Washington, Jan 20 (AP) President Donald Trump is expected to appear at Tuesday’s White House press briefing to mark the first anniversary of the start of his second term.
The rare appearance comes as the
president faces extraordinary pushback from America’s European allies over his planned tariffs over Greenland, tensions he’ll confront in person this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described Trump’s planned new tariffs over Greenland as “a mistake especially between long-standing allies” and called into question Trump’s trustworthiness, saying that he had agreed last year not to impose more tariffs on members of the bloc.
Trump announced that starting February, a 10 per cent import tax will be imposed on goods from eight European nations that have rallied around Denmark in the wake of his stepped up calls for the United States to take over the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland.
Trump throws his stack of accomplishments on the floor ————————————————————– There was a thud in the briefing room as Trump tossed the thick stack of papers he said contained the accomplishments of his first year back in the White House onto the floor.
Printed sheets spread out on the carpeting near reporters’ seats, after which Trump turned toward talking about inflation and shifting toward criticism of the Biden administration’s economic policies.
Just before Trump dropped the files onto the floor, there was the snap of a binder clip, which he said didn’t hurt him, but that he wouldn’t have shown if it had.
“I would have acted like nothing happened as my finger fell off,” Trump said.
Slow start to briefing with Trump ————————————- The president is meandering through the first minutes of his press briefing with reporters. It’s been a low-energy speech so far.
Trump spent several minutes leafing through photographs and descriptions of people allegedly arrested in Minnesota, asking reporters at one point, “You’re not getting bored with this, right?” He also referred to the packet of “wins” from his administration but didn’t immediately get into it, saying instead, “I could stand here and read it for a week and we wouldn’t be finished.” Trump calls Minnesota protesters ‘paid agitators’ —————————————————– As he continued to show mugshots of those he described as “rough” people arrested during federal agents immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, Trump also linked the fraud allegations in the state to its Somali community, which he has also done in the past.
“I’m going through this because I think we have plenty of time,” Trump said, alternating between discussing Minnesota and other issues, including his impending trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Trump’s administration has urged a judge to reject efforts by Minnesota and its largest cities to stop the surge, calling the lawsuit — filed soon after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer — “legally frivolous.” Trump says it would take ‘more than a week’ to list off his accomplishments ——————————————————————————– Entering the briefing room with a thick stack of papers, Trump said that he had in his first year back in the White House had “done more than any other administration has done by far.” “It’s been an amazing period of time,” Trump said, thumbing through the pages.
Trump addressed reporters alone at the podium, with Leavitt standing off to his right. He quickly launched into holding up photographs of people arrested Minnesota, with each saying “Minnesota worst of the worst.” Trump joins reporters in White House briefing room ——————————————————– The president has entered the room to kick off a scheduled White House press briefing.
He’s expected to highlight his administration’s accomplishments on the anniversary of his 2025 inauguration. Journalists in the room were given a 31-page handout on that topic, listing what it said were “365 WINS IN 365 DAYS.” Trump to be ‘special guest’ at White House press briefing ————————————————————– Trump is expected to appear at Tuesday’s White House press briefing to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of his second term.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt teased the surprise in a post on X, saying, ‘A very special guest will be joining me at the podium today…. TUNE IN.” The rare appearance comes as the president has faced extraordinary pushback from America’s European allies over his planned tariffs over Greenland, tensions he’ll face in person this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (AP) GRS GRS
