine after his retirement from cycling and is “lucky to be here”. The 2012 Tour de France winner and five-time Olympic champion said his children wanted to put him in rehab amid fears the issue could prove fatal.Football | Manchester United intend to retain Ruben Amorim as head coach next season even if they lose the Europa League final against Tottenham. The club feels the Portuguese deserves this summer transfer window to improve the squad.The front pagesView image in fullscreenThe Guardian’s headline is “Zelenskyy: Putin is the obstacle to a peace deal”, as the Ukrainian leader pledges to travel to Turkey for talks. The Telegraph claims “Hostile state linked to Starmer firebombs”. The i reports “New migrant rules boost UK hopes of softer Brexit deal”. The FT says “Beijing fears over UK-US trade accord cloud London’s bid to revive China ties”.The Mail leads on the quashing of Peter Sullivan’s conviction with “28 years in jail for a murder he didn’t commit”. The Mirror follows the same story with “Cleared after 38 years”. Finally the Times reports “Weight-loss drugs hailed as key to a longer life”.Today in FocusView image in fullscreenTrump’s ex-Russia adviser on the prospect of WW3Defence expert Fiona Hill on why the world becomes more dangerous when international systems break down.Cartoon of the day | Rebecca HendinView image in fullscreenThe UpsideA bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all badView image in fullscreenJennifer Hobson describes finding an adult grey seal named Pinkafo, close to death with a flying ring toy caught round her neck, as a moment that “broke my heart”. But it was a moment that changed her life too.Seven years on, Hobson is a leading seal welfare campaigner and author whose work has been recognised by the prime minister and led to retailers changing their product line to remove the potentially lethal rings. On 26 May, she will lead a national campaign to raise further awareness of their dangers. “Everyone can learn how to protect seals by swapping flying rings for seal-safe solid flying discs this summer,” she says.And as for Pinkafo? Thanks to Hobson’s intervention, she survived – and is believed to have later given birth.Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every SundayBored at work?And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.

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