Trump freestyles on Stormy Daniels, potential pardons for Cohen and Manafort in morning comments
On his way to the G7 summit in Quebec, President Trump stopped to share his thoughts on everything from boxer Muhammad Ali to attorney Michael Cohen.
Trump spoke with reporters outside the White House on Friday, expressing high hopes for the summit while also revealing a number of his plans for future pardons and policies.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Besides the summit, Trump opened up to reporters about decisions at the White House. He said that he was considering a posthumous pardon for boxing champion Muhammad Ali, who was convicted after refusing to serve in the military in Vietnam. On the topic of pardons, Trump defended his "absolute right" to pardon himself, but said he'd "never have to do it because I didn't do anything wrong." He said he "hasn't even thought about" pardoning former campaign manager Paul Manafort and attorney Michael Cohen, pointing out that they haven't been convicted of anything. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' fate was left unclear: "We'll see what happens," Trump said when asked about whether he'd fire him.
Trump also addressed first lady Melania Trump's long absence from the public eye, revealing that her May operation was "a four-hour procedure" that left her unable to travel for a month. He offered his opinion on attorney Rudy Giuliani's Stormy Daniels comments that reportedly irked the first lady, saying that he was "not going to disagree" with Giuliani that being a porn star is not respectable. Watch some of Trump's wide-ranging comments at CBS News.
-
Political cartoons for January 19Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Greenland tariffs, fighting the Fed, and more
-
Spain’s deadly high-speed train crashThe Explainer The country experienced its worst rail accident since 2013, with the death toll of 39 ‘not yet final’
-
Can Starmer continue to walk the Trump tightrope?Today's Big Question PM condemns US tariff threat but is less confrontational than some European allies
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
