Developments Tuesday concerning President Donald Trump include his discussions with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying both are “ready to reach for peace”; the release of his federal budget, his current Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats testifying before Congress, and his comments on the terror attack in Manchester:
WATCH: US President Trump visits Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem
Trump: Israeli, Palestinian Leaders ‘Ready to Reach for Peace’ — U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are “ready to reach for peace.” Trump made the remark alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech at the Israel Museum. Trump had held talks with Netanyahu on Monday and met him again on Tuesday after a brief visit to the West Bank for a one-hour discussion with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Proposed Trump Budget: More Military; Less for Social Programs — The president is proposing major changes in the way Washington’s $4.1 trillion budget is spent, with more money for the military, border security, and veterans. The just-published budget for next year also slashes money for programs that benefit the poor. Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s top budget official, said for the first time the budget looks at spending from the point of view of the taxpayers, rather than the people who get government help.
WATCH: Trump comments on Manchester attack
Trump: Manchester Bomber an ‘Evil Loser’ — Trump responded to the bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, Tuesday, calling the attackers and other terrorists “evil losers. … I won’t call them monsters because they would like that term, they would think that is a great name. I will call them, from now on, losers because that’s what they are: losers,” he said.
Trump’s Intel Chief Mum on Pressure to Rebut Russia Evidence — Trump’s intelligence chief declined to comment Tuesday on media reports that the president pressured him to publicly deny that evidence existed of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential race. National Intelligence Director Dan Coats told a Senate panel: “I don’t feel it’s appropriate to characterize discussions and conversations with the president.” In recent days, news outlets have reported that Trump made separate appeals to Coats and to National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers, urging them to rebut allegations that Russia colluded with Trump campaign aides to help the real estate magnate win the White House.
Veteran Reporter Compares Watergate, Trump’s Travails — Walter Mears, who covered Washington in the early 1970s, says for any parallels between Watergate and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections, there are also major differences. In Watergate, the smoking gun was a White House tape proving that Richard M. Nixon ordered a cover-up – the final evidence that forced him from the White House. In the Russia investigation, the smoke hasn’t cleared because President Donald Trump keeps shooting.
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