Outrage quickly followed Donald Trump's comments on George Floyd during a press conference to announce 2.5m new jobs to the US economy in May, saying that he would be "looking down right now" on a great thing happening for our country.
After Trump's on-going feud with former employees, ex-chief-of-staff John Kelly fired back to support Jim Mattis and say the president would either fire or push people so hard they would resign. Hundreds of former diplomatic and military officials, meanwhile, signed a letter denouncing the show of force by soldiers on civilian protesters.
At the end of a chaotic week, Trump travelled to Maine to undo Obama-era conservation orders and allow fishing again off the coast of New England.
Coronavirus, meanwhile, is still happening, with the World Health Organisation revising its guidance on face-masks and the CDC projecting more than 127,000 deaths by 27 June.
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Hello and welcome to The Independent's rolling coverage of the Donald Trump administration as it struggles to react to the coronavirus outbreak and George Floyd protests.
Trump's ex-chief of staff drawn into bitter row with former defence secretary
With the coronavirus and George Floyd protests still raging, Donald Trump has continued to row with ex-staff over growing criticism of his leadership, insisting he fired then-secretary of defence Jim Mattis in December 2018 and rebuking his former chief of staff John Kelly for suggesting the general resigned.
Mattis - who did resign by choice in opposition to the president’s abrupt announcement that he planned to withdraw US troops from Syria after declaring the battle against Isis won, prematurely in Mad Dog’s opinion - broke his customary silence to attack the president in The Atlantic on Wednesday.
Mattis said he was “appalled and angry” about this week’s events - which has seen mass demonstrations in cities across all 50 states over ten nights following the police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis - saying Trump is the first president in his lifetime who is trying to divide the country rather than unite it.
He took aim at Trump's call to deploy troops to "dominate" the protests and said the situation is the “consequence of three years without mature leadership.”
After the president lashed out at Mattis on Twitter, insisting he had sacked him, Kelly added fuel to the fire, telling The Washington Post: “The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation. The president has clearly forgotten how it actually happened or is confused. The president tweeted a very positive tweet about Jim until he started to see on Fox News their interpretation of his letter. Then he got nasty. Jim Mattis is an honourable man.”
Now, Trump says Kelly had no real knowledge of the matter as he was not in his “inner circle” (odd for a chief of staff) and, furthermore, “was totally exhausted by the job, and in the end just slinked away into obscurity”.
The former Celebrity Apprentice host also doubled down on his firing claim.
It's a good thing there’s nothing else going on so that this important historical footnote could be cleared up.
With the coronavirus and George Floyd protests still raging, Donald Trump has continued to row with ex-staff over growing criticism of his leadership, insisting he fired then-secretary of defence Jim Mattis in December 2018 and rebuking his former chief of staff John Kelly for suggesting the general resigned.
Mattis - who did resign by choice in opposition to the president’s abrupt announcement that he planned to withdraw US troops from Syria after declaring the battle against Isis won, prematurely in Mad Dog’s opinion - broke his customary silence to attack the president in The Atlantic on Wednesday.
Mattis said he was “appalled and angry” about this week’s events - which has seen mass demonstrations in cities across all 50 states over ten nights following the police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis - saying Trump is the first president in his lifetime who is trying to divide the country rather than unite it.
He took aim at Trump's call to deploy troops to "dominate" the protests and said the situation is the “consequence of three years without mature leadership.”
After the president lashed out at Mattis on Twitter, insisting he had sacked him, Kelly added fuel to the fire, telling The Washington Post: “The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation. The president has clearly forgotten how it actually happened or is confused. The president tweeted a very positive tweet about Jim until he started to see on Fox News their interpretation of his letter. Then he got nasty. Jim Mattis is an honourable man.”
Now, Trump says Kelly had no real knowledge of the matter as he was not in his “inner circle” (odd for a chief of staff) and, furthermore, “was totally exhausted by the job, and in the end just slinked away into obscurity”.
The former Celebrity Apprentice host also doubled down on his firing claim.
It's a good thing there’s nothing else going on so that this important historical footnote could be cleared up.
President lashes out at Alaska Republican senator, vows to endorse against her
Trump also reacted angrily to GOP senator Lisa Murkowski after she seconded General Mattis’s concerns about his handling of the recent civil unrest, threatening to back any rival who would run against her: “Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!”
Murkowski, who enjoys a reputation as a Republican rebel despite bottling her chance to vote for the president’s impeachment in February, had admitted on Thursday she is struggling to decide whether she can support Trump’s bid for re-election, saying she was “thankful” for Mattis’s words, which were “true, and honest, and necessary and overdue”.
“Perhaps we're getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally, and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up,” she said.
On backing Trump in November (she didn’t in 2016), Murkowski told reporters on Capitol Hill: "I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time."
"He is our duly elected president. I will continue to work with him... but I think right now as we are all struggling to find ways to express the words that need to be expressed appropriately."
When her comments got back to Trump, he erupted like Vesuvius after a night on the lagers:
Here’s Griffin Connolly's report.
Trump also reacted angrily to GOP senator Lisa Murkowski after she seconded General Mattis’s concerns about his handling of the recent civil unrest, threatening to back any rival who would run against her: “Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!”
Murkowski, who enjoys a reputation as a Republican rebel despite bottling her chance to vote for the president’s impeachment in February, had admitted on Thursday she is struggling to decide whether she can support Trump’s bid for re-election, saying she was “thankful” for Mattis’s words, which were “true, and honest, and necessary and overdue”.
“Perhaps we're getting to the point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally, and have the courage of our own convictions to speak up,” she said.
On backing Trump in November (she didn’t in 2016), Murkowski told reporters on Capitol Hill: "I am struggling with it. I have struggled with it for a long time."
"He is our duly elected president. I will continue to work with him... but I think right now as we are all struggling to find ways to express the words that need to be expressed appropriately."
When her comments got back to Trump, he erupted like Vesuvius after a night on the lagers:
Here’s Griffin Connolly's report.
Trump shares lawyer's letter describing protesters as 'terrorists'
Also on Twitter, the president shared a letter from "Super Star" White House lawyer John Dowd to Mattis in which he disparaged the activists opposing police brutality as “terrorists” and “idle hate filled students”.
“The peaceful protesters near Lafayette park were not peaceful and are not real. They are terrorists using idle hate filled students to burn and destroy,” Dowd wrote to Mattis, in language that is unlikely to soothe the national mood.
In the letter, the attorney noted that George HW Bush used active duty military during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots and argued the current protests warrant military intervention because of the lack of action from Democratic mayors and governors.
“President Trump has countless cities and some snowflake governors and mayors wetting themselves in the use of force to protect innocent lives and property,” Dowd wrote.
Tough guy. Probably spends his free time telling people at barbecues that Mark Wahlberg is underrated.
Also on Twitter, the president shared a letter from "Super Star" White House lawyer John Dowd to Mattis in which he disparaged the activists opposing police brutality as “terrorists” and “idle hate filled students”.
“The peaceful protesters near Lafayette park were not peaceful and are not real. They are terrorists using idle hate filled students to burn and destroy,” Dowd wrote to Mattis, in language that is unlikely to soothe the national mood.
In the letter, the attorney noted that George HW Bush used active duty military during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots and argued the current protests warrant military intervention because of the lack of action from Democratic mayors and governors.
“President Trump has countless cities and some snowflake governors and mayors wetting themselves in the use of force to protect innocent lives and property,” Dowd wrote.
Tough guy. Probably spends his free time telling people at barbecues that Mark Wahlberg is underrated.
Mitt Romney expresses anxiety about 'politically-motivated' GOP probes
Like Murkowski, the Republican senator for Utah has backed Jim Mattis, calling his 650-word contribution to the national debate “stunning and powerful” and applauding the general as an “American patriot… whose judgement I respect”.
Romney, whom Trump still loathes for voting with his conscience in the Senate in favour of his impeachment over the Ukraine affair four months ago (feels like 100 years ago), has meanwhile being reluctantly voting along party lines with the Senate Homeland Security Committee as it obliges the president with an “Obamagate” investigation.
He warned chairman Ron Johnson yesterday, however, that he is concerned about the panel’s motivations but is content to go along with it all for now to “pursue additional information” on the president’s conspiracy-laden concerns about the activities of the Obama-era Justice Department and FBI in 2016.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is simultaneously conducting an investigation of its own into Robert Mueller’s Russia probe under Lindsey Graham, which postponed a vote on subpoenas yesterday during a tense session in which Nebraska Republican Ben Sasse remarked: "Can we get a sense of how long we're going to be here? With all due respect, I don't think anybody in private ever disagrees with me when I say that it's bullshit the way people grandstand for cameras in here… 90 per cent of our committees are about people trolling for soundbites."
Graham hotly refuted that charge and later added his voice to the Mattis furore, addressing the general directly on Fox News to say: “You're missing something here, my friend… You’re missing the fact that the liberal media has taken every event in the last three and a half years and laid it at the president's feet.”
Griffin Connolly has this report on Romney’s unease.
Like Murkowski, the Republican senator for Utah has backed Jim Mattis, calling his 650-word contribution to the national debate “stunning and powerful” and applauding the general as an “American patriot… whose judgement I respect”.
Romney, whom Trump still loathes for voting with his conscience in the Senate in favour of his impeachment over the Ukraine affair four months ago (feels like 100 years ago), has meanwhile being reluctantly voting along party lines with the Senate Homeland Security Committee as it obliges the president with an “Obamagate” investigation.
He warned chairman Ron Johnson yesterday, however, that he is concerned about the panel’s motivations but is content to go along with it all for now to “pursue additional information” on the president’s conspiracy-laden concerns about the activities of the Obama-era Justice Department and FBI in 2016.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is simultaneously conducting an investigation of its own into Robert Mueller’s Russia probe under Lindsey Graham, which postponed a vote on subpoenas yesterday during a tense session in which Nebraska Republican Ben Sasse remarked: "Can we get a sense of how long we're going to be here? With all due respect, I don't think anybody in private ever disagrees with me when I say that it's bullshit the way people grandstand for cameras in here… 90 per cent of our committees are about people trolling for soundbites."
Graham hotly refuted that charge and later added his voice to the Mattis furore, addressing the general directly on Fox News to say: “You're missing something here, my friend… You’re missing the fact that the liberal media has taken every event in the last three and a half years and laid it at the president's feet.”
Griffin Connolly has this report on Romney’s unease.
George Floyd family to lead march on Washington in late August
The deceased’s family has announced it will lead a march on Washington, DC, to mark the 57th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s most famous speech and “restore and recommit to that dream” of the civil rights era.
The 28 August demonstration was announced during a memorial for Floyd in Minneapolis on Thursday by Reverend Al Sharpton, who delivered an impassioned eulogy calling on the country to “get your knee off our necks” before an eight-minute and 46-second silence, scheduled to match the amount of time a local police officer pinned Floyd to the ground, ultimately causing his death.
Many cities saw a tenth night of demonstrations on Thursday although heavy rain helped quell much of the alarming scenes of confrontation and vandalism we've seen in the last week as tempers cooled.
Here’s Justin Vallejo’s report.
The deceased’s family has announced it will lead a march on Washington, DC, to mark the 57th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s most famous speech and “restore and recommit to that dream” of the civil rights era.
The 28 August demonstration was announced during a memorial for Floyd in Minneapolis on Thursday by Reverend Al Sharpton, who delivered an impassioned eulogy calling on the country to “get your knee off our necks” before an eight-minute and 46-second silence, scheduled to match the amount of time a local police officer pinned Floyd to the ground, ultimately causing his death.
Many cities saw a tenth night of demonstrations on Thursday although heavy rain helped quell much of the alarming scenes of confrontation and vandalism we've seen in the last week as tempers cooled.
Here’s Justin Vallejo’s report.
Twitter disables Trump video tribute to George Floyd over copyright complaint
The president's battle with the social media giant continues, following its move last week to fact-check two of his tweets making unsubstantiated claims of mail-in voting fraud and placing a warning label on other saying it was "glorifying violence."
The offending clip on this occasion is a collection of photos and videos of protest marches and instances of violence in the aftermath of Floyd's death with Trump speaking in the background.
"We respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorised representatives," a Twitter representative said, explaining the decision to take it down.
The three-minute 45-second video was uploaded on Trump's YouTube channel and tweeted out by his campaign on 3 June. It is still on YouTube and had garnered more than 60,000 views and 13,000 likes.
Trump has pledged to introduce legislation that may scrap or weaken a law that shields social media companies like Twitter from liability for content posted by their users.
Here's Andrew Griffin with more details.
The president's battle with the social media giant continues, following its move last week to fact-check two of his tweets making unsubstantiated claims of mail-in voting fraud and placing a warning label on other saying it was "glorifying violence."
The offending clip on this occasion is a collection of photos and videos of protest marches and instances of violence in the aftermath of Floyd's death with Trump speaking in the background.
"We respond to valid copyright complaints sent to us by a copyright owner or their authorised representatives," a Twitter representative said, explaining the decision to take it down.
The three-minute 45-second video was uploaded on Trump's YouTube channel and tweeted out by his campaign on 3 June. It is still on YouTube and had garnered more than 60,000 views and 13,000 likes.
Trump has pledged to introduce legislation that may scrap or weaken a law that shields social media companies like Twitter from liability for content posted by their users.
Here's Andrew Griffin with more details.
Joe Biden says ‘10-15 per cent’ of Americans are ‘not very good people’ and being courted by Trump
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee made the remark in an online town hall event with black supporters on Thursday, the comment intended to place him in diametric opposition to the president who saw "very fine people" among the neo-Nazis and white supremacists engaged in violent clashes in Charlottesville in 2017.
Here's Andrew Naughtie on what else the candidate had to say as he pursued a message of unity.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee made the remark in an online town hall event with black supporters on Thursday, the comment intended to place him in diametric opposition to the president who saw "very fine people" among the neo-Nazis and white supremacists engaged in violent clashes in Charlottesville in 2017.
Here's Andrew Naughtie on what else the candidate had to say as he pursued a message of unity.
Nancy Pelosi demands answers from Trump on 'increased militarisation' as his war of words with DC mayor continues
The president continued to lash out at the George Floyd protesters on Twitter last night...
...as the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, wrote to him to express her concern about the "increased militarisation" towards demonstrators that threatens to "increase chaos", saying it’s scary to see troops deployed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and demanding answers regarding the number of badgeless law enforcement officials being ferried in from other jurisdictions to support DC.
The self-described "law and order" president's war of words with Washington's mayor, Muriel Bowser, over control of the streets meanwhile continues apace.
Trump told to ‘check rhetoric at the door’ on Maine factory visit
Maine's Democratic governor is urging Trump to watch his tone during a visit to the state today to showcase a company that makes specialised swabs for coronavirus testing.
And the sheriff in the state's most rural county is urging those expected to protest Trump's visit - and those who support him - to behave themselves as demonstrations continue over the death of George Floyd.
Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, this week urged the Republican president to "check the rhetoric at the door and abandon the divisive words" during his visit.
"I hope he will heed this call and appeal to the best in all people and lead us with courage and compassion through this difficult time," she said on Thursday.
During a call earlier this week with governors, Mills told the president she was concerned about "security problems for our state" if Trump visited because of his harsh remarks about handling demonstrators. The president said her remarks only made him more determined to come, adding, "she just doesn't understand me very well."
Mills has said she will be working during Trump's visit and the local paper isn't being any more welcoming:
Mills has said she will be working during Trump's visit and the local paper isn't being any more welcoming:
Trump's first visit to Maine since taking office will take him to Guilford, population 1,500, home to Puritan Medical Products, one of only two major companies producing a special type of swab needed to ramp up coronavirus testing. The other is in Italy.
More than 350 workers in Guilford have been working long hours since the pandemic began.
"There is pressure. There's always not enough. There's always not enough. You're always working to provide the extra capacity that's needed," co-owner Timothy Templet said. "We're doing our best to supply the needs. It's critical that our country is taken care of."
The Trump administration is providing $75.5m (£59.9m) through the Defense Production Act for Puritan to double production to 40m swabs a month and the company plans to open a second production site by 1 July.
Trump is also scheduled to meet with members of the commercial fishing industry in Maine earlier in the day. He's set to fly into Bangor, where a group of demonstrators has pledged to have a presence, in the afternoon.
"It's not the right time for him to be coming to our state," said Marie Follayttar, director of Mainers for Accountable Leadership, which is helping organise the demonstration.
Normally, Friday's events would make for a friendly visit for Trump in a congressional district that awarded him an electoral vote in the 2016 election.
In Maine, the nation's whitest state, there were four consecutive days of demonstrations over the Floyd killing. Earlier in the week, more than 1,000 people gathered in Portland, stopping traffic, setting trash cans afire and pelting police with objects. More than 30 people have been arrested.
All four members of Maine's congressional delegation, including Republican senator Susan Collins, have been critical of Trump's actions this week.
Piscataquis County sheriff Robert Young said he's spoken to organisers of a planned demonstration during Trump's visit and said their "motives and intent are good."
"They want to speak for social change and are heartbroken by what they see happening to their country," he said.
As for the president’s weekend, he’s been forced to cancel a weekend of golfing at his Bedminster resort in New Jersey, which, frankly, is the least you’d expect from him right now.
AP
President hammering out retweets without remorse
After what can’t have been a great deal of sleep, Trump begins his day with his customary right-wing retweet barrage.
Today’s unappetising offerings (27 and counting) feature Marco Rubio, Chuck Grassley, Bill Cassidy, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Joni Ernst, Ron Johnson and Rick Scott and cover everything from DC vandalism to Saturday’s successful SpaceX rocket launch.
These are his only originals so far:
A lot of love for Wisconsin's Senator Johnson this morning, presumably intended as a reward for his work chairing the Senate Homeland Security Committee's highly dubious "Obamagate" investigation.
A lot of love for Wisconsin's Senator Johnson this morning, presumably intended as a reward for his work chairing the Senate Homeland Security Committee's highly dubious "Obamagate" investigation.
Bill Barr branded 'unfit for office' and called on to resign
Trump's attorney general and chief enabler is under scrutiny again after reportedly ordering the firing of tear gas on protesters on Monday to clear the way for the the president's short walk in Lafayette Park to St. John's Church.
“Time and time again, US Attorney General Barr has proven that he is more committed to protecting Trump than protecting the rule of law,” Virginia Democratic senator Mark Warner wrote in a campaign email.
“These protesters, who were demonstrating for black lives, were forcibly cleared using violent tactics including tear gas. All for a photo for Donald Trump.
"One thing is clear: Barr is unfit for office. He is acting as Donald Trump's personal lawyer instead of fulfilling his duty to act in the public's best interest."
Barr defended the police tactics used on Thursday, saying there was "very serious" rioting, a break-in and fires set at historic churches and buildings over the weekend.
"The rioters used crowbars to dig out the pavers," he insisted in a news conference.
"There were 114 injuries to law enforcement, most of those to federal agents and most of those inflicted around the White House," Barr said, noting that it is "the responsibility of the federal government" to protect that property and keep everyone safe.
He did at least make the following acknowledgement but Senator Warner makes a compelling argument:
Trump's attorney general and chief enabler is under scrutiny again after reportedly ordering the firing of tear gas on protesters on Monday to clear the way for the the president's short walk in Lafayette Park to St. John's Church.
“Time and time again, US Attorney General Barr has proven that he is more committed to protecting Trump than protecting the rule of law,” Virginia Democratic senator Mark Warner wrote in a campaign email.
“These protesters, who were demonstrating for black lives, were forcibly cleared using violent tactics including tear gas. All for a photo for Donald Trump.
"One thing is clear: Barr is unfit for office. He is acting as Donald Trump's personal lawyer instead of fulfilling his duty to act in the public's best interest."
Barr defended the police tactics used on Thursday, saying there was "very serious" rioting, a break-in and fires set at historic churches and buildings over the weekend.
"The rioters used crowbars to dig out the pavers," he insisted in a news conference.
"There were 114 injuries to law enforcement, most of those to federal agents and most of those inflicted around the White House," Barr said, noting that it is "the responsibility of the federal government" to protect that property and keep everyone safe.
He did at least make the following acknowledgement but Senator Warner makes a compelling argument:
'Trump thinks it’s essential to enact violence against people peacefully protesting violence'
For Indy Voices, here's the one and only Mark Steel on the president tear-gassing demonstrators for an empty photo op he botched anyway by holding the Bible upside down.
For Indy Voices, here's the one and only Mark Steel on the president tear-gassing demonstrators for an empty photo op he botched anyway by holding the Bible upside down.
Trump backs 'Steve' in Steve-on-Steve race
As the relentless rain of Republican retweets rumbles on - multiples for senators Mike Crapo, Roy Blunt, John Boozman, Jerry Moran, Pat Toomey, Pat Roberts, Thom Thillis, Dan Sullivan, Cory Gardner, David Perdue, Tom Cotton and Martha MacSally - here's our favourite.
Republican Steve Daines is running in Montana against Democrat Steve Bullock - a short-lived 2020 presidential candidate - so which Steve is Trump really yammering on about here?
Also, he's hardly "kidding" in this one. That is very much what he really thinks.
As the relentless rain of Republican retweets rumbles on - multiples for senators Mike Crapo, Roy Blunt, John Boozman, Jerry Moran, Pat Toomey, Pat Roberts, Thom Thillis, Dan Sullivan, Cory Gardner, David Perdue, Tom Cotton and Martha MacSally - here's our favourite.
Republican Steve Daines is running in Montana against Democrat Steve Bullock - a short-lived 2020 presidential candidate - so which Steve is Trump really yammering on about here?
Also, he's hardly "kidding" in this one. That is very much what he really thinks.
State-backed hackers targeting Trump and Biden campaigns, Google says
The search giant confirmed the findings after the director of its Threat Analysis Group (TAG), Shane Huntley, disclosed the attempts on Twitter.
Huntley said a Chinese group known as Hurricane Panda targeted Trump campaign staff while an Iranian outfit known as Charming Kitten had attempted to breach accounts of Biden campaign workers.
Google said it saw no evidence that the phishing attempts were successful.
Such attempts typically involve forged emails with links designed to harvest passwords or infect devices with malware.
The effort targeted personal email accounts of staff in both campaigns, according to the company statement.
A Google spokesman added that "the timeline is recent and that a couple of people were targeted on both campaigns" but would not disclose how many.
The company said it sent targeted users "our standard government-backed attack warning" and referred the incidents to federal law enforcement.
Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, called the announcement "a major disclosure of potential cyber-enabled influence operations, just as we saw in 2016".
His tweet referred to the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent online release of internal emails - some doctored - that US investigators determined sought to assist the Trump campaign.
"The Trump campaign has been briefed that foreign actors unsuccessfully attempted to breach the technology of our staff," the president’s team said in a statement. "We are vigilant about cyber security and do not discuss any of our precautions."
"We are aware of reports from Google that a foreign actor has made unsuccessful attempts to access the personal email accounts of campaign staff," Biden’s representatives said in a statement. "We have known from the beginning of our campaign that we would be subject to such attacks and we are prepared for them."
Hurricane Panda, also known by security researchers as Zirconium or APT31 - an abbreviation for "advanced persistent threat" - is known for focusing on intellectual property theft and other espionage.
Charming Kitten, also known as Newscaster and APT35, is reported to have targeted US and Middle Eastern government officials and businesses, also for information theft and spying.
AP
AP
Elated Trump hails 'stupendous' US job figures as unemployment falls to 13.3 per cent
The US economy added 2.5m jobs in May as a result of states re-emerging from lockdown, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, publishing much better numbers than anyone expected.
The president can barely contain his thrill on Twitter, describing the data as "stupendous", "joyous" and "a stunner by any stretch of the imagination!", his euphoria not acknowledging the pandemic context and revealing huge relief behind the bluster.
He says he'll be giving a press conference on the subject at 10am local time (3pm GMT). We'll cover that for you right here and fully expect to see him taking all the credit.
Here's Chris Riotta on the figures.
The US economy added 2.5m jobs in May as a result of states re-emerging from lockdown, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, publishing much better numbers than anyone expected.
The president can barely contain his thrill on Twitter, describing the data as "stupendous", "joyous" and "a stunner by any stretch of the imagination!", his euphoria not acknowledging the pandemic context and revealing huge relief behind the bluster.
He says he'll be giving a press conference on the subject at 10am local time (3pm GMT). We'll cover that for you right here and fully expect to see him taking all the credit.
Here's Chris Riotta on the figures.
Trump builds wall of fencing around White House amid George Floyd protests
The president moved overnight to place more fencing barricades on the White House perimeter amid nationwide protests and racial tensions.
New black metal walls were secured along the west and south perimeters on Thursday, providing Trump with an extensive security zone around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The decision to close more avenues and parks around the complex comes despite demonstrations having been peaceful since Monday.
Many feel there's something not right about this.
“I think the need to fortify your house - and it’s not his house; it’s our house - shows weakness,” comments Deborah Berke, dean of Yale School of Architecture. “The president of the United States should not feel threatened by his or her own citizens.”
Here's Gino Spocchia's report on one wall Trump has managed to get built.
The president moved overnight to place more fencing barricades on the White House perimeter amid nationwide protests and racial tensions.
New black metal walls were secured along the west and south perimeters on Thursday, providing Trump with an extensive security zone around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The decision to close more avenues and parks around the complex comes despite demonstrations having been peaceful since Monday.
Many feel there's something not right about this.
“I think the need to fortify your house - and it’s not his house; it’s our house - shows weakness,” comments Deborah Berke, dean of Yale School of Architecture. “The president of the United States should not feel threatened by his or her own citizens.”
Here's Gino Spocchia's report on one wall Trump has managed to get built.
DC mayor asks Trump to remove military from city streets
Muriel Bowser has written to the president formally requesting he remove the additional forces called in to quell the George Floyd demonstrations, whom Pelosi and others have expressed their disquiet about.
Muriel Bowser has written to the president formally requesting he remove the additional forces called in to quell the George Floyd demonstrations, whom Pelosi and others have expressed their disquiet about.
She's not messing around, it seems.
Mike Pence claims promising US job figures mean 'recovery starts today'
As we await Trump, here's John T Bennett on his warm-up man, who has been speaking to Jim Kramer on CNBC.
Those unemployment numbers are "a tribute to President Donald Trump’s leadership”, he says, heroically.
As we await Trump, here's John T Bennett on his warm-up man, who has been speaking to Jim Kramer on CNBC.
Those unemployment numbers are "a tribute to President Donald Trump’s leadership”, he says, heroically.
Cory Booker and Kamala Harris give impassioned speeches as Republican Rand Paul holds up anti-lynching bill
We're still awaiting Trump so, in case you missed it, here's a shocker from yesterday.
Kentucky Republican senator Rand Paul had the gall to hold up an anti-lynching bill - yep, you read that right - in this week of all weeks after it had sailed through the House of Representatives 410-4.
Fortunately, former Democratic presidential candidates Booker and Harris were on hand to treat that with the flame-thrower it deserved.
We're still awaiting Trump so, in case you missed it, here's a shocker from yesterday.
Kentucky Republican senator Rand Paul had the gall to hold up an anti-lynching bill - yep, you read that right - in this week of all weeks after it had sailed through the House of Representatives 410-4.
Fortunately, former Democratic presidential candidates Booker and Harris were on hand to treat that with the flame-thrower it deserved.
