Tag Archives: Politics

‘Car Crash Answer’: Tory Minister Roasted Over Bizarre Rwanda Flights Remark

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A Tory minister has been slammed on social media after she gave a bizarre answer on when deportation flights to Rwanda will eventually take off.

Laura Trott insisted planes taking asylum seekers to the east African country will be in the air in the spring – then refused to say when that was.

The awkward exchange took place on Sky News this morning as MPs and peers prepare for another day of wrangling over Rishi Sunak’s flagship Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Peers last night passed four more amendments watering down the controversial legislation, but those changes will be defeated in the House of Commons later today as the parliamentary “ping-pong” over the bill continues.

Presenter Kay Burley asked Trott: “Who is going to fly these people to Rwanda?”

The Treasury minister replied: “We are working on operationalising this, but we’re not going to go into details on how we’re going to do that.

“We will be ready for flights to take off in the spring, when the legislation passes.”

Burley then asked her: “When does spring mean to you? We’re cantering towards May now.”

Laughing, Trott replied: “Well there’s lots of definitions of spring, but we’re hoping to get them up and running as quickly as possible.”

The minister’s answer did not land well with users of X (formerly Twitter).

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Chris Mason Skewers Liz Truss For Not ‘Lasting Longer Than A Lettuce’

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Chris Mason clashed with Liz Truss over whether the public cared about her “lasting less time than a lettuce”.

The BBC’s political editor said the UK had been left “an international laughing stock” by her 49-day stint as prime minister.

As she battled to survive in No.10, the Daily Star began a stunt to see whether she could outlast a lettuce. She didn’t.

In an interview for a BBC podcast, Mason told Truss: “Your time as prime minister left the UK as an international laughing stock.”

The ex-PM replied: “Well I don’t think that’s true.”

Mason hit back: “All the stuff about lasting less time than a lettuce.”

Truss described that as “pathetic point scoring”.

She added: “This is the kind of thing that obsesses what I describe as the London elite. What do other people think of me? What’s Brtain’s international standing?

“Britain’s international standing will be improved …”

But Mason interrupted her to say: “It’s not just people in wine bars in London who were interested in whether or not a prime minister lasted longer than a lettuce.

“People could see there was a situation where you were humiliated and so people felt that the country was humiliated.”

Truss replied: “I put forward what were perfectly rational policies that I’d won a leadership election on.”

But Mason told her: “The reality is that it blew up.”

The Daily Star’s gimmick became an internet sensation during Truss’s 49 days as PM.

It was inspired by an article in The Economic, which said: “Ms Truss entered Downing Street on September 6th.

“She blew up her own government with a package of unfunded tax cuts and energy-price guarantees on September 23rd.

“Take away the ten days of mourning after the death of the Queen, and she had seven days in control. That is the shelf-life of a lettuce.”

The Daily Star set up a live action cam on YouTube with a real (60p) lettuce next to a picture of Truss to see which would last longer.

Asked at a conference in Dublin last year whether she could now see “the funny side”, Truss said: “I don’t think it’s funny, I just think it’s puerile.”

However, she had earlier said “the irreverence of the media in Britain is a good thing on the whole”.

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‘Dimbulb’ Trump Torched After Rambling Attempt To Explain Gettysburg Goes Wrong

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Donald Trump’s attempt to explain the Battle of Gettysburg took some strange verbal detours ― and his critics were quick to call him out over it.

“Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was. The Battle of Gettysburg,” the former president said at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. “What an unbelievable, I mean it was so much, and so interesting, and so vicious and horrible, and so beautiful in so many different ways.”

“Gettysburg. Wow. I go to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to look and to watch. And the statement of Robert E. Lee ― who’s no longer in favour, did you ever notice that? No longer in favour ― ‘Never fight uphill, me boys, never fight uphill.’ They were fighting uphill. He said, ‘Wow, that was a big mistake.’ He lost his great general, and they were fighting. ‘Never fight uphill, me boys!’ But it was too late.”

The ramble was made even more surreal when someone just over Trump’s left shoulder began making odd faces midway through:

But even his critics were left perplexed by his attempt to describe one of the most famous battles in American history:

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‘Absolutely Nuts’: Boris Johnson Launches Furious Attack On Rishi Sunak

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Boris Johnson has launched a furious attack on Rishi Sunak’s “absolutely nuts” policies as prime minister.

The former PM took aim at Sunak’s plan to ban the sale of tobacco to future generations and also suggested the government is not spending enough on defence.

Johnson’s comments, at a conference in Canada, are the latest salvo in his ongoing feud with the man he believes plotted to bring him down as prime minister.

Sunak announced at last autumn’s Tory Party conference in Birmingham that anyone currently aged 14 or under would never be able to buy tobacco products in their life.

The measure has sparked a backlash within his own party, with dozens of Conservative MPs expected to vote against the plan when it comes to parliament next week.

Johnson said some of Sunak’s policies that are “being done in the name of conservatism” are “absolutely, absolutely nuts”.

He said: “I see my beloved party… we’re banning cigars. And what is the point? The party of Winston Churchill wants a ban. I mean, donnez-moi un break as they say in Quebec. It’s just mad.”

On defence spending, Johnson said: “Now is the moment for an even more robust posture.

“We all need to recognise the world is more uncertain, more dangerous, we all need frankly to be spending more on defence — that goes for the UK as well as everybody else.”

Johnson’s remarks come just two weeks after Sunak bemoaned the “hospital pass” he had been handed by his predecessors when he became PM in 2022.

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Donald Trump Says Arizona’s Near-Total Abortion Ban Ruling Went Too Far

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Donald Trump said the Arizona Supreme Court overstepped when it ruled Tuesday that a 160-year-old law criminalizing most abortions can go into effect.

Asked by reporters outside his plane Wednesday in Georgia if the ruling in Arizona “went too far”, Trump replied: “Yeah they did, and that will be straightened out.”

“As you know, it’s all about states’ rights,” he continued, saying he believes Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) will “bring it back into reason”. He did not explain what he thought a reasonable restriction would be.

His remarks echo a murky statement he made on abortion days earlier that left voters wondering whether he would support a federal ban pushed by members of his party. But shortly after speaking to reporters outside his plane, Trump said he wouldn’t sign a national abortion ban if elected.

Arizona’s 1864 law is a near-total ban on abortion at every stage of pregnancy that only makes exceptions to save the pregnant person’s life, overriding a 15-week ban that went into effect in 2022. Abortion providers who violate the law could face two to five years in prison.

The law does not immediately go into effect, as the Arizona court stayed it for 14 days to allow a lower court to hear additional arguments.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes vowed Tuesday that she would not enforce such an “unconscionable” and “draconian law” during her term even if the law were to be enacted.

“Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the Civil War was raging, and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state,” Mayes said in a statement. “This is far from the end of the debate on reproductive freedom, and I look forward to the people of Arizona having their say in the matter.”

A coalition of reproductive rights groups is spearheading an effort to ask the residents of Arizona to vote on adding an amendment protecting abortion to the state’s constitution. They said last week they’ve collected enough signatures for the amendment to appear on the ballot this November.

Trump’s remarks come two days after he issued a vague statement on abortion rights, seemingly responding to pressure he clarify his stance on the issue before officially becoming the GOP nominee for president. In a video he posted to social networking site Truth Social, Trump took credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 and said he thinks abortion rights should remain up to the states.

“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint. The states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state,” he said in the video.

Though he clarified Wednesday he wouldn’t sign a national abortion ban, he’s yet to offer an opinion on attempts to limit access to the drug mifepristone ― the most common method of terminating pregnancies.

Following Trump’s statements Wednesday, President Joe Biden’s campaign emphasised that Trump cannot be trusted on abortion and questioned the veracity of his promise not to sign a national abortion ban.

“Trump lies constantly ― about everything ― but has one track record: banning abortion every chance he gets,” communications director Michael Tyler said. “The guy who wants to be a dictator on day one will use every tool at his disposal to ban abortion nationwide, with or without Congress, and running away from reporters to his private jet like a coward doesn’t change that reality.”

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Trump Spokesperson Hilariously Self-Owns While Trying To Insult Joe Biden

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A spokesperson for Donald Trump tried to attack President Joe Biden as someone who “can hardly speak,” but then struggled herself with a couple of words.

She repeated the non-word moments later.

“It also was extremely damn-en-ing to him politically as it showed what the American people see with their own eyes every single day, and that is Joe Biden can hardly speak,” she said.

Leavitt also referred to Attorney General Merrick Garland as “Merricka Garland.”

Former Justice Department officials have slammed Hur for what seemed more like a personal attack on the president than a report explaining the case.

On Tuesday, critics mocked Leavitt for stumbling over words herself as she claimed Biden “can hardly speak.”

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President Biden Says Netanyahu Is Making A ‘Mistake’ In Gaza

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President Joe Biden said in a new interview he does not agree with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing attacks in Gaza, issuing some of his harshest critique of the country’s war with Hamas so far.

“I will tell you, I think what he’s doing is a mistake,” Biden said of his Israeli counterpart in an interview with Univision’s Enrique Acevedo that aired Tuesday. “I don’t agree with his approach.”

The change in tone represents a dramatic shift in the US policy following Hamas’ October 7 attack in Israel that left 1,200 people dead. Israel’s assault in Gaza has since stretched more than six months, leaving at least 32,000 Palestinians dead.

The White House had resisted outright criticism of Netanyahu’s efforts while urging Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire agreement, despite the war’s growing civilian toll. But that support changed last week following the deaths of seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen, who were killed in an Israel air strike after delivering food in Gaza.

Biden has since warned Netanyahu that future US support will be contingent on the protection of civilians, calling the ongoing humanitarian crisis “unacceptable.”

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The president re-upped his calls for a cease-fire in the Univision interview, which was recorded last week just days after the aid workers were killed. Israel has taken responsibility for their deaths.

“I think it’s outrageous that those … vehicles were hit by drones and taken out on a highway where it wasn’t like it was along the shore, it wasn’t like there was a convoy moving there,” he said. “What I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a cease-fire, allow for the next six, eight weeks total access to all food and medicine going into the country.”

The president added the US had spoken to countries in the region who were prepared to move in food and other humanitarian aid.

“And I think there’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people,” Biden added. “It should be done now.”

Israel approved the opening of a border crossing in northern Gaza for the first time since October 7 following Biden’s call with Netanyahu.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Hamas needed to accept a new cease-fire deal brokered by the U.S. that would include the release of hostages. But Hamas has yet to respond to the proposal, and U.S. officials have said the group’s public statements so far “have been less than encouraging.”

In the Univision interview, Biden also slammed his predecessor and 2024 Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, calling him the greatest threat to the nation. He pointed to Trump’s behaviour surrounding the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which has resulted in a multi-pronged federal indictment.

“The idea that he would sit in the office … and watch for hours the attack on the capitol and the destruction and the mayhem and the people who were killed, the police officers who died, and call them political heroes? Call them patriots…” Biden said. “I can’t think of any other time in my lifetime that you’ve had somebody who’s had this kind of attitude.”

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