Democrats are sparring in the largest presidential primary debate in American history for the chance to take on Donald Trump in the 2020 elections. The debate is the first since an impeachment inquiry was launched in Congress against the president.
Meanwhile, reports indicate ex-national security adviser John Bolton urged former Russia adviser Fiona Hill to warn the White House about a campaign to pressure Ukraine orchestrated by the president’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, describing the latter as a “hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up”.
As the impeachment inquiry rumbles on, Mr Trump has bemoaned negative polling from Fox News and issued sanctions against Turkey following its assault on Kurdish forces in northern Syria, measures that House speaker Nancy Pelosi said “fall very short of reversing the humanitarian disaster brought about by his own erratic decision-making”.
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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Donald Trump he would “never declare a ceasefire" in northeastern Syria and was not afraid of sanctions levelled against his government after launching a major offence against US allied forces in the region.
The president rejecting international calls from world leaders for a ceasefire while speaking to reporters on a flight saying: "They say ‘declare a ceasefire,' We could never declare a ceasefire."
Turkey’s leader also told the group of journalists he was not concerned about the presence of Syrian government troops moving into the city of Manbij, but does not want Syrian Kurdish fighters to remain.
Turkey launched its military offencive a week ago to clear a border region from Syrian Kurdish forces linked to outlawed Kurdish militants in Turkey.
Mr Erdogan said that “we cannot declare a ceasefire until we clear this region.”
Additional reporting by AP
“We’re not here to call bluffs,” Nancy Pelosi said when asked why she wouldn’t hold a vote on impeachment after the White House said it would not comply with congressional subpoenas. “This is deadly serious.”
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro
Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii
Senator Kamala Harris of California
Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Former Representative Beto O'Rourke of Texas
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont
Businessman Tom Steyer
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
Businessman Andrew Yang
