President Donald Trump will officially launch his re-election campaign Tuesday in the key battleground state of Florida. Trump is hoping voters will reward him at the polls next year for the strong U.S. economy. But heading into the 2020 race, various polls show that Trump remains unpopular with a large swath of voters, often a…
read moreRegular White House media briefings should “absolutely” return, according to the President Donald Trump’s first press secretary, Sean Spicer. “There is a utility in making sure people see the government in action,” Spicer tells VOA. “It is an opportunity for the White House to make sure that you’re getting your message out. And it gives…
read moreA police officer fatally shot a black man in South Bend, Indiana, leading mayor Pete Buttigieg to return home early from a presidential campaign trip to address the public and reach out to community members. The shooting happened early Sunday after someone called police to report a suspicious person going through cars, the St.…
read moreA former North Carolina state senator is switching races, announcing Monday that he’s joined the Democratic effort to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, whose seat would be a major pickup for Democrats trying to win back a Senate majority. Cal Cunningham, a familiar name in state Democratic circles, revealed to The Associated Press that…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s latest anointment of an acting head of a major federal agency has prompted muttering, but no more than that, from Republican senators whose job description includes confirming top administration aides. Their reluctance to confront Trump comes as veterans of the confirmation process and analysts say he’s placed acting officials in key…
read moreLater this week, the U.S. Senate is expected to mount an effort to block an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as many American lawmakers continue to seethe over Riyadh’s human rights record, the war in Yemen and last year’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Trump administration sought…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump contended Sunday two of the country’s top newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, would go out of business when he leaves office. Trump attacked both newspapers, both of which often publish articles that he labels as “fake news” — stories about his chaotic White House and administration policies…
read moreIn President Donald Trump’s reckoning, an Iran tamed by him no longer cries “death to America,” the border wall with Mexico is proceeding apace, the estate tax has been lifted off the backs of farmers, the remains of U.S. soldiers from North Korea are coming home and China is opening its wallet to the U.S.…
read moreIvanka Trump and Jared Kushner took in as much as $135 million in revenue during their second year as aides to President Donald Trump, generated from their vast real estate holdings, stocks and bonds and even a book deal, according to their financial disclosures released Friday. Ivanka Trump’s stake in her family’s Washington hotel down…
read moreThe brouhaha over U.S. President Donald Trump’s “oppo research” comments — that he’d be willing to accept outside foreign government political assistance — comes down to this question: Is opposition research a “thing of value” that foreign nationals are prohibited from offering to American political campaigns? In an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Trump…
read morePresident Donald Trump said Friday that “of course” he would go to the FBI or the attorney general if a foreign power offered him dirt about an opponent. It was an apparent walkback from his earlier comments that he might not contact law enforcement in such a situation. Trump, in an interview Friday with “Fox…
read moreThe Democratic National Committee has announced that 20 candidates have qualified for the party’s first presidential debates later this month. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts were the only major candidates out of the two dozen Democratic hopefuls who failed to meet the polling or grassroots fundraising measures required to…
read moreA Trump administration national security official has sought help from advisers to a think tank that disavows climate change to challenge widely accepted scientific findings on global warming, according to his emails. The request from William Happer, a member of the National Security Council, is included in emails from 2018 and 2019 that were obtained…
read moreWhite House press secretary Sarah Sanders will be departing her post within weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Thursday. “Our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas,” Trump said on his personal Twitter account. ….She is…
read moreA U.S. government watchdog agency on Thursday recommended that Kellyanne Conway, one of President Donald Trump’s closest White House aides, be fired for repeatedly engaging in partisan political attacks while working as a federal employee. The Office of Special Counsel, unrelated to special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election,…
read moreA U.S. congressional committee on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to extend the fund compensating first responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center for the next 70 years, a move that would avoid steep benefit reductions over a lack of money. The House Judiciary Committee acted one day after television personality…
read moreThe Midwest state of Iowa in the center of the country is at the center of the race for the White House in 2020, as the large field of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination descends upon its 99 counties. The candidates are trying to build momentum and support ahead of nationally televised debates this summer. VOA’s…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump’s push to confront China’s trade practices has garnered bipartisan congressional support unlike any other major initiative his administration has tackled. VOA Senate correspondent Michael Bowman reports, while lawmakers of both political parties praise Trump for initiating a “get tough” approach to Beijing, the specifics of his China policy have sparked doubts…
read moreDemocratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke Wednesday outlined his proposal to improve gay rights in the United States and to reverse what he called “discriminatory policies” under President Donald Trump. “LGBTQ+ Americans have made incredible progress over the past decade, thanks in large part to the tireless efforts of activists and advocates, but too many LGBTQ+…
read moreU.S. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden both took their political message to the mid-western state of Iowa Tuesday, each seeking to persuade 2020 voters that he is the one with the vision and strength to lead the nation. Trump and Biden have been trading barbs ever since Biden announced his candidacy…
read moreActing Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan told troops and civilian workers Tuesday to avoid political displays while on the job, a reminder that comes after the White House told the Navy to keep the USS John S. McCain out of sight to avoid offending President Donald Trump during a visit to Japan. In separate memos…
read moreSeeking to rebut President Donald Trump’s attempts to cast him and Democrats as too liberal, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders plans to give a speech Wednesday on democratic socialism, the economic philosophy that has guided his political career. He made similar remarks during his first presidential campaign in 2016, when he faced questions about his…
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