First lady Melania Trump has threatened to sue Hunter Biden for $1 billion over claims the Biden scion made about Trump regarding the late, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Attorneys for Trump sent a letter demanding Biden retract statements he made about the first lady regarding Epstein in an interview on Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan and published on YouTube earlier this month. The letter accused Biden of causing “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” to the first lady.
“This correspondence serves as a demand … that you immediately retract the false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements made about Mrs. Trump,” the letter says. The interview “has since been re-published by various media outlets, journalists, and political commentators with millions of social media followers that have disseminated the false and defamatory statements therein to tens of millions of people worldwide. Consequently, you have caused Mrs. Trump to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”
The letter, sent by Alejandro Brito, Trump’s litigation counsel, quotes two comments from Biden in the video in which he claims that Epstein first introduced Trump to President Donald Trump. In the video, Biden cites an article published on The Daily Beast written by “serial fabulist” Michael Wolff.
“Following receipt of our cease-and-desist demand letter just a week ago, The Daily Beast issued an apology to Mrs. Trump and retracted the false and defamatory statements contained in the Article by deleting it in its entirety,” Brito wrote. “Despite this, you have unjustifiably relied upon Mr. Wolff&#8217;s false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements about Mrs. Trump and maliciously elected to republish them.”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Biden must issue a public retraction of his comments and an apology to Trump, according to the letter. The message also tells Biden to save all evidence and communications related to the claims and the interview.
If the letter’s demands are not met, “Mrs. Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce her legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for over $1 Billion Dollars in damages. You are on notice,” the letter says.
Biden appeared on the YouTube news show Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan twice in videos published on July 21 and August 5. The July <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBbkt2vYC4M&amp;t=4278s">interview</a> ran for roughly three hours and has racked up over 3.6 million views. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4WCtYDtgbM">video</a> released in August is shorter, running just over one hour, and has amassed nearly 1.2 million views. The offending comments appeared in the August video.

Melania Trump

Melania Threatens Hunter Biden With $1B Lawsuit: ‘False, Defamatory, Disparaging’

Executive

Hunter Biden

Jeffrey Epstein

Lawsuit

Politics

As reports surfaced that President Donald Trump has issued a directive to the Pentagon to target Latin American drug cartels, it is instructive to note the frightening capabilities of weaponry these criminal groups are reported to employ in order to intimidate governments and possibly threaten Americans.
The incalculable damage done to the American populace from the drugs transported across the border has been evident for years. “The Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations seized a total of 541,000 pounds of illicit drug substances along the southern border, both at and between POEs (points of entry) in Fiscal Year 2023, “ the National Immigration Forum <a href="https://immigrationforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/llicit-Fentanyl-and-Drug-Smuggling-at-the-U.S.-Mexico-Border.pdf">reported</a>.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-greenlights-military-force-to-take-down-latin-american-drug-cartels">Trump Greenlights Military Force To Take Down Latin American Drug Cartels</a>
On August 1, the Department of Justice announced that six men had been sentenced to federal prison terms for their roles in purchasing high-caliber firearms in the United States for resale to Mexican drug cartels. “The trafficked firearms included high-caliber, armor-piercing, and anti-material weapons. For example, approximately 11 of the firearms trafficked by this organization included Barrett .50 caliber rifles, which can expel a very accurate, heavy, and fast-moving projectile that defeats all individually worn body armor, can penetrate and disable vehicles, aircraft, boats, and can even defeat some types of protection provided by armored vehicles,” the DOJ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/six-deland-men-sentenced-trafficking-military-grade-firearms-mexican-drug-cartels">noted</a>. “The organization also trafficked approximately 16 FN M249S rifles, which are sold in the United States as a semi-automatic weapon but are easily converted into a machine gun.”
The cartels <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/06/29/mexican-cartels-increased-firepower-us-weapons/74226110007/">reportedly possess</a> FGM 148 Javelin infrared-guided missile launchers. “Javelin automatically guides itself to the target after launch, allowing the gunner to take cover and avoid counterfire. Soldiers or Marines can reposition immediately after firing, or reload to engage another threat,”  Lockheed Martin <a href="https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/javelin.html">explains</a>.
“Steven Willoughby, deputy director of the Department of Homeland Security’s counter-drone program, this week told a Senate panel that more than 300 Mexican drones typically come within 500 meters of the U.S. border each day,” NewsNation reported in late <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/cuomo-show/drone-creep-mexico-border/">July</a>.
In 2023, The Pacific Council Magazine <a href="https://www.pacificcouncil.online/us-mexico-double-fix-blog/post-three">reported</a>:
<blockquote>
The flood of .50-caliber rifles and assault weapons from the U.S. has enabled drug cartels to <a href="https://www.thetrace.org/newsletter/american-made-50-caliber-rifles-help-fuel-mexican-cartel-violence/">outgun</a> Mexico’s security forces and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/mexico-losing-control/mexico-drug-cartels-sniper-rifles-us-gun-policy/">expand their influence and activities</a>. That is because these weapons have characteristics and capabilities that make them particularly lethal:  The bullets fired by .50-caliber rifles are powerful enough to punch through <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mexico-arms-barrett-idAFKBN2F7151">concrete walls, bulletproof vests, and armored vehicles such as tanks</a>. In 2016, cartel members used a .50-caliber rifle to <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/8x33w4/cartel-gunmen-shot-down-a-mexican-police-helicopter">down</a> a Mexican state police helicopter, killing the pilot and four others. 
</blockquote>
There have been <a href="https://stories.theconversation.com/mexican-drug-cartels-use-hundreds-of-thousands-of-guns-bought-from-licensed-us-gun-shops-fueling-violence-in-mexico-drugs-in-the-u-s-and-migration-at-the-border/index.html">reports</a> as far back as 2015 that say the cartels have used rocket-powered grenades.

Army Holds Live-Fire Training Exercise With Javelin Missiles

Trump Wants Pentagon To Target Cartels. The Weapons They Possess Are Sophisticated.

Donald Trump

Drug Cartels

Military

weapons

President Donald Trump quietly signed a directive ordering the Pentagon to begin using military force against Latin American drug cartels that the administration has labeled as terrorist organizations, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/us/trump-military-drug-cartels.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimesworld">reported</a> Friday morning.
The order includes an official basis for the United States military to conduct anti-cartel operations in foreign countries, and military officials have already begun drafting plans for going after certain groups, the Times reported, citing &#8220;people familiar with the conversations.&#8221; It was not immediately clear which specific gangs or drug cartels Trump&#8217;s new directive greenlights military operations against.
Under Trump, the United States has <a href="https://www.state.gov/designation-of-international-cartels">designated</a> seven drug cartels and two international criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations: Tren de Aragua (TdA), Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Cártel del Noreste (CDN), La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM), Cártel de Golfo (CDG), and Cárteles Unidos (CU). The Trump administration recently added the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles to its list, saying that it is operated by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking government officials, according to the Times. On Thursday, the United States upped the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hikes-bounty-on-venezuelas-maduro-to-50m">bounty</a> on Maduro to $50 million, pointing to his ties to transnational gangs and drug cartels.
&#8220;Maduro uses foreign terrorist organizations like TDA, Sinaloa, and Cartel of the Suns to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country. To date, the DEA has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself,&#8221; said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Most of the cartels designated by the Trump administration as terrorist organizations operate in Mexico, while TdA&#8217;s roots are in Venezuela, and MS-13 originated in Los Angeles as a Salvadoran street gang. Both TdA and MS-13 also have cells operating in Central America, according to the State Department.
Trump&#8217;s order is among the most significant steps he has taken to fulfill his promise to &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCGjPpNG4xA">wage war</a>&#8221; on cartels that have trafficked fentanyl and other drugs into the United States, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans. In May, President Trump said he offered Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a deal that would send U.S. troops into Mexico to fight drug cartels.
&#8220;They are horrible people that have been killing people left and right. They&#8217;ve made a fortune on selling drugs and destroying our people,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000010147246/trump-offers-us-military-to-fight-mexican-cartels.html">told</a> reporters aboard Air Force One. &#8220;If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honored to go in and do it.&#8221;
Sheinbaum <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/sheinbaum-says-she-rejected-trumps-offer-send-troops-mexico-2025-05-03/">rejected</a> Trump&#8217;s proposal, saying, &#8220;Sovereignty is not for sale. Sovereignty is loved and defended.&#8221;
&#8220;We will never accept the presence of the United States military in our territory,&#8221; she added.

Trump Greenlights Military Force To Take Down Latin American Drug Cartels

Central America

Mexico

MS-13

Tren De Aragua

U.S. Military

Venezuela

According to newly released Census Bureau data, all income groups in America advanced more during President Donald Trump’s first term than they did during the Biden administration.
Stephen Moore, a senior visiting fellow in economics at The Heritage Foundation, presented the unpublished data for the first time in an Oval Office presentation with Trump on Thursday. The data divided Americans into three groups: lower income (bottom 25% of earners), middle income (middle 50%), and upper income (top 25%).
“What I find fascinating about this, Mr. President, is every income group did better,” said Moore, displaying a chart showing the percentage gain that accrued on average in each income bracket.
Under President Joe Biden, the lower class, after adjusting for inflation, lost income over the course of four years. The middle-income earners stayed about the same. But the upper income earners did noticeably better, according to Moore.
“The rich were the only group that did better under Biden, which is ironic because Biden keeps saying he was trying to get rid of income inequality. He made income inequality worse, not better,” Moore said. “It was President Trump that reduced income inequality.”
The economist tallied the numbers in dollars, as well, showing that the lower income gained about $4,000 in annual revenue over Trump’s first term. The middle income gained about $6,400 in annual earnings, and the wealthiest earned $10,000 more a year from the start of Trump’s first term to its end.
The data takes into account the COVID pandemic, which hit at the end of Trump’s first term and caused a general dip in income.
In addition to data on income growth, Moore also showed graphs on Bureau of Labor Statistics data and median household income during Trump’s first months of his second term. In the first five months of Trump’s second term, the average household’s income has increased by an inflation-adjusted $1,174, Moore said.
Trump last week fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, after the bureau, responsible for collecting and releasing jobs data on the U.S. economy every month, issued a significant downward correction this month on data for May and June.
“Revisions for May and June were larger than normal,” the agency <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fewer-jobs-than-expected-added-in-july-as-unemployment-holds-steady">said</a> in a report issued August 1. “The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for May was revised down by 125,000, from +144,000 to +19,000, and the change for June was revised  down by 133,000, from +147,000 to +14,000.”
Moore supported Trump’s decision to fire the agency head, citing similar significant corrections that were made to jobs data under Biden, which Moore said showed “incompetence.” Trump, however, told Moore he believed the figures had been deliberately manipulated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨<a href="https://twitter.com/StephenMoore?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@StephenMoore</a> presents new economic data in the Oval Office with <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>:
&#8220;Mr. President, you gained ten times more income for the average family than Joe Biden.&#8221;
&#8220;Every income group did better under Trump than Biden — by a wide margin.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/VIGjGf14YO">pic.twitter.com/VIGjGf14YO</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1953554707668254767?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2025</a></blockquote>

Stephen Moore, Donald Trump

Trump Economy Beat Biden’s For All Americans, Economist Says

Trump Economy Beat Biden’s for All Americans, Economist Says

Economics

Economy

Heritage Foundation

Joe Biden

President Donald Trump on Thursday called for Intel’s CEO to resign as the tech company battles falling fortunes and criticism from the nation’s capital.
“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114987288040725570">posted</a> on Truth Social.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s past business dealings with Chinese companies and government-linked entities have fueled distrust among top Republicans, who argue that his close ties to Beijing pose a risk to America&#8217;s chip industry—a sector the White House deems critical to national security in the AI race against China. The Silicon Valley-based company is best known as one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, producing microchips that power computers and other devices.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the top Republican and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, outlined his concerns in a <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-to-intel-ceos-ties-to-china-are-concerning">letter</a> to Intel earlier this week.
“Mr. Tan reportedly controls dozens of Chinese companies and has a stake in hundreds of Chinese advanced-manufacturing and chip firms. At least eight of these companies reportedly have ties to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army,” Cotton wrote.
“Mr. Tan was most recently the CEO of Cadence Design Systems, a company that makes electronic design automation (EDA) technology, which is a key enabler of advanced chip design. Last week, Cadence pleaded guilty to illegally selling its products to a Chinese military university and transferring its technology to an associated Chinese semiconductor company without obtaining licenses. These illegal activities occurred under Mr. Tan’s tenure,” Cotton added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Senator Tom Cotton is not wrong here. Sharing an infographic from <a href="https://twitter.com/thewirechina?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thewirechina</a>, a news magazine founded by Pulitzer Prize winner and former China correspondent David Barboza, mapping the Intel head Lip-Bu Tan&#8217;s venture capital firm Walden and its ties to Chinese companies: <a href="https://t.co/u2cfJRkf4L">https://t.co/u2cfJRkf4L</a> <a href="https://t.co/O5bi2lWB97">pic.twitter.com/O5bi2lWB97</a>
— Melissa Chan (@melissakchan) <a href="https://twitter.com/melissakchan/status/1953536377150476303?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In a companywide email on Thursday, Tan, who is from Malaysia, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intel-ceo-lip-bu-tan-trump-resignation-call-response-2025-8">reportedly</a> denied any wrongdoing, insisting he has always held &#8220;the highest legal and ethical standards.&#8221;
&#8220;The United States has been my home for more than 40 years,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Leading Intel at this critical moment is not just a job &#8211; it&#8217;s a privilege.&#8221;
Tan founded the venture capital firm Walden International, through which Tan has participated in billions of dollars worth of investment deals with Chinese companies, some of which fall on U.S. government watch lists.
Intel received the largest grant awarded to a single company under the CHIPS and Science Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2022: nearly $8 billion. Tan’s deep web of business ties across China has thrown that grant into question and added more instability on top of Intel’s already turbulent business.
“Intel, the Board of Directors, and Lip-Bu Tan are deeply committed to advancing U.S. national and economic security interests and are making significant investments aligned with the president’s America First agenda,” the company said in a <a href="https://x.com/PatrickMoorhead/status/1953573020565668054">statement</a> after Trump’s call for Tan to step down.
The tech company, once a leader in the tech industry, has struggled in recent years, and the backlash from political leaders has worsened its position. The company’s share price fell 3% on Thursday after the salvo from Trump. Since the start of last year, Intel’s share price has fallen roughly 60%, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/trump-intel-ceo-lip-bu-tan-resign-china-ties-cotton-ce111513">The Wall Street Journal</a>.

Lip-Bu Tan

Trump Demands Intel CEO Quit Over China Ties: ‘Highly Conflicted’

Business

China

Tom Cotton

World

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he will oversee a historic peace summit on Friday between the warring nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Trump said he will meet with both Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House, as the two countries appear ready to bring an end to a decades-long conflict. Armenia, the oldest Christian nation in the world, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/azerbaijan-slams-u-s-for-siding-with-armenians-will-skip-meeting-with-armenia-in-d-c-as-tensions-rise">pushed</a> for peace talks with Muslim-majority Azerbaijan with little success when President Joe Biden was in office.
&#8220;These two Nations have been at War for many years, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people. Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to &#8216;TRUMP.&#8217; My Administration has been engaged with both sides for quite some time,&#8221; the president wrote on Truth Social on Thursday. &#8220;Tomorrow, President Aliyev AND Prime Minister Pashinyan will join me at the White House for an official Peace Signing Ceremony. The United States will also sign Bilateral Agreements with both Countries to pursue Economic opportunities together, so we can fully unlock the potential of the South Caucasus Region.&#8221;
&#8220;I am very proud of these courageous Leaders for doing the right thing for the Great People of Armenia and Azerbaijan,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;It will be a Historic Day for Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United States, and, THE WORLD. See you then!&#8221;
The peace deal will also include Armenia granting rights to the United States to develop a transit corridor through the South Caucasus that will be named after President Trump, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-secures-strategic-transit-corridor-armenia-azerbaijan-peace-deal-2025-08-07/">reported</a>, citing a U.S. official. The South Caucasus is a strategic location for energy and trade routes between the Black and Caspian Seas, acting as the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-hate-us-so-much-worlds-oldest-christian-nation-faces-ethnic-cleansing-as-emboldened-azerbaijan-wages-a-silent-war">conflict</a> between Armenia and Azerbaijan has centered on a 1,700-square-mile mountainous region that has been inhabited by Armenians for thousands of years but is inside Azerbaijan&#8217;s borders. In recent years, the conflict escalated when Azerbaijan set up a military blockade around Nagorno-Karabakh, cutting off food, electricity, and water for the Armenians living in the region. Azerbaijan then launched a full-scale military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, effectively engaging in an ethnic cleansing campaign as Armenians fled the region to seek refuge outside of the area they used to call home.
In 2023, under President Biden, Azerbaijan blasted the United States for taking a &#8220;one-sided approach&#8221; to the conflict and skipped out on a meeting with Armenia that was set to take place in Washington, D.C. Azerbaijan felt slighted by America&#8217;s support for Armenia and accused Armenia of refusing to respond to peace talks. Azerbaijan also said that Armenia was “illegally stationing” more than 10,000 troops in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh began in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union led to Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh petitioning to leave Azerbaijan and unify with Armenia. Azerbaijan refused the petition, and war ensued. Tens of thousands of people were killed in the early years of the conflict, and ethnic minorities in both countries were forced to leave their homes.
After the conflict resumed in 2020 due to border clashes, Russia stepped in to hold the peace and push for the nations to strike a deal. Russia, however, took a step back from its peacekeeping operation in the region when President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022. With Russia mostly out of the picture, Azerbaijan moved in to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Trump Teases Historic Peace Summit Between Warring Christian, Muslim Nations

Armenians

Europe

Global Politics

Middle East

A White House official told <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/07/us-news/trump-to-meet-putin-in-coming-days-with-venue-to-be-announced-later-kremlin-says/">The New York Post</a> on Thursday that for President Donald Trump to agree to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader must also agree to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russia said earlier on Thursday that the United States had agreed &#8220;in principle&#8221; to a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin, with a location for the meeting being secured. The White House rejected Russia&#8217;s assertion, however, saying that no location had been decided upon and that Trump had not yet agreed to meet with the Russian president. The White House added that Putin must agree to sit face-to-face with Zelensky for any meeting with Trump to take place. ABC News also <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/kremlin-trump-putin-agreed-meeting-coming-days/story?id=124438908">reported</a> on the White House&#8217;s stipulation.
The Kremlin said earlier on Thursday that a &#8220;meeting between Putin and Trump [will take place] in the coming days,&#8221; adding that &#8220;work on the summit has now begun.&#8221;
&#8220;The venue of the meeting between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, has been agreed, and the Kremlin will inform about it later,&#8221; Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
The statement from Russia came one day after Trump&#8217;s special envoy Steve Witkoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-envoy-steve-witkoff-holds-3-hour-meeting-with-putin-as-peace-deadline-nears?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Envoy+Steve+Witkoff+Holds+3-Hour+Meeting+With+Putin+As+Peace+Deadline+Nears">met</a> with Putin for around three hours, discussing the war with Ukraine and Russia&#8217;s relationship with the United States. After Witkoff briefed Trump on the meeting, the president reportedly told Zelensky and European leaders in a phone call that he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-looking-to-meet-with-putin-zelensky-next-week-report?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Looking+To+Meet+With+Putin%2C+Zelensky+Next+Week%3A+Report">plans</a> to meet with Putin next week. Trump said that he only wanted to meet with Putin and Zelensky — with no European counterparts in the room, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/us/politics/trump-meeting-putin-zelensky.html">reported</a>.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged on Wednesday afternoon that a Trump-Putin summit in the &#8220;near future&#8221; is possible, but added that &#8220;a lot has to happen before that can occur.&#8221;
“Today was a good day, but we got a lot of work ahead. There are still many impediments to overcome,” Rubio said.
Since the war began in February 2022, Putin has rebuffed any attempts to meet with Zelensky, claiming that he is an illegitimate leader after he suspended elections under martial law. Trump has been pushing Putin to get a peace deal done with Ukraine, giving Moscow until Friday to come to an agreement before the United States imposes secondary tariffs on Russia, a move that could affect Russia&#8217;s war chest by punishing countries that continue to send cash to the Russian regime in exchange for oil.

Donald Trump/Vladimir Putin

White House Sets Condition For Putin To Meet Trump

Russia

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

The Prime Minister of Cambodia on Thursday nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize after he intervened in the country&#8217;s conflict with Thailand.
Trump helped implement a ceasefire between the two Southeast Asian nations after “five days of clashes that included airstrikes and artillery shelling, which left dozens dead and displaced over 300,000 people along the roughly 800-kilometer (500-mile) border,” Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-07/cambodia-formally-nominates-donald-trump-for-the-nobel-prize">reported</a>.
On July 28, Trump wrote on Truth Social, &#8220;Just spoke to the Acting Prime Minister of Thailand and Prime Minister of Cambodia. I am pleased to announce that, after the involvement of President Donald J. Trump, both Countries have reached a CEASEFIRE and PEACE&#8230; I am proud to be the President of PEACE!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
&#8220;Just spoke to the Acting Prime Minister of Thailand and Prime Minister of Cambodia. I am pleased to announce that, after the involvement of President Donald J. Trump, both Countries have reached a CEASEFIRE and PEACE&#8230; I am proud to be the President of PEACE!&#8221; &#8211; President Trump <a href="https://t.co/ecyQMqWN4g">pic.twitter.com/ecyQMqWN4g</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1949852573063618656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“In accordance with the wishes of Cambodian people both inside and outside of Cambodia, as well as to express our sincere appreciation for president Donald Trump&#8217;s initiative and support contributing greatly to immediate ceasefire between Cambodian and Thai forces and his continuous attention on its successful implementation until peace is fully achieved between the two countries; I, as the Prime Minister of Cambodia, have submitted to the Norwegian Nobel Committee an official letter of nomination for President Donald Trump for the Noble Peace Prize,”  Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet wrote in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid035ACSGfdWFhVmLxgugXXFi5TphK8EaLdrV3ek34R1eajEicieXLu2fmFZVKanwf2Bl&amp;id=100069511484329">letter</a> to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
“Trump last weekend set an end to the clashes as a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/thailand-and-cambodia-consider-cease-fire-after-calls-with-trump-on-border-clashes-5c22f92e?mod=article_inline" data-type="link">condition for lowering high ‘reciprocal tariffs’</a> he had threatened to impose on both nations,” The Wall Street Journal reported on August 1. “On Monday, the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand agreed to a truce during a meeting in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.”
“Social media platforms have been inundated with hashtags such as #ThanksTrump, #PresidentOfPeace, and #TrumpForPeacePrize, with users hailing him as a global peacemaker. Memes, portraits, and tributes featuring Trump alongside the US and Cambodian flags – and images of Cambodian refugees, especially children – have gone viral,” Thai PBS World <a href="https://world.thaipbs.or.th/detail/trump-for-nobel-peace-prize/58453">reported</a>.
This summer, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated Trump for the peace prize, followed by Pakistan nominating him over its war with India.

Thailand and Cambodia Agree on 13 Key Steps to Carry Out Ceasefire Deal

Cambodia’s Leader Pushes Trump For Nobel Peace Prize

Cambodia

Nobel Peace Prize

Thailand

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he will not compromise the interests of the country&#8217;s farmers even if he has to pay a heavy price, in his first comments after U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s salvo of a 50% tariff on Indian goods.
&#8220;For us, our farmers&#8217; welfare is supreme,&#8221; Modi said at an event in New Delhi. &#8220;India will never compromise on the wellbeing of its farmers, dairy (sector) and fishermen. And I know personally I will have to pay a heavy price for it,&#8221; he said.
Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, raising the total duty to 50% — among the highest imposed on any U.S. trading partner. The new tariff, effective August 28, is meant to penalize India for continuing to buy Russian oil, Trump has said.
While Modi did not explicitly mention the U.S. or the collapsed trade talks, his comments marked a clear defense of India’s position.
Trade talks between India and the United States broke down after five rounds of negotiations over disagreement on opening India&#8217;s vast farm and dairy sectors and stopping Russian oil purchases.
India’s foreign ministry has called the U.S. decision “extremely unfortunate” and said it would “take all necessary steps to protect its national interests.”
The U.S. has yet to impose similar tariffs for China, the biggest buyer of Russian oil. Experts say China&#8217;s dominance in rare earth minerals — critical to high-tech industries — gives it leverage that India currently lacks.
&#8220;The U.S. tariff hike lacks logic,&#8221; Dammu Ravi, secretary of economic relations in India&#8217;s foreign ministry, told reporters.
&#8220;This is a temporary aberration, a temporary problem that the country will face, but in course of time, we are confident that the world will find solutions.&#8221;
India is already signalling it may seek to rebalance its global partnerships. Modi is preparing for his first visit to China in over seven years, suggesting a potential diplomatic realignment amid growing tensions with Washington.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he would initiate a conversation among the BRICS group of developing nations about how to tackle Trump&#8217;s tariffs.
He said he planned to call Modi and China&#8217;s Xi Jinping. The BRICS group also includes Russia and South Africa.
India&#8217;s Ravi added that &#8220;like-minded countries will look for cooperation and economic engagement that will be mutually beneficial to all sides.&#8221;
MODI FACES MOUNTING DOMESTIC PRESSURE
Both supporters of Modi and the opposition Congress party have called on him to respond firmly to the U.S. tariffs, urging action &#8220;with self-respect and dignity.&#8221;
&#8220;India&#8217;s national interest is supreme. Any nation that arbitrarily penalizes India for its time-tested policy of strategic autonomy, rooted in the ideology of non-alignment, does not understand the steel frame India is made of,&#8221; Congress party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
Indian industry, already struggling with global headwinds, has expressed alarm.
Sudhir Sekhri, chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, said: &#8220;There is no way the industry can absorb such a steep hike&#8221;. He demanded fiscal support from the government.
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani&#8217;s Reliance Industries in its annual report said continuing geopolitical and tariff-related uncertainties may affect trade flows and demand-supply balance.
India&#8217;s equity market, which has been weakening due to tariff risks and muted earnings growth slipped another 0.5% on Thursday to three-month lows. The reaction was muted as investors bet on the tariffs being negotiated down.
(Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Manoj Kumar Sarita Chaganti Singh, Nikunj Ohri in New Delhi; editing by Sudipto Ganguly and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

FILE PHOTO: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a joint press statement with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in New Delhi

Modi Says He Won’t Back Down After Trump Slaps 50% Tariff On Indian Goods

India

Tariffs

WASHINGTON — Apple is expected to invest another $100 billion in the United States, a White House official shared with The Daily Wire.
President Donald Trump will make the announcement at 4:30 pm on Wednesday in the Oval Office, the official said, sharing that Apple will boost the company&#8217;s U.S. commitment to a total of $600 billion over the next four years.
“President Trump’s America First economic agenda has secured trillions of dollars in investments that support American jobs and bolster American businesses,&#8221; White House Assistant Press Secretary Taylor Rogers told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Today’s announcement with Apple is another win for our manufacturing industry that will simultaneously help reshore the production of critical components to protect America’s economic and national security.”
<div id="attachment_957493" style="width: 872px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-scores-another-win-apple-to-pump-100-billion-more-into-u-s-economy/the-inauguration-of-donald-j-trump-as-the-47th-president-34" rel="attachment wp-att-957493"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-957493" class="wp-image-957493 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2194398447-862x576.jpg" alt="" width="862" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2194398447-862x576.jpg 862w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2194398447-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2194398447-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2194398447.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 862px) 100vw, 862px" /></a>Apple CEO Tim Cook smiles attends the inauguration of Donald Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson &#8211; Pool/Getty Images)</div>
The Wednesday announcement will include a new American Manufacturing Program (AMP), which will be focused on bringing even more of Apple&#8217;s supply chain and its advanced manufacturing to the United States. The company will use AMP to increase investments across the country and incentivize companies across the globe to manufacture critical components in the U.S., the White House official shared.
Apple supports more than 450,000 jobs and thousands of suppliers and partners in the United States.
Apple <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/apple-plans-texas-factory-ai-servers-20000-research-jobs-2025-02-24/">initially announced in February</a> that it would spend $500 billion in U.S. investments during the president&#8217;s time in office, including a massive factory in Texas and around 20,000 jobs focused on research and development. The $500 billion sum includes purchases from U.S. suppliers and the production of U.S. television shows and movies for Apple TV+, among other content.
<div class="text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__full_width__kCIGb body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body__paragraph__2-BtD" data-testid="paragraph-1">Apple shares <a href="https://www.cnn.com/markets/stocks/AAPL">were up 3.95% Wednesday morning</a>, on track for their most significant single-day gain since May, CNN reports.</div>

President Trump Travels To Bedminster For The Weekend

Trump Scores Another Win: Apple To Pump $100 Billion More Into U.S. Economy

Apple

White House

As President Donald Trump considers his options for replacing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May, he said on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent doesn&#8217;t want the job. Trump added that the field of candidates to replace Powell has narrowed to four candidates.
The president discussed the upcoming Fed Chair job opening during a nearly 40-minute phone interview with <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/05/trump-says-treasury-secretary-bessent-does-not-want-to-be-fed-chair-but-4-others-in-running.html">CNBC</a>. Trump did not explicitly reveal who made his list of final candidates for the position, but gave a couple of hints at who he could be considering after Bessent, who was considered one of the top candidates, told Trump that he wanted to remain as Treasury Secretary.
“I love Scott [Bessent], but he wants to stay where he is,” Trump told the hosts of &#8220;Squawk Box.&#8221; “I asked him just last night, ‘Is this something you want?’ [Bessent said], &#8216;Nope, I want to stay where I am. He actually said, ‘I want to work with you.’ It’s such an honor. I said, ‘That’s very nice. I appreciate that.’”
Trump said that both former Federal Reserve Board Governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett &#8220;are very good,&#8221; adding, &#8220;there are other people that are very good too.&#8221; Both Warsh and Hassett have recently criticized the Fed&#8217;s refusal to lower interest rates. Warsh, who served as Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, was interviewed for the Fed Chair position in 2017 before Trump nominated Powell, Yahoo Finance <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-rules-out-bessent-as-next-fed-chair-says-may-name-powell-replacement-soon-132550942.html">reported</a>. Hassett&#8217;s ties to Trump include his current position as one of the president&#8217;s top economic advisers, as well as serving as an adviser in the first Trump administration.
The announcement of who will replace Powell could be coming &#8220;soon,&#8221; Trump said. He also commented on the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-appointed-fed-governor-resigns-as-trump-calls-for-interest-rate-cuts">resignation</a> of Biden-appointed Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler last Friday, calling it a &#8220;pleasant surprise.&#8221;
Trump added that he will nominate a replacement for Kugler in the coming days. Asked if his pick to replace Kugler could also be his nominee for the Fed Chair, Trump said it was possible. Kugler will officially step down from her role on Friday.
While Trump didn&#8217;t name the other candidates in the running, multiple names have been floated in the media, including Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, who both dissented against the Fed&#8217;s decision last week to keep interest rates steady.
Waller and Bowman, who were both nominated by Trump to serve on the board, have been pushing for lower interest rates as Trump ramps up pressure on Powell. In their dissent, Waller and Bowman said that the central bank&#8217;s decision to keep interest rates between 4.25% and 4.50% <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-delay-on-rate-cuts-threatens-u-s-economy-say-two-dissenting-governors-eyeing-top-job">threatens</a> the economy.

Trump Narrows Fed Chair Shortlist To Four After Leading Contender Opts Out

Federal Reserve

Interest Rates

Jerome Powell

Scott Bessent

President Donald Trump ripped Democrats on Tuesday for allowing far-Left lawmakers to gain influence and alter the direction of the party.
In a lengthy phone interview with CNBC, Trump singled out Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), a freshman congresswoman who has gained notoriety for her brash tirades against Republican politicians, including the president. At a rally in Phoenix on Sunday, Crockett <a href="https://x.com/Bubblebathgirl/status/1952205978021044501">called</a> Trump &#8220;a piece of s***.&#8221;
&#8220;The Democrat Party is self-destructing,&#8221; Trump told CNBC&#8217;s Joe Kernan. &#8220;When you have low-IQ people like Crockett — I wonder if she&#8217;s any relationship to the Late, Great Davy Crockett, who was a great gentleman &#8230; But you have this woman, Crockett, she&#8217;s a very low-IQ person. Somebody said the other day that she&#8217;s one of the leaders of the party. I said, &#8216;You gotta be kidding.'&#8221;
&#8220;The Democrats are lost,&#8221; he added. &#8220;They have Trump Derangement Syndrome so bad that they can&#8217;t walk, they can&#8217;t talk, they don&#8217;t know where they&#8217;re going. [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schmer is finished. I watched him the other day, he&#8217;s lost all of his confidence.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;The Democrat Party is self-destructing. I mean, when you have Low IQ people like Crockett — I wonder if she&#8217;s any relationship to the Late, Great Davy Crockett?&#8221; 😂🤣 <a href="https://t.co/MllKVG0ZRQ">pic.twitter.com/MllKVG0ZRQ</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1952712648589545677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
In Crockett&#8217;s latest diatribe against Trump, she claimed that the Supreme Court and Congressional Republicans are letting him get away with unconstitutional actions. She <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/rep-jasmine-crockett-calls-trump-piece-s-during-liberal-rally">added</a> that Democrats need to start &#8220;getting aggressive&#8221; ahead of the 2028 election and pushed for more &#8220;guardrails&#8221; to be put in place on the &#8220;corrupt&#8221; Supreme Court.
In posts on social media, Crockett has called Trump a &#8220;<a href="https://x.com/JasmineForUS/status/1911979649262907738">buffoon</a>&#8221; and a &#8220;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/jasmineforus/reel/DLLz6glOot2/?hl=en">mofo</a>&#8221; — the abbreviation for the word &#8220;mother****er.&#8221; The Texas Democrat has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-democrat-slams-trump-supporters-as-mentally-ill-then-demands-they-be-more-bipartisan?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Texas+Democrat+Slams+Trump+Supporters+As+%E2%80%98Mentally+Ill%2C%E2%80%99+Then+Demands+They+Be+More+Bipartisan">derided</a> Trump&#8217;s supporters as &#8220;sick.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;ve got a mental health crisis in this country because everyone — no matter how you affiliate yourself — should be against Trump. Period,&#8221; she said in June. &#8220;This is not partisan for me. Like, I would give anything to have — sad to say — George Bush. Like, give me any regular Republican nowadays, and I would be happy.&#8221;
The White House has previously mocked the idea of Crockett becoming a rising star in the Democratic Party. In response to Crockett suggesting Trump supporters are mentally ill, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/karoline-leavitt-roasts-jasmine-crockett-in-press-room-i-hope-she-continues-to-be-a-rising-star?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Karoline+Leavitt+Roasts+Jasmine+Crockett+In+Press+Room%3A+%E2%80%98I+Hope+She+Continues+To+Be+A+Rising+Star%E2%80%99">blasted</a> the congresswoman, adding that watching the Democrats prop her up is &#8220;quite something to behold.&#8221;
&#8220;I hope that she continues to be a rising star, for the Republican Party at least,&#8221; Leavitt said.

Donald Trump/Jasmine Crockett

Trump Says Democrats Are ‘Self-Destructing’ By Propping Up ‘Low IQ People’ Like Jasmine Crockett

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