I thought Being President 'Would Be Easier'- Trump

As the clock ticks towards his administration's 100-day mark, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he misses the life he had before moving to DC.

"This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier," he said of the presidency in an interview with Reuters at the Oval Office.

"I loved my previous life," the former Apprentice host and real estate tycoon said. "I had so many things going."

Trump told Reuters that he was still adjusting to the limitations on his personal movement and the 24-hour protection that comes with the job. "You're really into your own little cocoon," he said, "because you have such massive protection that you really can't go anywhere."

The President also said that he misses driving by himself — a limousine or an SUV now usually takes him around, according to Reuters. "I like to drive. I can't drive any more," he said.

In the same interview, Trump commented on the prospects of a possible government shutdown, and said that a "major, major conflict with North Korea" could be possible, though he and the administration would prefer a nonviolent resolution.



Time

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President Trump Says a 'Major Conflict' With North Korea Is Possible

Just ahead of his 100th day in office, U.S. President Donald Trump said that a conflict with North Korea could be a possible outcome to the escalating tensions brought about by the country's nuclear ambitions and missile testing, but a diplomatic solution would be preferable.
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"There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea," he told Reuters in an exclusive interview Thursday in the Oval Office.

Trump added that "we'd love to solve things diplomatically but it's very difficult," telling Reuters that he and his administration are seeking a peaceful resolution to the North Korea question, in part by preparing a slew of fresh economic sanctions while not ruling out a military solution.

Twenty-one arrested in California as Trump supporters, opponents clash

At least 21 people were arrested after opponents of President Donald Trump and supporters clashed at a march in Berkeley, California, US media said Saturday.

Hundreds of people gathered at a park, including Trump supporters who held a free speech rally, while opponents of the president’s policies shouted and chanted. Several fights broke out, according to the East Bay Times newspaper.

The Los Angeles Times reported that 21 people were taken into custody. “We’re going to review any surveillance video recordings from the area, as well as videos the public sends in to us, and perhaps send out arrest warrants for those people as well,” Berkeley police spokesman Byron White told CNN.

“The two injuries that were reported to us, one involved an officer who was exposed to what we believe is tear gas,” he said.

“Another person was sprayed with what we believe is… pepper spray.” Activists waved signs reading: “No! Pussy-Grabbing! No! Patriarchy! No! Fascist USA! Drive out Trump-Pence regime!” and “Fascist scum your time is done.” Supporters held signs in support of “Free Speech.”

The protests were timed to coincide with the traditional April 15 deadline for US tax filings. Thousands of protesters gathered Saturday in cities across the United States to pressure Trump to release his tax returns, a move of transparency he has refused to make.

G7 meeting: U.S. allies rule out military solution on Syria

Germany and Italy stressed Tuesday the need for a political solution in Syria, where the U.S. has intervened with missile strikes in response to a chemical weapons attack on civilians.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7), which comprises the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada, discussed the crisis with representatives from the European Union and several Middle Eastern countries.

“We do not believe that the military solution is the right one,” said Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, who hosted the talks also involving ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan.

The ministers, meeting in the Tuscan town of Lucca, agreed that “Russia must not be isolated and, on the contrary, must insofar as possible be involved in the political transition process in Syria,” Alfano added.

While the White House said Monday the U.S. was ready to repeat strikes against Syrian targets to prevent the use of chemical weapons, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson focused on diplomacy in talks with partners, Germany said.

“Tillerson explicitly said they are seeking a non-violent, non-military way,” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters, praising his U.S. counterpart for taking “a very realistic and clear stance.”

The U.S. bombing of Syrian airfield on April 7 in response to the attack in the city of Khan Sheikhoun has confounded expectations that Donald Trump would be an isolationist president, and soured his relations with Russia.

Russia, a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has condemned US actions as reckless and counterproductive.

Iran, another main backer of the regime in Damascus, has expressed similar concerns.
The G7 was attempting to put up a united front on Syria ahead of Tillerson’s Wednesday visit to Moscow.

Calls Britain made on Monday to threaten Syria and Russia with further sanctions did not seem to make headway.

Nevertheless, Gabriel urged Moscow to reconsider its support for al-Assad.

“I believe that it is almost inconceivable that Russia wants to stand on the side of such a murderous regime as that of Bashar al-Assad for the long haul,” he said.

North Korea’s illegal nuclear programme and the US decision to send warships to the Korean peninsula, ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Libya, the threat from terrorism and migration were also on the agenda.

The Lucca talks were also laying the ground for next month’s G7 summit in Taormina, Sicily, the first to be attended by Trump.

Trump plans to move ahead with Nigeria planes sale

President Donald Trump’s administration is pushing forward with plans to sell up to a dozen aircraft to Nigeria’s air force for the fight against the extremist group Boko Haram.

Sources said the deal could be worth up to 600 million dollars.

Sources also said the Super Tucano A-29 aircraft, an agile, propeller-driven plane with reconnaissance and surveillance as well as attack capabilities, is made by Brazil’s Embraer.

A second production line is in Florida, in a partnership between Embraer and privately held Sierra Nevada Corp of Sparks, Nevada.

Former President Barack Obama’s administration originally agreed on the sale, but delayed it after incidents including the Nigerian Air Force’s bombing of a refugee camp in January that killed 90 to 170 civilians.

The Trump administration wants to push ahead to boost Nigeria’s efforts to fight Boko Haram and bolster hiring in the United States by defence firms.

“We’ve been told that the administration is going to go forward with that transaction,” a congressional aide said.

Formal notification of the deal has not yet been sent to Congress but is expected shortly.

Trump has said he plans to go ahead with foreign defense sales delayed under Obama by human rights concerns.

A senior Nigerian military source in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, confirmed that the sale would go ahead and said it would also involve training, surveillance and military intelligence “to support … the ongoing insurgency war.”

In March, the Trump administration informed Congress of its plans to pursue a five billion dollars sale to Bahrain of Lockheed Martin F-16s and related equipment, which had been held up under Obama when Bahrain failed to meet human rights targets.

Reuters first reported the Obama administration’s plan to sell the Embraer aircraft to Nigeria in May 2016, as a vote of confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive to reform the military.

The Super Tucano costs more than 10 million dollars each and the price can go much higher depending on the configuration.

It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT six engine.

Trump’s plan to move ahead with the Nigerian sale was first reported on Monday by the Associated Press.

The U.S. congressional source said rights concerns remain, despite support for the sale from some lawmakers.

There are also questions about whether Nigeria will be able to pay the full 600 million dollars for the aircraft, equipment, training and support.

U.S. officials said Buhari raised frustration with delays in the sale in a phone call with Trump in February.

Trump drops China bashing during warm Xi summit

US President Donald Trump ditched his trademark anti-China bombast, hailing an “outstanding” relationship with counterpart Xi Jinping at the end of a superpower summit Friday overshadowed by events in Syria.

“We have made tremendous progress in our relationship with China,” Trump said effusively at the close of a high-stakes but studiously familiar first meeting between the pair at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

“I think truly progress has been made,” Trump said, declaring his relationship with Xi as “outstanding”.

The friendly tone was a far cry from Trump’s acerbic campaign denouncements about China’s “rape” of the US economy and his vow to punish Beijing with punitive tariffs.

Xi reciprocated Trump’s warm words, saying the summit had “uniquely important significance” and thanking Trump for a warm reception.

Beijing’s most powerful leader in decades also invited the neophyte US president on a coveted state visit to China later in the year. Trump accepted, with a date yet to be determined.

We “arrived at many common understandings,” Xi added, “the most important being deepening our friendship and building a kind of trust”.

The bonhomie extended behind closed doors, where the US president’s grandson and granddaughter sang a traditional Chinese ballad — “Jasmine Flower” — and recited poetry for their honored guests, earning praise from their “very proud” mother Ivanka in a tweet.

“Both the atmosphere and the chemistry between the two leaders was positive, the posture between the two really set the tone,” said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
“All of us are feeling very good about the results of this summit.”

– Winter White House –
The start of the meeting came on a night of high drama as Trump not only met his nearest peer in economic world power for the first time but also launched his first military strike on a state target.

Trump informed the Chinese leader personally of the strike as the 59 Tomahawk missiles were winding their way to the Shayrat airbase.

Although China is not implicated in the Syrian war, Trump’s actions resonate widely, not least in the debate over how to tackle North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

China and the United States agree Pyongyang’s programs are a serious problem, but have not seen eye-to-eye on how to respond.

“There is a real commitment to work together to see if this cannot be resolved in a peaceful way,” said Tillerson.
Trump asked Xi for ideas on how to proceed, but held out the possibility of unilateral action.

“(We) are prepared to chart our own course if this is something China is just unable to coordinate with us,” said Tillerson.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani meanwhile said that “terrorists” were applauding Trump for launching a missile strike on an airbase of his Syrian government ally.

But he backed calls for an independent inquiry into a suspected chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town in northwestern Syria on Tuesday that Trump blamed on the Damascus regime.

“This man who is now in office in America claimed that he wanted to fight terrorism but today all terrorists in Syria are celebrating the US attack,” Rouhani said in a speech aired by state television.

“Why have you attacked the Syrian army which is at war with terrorists? Under what law or authority did you launch your missiles at this independent country?”
Iran and Russia are the closest allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

– Deliverables –
There appeared to be little in the way of concrete achievements during 24 hours in the sun, but officials said that a rapport had been built that will carry on the next four years.

The US leader appeared confident when Xi arrived at the Florida venue, even hazarding a joke about his own reputation as a dealmaker.

“We had a long discussion already. So far, I have gotten nothing. Absolutely nothing,” he said to laughs from the delegation.

“But I can see that, I think long-term, we are going to have a very, very great relationship and I look very much forward to it.”

The two leaders were joined Thursday evening by US First Lady Melania Trump, a former model, and Peng Liyuan — a celebrated folk singer Trump hailed as a “great, great celebrity”.

There was little evidence of Xi’s promised “tweetable deliverables” designed to smooth ties, but they may be rolled out during a 100-day plan on trade.

Sources briefed on Xi’s plans promised a package of Chinese investments aimed at creating more than 700,000 American jobs — the same number China’s regional rival Japan pledged to Trump during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Mar-a-Lago visit in February.

In return, Xi hoped to obtain assurances from Trump on punitive tariffs and the delay of an American arms sale to Taiwan, at least until after a major Communist Party meeting later this year.

Trump’s position on democratically ruled Taiwan — which China considers part of its territory awaiting reunification — has been a major irritant since he accepted a protocol-breaking phone call from the Taiwanese president after his election victory.

The US leader apparently did speak to Xi about another thorny issue, telling him of “the importance of protecting human rights and other values deeply held by Americans,” the White House reported.





AFP

Trump launches missile strikes on Syria after ‘chemical’ attack

President Donald Trump ordered a massive military strike on a Syrian air base Thursday, in retaliation for a “ barbaric ” chemical attack he blamed on President Bashar al- Assad .

In a brief televised address delivered hours after the UN Security Council failed to agree on a probe into the apparent chemical attack, Trump confirmed the first American targeted strike against Assad ’s regime .

Declaring it in America’ s “ vital national security interest” to prevent the spread of deadly chemical weapons, Trump accused Assad of a “ very barbaric attack” in which “ even beautiful babies were cruelly murdered.”

“ Tonight I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end this slaughter and bloodshed in Syria and also to end terrorism of all kinds and all types,” Trump said.

Trump’s visceral reaction to the suspected sarin attack prompted a swift and massive response , with the US firing 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Shayrat Airfield at 8 :40 pm Eastern Time (0040 GMT ), according to officials.

The missiles were fired from the USS Porter and the USS Ross , which belong to the US Navy ’s Sixth Fleet and are located in the eastern Mediterranean.

The strike targeted radars , aircraft, air defense systems and other logistical components at the military base south of Homs in central Syria , from where Washington believes Tuesday ’s deadly strike was launched .

Syrian state television called the US strike “ an act of aggression,” quoting a military source saying there had been unspecified losses .

The swift US military action against the Assad regime marks a stunning development in Syria ’s brutal, six- year conflict and a sudden about - face for Trump.

It came despite a warning from Russia of potential “ negative consequences” if Washington strikes Syria .

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused Russia — which props up the Assad regime and agreed to mothball Syrian chemical weapons in a 2013 deal
— of being incompetent or complicit in permitting Assad’s actions.

A White House official said that Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis had liaised with allies about the military strike.
Trump, who is currently hosting Xi Jinping at his Mar- a - Lago resort , informed the Chinese leader personally .

But there was no such warning for President Vladimir Putin. Instead Russian military officials in Syria were informed of the strikes beforehand in order to avoid casualties that could prompt a broader crisis .

White House and military officials at Mar - a- Lago watched this first major military and foreign policy gambit of Trump administration from a stuffy tent that served as the temporary Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility — or SCIF .








AFP