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Tag: Donald Trump

  • Second US judge blocks Trump’s birthright citizenship order

    Second US judge blocks Trump’s birthright citizenship order

    A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States, US in a blow to the president’s bid to end a right enshrined in the Constitution for more than a century.

    The ruling indefinitely bans enforcement of one of Trump’s most controversial executive orders, which was due to come into effect nationwide on February 19.

    “The denial of the precious right to citizenship will cause irreparable harm,” District Judge Deborah Boardman was reported as saying during the hearing at a Maryland court.

    She noted that Supreme Court precedent protects birthright citizenship, adding that Trump’s order “conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment,” the Washington Post reported.

    “No court in the country has ever endorsed the president’s interpretation,” she said. “This court will not be the first.”

    The injunction adds to a 14-day stay on enforcement of Trump’s executive order issued in January by a federal judge in Washington state.

    There, US District Judge John Coughenour condemned the order as “blatantly unconstitutional,” though Trump quickly told reporters he planned to appeal the ruling.

    Birthright citizenship is enshrined in the US Constitution under the 14th Amendment which decrees that anyone born on US soil is a citizen.

    Trump’s order was premised on the idea that anyone in the United States illegally, or on a visa, was not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the country, and therefore excluded from this category.

    His opponents have argued that the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 as the United States sought to recover from the Civil War, has been settled law for over a century.

    They have cited an 1898 US Supreme Court ruling in the case of a Chinese-American man named Wong Kim Ark, who was denied reentry to the United States on the grounds that he was not a citizen.

    The court affirmed that children born in the United States, including those born to immigrants, could not be denied citizenship.

  • Trump ‘not 100% sure’ he’s barred from third term

    Trump ‘not 100% sure’ he’s barred from third term

    US President Donald Trump once again hinted at the idea of serving a third term, saying he was “not 100 percent sure” he was barred from doing so under the Constitution, which forbids it.

    Trump has repeatedly alluded to the possibility that he might go beyond the current two-term limit for US presidents — but while he often strikes a light-hearted tone the remarks remain provocative.

    “I’ve raised a lot of money for the next race that I assume I can’t use for myself, but I’m not 100 percent sure, because I don’t know… I think I’m not allowed to run again,” Trump told an audience of Congressional Republicans in Miami.

    To laughter, Trump turned to Republican House Leader Mike Johnson and added: “I’m not sure, am I allowed to run again? Mike? I better not get you involved in that argument.”

    Trump was inaugurated for his second spell in the White House a week ago, becoming just the second president in US history to serve two non-consecutive terms.

    US presidents are limited to two terms in office by the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified in 1951 — partly as a response to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s unprecedented four terms as president from 1933-1945.

    A Republican in the US House introduced a super-long-shot resolution last week to change the constitution to allow Trump to get another term.

    Trump has alluded to extending his stay on a number of occasions and joked about it as recently Saturday, during a rally in Nevada.

    “It will be the greatest honor my life to serve not once, but twice — or three times or four times,” he said with a laugh, before adding to cheers from the audience: “Headlines for the fake news.”

    In November, in another speech to House Republicans shortly after his election win, Trump said: “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s good, we got to figure something else.’”

    Trump told an audience of conservative Christians in July: “Christians, get out and vote. Just this time… Four more years, it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore.”

  • What Donald Trump’s second presidency means for Nigeria, by Olu Fasan

    What Donald Trump’s second presidency means for Nigeria, by Olu Fasan

    Earlier this week, on Monday, January 20, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the US. Eight years ago, on January 20, 2017, Trump was inaugurated as America’s 45th president. His remarkable comeback, after a four-year interregnum, makes him the second US president, since Grover Cleveland in 1892, to return to office for a non-consecutive term after being defeated for re-election; he’s the first in 130 years! But Trump’s return is menacing. At home, he promised carpet-bombing change; abroad, he vowed aggressive expansionism.

    In his ultra-nationalist ‘America First’ inaugural speech, Trump vowed to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, ignoring Mexico’s sensitivity, and seize the Panama Canal, brushing aside Panama’s sovereignty. Before his inauguration, Trump threatened to forcibly annex Greenland, a territory of Denmark, and turn Canada into America’s 51st state. President Trump’s first coming in 2017 sent shock waves across the world; his second presidency will unsettle many countries. But what might it mean for Nigeria?

    Well, the starting point is that Donald Trump is not enamoured of Nigeria. He once described Nigeria as a “shithole” country with “a reputation for massive corruption.” During his first term, President Trump’s relationship with Nigeria was transactional and condescending. Transactional, because it was based on Nigeria’s willingness to buy American agricultural products and weapons. Without that willingness, he didn’t give a hoot about Nigeria.

    For instance, under President Barack Obama, the US refused to sell weapons to Nigeria, citing human rights abuses. But not under Trump. In 2018, when President Buhari visited the White House, Trump announced the US would sell 12 A-Super Tucano aircrafts to Nigeria. “They [Nigeria] were not allowed to buy military helicopters in our country for various reasons,” Trump said. “I worked that out; now, they can get them and get them very quickly.” He added for good measure: “We make the best military equipment in the world.” At the same meeting, Trump complained about Nigeria’s import bans, saying it’s important that “we are able to sell out great agricultural products into Nigeria,” adding: “And that will happen, OK?”

    Truth is, for foreign countries, one way to Trump’s heart is economic; buying American products. In his inaugural speech, President Trump said America “will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.” He said he would establish “the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues,” adding: “It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury coming from foreign sources.” The logic is trade reciprocity.

    The US stopped being the major buyer of Nigerian crude nearly a decade ago, after it moved from the largest importer in 2012 to the tenth largest in 2015. However, Nigeria still has a trade surplus over America on goods exports. Trump doesn’t like that. He said the US gave Nigeria huge aid – “it’s so large you wouldn’t even believe it” – and demanded America be treated in a “reciprocal fashion” on trade. In his second term, with a more radical mercantilist mindset, President Trump will revisit these issues, and Nigeria won’t find favour with him unless it panders to his demand for greater reciprocity in trade relations

    Then, there’s geopolitics. The closer Nigeria is to China, the further away it would be from America under Trump. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Peter Pham, a senior Trump aide, tipped as a possible assistant secretary of state for Africa, said President Trump would be less indulgent with countries seen as antagonistic to US interests. He said Trump might extend the tariff-free access to the US under the Africa Opportunity Growth Act, AGOA, “only to countries that opened their own markets to the US exports and whose foreign policy was aligned with Washington’s.”

    Trump threatened to impose a 100 per cent tariff on BRICS countries if they abandoned U.S. dollar. Nigeria’s recent renewal of the 15-billion-yuan currency swap agreement with China, intended to reduce its reliance on dollar transactions, might enrage Trump if it deepens economic ties with China at the expense of the US. Being a close ally of China might not win Nigeria favours with Trump!

    So, economic and geo-strategic relations are two areas where Trump’s second presidency might adversely affect Nigeria. Furthermore, if Trump keeps his promise to “drill baby drill” and create glut in the oil market to bring down oil price and energy costs, then Nigeria could face headwinds with a N49.7 trillion budget predicated largely on high oil price. Add to that Trump’s mass deportations. According to the Office of Homeland Security, 2,725 Nigerians were deported from the US between 2017 and 2019, during Trump’s first term. Now, he wants to deport “millions and millions” of undocumented migrants. How many would be Nigerian? And is the government prepared to receive them?

    But beyond the above, how would President Trump and President Bola Tinubu relate? Truth be told, Tinubu and his party are not fans of Trump and his party. Being a “progressive” party, APC shares affinity with US Democrats, not the Republicans. Indeed, Tinubu is rumoured to have donated to Hillary Clinton’s presidential election campaign in 2016. When she lost to Trump, APC leaders were distraught. One Buhari minister said the Democrats “went to sleep” in the election; another said he was “in a bit of shock”.

    Recently, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, a former external affairs minister, said: “If I were President Tinubu, I would steer clear of antagonising Trump.” But, in reality, Tinubu doesn’t like Trump. For instance, in September last year, President Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, who must be speaking for his boss, disparagingly described Peter Obi as “the Nigerian version” of Donald Trump, saying: “Like Obi, Trump will use the most negative epithets imaginable to describe a country he wants to lead again just to make a point and rile up his base.” Trump won’t forget such a slight easily!

    But the key event to watch is the 2027 presidential election. Why? Because APC won’t be able to count on a US Democratic president for support as Buhari did with Obama and Tinubu did with Biden. Former President Goodluck Jonathan believes Obama caused his re-election defeat in 2015, and many believe Biden rushed to congratulate Tinubu after the deeply flawed 2023 presidential election, prompting an angry open letter to President Biden by the acclaimed Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie. Well, Trump won’t keep silent if the 2027 presidential election is rigged, which would add fascinating dynamics to the poll.

    Taken the foregoing together, Trump’s second presidency points to an interesting relationship between Nigeria and America. How well or badly will Tinubu manage it?

  • Trump Signs Order to Pull US Out of WHO

    Trump Signs Order to Pull US Out of WHO

    US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order initiating the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO).

    The order, issued on Monday, marks Trump’s latest controversial move following his return to the presidency.

    The executive order cited multiple reasons for the withdrawal, including the WHO’s alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, failure to implement necessary reforms, and perceived political influence from member states.

    “The US is withdrawing due to the organization’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states,” the order stated.

    The order also criticized the WHO’s funding model, claiming it imposed “unfairly onerous payments” on the US, which are disproportionate compared to contributions from other countries, such as China.

    Speaking at the signing ceremony, Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with the organization’s conduct.

    “World Health ripped us off; everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” he said.

    This is the second time Trump has moved to pull the US out of the global health body. In 2020, during his first term, Trump heavily criticized the WHO for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing the organization of favoring China. While he initiated the withdrawal process at the time, President Joe Biden reversed the decision upon assuming office.

    The US has long been the largest contributor to the WHO, providing nearly one-fifth of its budget in 2023. The withdrawal means the US will officially leave the organization in 12 months.

  • Donald Trump Sworn In As 47th US President, Plans Immigration Crackdown

    Donald Trump Sworn In As 47th US President, Plans Immigration Crackdown

    Donald Trump was sworn in for a historic second term as president on Monday, pledging a blitz of immediate orders on immigration and the US culture wars as he caps his extraordinary comeback.

    With one hand raised in the air and the other on a Bible given to him by his mother, the 47th US president solemnly took the oath of office beneath the huge Rotunda of the US Capitol.

    Republican Trump and outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden had earlier traveled by motorcade together to the Capitol, where the ceremony was being held indoors — and with a much smaller crowd — for the first time in decades due to frigid weather.

    Earlier, they and their spouses met for a traditional tea at the White House.

    “Welcome home,” Biden said to Trump as he and First Lady Jill Biden greeted their successors at the front door to the presidential residence.

    Trump, 78, was a political outsider at his first inauguration in 2017 as the 45th president, but this time around he is surrounded by America’s wealthy and powerful.

    The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai all had prime seats in the Capitol alongside Trump’s family and cabinet members.

    Musk, who bankrolled Trump’s election campaign to the tune of a quarter of a billion dollars and promotes far-right policies on the X social network, will lead a cost-cutting drive in the new administration.

    While Trump refused to attend Biden’s 2021 inauguration after falsely claiming electoral fraud by the Democrat, this time Biden has been keen to restore the sense of tradition.

    Biden joined former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton at the Capitol. Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush were there but ex-first lady Michelle Obama pointedly stayed away.

    – ‘American decline’ –

    Unusually for an inauguration where foreign leaders are normally not invited, Argentina’s hard-right president Javier Milei was attending, along with Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

    The bitter cold weather has forced Trump’s inauguration indoors for the first time since Ronald Reagan’s in 1985, missing out on the customary massive crowds along the National Mall.

    Behind the pomp and ceremony, the billionaire is kickstarting his nationalist, right-wing agenda with a barrage of around 100 executive orders undoing Biden’s legacy.

    Trump will declare a national emergency at the Mexico border, give the US military a key role on the frontier, and end birthright citizenship, as he seeks to clamp down on undocumented migrants, an official from his incoming administration said.

    Trump has pledged to start immediate deportations of undocumented migrants.

    He will also sign an order for the US government to recognize only two biological sexes and seek to eliminate federal government diversity programs as he takes office.

    The announcement of the hardline policies came a day after Trump had promised a “brand new day” and to end “four years of American decline.”

    “I will act with historic speed and strength and fix every single crisis facing our country,” Trump told an inauguration eve rally where he danced with the Village People band.

    – ‘Ecstatic’ –

    Despite promising a new “golden era,” populist Trump also campaigned on often apocalyptic depictions of the country in his victorious election campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

    At sunrise on Monday, the National Mall, where the inauguration was originally due to be held, was largely empty — save for the Fairchild family, who traveled from Michigan to pay tribute to Trump.

    “Ecstatic,” said grandmother Barb, when asked how they were feeling, adding she thought the move indoors was made “to protect our president.”

    With minutes left in his presidency, Biden issued extraordinary pre-emptive pardons for his brothers and sister to shield them from “baseless and politically motivated investigations.”

    He also pardoned former COVID-19 advisor Anthony Fauci, retired general Mark Milley, and members of a US House committee probing the violent January 6, 2021 US Capitol attack by Trump’s supporters.

    Biden said he had also restored the tradition of leaving a letter for his successor — though he said the contents were between him and Trump.

    Trump will make history by replacing Biden as the oldest president to be sworn in. He is also just the second president in US history to return to power after being voted out, after Grover Cleveland in 1893.

    Another first is Trump’s criminal record, related to paying a porn star hush money during his first presidential run — and a string of far more serious criminal probes that were dropped once he won the election in November.

    For the rest of the world, Trump’s return means expecting the unexpected.

    From promising sweeping tariffs to making territorial threats to Greenland and Panama and calling US aid for Ukraine into question, Trump looks set to rattle the global order once again.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump ahead of the inauguration and said Monday he was open to talks on the Ukraine conflict, adding he hoped any settlement would ensure “lasting peace”.