Raj Shah has made his daily press briefing debut at the White House, becoming the first Indian- American to do so.

In his capacity as the White House principal deputy press secretary, Shah is the highest ranking Indian-American in the White House press.

Ahead of his debut behind press briefing podium, his boss Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, described him as one of the best and the brightest in the Trump Administration.

Shah, 33, has held this position since September last year.

&quot;So proud to work with @RajShah45! One of the best and brightest in the administration,&quot; Sanders said in a tweet before Shah took the podium in the historic James S Brady press briefing room of the White House.

 
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Raj Shah has made his daily press briefing debut

Raj Shah has made his daily press briefing debut at the White House, becoming the first Indian- American to do so. In his capacity as the White House principal deputy press secretary, Shah is the highest ranking Indian-American in the White House press. Ahead of his debut behind press briefing podium, his boss Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, described him as one of the best and the brightest in the Trump Administration. Shah, 33, has held this position since September last year. "So proud to work with @RajShah45! One of the best and brightest in the administration," Sanders said in a tweet before Shah took the podium in the historic James S Brady press briefing room of the White House.

Watch: Raj Shah becomes first Indian- American to brief media at White House

US President Donald Trump has asked for a military parade to showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief, the White House said on Wednesday.

Trump, who has toyed with the idea of a parade in Washington since before being sworn in, has made the request to officers, who are looking for a date.

&quot;President Trump is incredibly supportive of America&#39;s great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation,&quot; said press secretary Sarah Sanders.

The Washington Post first reported Trump told top Pentagon brass last month he wants a military parade.

&quot;The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,&quot; the military official said, according to the Post.

&quot;This is being worked at the highest levels of the military,&quot; the official added.

After the Post published its story, the White House issued a statement that said Trump &quot;has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.&quot;

A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the parade planning was in the &quot;brainstorming&quot; stage and nothing had been decided, the Post reported.

President Trump requests that military begins preparations for a military parade in the nation's capital

US President Donald Trump has asked for a military parade to showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief, the White House said on Wednesday. Trump, who has toyed with the idea of a parade in Washington since before being sworn in, has made the request to officers, who are looking for a date. "President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation," said press secretary Sarah Sanders. The Washington Post first reported Trump told top Pentagon brass last month he wants a military parade. "The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," the military official said, according to the Post. "This is being worked at the highest levels of the military," the official added. After the Post published its story, the White House issued a statement that said Trump "has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation." A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the parade planning was in the "brainstorming" stage and nothing had been decided, the Post reported.

Donald Trump tells Pentagon to plan a military parade

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&#39;s re-election campaign ended 2017 with $22 million in cash helped by $6.9 million in contributions in the fourth quarter of the year, his campaign announced on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s campaign spent $2.8 million in the final quarter of the year. Of that, $1.1 million went to legal fees, about the same amount spent the previous quarter. There were no payments to a lawyer who is representing Donald Trump Jr. and previously received more than $280,000 in payments from the campaign.

The bulk of the legal spending went to the firm Jones Day, which provides the routine legal services required by the campaign.

And $1.1 million was spent on digital advertising through the firm of Brad Parscale, who ran the campaign website and online fundraising during the 2016 election.

The remainder of Trump&#39;s expenses went to payroll for a small staff, travel and event costs.

Trump filed for re-election the day he took office, an unusual move for an incumbent president. Traditionally, incumbent presidents have waited until after their second year in office to begin their re-election campaign. Trump will stand for re-election in November 2020.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s campaign has a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee, which accounted for about $3.5 million raised in the final quarter of the year.

More than half of the donations made directly to his campaign came from contributors who donated less than $200.&nbsp;

&quot;Never before has a president&#39;s campaign committee raised so much in his first year in office, and never has a president enjoyed so much support from small donors who continue to rally around him,&quot; Lara Trump, the president`s daughter-in-law and adviser to his re-election campaign, said in a statement.&nbsp;

At the end of former President Barack Obama&#39;s first year in office, his campaign had about $8 million in cash, most of which was left over from his previous campaign and not the product of new fundraising efforts.

Obama spent about $852,000 in the last quarter of his first year in office - $2 million less than Trump spent in the same time period.

Obama did not begin running for re-election until after completing two full years in office.

Obama did not begin running for re-election until after completing two full years in office

US President Donald Trump's re-election campaign ended 2017 with $22 million in cash helped by $6.9 million in contributions in the fourth quarter of the year, his campaign announced on Wednesday. Trump's campaign spent $2.8 million in the final quarter of the year. Of that, $1.1 million went to legal fees, about the same amount spent the previous quarter. There were no payments to a lawyer who is representing Donald Trump Jr. and previously received more than $280,000 in payments from the campaign. The bulk of the legal spending went to the firm Jones Day, which provides the routine legal services required by the campaign. And $1.1 million was spent on digital advertising through the firm of Brad Parscale, who ran the campaign website and online fundraising during the 2016 election. The remainder of Trump's expenses went to payroll for a small staff, travel and event costs. Trump filed for re-election the day he took office, an unusual move for an incumbent president. Traditionally, incumbent presidents have waited until after their second year in office to begin their re-election campaign. Trump will stand for re-election in November 2020. Trump's campaign has a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee, which accounted for about $3.5 million raised in the final quarter of the year. More than half of the donations made directly to his campaign came from contributors who donated less than $200. "Never before has a president's campaign committee raised so much in his first year in office, and never has a president enjoyed so much support from small donors who continue to rally around him," Lara Trump, the president`s daughter-in-law and adviser to his re-election campaign, said in a statement. At the end of former President Barack Obama's first year in office, his campaign had about $8 million in cash, most of which was left over from his previous campaign and not the product of new fundraising efforts. Obama spent about $852,000 in the last quarter of his first year in office - $2 million less than Trump spent in the same time period. Obama did not begin running for re-election until after completing two full years in office.

Trump's re-election campaign ended 2017 with $22 million in cash

The White House will ask Congress next month for a 72 percent cut to research programs on clean energy and energy efficiency in fiscal 2019, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing draft budget documents.&nbsp;

The Trump administration is pursuing a so-called energy dominance policy that seeks to boost production and exports of oil, natural gas, and coal.&nbsp;

The Department of Energy had asked the White House for more modest spending cuts to the programs on advancing wind and solar power and efficiency technologies, but the executive branch`s Office of Management and Budget wanted deeper cuts, the report said.

The White House and the Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report.

The budget is primarily a political document and is not likely to be embraced by Congress, but it represents a starting point for the administration on negotiations.

Spending at the DOE`s energy efficiency and renewable energy was set at $2.04 billion in the 2018 fiscal year. The Trump administration had asked the spending to be cut to $636 million, a request that Congress did not approve.&nbsp;

The White House and the Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report

The White House will ask Congress next month for a 72 percent cut to research programs on clean energy and energy efficiency in fiscal 2019, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing draft budget documents. The Trump administration is pursuing a so-called energy dominance policy that seeks to boost production and exports of oil, natural gas, and coal. The Department of Energy had asked the White House for more modest spending cuts to the programs on advancing wind and solar power and efficiency technologies, but the executive branch`s Office of Management and Budget wanted deeper cuts, the report said. The White House and the Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report. The budget is primarily a political document and is not likely to be embraced by Congress, but it represents a starting point for the administration on negotiations. Spending at the DOE`s energy efficiency and renewable energy was set at $2.04 billion in the 2018 fiscal year. The Trump administration had asked the spending to be cut to $636 million, a request that Congress did not approve.

White House to propose 72 per cent cut to clean energy research: Report

President Donald Trump heaped pressure on Democrats Friday to yield in an acrimonious funding showdown that threatens to shut down the US government when money runs out at midnight -- a year to the day after the Republican president took office.

&quot;Shutdown coming?&quot; Trump tweeted, seeming to revel in the chaotic, high stakes brinksmanship.

The president has put on hold plans to fly to Florida for an anniversary dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate to be close by for what was expected to be a night of down-to-the-wire votes in the US Senate.

A White House official said the president would remain in Washington &quot;until we pass a government funding measure.&quot;

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives pushed through a measure late Thursday, 230-197, to extend funding for the federal government through February 16.

But Democrats appeared determined to block it in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slender majority and may need as many as a dozen Democratic crossover votes to reach a 60-vote majority.

&quot;Democrats are needed if it is to pass in the Senate - but they want illegal immigration and weak borders,&quot; Trump said on Twitter.

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney put the odds of a shutdown at &quot;50-50.&quot;

&quot;We were operating under sort of a 30 percent shutdown&quot; assumption on Thursday, he told reporters. &quot;I think we&#39;re ratcheting it up now.&quot;

Political risks&nbsp;

With mid-term elections looming later this year, Democrats and Republicans both risk being blamed by voters if the government grinds to a halt over lack of funds.

The finger-pointing already has begun as the sides maneuver to lay blame and put their own role in the best possible light.

There have been four government shutdowns since 1990. In the last one in 2013, more than 800,000 government workers were put on temporary leave.

Essential functions like the military, law enforcement, the White House and Congress would continue working but with reduced staff. Some agencies, museums and national parks, would shut down altogether.

The Pentagon issued a guidance confirming that active duty military, including those in combat, would work without pay as will essential civilians. But others in the massive bureaucracy will be sent home without pay.

&quot;The Department will, of course, continue to prosecute the war in Afghanistan and ongoing operations against Al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, including preparation of forces for deployment into those conflicts,&quot; said Patrick Shanahan, the Pentagon&#39;s number two.&nbsp;

Shorter extension

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said if agreement is not reached by Friday night, Democrats would support a shorter-term funding measure that would &quot;give the president a few days to come to the table.&quot;

But House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was quoted as telling reporters the chamber would adjourn as planned on Friday afternoon -- all but guaranteeing a shutdown unless a last-minute deal is struck on the existing bill.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican Majority Leader, said the House bill provides for four weeks of funding, enough to allow talks to continue &quot;without throwing the government into disarray for no reason.&quot;

Schumer wants to &quot;hold the entire country hostage,&quot; McConnell said.

&quot;The leader is looking to deflect blame, but it just won&#39;t work,&quot; said Schumer.

Democrats are hoping to force a compromise that would protect from deportation the so-called &quot;Dreamers,&quot; the more than 700,000 immigrants who entered the country illegally as children and are now in a legal limbo.

Negotiations with the White House on a bipartisan compromise blew up last week after Trump reportedly referred to African nations and Haiti as &quot;shithole countries.&quot;

Friday morning, Paul Ryan hit out at the Democrats on Twitter, accusing them of &quot;taking funding for the government and funding for our troops hostage&quot; over &quot;unrelated policy.&quot;

&quot;They are treating our men and women in uniform like bargaining chips,&quot; he fumed.

Like a Sphinx

Trump&#39;s unpredictable Twitter outbursts and sudden changes of position also have bedeviled Republican leaders as they maneuver to cut a deal.

Schumer described Trump as &quot;like a Sphinx on this issue,&quot; a sentiment Republicans also appeared to share.

&quot;Thinking people change their minds all the time. You do, I do, most Americans do when they test their assumptions against the arguments of others,&quot; Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana said on CNN Friday.

&quot;Having said that, we need to know where the president stands. Let&#39;s suppose we reach an agreement with the Democrats, and I think we will, I want to know the president is going to sign it.&quot;

President Donald Trump heaped pressure on Democrats Friday to yield in an acrimonious funding showdown that threatens to shut down the US government when money runs out at midnight

President Donald Trump heaped pressure on Democrats Friday to yield in an acrimonious funding showdown that threatens to shut down the US government when money runs out at midnight -- a year to the day after the Republican president took office. "Shutdown coming?" Trump tweeted, seeming to revel in the chaotic, high stakes brinksmanship. The president has put on hold plans to fly to Florida for an anniversary dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate to be close by for what was expected to be a night of down-to-the-wire votes in the US Senate. A White House official said the president would remain in Washington "until we pass a government funding measure." The Republican-controlled House of Representatives pushed through a measure late Thursday, 230-197, to extend funding for the federal government through February 16. But Democrats appeared determined to block it in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slender majority and may need as many as a dozen Democratic crossover votes to reach a 60-vote majority. "Democrats are needed if it is to pass in the Senate - but they want illegal immigration and weak borders," Trump said on Twitter. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney put the odds of a shutdown at "50-50." "We were operating under sort of a 30 percent shutdown" assumption on Thursday, he told reporters. "I think we're ratcheting it up now." Political risks With mid-term elections looming later this year, Democrats and Republicans both risk being blamed by voters if the government grinds to a halt over lack of funds. The finger-pointing already has begun as the sides maneuver to lay blame and put their own role in the best possible light. There have been four government shutdowns since 1990. In the last one in 2013, more than 800,000 government workers were put on temporary leave. Essential functions like the military, law enforcement, the White House and Congress would continue working but with reduced staff. Some agencies, museums and national parks, would shut down altogether. The Pentagon issued a guidance confirming that active duty military, including those in combat, would work without pay as will essential civilians. But others in the massive bureaucracy will be sent home without pay. "The Department will, of course, continue to prosecute the war in Afghanistan and ongoing operations against Al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, including preparation of forces for deployment into those conflicts," said Patrick Shanahan, the Pentagon's number two. Shorter extension Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said if agreement is not reached by Friday night, Democrats would support a shorter-term funding measure that would "give the president a few days to come to the table." But House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy was quoted as telling reporters the chamber would adjourn as planned on Friday afternoon -- all but guaranteeing a shutdown unless a last-minute deal is struck on the existing bill. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican Majority Leader, said the House bill provides for four weeks of funding, enough to allow talks to continue "without throwing the government into disarray for no reason." Schumer wants to "hold the entire country hostage," McConnell said. "The leader is looking to deflect blame, but it just won't work," said Schumer. Democrats are hoping to force a compromise that would protect from deportation the so-called "Dreamers," the more than 700,000 immigrants who entered the country illegally as children and are now in a legal limbo. Negotiations with the White House on a bipartisan compromise blew up last week after Trump reportedly referred to African nations and Haiti as "shithole countries." Friday morning, Paul Ryan hit out at the Democrats on Twitter, accusing them of "taking funding for the government and funding for our troops hostage" over "unrelated policy." "They are treating our men and women in uniform like bargaining chips," he fumed. Like a Sphinx Trump's unpredictable Twitter outbursts and sudden changes of position also have bedeviled Republican leaders as they maneuver to cut a deal. Schumer described Trump as "like a Sphinx on this issue," a sentiment Republicans also appeared to share. "Thinking people change their minds all the time. You do, I do, most Americans do when they test their assumptions against the arguments of others," Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana said on CNN Friday. "Having said that, we need to know where the president stands. Let's suppose we reach an agreement with the Democrats, and I think we will, I want to know the president is going to sign it."

 'Shutdown coming?': crunch time as US funding deadline nears

Do not expect<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/president-trump-unveils-fake-news-award-takes-dig-at-nyt-cnn-abc-29900" target="_blank"> US President Donald Trump</a> to hit the gym, despite his doctor&#39;s orders.

He gets plenty of exercise on the golf course and at the White House complex, the president told Reuters on Wednesday.

&quot;I get exercise. I mean I walk, I this, I that,&quot; Trump, 71, said during an Oval Office interview. &quot;I run over to a building next door. I get more exercise than people think.&quot;

Dr Ronny Jackson, the White House physician, said on Tuesday that Trump was in excellent health overall but needed to lose weight, eat better, and break a sweat more often.

The fast-food-loving Trump praised Jackson, who has served as a physician to previous presidents, but seemed wary of taking the not-so-subtle suggestion to use the White House&#39;s exercise facilities.

&quot;A lot of people go to the gym and they&rsquo;ll work out for two hours and all. I&rsquo;ve seen people ... then they get their new knees when they&#39;re 55 years old and they get their new hips and they do all those things. I don&rsquo;t have those problems,&quot; Trump said.

He did say he was open to changing his diet, perhaps with smaller portion sizes on White House meals.

Trump&#39;s predecessors, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W. Bush, were fitness enthusiasts, but Trump has no daily workout routine. He gets exercise by playing golf, he said, even though he typically rides around the course in a golf cart.

Walking would leave him on the course longer than he prefers, he said. &quot;I don&rsquo;t want to spend the time.&quot;

Trump is considered overweight and borderline obese at 6 feet 3 inches (1.9 meters) tall and 239 pounds (108 kg).

&quot;Most of us could lose a couple of pounds,&quot; he said, before scanning the Reuters reporters in the room and pronouncing them in &quot;pretty good shape.&quot;

As for his mental acuity, Trump was quick to note his doctor&#39;s pronouncement that he aced a cognitive exam, which he referenced with a dig at predecessors Obama, Bush and Bill Clinton for not doing more to curb threats from North Korea.

&quot;I guess they all realized they&#39;re going to have to leave it to a president that scored the highest on tests. What can I tell you?&quot; he said.

He said he had impressed medical staff with his recent performance on a treadmill, regular workouts or not.

&quot;I was on a treadmill for the first time actually in quite a while, and it was at a very steep angle, and I was there for a very long time,&quot; he said. &quot;They were surprised. And they said, &#39;Well you can stop now, that&rsquo;s amazing.&#39; And I said, &#39;I can go much longer than this if you want me to.&#39;&quot;

Trump said he had dieted successfully before.

&quot;I&#39;ve always been more of a believer in diet &#39;cause I&#39;m strong, you know? I hit the ball far. I mean, I&#39;m strong, physically,&quot; he said.

&quot;The people that do the food at the White House are extraordinary, but I think they can maybe make the portions a little bit smaller and maybe we&#39;ll cut out some of the more fattening ingredients,&quot; he said. &quot;And I&#39;m OK with that.&quot;

He gets plenty of exercise on the golf course and at the White House complex, the president said on Wednesday

Do not expect US President Donald Trump to hit the gym, despite his doctor's orders. He gets plenty of exercise on the golf course and at the White House complex, the president told Reuters on Wednesday. "I get exercise. I mean I walk, I this, I that," Trump, 71, said during an Oval Office interview. "I run over to a building next door. I get more exercise than people think." Dr Ronny Jackson, the White House physician, said on Tuesday that Trump was in excellent health overall but needed to lose weight, eat better, and break a sweat more often. The fast-food-loving Trump praised Jackson, who has served as a physician to previous presidents, but seemed wary of taking the not-so-subtle suggestion to use the White House's exercise facilities. "A lot of people go to the gym and they’ll work out for two hours and all. I’ve seen people ... then they get their new knees when they're 55 years old and they get their new hips and they do all those things. I don’t have those problems," Trump said. He did say he was open to changing his diet, perhaps with smaller portion sizes on White House meals. Trump's predecessors, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W. Bush, were fitness enthusiasts, but Trump has no daily workout routine. He gets exercise by playing golf, he said, even though he typically rides around the course in a golf cart. Walking would leave him on the course longer than he prefers, he said. "I don’t want to spend the time." Trump is considered overweight and borderline obese at 6 feet 3 inches (1.9 meters) tall and 239 pounds (108 kg). "Most of us could lose a couple of pounds," he said, before scanning the Reuters reporters in the room and pronouncing them in "pretty good shape." As for his mental acuity, Trump was quick to note his doctor's pronouncement that he aced a cognitive exam, which he referenced with a dig at predecessors Obama, Bush and Bill Clinton for not doing more to curb threats from North Korea. "I guess they all realized they're going to have to leave it to a president that scored the highest on tests. What can I tell you?" he said. He said he had impressed medical staff with his recent performance on a treadmill, regular workouts or not. "I was on a treadmill for the first time actually in quite a while, and it was at a very steep angle, and I was there for a very long time," he said. "They were surprised. And they said, 'Well you can stop now, that’s amazing.' And I said, 'I can go much longer than this if you want me to.'" Trump said he had dieted successfully before. "I've always been more of a believer in diet 'cause I'm strong, you know? I hit the ball far. I mean, I'm strong, physically," he said. "The people that do the food at the White House are extraordinary, but I think they can maybe make the portions a little bit smaller and maybe we'll cut out some of the more fattening ingredients," he said. "And I'm OK with that."

Exercise? I get more than people think, Trump says

Donald Trump is in &quot;excellent&quot; health and has passed the cognitive test with flying colours, the White House physician said after the US president underwent his annual medical check-up to quell questions about his mental abilities.

It was Trump&#39;s first physical examination as president amid speculation about his mental fitness for office, spurred by the publication of a damaging book that suggested Trump&#39;s own aides worry about his stability.

Later, Trump, 71, attempted to clarify matters by tweeting he was a &quot;very stable genius&quot;.

&quot;All clinical data indicates that the president is currently very healthy, and that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency... The president&#39;s overall health is excellent,&quot; said Navy Rear Adm Dr Ronny Jackson, who shared the results of Trump&#39;s health report.

Jackson held an extraordinary news conference at the White House that lasted for about an hour.

He said the three-hour examination of Trump conducted by military doctors on Friday had gone &quot;exceptionally well&quot;.

Jackson said that Trump asked him to conduct a cognitive test on him, even though it was not required by law.

&quot;A cognitive screening exam using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was normal, with a score of 30 over 30,&quot; he said.

This exam is conducted in older patients for cognitive disorders like Alzheimer&#39;s disease.

&quot;There is no indication whatsoever that he has any cognitive issues. And, on a day-to-day basis it has been my experience that the president -- is very sharp, he is very articulate when he speaks to me. And, I have never known him to repeat himself around me,&quot; Jackson said.

Asked about a much-discussed episode in which the president seemed to slur his words during a televised speech in December about the Middle East, Jackson said it might had been caused by Sudafed, a medicine for nasal congestion.

In response to speculation that the president has mental health problems, Jackson said, &quot;In my opinion, that?s just tabloid psychiatry.&quot;

The doctor also said Trump showed &quot;excellent cardiac results ... From a stress test&quot; performed on the president last week.

Jackson said that Trump, who weighs 108 kgs and stands 6 feet 3 inches tall, &quot;would like to lose ... 10 to 15 pounds.&quot;

At his weight and height, the president is borderline obese.

&quot;The president has acknowledged he&#39;d be healthier if he lost a few pounds,&quot; Jackson said.

&quot;He continues to enjoy the significant long-term cardiac and overall health benefits that come from a lifetime of abstinence from tobacco and alcohol,&quot; he said.

Based on the blood profile and other health parameters, Jackson said he has recommended diet and exercise plan for the president for weight loss.

Trump has agreed to get rid of 4.5-6 kg of body fat in the next one year by combining diet, exercise and medication.

&quot;He has a history of elevated cholesterol, and is currently on a low dose of Crestor. In order to further reduce his cholesterol level and further decreases his cardiac risk, we will increase the dose of this particular medication,&quot; Jackson said.

Apart from this, Trump has no problems in vision, head, ears, nose, and throat.

When a reporter asked him how Trump managed to be in such good health despite eating junk food and taking diet coke, the doctor attributed this to his genes.

&quot;It&#39;s called genetics. Some people have just great genes. You know, I told the president that if he had healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old. He has incredible genes I just assume,&quot; Jackson said.

He said that while Trump &quot;doesn&#39;t have a daily exercise regiment,&quot; Trump &quot;has a lot of energy, a lot of stamina.&quot;

&quot;I&#39;ve never seen the president stressed out about too much. I would just assume has led to some of his success over the years, he has a very unique ability to just get up in the morning and reset,&quot; the doctor said.

&quot;I would say he sleeps four to five hours a night, and he&#39;s probably been that way his whole life. That&#39;s probably one of the reasons why he&#39;s been successful,&quot; the doctor said.

The White House chefs, Jackson said, are now cooking for him a much healthier diet.

Overall, Jackson said he was impressed by the president&#39;s health, saying tests revealed no evidence of cancer, lung problems, diabetes or joint problems. Tests of the liver, kidney and thyroid were all normal.

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is conducted in older patients for cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease.

Donald Trump is in "excellent" health and has passed the cognitive test with flying colours, the White House physician said after the US president underwent his annual medical check-up to quell questions about his mental abilities. It was Trump's first physical examination as president amid speculation about his mental fitness for office, spurred by the publication of a damaging book that suggested Trump's own aides worry about his stability. Later, Trump, 71, attempted to clarify matters by tweeting he was a "very stable genius". "All clinical data indicates that the president is currently very healthy, and that he will remain so for the duration of his presidency... The president's overall health is excellent," said Navy Rear Adm Dr Ronny Jackson, who shared the results of Trump's health report. Jackson held an extraordinary news conference at the White House that lasted for about an hour. He said the three-hour examination of Trump conducted by military doctors on Friday had gone "exceptionally well". Jackson said that Trump asked him to conduct a cognitive test on him, even though it was not required by law. "A cognitive screening exam using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was normal, with a score of 30 over 30," he said. This exam is conducted in older patients for cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease. "There is no indication whatsoever that he has any cognitive issues. And, on a day-to-day basis it has been my experience that the president -- is very sharp, he is very articulate when he speaks to me. And, I have never known him to repeat himself around me," Jackson said. Asked about a much-discussed episode in which the president seemed to slur his words during a televised speech in December about the Middle East, Jackson said it might had been caused by Sudafed, a medicine for nasal congestion. In response to speculation that the president has mental health problems, Jackson said, "In my opinion, that?s just tabloid psychiatry." The doctor also said Trump showed "excellent cardiac results ... From a stress test" performed on the president last week. Jackson said that Trump, who weighs 108 kgs and stands 6 feet 3 inches tall, "would like to lose ... 10 to 15 pounds." At his weight and height, the president is borderline obese. "The president has acknowledged he'd be healthier if he lost a few pounds," Jackson said. "He continues to enjoy the significant long-term cardiac and overall health benefits that come from a lifetime of abstinence from tobacco and alcohol," he said. Based on the blood profile and other health parameters, Jackson said he has recommended diet and exercise plan for the president for weight loss. Trump has agreed to get rid of 4.5-6 kg of body fat in the next one year by combining diet, exercise and medication. "He has a history of elevated cholesterol, and is currently on a low dose of Crestor. In order to further reduce his cholesterol level and further decreases his cardiac risk, we will increase the dose of this particular medication," Jackson said. Apart from this, Trump has no problems in vision, head, ears, nose, and throat. When a reporter asked him how Trump managed to be in such good health despite eating junk food and taking diet coke, the doctor attributed this to his genes. "It's called genetics. Some people have just great genes. You know, I told the president that if he had healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old. He has incredible genes I just assume," Jackson said. He said that while Trump "doesn't have a daily exercise regiment," Trump "has a lot of energy, a lot of stamina." "I've never seen the president stressed out about too much. I would just assume has led to some of his success over the years, he has a very unique ability to just get up in the morning and reset," the doctor said. "I would say he sleeps four to five hours a night, and he's probably been that way his whole life. That's probably one of the reasons why he's been successful," the doctor said. The White House chefs, Jackson said, are now cooking for him a much healthier diet. Overall, Jackson said he was impressed by the president's health, saying tests revealed no evidence of cancer, lung problems, diabetes or joint problems. Tests of the liver, kidney and thyroid were all normal.

President Trump aces cognitive test, in excellent health: White House

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon was expected to be peppered with questions on the Trump campaign`s links to Russia in closed testimony to the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday.

Bannon, who has been mostly quiet since the release of an incendiary book about President Donald Trump in which he figured prominently as a source, was seen arriving in Congress for the hearing early Tuesday.

His insider role during the Trump election campaign and in the White House could provide crucial details to the committee, which is seeking to understand the extent of contact between Trump and his advisors and Russia, which is accused of interfering with the 2016 election.

It come after the release of &quot;Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,&quot; by Michael Wolff, who notably quotes Bannon as saying a pre-election meeting involving Trump`s eldest son Donald Jr. and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer was &quot;treasonous.&quot;

Bannon allowed Wolff, who painted a picture of an erratic and poorly informed president, substantial access to the White House during Trump`s first year.

Bannon, 64, was a powerful figure in the Trump election campaign and the White House in the early months of Trump`s presidency, pushing a hard-line nationalism aimed at shaking up US domestic and foreign policy.

But he was forced out from his job advising Trump in August, and his actions since then -- most notably supporting the failed Senate campaign of Alabama Republican Roy Moore, but also his comments in the Wolff book -- have left him increasingly isolated in conservative circles.

Last week he was forced to step down from Breitbart News, which he had helped make a powerful conservative force, and he lost the support of the Mercer family, wealthy conservative power brokers.

Underscoring the break, Trump said Bannon had &quot;lost his mind&quot; and branded him &quot;Sloppy Steve&quot; via Twitter.

Steve Bannon was seen arriving in Congress for the hearing early Tuesday

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon was expected to be peppered with questions on the Trump campaign`s links to Russia in closed testimony to the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday. Bannon, who has been mostly quiet since the release of an incendiary book about President Donald Trump in which he figured prominently as a source, was seen arriving in Congress for the hearing early Tuesday. His insider role during the Trump election campaign and in the White House could provide crucial details to the committee, which is seeking to understand the extent of contact between Trump and his advisors and Russia, which is accused of interfering with the 2016 election. It come after the release of "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," by Michael Wolff, who notably quotes Bannon as saying a pre-election meeting involving Trump`s eldest son Donald Jr. and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer was "treasonous." Bannon allowed Wolff, who painted a picture of an erratic and poorly informed president, substantial access to the White House during Trump`s first year. Bannon, 64, was a powerful figure in the Trump election campaign and the White House in the early months of Trump`s presidency, pushing a hard-line nationalism aimed at shaking up US domestic and foreign policy. But he was forced out from his job advising Trump in August, and his actions since then -- most notably supporting the failed Senate campaign of Alabama Republican Roy Moore, but also his comments in the Wolff book -- have left him increasingly isolated in conservative circles. Last week he was forced to step down from Breitbart News, which he had helped make a powerful conservative force, and he lost the support of the Mercer family, wealthy conservative power brokers. Underscoring the break, Trump said Bannon had "lost his mind" and branded him "Sloppy Steve" via Twitter.

Bannon to testify in Congress in wake of explosive book on Trump

David Litt served from 2011 to 2016 as the special assistant to President Obama. He played a crucial role in the Obama presidency as the senior presidential speechwriter. He was the youngest to do in US history. Known as the comic muse for the US President, David is also known as the &quot;Man Behind the President&#39;s Jokes&quot;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION took this opportunity to speak to David Litt who reflected on myriad topics from the role of jokes in politics to Trump, from Obama&#39;s iconic speeches to Air Force One.

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp; You were just 24 years old when you started at the White House. How did you get to the speechwriter for Barack Obama?

Litt: I was one of the college students in 2008 who was energised by Barack Obama Campaign and after I graduated I moved to Ohio and worked at the state level at the campaigns and then I moved to Washington having no plans of becoming a speech writer, but then one thing led to another and then I&nbsp; ended up getting a job at a firm writing speech for CEOs and other companies mostly private sector leaders.&nbsp;

Few years after that White House had the opening at the bottom of the ladder for a speechwriter to the senior staff. And they basically said- Hey if you want to apply for this job your references are pretty good, you are the only applicant. Why don&#39;t you come over to work at the White House and I was like- Yeah okay, that sounds pretty good. I can do that.

So I hope there was a little talent involved but I think it was to be at the right place at the right time. &nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/170925-thegist-davidlitt.crop.promo-xlarge2-20180109111304.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
&#39;Man Behind the President&#39;s Jokes&#39; (WION)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

 
Let&#39;s go a little backward and try and get to know the &#39;Man Behind Presidents Words&#39; a little better.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: Where did you grow up? And how did it all started?&nbsp;

Litt: I grew up in New York City in Manhattan, and I was never incredibly politically active but my parents would talk about politics like the other people&#39;s parents talk about sports around at the dinner table, and I had never planned of being a political speechwriter but I did write a lot of comedy. So, I had done stand-up comedy when I was in High School, I edited a Humour Magazine when I was in college and that was the sort of entry that I had in writing. It turned out to be useful but I hadn&#39;t guessed that in advance. I never planned on being a writer professionally.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: What was your first President Obama moment?&nbsp;

Litt: First time I met President Obama was for a video where he was wishing America Happy Thanks Giving so it was not a big important video but for me, it was really important. I have never written anything like this. And we went to the taping to watch the President and right before the President started, the videographer she stopped and she turn(ed) to me and said- Mr. President, this is David and this is the first time that he has ever written for you.

President Obama turned to me and said: Well, how is it going for you, David?

And I have literally no idea of what I said. I literally blacked out. Like I don&#39;t remember what I told the President.

Later, I found out that it was (a) completely common occurrence. Like people would meet him and completely short circuit and not remember a word they said.

I guess it happened to the best of us something that we are not familiar.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: If I were to mention some of the most iconic speeches that Barack Obama made I would recall the speech on Race (relations) that he gave in 2008. Do you think he has more of a personal touch in his speeches, unlike other politicians?

Litt: I think the speech was very personal, I mean not exclusively. Many many speeches that President Obama gave was deeply personal.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: How has comedy been the tool of getting a political message out?

Litt: One of the things that I learned when I was in the White House and it becomes more true with time is that comedy is a great way of getting attention and it&#39;s harder to get peoples attention than ever before. You know with the Internet.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp; One interesting thing about President Obama was that he gave a lot of references about people in his speeches. You were meant to be talking to these people and getting the insights. What was that like?

Litt:&nbsp; One of my favourite part of the job was to talk to people who were not in Washington DC; who were going to be mentioned by the President but they often didn&#39;t know that. So, I would talk to them, hear their stories and then we will pick people who were really inspiring. You know people who were demonstrating resilience of which all Americans can be proud of.

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp; You have mentioned about &quot;The Plane&quot; in your book. How cool is it to be the one on &quot;The Plane&quot;?

Litt: Air Force One is just pretty awesome. I mean there is getting around that. There are lots of perks of the White House that wouldn&#39;t be as amazing as you think but Air Force is actually amazing. It wasn&#39;t even about the perks it was about being on Air Force One. More than the White House, in certain ways, Air Force One is the symbol of America...It&#39;s just really special. I do fly coach now. So yeah, I do miss that part of my job.

&nbsp;

WION: What is the process of writing a comic speech for the President?&nbsp;

Litt: In someway jokes are not the highest stakes thing the President has got to do, in fact, it can be just opposite. But they (jokes) can be very difficult because in a joke every word needs to be exactly right. So we would get jokes from 12-13 people, we would give hundreds of ideas and cut that down to 40, and then work with the President to pick with him the one he likes the most.&nbsp;

President Obama in addition to being a funny guy in person is amazing in delivering a joke on stage. So he made us look good which you know was pretty nice.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: Tell us about two of the best memories while working for the White House?&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Litt:&nbsp;That&#39;s a difficult question because there are so many things.

One of the best memory that I have is the first day I walked through the gate. The feeling of saying, wait is it really me in here? It was impossible not to have that going through in my head.&nbsp;

The other moment was when President Obama gave one of his best speeches, most important speeches that I think, was when he spoke for the victims of Mass Shooting in Charlottesville... at the same day the Supreme Court ruled in favour of marriage equality, so gays and lesbians could get married nationwide, and also a day before (the) Supreme Court upheld the Healthcare law. All three of those things combined people from all over Washington. (They) started coming to the White House and White House was lit up in the colour of a rainbow. You see a little progress every time and you see that your country is a lot better place in the evening than it was in the morning. That is pretty amazing to be a part off.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: What were some of the challenges of writing speeches for one of the most powerful men on this planet?

Litt: People constantly criticising of what you write though they don&#39;t know that you are writing it. And also you have people who are always taking words out of context. I mean that is politics. And it is then when you have to constantly look over your shoulder while writing, which is hard.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION: What was the thing that you loved most about working with President Obama?&nbsp;

Litt:&nbsp; What I loved working with President Obama was to be a chance to be a part of these moments. To play even the smallest role in somebody&#39;s kid getting a healthcare when they needed or somebody feeling that their story is becoming a part of the American story that they never thought it would be. Just to be one of many many people contributing to that was a very very good feeling.&nbsp; And I really do miss that.

&nbsp;

WION: What were your fear while writing for the President?

Litt: My biggest fear was making a mistake that would make my Boss Look bad. You know if he looked bad it will be a national news may be not just in the US, it could be international news. So the stakes were just so much higher. The job was similar but the consequences of the mistakes were not just the same.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp;What do you think will be the most difficult part to deal while writing for President Trump?

Litt: One of the things that I learnt was that the words are important but what is more imp is the ideas behind it. Most difficult part for me to write for Donald Trump would be the world of his ideas which I do not agree with as it is contrary to everything America stood for since the beginning of the US. And so the speechwriting thing would be difficult and I wouldn&#39;t be taking up the job is that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way he views the US.

&nbsp;

WION: In this age of social media where the Twitter rules, what is the relevance of a speech?

Litt:&nbsp; I think the speeches that the President gives will always matter. What might matter is the day to day speaking that the President would do. But I think in big moments like State of the Union or in times of Crisis, people want to hear from the President. People want to hear from there leaders. And I think that is still true even in a social media age. And people sill want this stability and the depth of understanding that you only can get through a speech; you can&#39;t really get through a tweet.

"Most difficult part for me to write for Donald Trump would be the world of his ideas, which I do not agree with, as it is contrary to everything America stood for since the beginning of the US", David Litt, senior presidential speechwriter of Barack Obama

David Litt served from 2011 to 2016 as the special assistant to President Obama. He played a crucial role in the Obama presidency as the senior presidential speechwriter. He was the youngest to do in US history. Known as the comic muse for the US President, David is also known as the "Man Behind the President's Jokes". WION took this opportunity to speak to David Litt who reflected on myriad topics from the role of jokes in politics to Trump, from Obama's iconic speeches to Air Force One. WION: You were just 24 years old when you started at the White House. How did you get to the speechwriter for Barack Obama? Litt: I was one of the college students in 2008 who was energised by Barack Obama Campaign and after I graduated I moved to Ohio and worked at the state level at the campaigns and then I moved to Washington having no plans of becoming a speech writer, but then one thing led to another and then I ended up getting a job at a firm writing speech for CEOs and other companies mostly private sector leaders. Few years after that White House had the opening at the bottom of the ladder for a speechwriter to the senior staff. And they basically said- Hey if you want to apply for this job your references are pretty good, you are the only applicant. Why don't you come over to work at the White House and I was like- Yeah okay, that sounds pretty good. I can do that. So I hope there was a little talent involved but I think it was to be at the right place at the right time. 'Man Behind the President's Jokes' (WION) × Let's go a little backward and try and get to know the 'Man Behind Presidents Words' a little better. WION: Where did you grow up? And how did it all started? Litt: I grew up in New York City in Manhattan, and I was never incredibly politically active but my parents would talk about politics like the other people's parents talk about sports around at the dinner table, and I had never planned of being a political speechwriter but I did write a lot of comedy. So, I had done stand-up comedy when I was in High School, I edited a Humour Magazine when I was in college and that was the sort of entry that I had in writing. It turned out to be useful but I hadn't guessed that in advance. I never planned on being a writer professionally. WION: What was your first President Obama moment? Litt: First time I met President Obama was for a video where he was wishing America Happy Thanks Giving so it was not a big important video but for me, it was really important. I have never written anything like this. And we went to the taping to watch the President and right before the President started, the videographer she stopped and she turn(ed) to me and said- Mr. President, this is David and this is the first time that he has ever written for you. President Obama turned to me and said: Well, how is it going for you, David? And I have literally no idea of what I said. I literally blacked out. Like I don't remember what I told the President. Later, I found out that it was (a) completely common occurrence. Like people would meet him and completely short circuit and not remember a word they said. I guess it happened to the best of us something that we are not familiar. WION: If I were to mention some of the most iconic speeches that Barack Obama made I would recall the speech on Race (relations) that he gave in 2008. Do you think he has more of a personal touch in his speeches, unlike other politicians? Litt: I think the speech was very personal, I mean not exclusively. Many many speeches that President Obama gave was deeply personal. WION: How has comedy been the tool of getting a political message out? Litt: One of the things that I learned when I was in the White House and it becomes more true with time is that comedy is a great way of getting attention and it's harder to get peoples attention than ever before. You know with the Internet. WION: One interesting thing about President Obama was that he gave a lot of references about people in his speeches. You were meant to be talking to these people and getting the insights. What was that like? Litt: One of my favourite part of the job was to talk to people who were not in Washington DC; who were going to be mentioned by the President but they often didn't know that. So, I would talk to them, hear their stories and then we will pick people who were really inspiring. You know people who were demonstrating resilience of which all Americans can be proud of. WION: You have mentioned about "The Plane" in your book. How cool is it to be the one on "The Plane"? Litt: Air Force One is just pretty awesome. I mean there is getting around that. There are lots of perks of the White House that wouldn't be as amazing as you think but Air Force is actually amazing. It wasn't even about the perks it was about being on Air Force One. More than the White House, in certain ways, Air Force One is the symbol of America...It's just really special. I do fly coach now. So yeah, I do miss that part of my job. WION: What is the process of writing a comic speech for the President? Litt: In someway jokes are not the highest stakes thing the President has got to do, in fact, it can be just opposite. But they (jokes) can be very difficult because in a joke every word needs to be exactly right. So we would get jokes from 12-13 people, we would give hundreds of ideas and cut that down to 40, and then work with the President to pick with him the one he likes the most. President Obama in addition to being a funny guy in person is amazing in delivering a joke on stage. So he made us look good which you know was pretty nice. WION: Tell us about two of the best memories while working for the White House? Litt: That's a difficult question because there are so many things. One of the best memory that I have is the first day I walked through the gate. The feeling of saying, wait is it really me in here? It was impossible not to have that going through in my head. The other moment was when President Obama gave one of his best speeches, most important speeches that I think, was when he spoke for the victims of Mass Shooting in Charlottesville... at the same day the Supreme Court ruled in favour of marriage equality, so gays and lesbians could get married nationwide, and also a day before (the) Supreme Court upheld the Healthcare law. All three of those things combined people from all over Washington. (They) started coming to the White House and White House was lit up in the colour of a rainbow. You see a little progress every time and you see that your country is a lot better place in the evening than it was in the morning. That is pretty amazing to be a part off. WION: What were some of the challenges of writing speeches for one of the most powerful men on this planet? Litt: People constantly criticising of what you write though they don't know that you are writing it. And also you have people who are always taking words out of context. I mean that is politics. And it is then when you have to constantly look over your shoulder while writing, which is hard. WION: What was the thing that you loved most about working with President Obama? Litt: What I loved working with President Obama was to be a chance to be a part of these moments. To play even the smallest role in somebody's kid getting a healthcare when they needed or somebody feeling that their story is becoming a part of the American story that they never thought it would be. Just to be one of many many people contributing to that was a very very good feeling. And I really do miss that. WION: What were your fear while writing for the President? Litt: My biggest fear was making a mistake that would make my Boss Look bad. You know if he looked bad it will be a national news may be not just in the US, it could be international news. So the stakes were just so much higher. The job was similar but the consequences of the mistakes were not just the same. WION: What do you think will be the most difficult part to deal while writing for President Trump? Litt: One of the things that I learnt was that the words are important but what is more imp is the ideas behind it. Most difficult part for me to write for Donald Trump would be the world of his ideas which I do not agree with as it is contrary to everything America stood for since the beginning of the US. And so the speechwriting thing would be difficult and I wouldn't be taking up the job is that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way he views the US. WION: In this age of social media where the Twitter rules, what is the relevance of a speech? Litt: I think the speeches that the President gives will always matter. What might matter is the day to day speaking that the President would do. But I think in big moments like State of the Union or in times of Crisis, people want to hear from the President. People want to hear from there leaders. And I think that is still true even in a social media age. And people sill want this stability and the depth of understanding that you only can get through a speech; you can't really get through a tweet.

Opinion: On Obama, Trump, Air Force One and Jokes

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump would gladly face Oprah Winfrey as an opponent in the 2020 presidential race, a White House spokesman said on Monday after social media buzz from her speech at an awards show thrust her name into the political arena.

&quot;We welcome the challenge, whether it be Oprah Winfrey or anybody else,&quot; Hogan Gidley told reporters on Air Force One during a flight to Nashville on Monday. &quot;We welcome all comers.&quot;

Winfrey, 63, stole the show at the Golden Globe awards on Sunday night with her speech upon receiving the Cecil B. DeMille award for achievement and lit up Twitter with a surge of tweets carrying &quot;#Oprahforpresident&quot; and &quot;#Oprah2020.&quot;

She is actively thinking about a run, CNN reported on Monday, citing two of her close friends. CNN did not name the friends, who it said had spoken on condition of anonymity.

At least one emphasized that Winfrey had made no firm decision.Winfrey has said in the past she is not interested in running for president, but the Los Angeles Times quoted Stedman Graham, Winfrey&#39;s longtime partner in business and life, as saying on Sunday that, &quot;It`s up to the people ... She would absolutely do it.&quot;

Wearing a black gown to show support for victims, she used her platform to promote the &quot;Time&#39;s Up&quot; movement against sexual harassment and assault, throwing her support behind others who have exposed sexual misconduct in Hollywood and elsewhere in politics and the media.&nbsp;

&quot;She had that room in her hands. It was like a campaign rally,&quot; said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior fellow at the University of Southern California&#39;s Price School of Public Policy.

The nine-minute speech generated two standing ovations from the Hollywood glitterati and prompted 220,000 posts on social media mentioning the words &quot;Oprah&quot; and &quot;president&quot; in just 24 hours, said Todd Grossman of social media analytics company Talkwalker.

After Trump won the White House in 2016 with help from his fame as a reality TV star, it no longer seems far-fetched to consider a similar campaign by Winfrey, an actress, movie and television producer, and chief executive of her OWN cable channel, political analysts said.

Winfrey, long associated with Democratic politics and fundraising, would likely face a crowded field in the Democratic primaries in the 2020 race.

But given her connections, Winfrey might have a fund-raising advantage over her rivals in liberal Hollywood, which is often called an automatic teller machine for Democratic candidates.

&quot;She&#39;s certainly a bigger celebrity than Trump ever was, especially in terms of connecting with her audience. Obviously, this has given her an opportunity. What does she do next with it?&quot; said Alan Schroeder, a journalism professor at Northeastern University in Boston who has written on the intersection of show business and politics.

Trump benefited from his star power to win more free media exposure than his rivals in the Republican primary and was able to run a relatively inexpensive campaign.

His committee spent $343 million in the primary and general election campaigns with the help of $47.5 million of the real estate developer&#39;s own money, which he lent to the campaign and later forgave.

Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent, spent $585 million including $1.5 million of her own money.

Winfrey could supplement any campaign with her own wealth. Forbes estimates she is worth $3.0 billion compared to $3.5 billion for Trump. She was raised in poverty by a single mother and went on to host the top-rated talk show &quot;The Oprah Winfrey Show&quot; for 25 years before ending it in 2011.

Jeffe, the USC professor, cautioned against thinking of Hollywood as a monolith of liberal Democrats. Besides the liberal creative talent, Hollywood money also comes from the more conservative, unionized trade and craft workforce as well as from the business interests.

&quot;She has credibility with all of them,&quot; Jeffe said.

'We welcome the challenge, whether it be Oprah Winfrey or anybody else,' spokesperson Hogan Gidley told reporters

US President Donald Trump would gladly face Oprah Winfrey as an opponent in the 2020 presidential race, a White House spokesman said on Monday after social media buzz from her speech at an awards show thrust her name into the political arena. "We welcome the challenge, whether it be Oprah Winfrey or anybody else," Hogan Gidley told reporters on Air Force One during a flight to Nashville on Monday. "We welcome all comers." Winfrey, 63, stole the show at the Golden Globe awards on Sunday night with her speech upon receiving the Cecil B. DeMille award for achievement and lit up Twitter with a surge of tweets carrying "#Oprahforpresident" and "#Oprah2020." She is actively thinking about a run, CNN reported on Monday, citing two of her close friends. CNN did not name the friends, who it said had spoken on condition of anonymity. At least one emphasized that Winfrey had made no firm decision.Winfrey has said in the past she is not interested in running for president, but the Los Angeles Times quoted Stedman Graham, Winfrey's longtime partner in business and life, as saying on Sunday that, "It`s up to the people ... She would absolutely do it." Wearing a black gown to show support for victims, she used her platform to promote the "Time's Up" movement against sexual harassment and assault, throwing her support behind others who have exposed sexual misconduct in Hollywood and elsewhere in politics and the media. "She had that room in her hands. It was like a campaign rally," said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior fellow at the University of Southern California's Price School of Public Policy. The nine-minute speech generated two standing ovations from the Hollywood glitterati and prompted 220,000 posts on social media mentioning the words "Oprah" and "president" in just 24 hours, said Todd Grossman of social media analytics company Talkwalker. After Trump won the White House in 2016 with help from his fame as a reality TV star, it no longer seems far-fetched to consider a similar campaign by Winfrey, an actress, movie and television producer, and chief executive of her OWN cable channel, political analysts said. Winfrey, long associated with Democratic politics and fundraising, would likely face a crowded field in the Democratic primaries in the 2020 race. But given her connections, Winfrey might have a fund-raising advantage over her rivals in liberal Hollywood, which is often called an automatic teller machine for Democratic candidates. "She's certainly a bigger celebrity than Trump ever was, especially in terms of connecting with her audience. Obviously, this has given her an opportunity. What does she do next with it?" said Alan Schroeder, a journalism professor at Northeastern University in Boston who has written on the intersection of show business and politics. Trump benefited from his star power to win more free media exposure than his rivals in the Republican primary and was able to run a relatively inexpensive campaign. His committee spent $343 million in the primary and general election campaigns with the help of $47.5 million of the real estate developer's own money, which he lent to the campaign and later forgave. Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent, spent $585 million including $1.5 million of her own money. Winfrey could supplement any campaign with her own wealth. Forbes estimates she is worth $3.0 billion compared to $3.5 billion for Trump. She was raised in poverty by a single mother and went on to host the top-rated talk show "The Oprah Winfrey Show" for 25 years before ending it in 2011. Jeffe, the USC professor, cautioned against thinking of Hollywood as a monolith of liberal Democrats. Besides the liberal creative talent, Hollywood money also comes from the more conservative, unionized trade and craft workforce as well as from the business interests. "She has credibility with all of them," Jeffe said.

Trump would welcome challenge from Oprah Winfrey for president

According to the White House, Donald Trump&#39;s scheduled medical examination will not include a psychiatric evaluation.&nbsp;

US president&#39;s mental fitness was questioned soon after excerpts from Michael Wolff&#39;s book &#39;Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House&#39;&nbsp;were released.

&quot;He&#39;s sharp as a tack,&quot; spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters.

US President Donald Trump will be examined for fitness at the Walter Reed military hospital in Washington this Friday.

Results of his medical examination shall be made public.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s long-term health advisor, Harold Bornstein, spoke about his health previously calling him &quot;the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.&quot;

Trump recently took to Twitter and called himself &quot;a very stable genius&quot; in response to doubts raised over his mental faculties.&nbsp;

(With inputs from AFP)&nbsp;

US president's mental fitness was questioned soon after excerpts from Michael Wolff's 'Fire and Fury' were made public

According to the White House, Donald Trump's scheduled medical examination will not include a psychiatric evaluation. US president's mental fitness was questioned soon after excerpts from Michael Wolff's book 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House' were released. "He's sharp as a tack," spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters. US President Donald Trump will be examined for fitness at the Walter Reed military hospital in Washington this Friday. Results of his medical examination shall be made public. Trump's long-term health advisor, Harold Bornstein, spoke about his health previously calling him "the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency." Trump recently took to Twitter and called himself "a very stable genius" in response to doubts raised over his mental faculties. (With inputs from AFP)

Trump's medical exam due this week, won't test him for mental fitness

The US is keeping &quot;all options&quot; on the table to deal with Pakistan if it does not take decisive action against the Taliban and the Haqqani network and dismantle their safe havens, the White House warned today.

The warning came after the US suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan for failing to clamp down on terror groups.

The freezing of all security assistance to Pakistan comes after President Donald Trump in a New Year&#39;s Day tweet accused the country of giving nothing to the US but &quot;lies and deceit&quot; and providing

&quot;safe haven&quot; to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

&quot;The US does have a range of tools that we&#39;re looking at beyond just the security assistance issue to deal with Pakistan and to try to convince it to crack down on the Taliban and Haqqani network,&quot; a senior Trump administration official told reporters.

&quot;Certainly no one should doubt the US resolve to address this threat and all options I would say will be on the table,&quot; said the official on condition of anonymity.

While some policymakers have been asking the White House to revoke the non-NATO ally status of Pakistan and put pressure on the country through multilateral institutions like the International

Monetary Fund and the United Nations, Pentagon generals have indicated unilateral actions.

However, the official refrained from divulging any of the options that the administration is considering against Pakistan.

&quot;I&#39;m not able to comment on specific steps at this time. But nobody should doubt our resolve in trying to address these threats. We&#39;re looking at all options. We hope that we can cooperate with Pakistan.

But we do have options that we&#39;re considering,&quot; the official said.

The US wants action against the existing safe havens of the Taliban and the Haqqani network and demolish its ability to carry out strikes across the border in Afghanistan, the Official said and expressed hope that Pakistan would take actions that the US was seeking.

&quot;....That will allow the relationship to return to a more positive trajectory,&quot; the official said.

In August, while unveiling his new South Asia strategy, Trump had accused Pakistan of giving &quot;safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror,&quot; and said the time had come &quot;for Pakistan to demonstrate its commitment to civilisation, order, and to peace&quot;.

Trump&#39;s new policy, the official said, is driven by his desire to have a successful strategy in Afghanistan.

&quot;We firmly believes that for the future of the region, Pakistan needs to crack down on these terrorist elements. Unless they take a comprehensive approach to the terrorism problem it is going to threaten

US interests and everybody&#39;s interests including Pakistan&#39;s,&quot; the official said.

He said the announcement of the suspension of the security assistance to Pakistan clearly reflected the US&#39; frustration over Pakistan&#39;s failure to crack down on all terrorists who find shelter on its territory.

&quot;There has been ample time for Pakistan to show it is taking our request seriously. Unfortunately, we have not seen the kind of meaningful action that we were seeking,&quot; the White House official rued.

Responding to a question, the official said the US has &quot;a number of tools in its toolkit&quot; and can &quot;take unilateral&quot; steps.

But at this time, the US prefers to cooperate with Pakistan and is hopeful about it, the official said.

&quot;And we want to indicate Pakistan our seriousness about the issue of dealing with safe havens,&quot; the official said.

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said the US would restore the suspended security assistance to Pakistan if it takes action against terrorist groups.

&quot;We would restore the aid if we see decisive movements against the terrorists, who are as much of a threat against Pakistan as they are against us,&quot; Mattis told reporters.

The US is still working with Pakistan, he said but refrained from going into details.

&quot;The specific individual things we&#39;re doing our best handled in private, to ensure that we can be most productive. And that&#39;s what we&#39;re working now,&quot; he said.

Mattis had travelled to Pakistan last month for talks with the top Pakistani leadership.

&quot;There&#39;s a campaign plan now that starts regionally. So we started thinking about India and Pakistan and Afghanistan. We reinforced some of our forces there, because we found some forces didn&#39;t have the American advisers they needed, and the ones with advisers seemed to always win. The ones without them did not fare so well,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

The warning came after the US suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan for failing to clamp down on terror groups

The US is keeping "all options" on the table to deal with Pakistan if it does not take decisive action against the Taliban and the Haqqani network and dismantle their safe havens, the White House warned today. The warning came after the US suspended about USD 2 billion in security aid to Pakistan for failing to clamp down on terror groups. The freezing of all security assistance to Pakistan comes after President Donald Trump in a New Year's Day tweet accused the country of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years. "The US does have a range of tools that we're looking at beyond just the security assistance issue to deal with Pakistan and to try to convince it to crack down on the Taliban and Haqqani network," a senior Trump administration official told reporters. "Certainly no one should doubt the US resolve to address this threat and all options I would say will be on the table," said the official on condition of anonymity. While some policymakers have been asking the White House to revoke the non-NATO ally status of Pakistan and put pressure on the country through multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations, Pentagon generals have indicated unilateral actions. However, the official refrained from divulging any of the options that the administration is considering against Pakistan. "I'm not able to comment on specific steps at this time. But nobody should doubt our resolve in trying to address these threats. We're looking at all options. We hope that we can cooperate with Pakistan. But we do have options that we're considering," the official said. The US wants action against the existing safe havens of the Taliban and the Haqqani network and demolish its ability to carry out strikes across the border in Afghanistan, the Official said and expressed hope that Pakistan would take actions that the US was seeking. "....That will allow the relationship to return to a more positive trajectory," the official said. In August, while unveiling his new South Asia strategy, Trump had accused Pakistan of giving "safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror," and said the time had come "for Pakistan to demonstrate its commitment to civilisation, order, and to peace". Trump's new policy, the official said, is driven by his desire to have a successful strategy in Afghanistan. "We firmly believes that for the future of the region, Pakistan needs to crack down on these terrorist elements. Unless they take a comprehensive approach to the terrorism problem it is going to threaten US interests and everybody's interests including Pakistan's," the official said. He said the announcement of the suspension of the security assistance to Pakistan clearly reflected the US' frustration over Pakistan's failure to crack down on all terrorists who find shelter on its territory. "There has been ample time for Pakistan to show it is taking our request seriously. Unfortunately, we have not seen the kind of meaningful action that we were seeking," the White House official rued. Responding to a question, the official said the US has "a number of tools in its toolkit" and can "take unilateral" steps. But at this time, the US prefers to cooperate with Pakistan and is hopeful about it, the official said. "And we want to indicate Pakistan our seriousness about the issue of dealing with safe havens," the official said. Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said the US would restore the suspended security assistance to Pakistan if it takes action against terrorist groups. "We would restore the aid if we see decisive movements against the terrorists, who are as much of a threat against Pakistan as they are against us," Mattis told reporters. The US is still working with Pakistan, he said but refrained from going into details. "The specific individual things we're doing our best handled in private, to ensure that we can be most productive. And that's what we're working now," he said. Mattis had travelled to Pakistan last month for talks with the top Pakistani leadership. "There's a campaign plan now that starts regionally. So we started thinking about India and Pakistan and Afghanistan. We reinforced some of our forces there, because we found some forces didn't have the American advisers they needed, and the ones with advisers seemed to always win. The ones without them did not fare so well," he said.

All options on the table to deal with Pakistan: White House

Did Steve Bannon jump or was he pushed? Bannon&rsquo;s opponents spoke of a firing, while his allies &ndash; and Bannon himself &ndash; said he had planned to resign for weeks. Turns out both sides were right. But that is only the start of a tale in which the final chapters are not yet written.

Within hours of leaving his post, Bannon was back as executive chairman of Breitbart. Staff at the right-wing publication, including senior editor Joel Pollak, had already declared &ldquo;#WAR&rdquo; on the White House as soon as their boss&rsquo;s departure was announced.

A Bannon friend said: &ldquo;Steve&rsquo;s unchained. Fully unchained.&rdquo; Another said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s now a Democrat White House&rdquo;.

At a staff meeting, Bannon refined the blunt declarations. The line that Trump himself would not be attacked was repackaged as a &ldquo;war for Trump&rdquo;. That war would be against Trump&rsquo;s enemies &ndash; but not the counter-protesters at Charlottesville or even the &ldquo;fake media&rdquo;. The war would be waged on those considered the president&rsquo;s foes within the White House.

Breitbart has already lined up its first target: national security adviser H R McMaster. The hard right had been set against McMaster since the spring, when he pushed Bannon off a key committee of the National Security Council. Then, with leverage from the appointment of Kelly as chief of staff, McMaster removed four of Bannon&rsquo;s allies from the council. This tussle led Bannon&rsquo;s camp to counter-attack on social media, calling for &ldquo;McMasterOut&rdquo;.

On the Sunday immediately following Bannon&rsquo;s departure from the White House, Breitbart led with an article: &ldquo;HR McMaster Endorsed Book That Advocates Quran-Kissing Apology Ceremonies.&rdquo; The next day the site was blaming McMaster for Trump&rsquo;s response to the deaths of ten sailors aboard the USS John McCain in a collision near Singapore. According to the article, McMaster failed to brief the president properly, which is why the commander in chief initially reacted to the news by saying &ldquo;that&rsquo;s too bad&rdquo;.

Bannon and his allies had been whipping up an electronic and social media campaign against McMaster for some time. They tried to rally opposition to a review of Afghanistan policy, with Bannon pushing for a privatisation of the US intervention.

The prelude to the war came after Charlottesville when Bannon supported Trump in his message that both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville &mdash; thereby tacitly supporting the white supremacists, even while other advisers warned him against such statements.

Kelly hit back. His allies spread stories that Trump disliked Bannon&rsquo;s leaking, especially about White House in-fighting, and the books and articles portraying the chief strategist as the power in the executive. Bannon also helped design his own demise &ndash; unwittingly or deliberately &ndash; by committing &ldquo;suicide by journalist&rdquo;. Piqued by a story in The American Prospect about North Korea, he called up the journalist to complain about the government&rsquo;s approach &ndash; which he blamed on generals like McMaster. The enemy, he said, was China in an economic war. He also boasted about his influence, claiming he could have people fired in the government.

The article was quickly presented to Trump. On Friday morning, in a staff meeting, the president said his right-hand ideologue would be leaving that day.

The beginning of the end

The Bannon-Breitbart campaign to vanquish McMaster, and then maybe National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, and then maybe Kelly, and then maybe even Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will get the publicity accorded to a dramatic story.

Framed as a valiant fight against the &ldquo;deep state&rdquo;, it will have its vocal partners. We&rsquo;ll hear from alt-right polemicist Mike Cernovich, who accused McMaster of manipulating intelligence reports to Trump. We&rsquo;ll also get insight from &ldquo;Pizzagate&rdquo; agitator Jack Posobiec, InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (&ldquo;McMaster&rsquo;s sold out&rdquo;), and even ex-KKK grand wizard David Duke.

It is unlikely to succeed. The retired generals in the White House have succeeded in containing the machinery around Trump, even if the president cannot be restrained on Twitter. They will have the power of executive agencies behind them. Most of the media will have no desire to aid and abet Bannon. Posobiec may appeal to the wonders of social media and InfoWars but, as Charlottesville showed, the alt-right is discovering that it may not even have a secure position on that battleground.

Still, the campaign will be a most unwelcome flank attack as Trump finds himself surrounded on all sides: the Russia investigation, the failure to pass a single major piece of legislation since January, the questions over ethics and conflicts of interests, the looming deadline for adoption of the federal government&rsquo;s budget, and the white supremacy spectre.

Once upon a time &ndash; even last week &ndash; the mantra &ldquo;Trump still has his base&rdquo; was being invoked to minimise the threat to the president. Now even that base is fragmenting.

For the occupant of the White House, it is now Total #WAR.

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-bannon-back-at-breitbart-what-will-war-mean-for-the-white-house-82787" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

&nbsp;

Bannon and his allies had been whipping up an electronic and social media campaign for a long time now.

Did Steve Bannon jump or was he pushed? Bannon’s opponents spoke of a firing, while his allies – and Bannon himself – said he had planned to resign for weeks. Turns out both sides were right. But that is only the start of a tale in which the final chapters are not yet written. Within hours of leaving his post, Bannon was back as executive chairman of Breitbart. Staff at the right-wing publication, including senior editor Joel Pollak, had already declared “#WAR” on the White House as soon as their boss’s departure was announced. A Bannon friend said: “Steve’s unchained. Fully unchained.” Another said: “It’s now a Democrat White House”. At a staff meeting, Bannon refined the blunt declarations. The line that Trump himself would not be attacked was repackaged as a “war for Trump”. That war would be against Trump’s enemies – but not the counter-protesters at Charlottesville or even the “fake media”. The war would be waged on those considered the president’s foes within the White House. Breitbart has already lined up its first target: national security adviser H R McMaster. The hard right had been set against McMaster since the spring, when he pushed Bannon off a key committee of the National Security Council. Then, with leverage from the appointment of Kelly as chief of staff, McMaster removed four of Bannon’s allies from the council. This tussle led Bannon’s camp to counter-attack on social media, calling for “McMasterOut”. On the Sunday immediately following Bannon’s departure from the White House, Breitbart led with an article: “HR McMaster Endorsed Book That Advocates Quran-Kissing Apology Ceremonies.” The next day the site was blaming McMaster for Trump’s response to the deaths of ten sailors aboard the USS John McCain in a collision near Singapore. According to the article, McMaster failed to brief the president properly, which is why the commander in chief initially reacted to the news by saying “that’s too bad”. Bannon and his allies had been whipping up an electronic and social media campaign against McMaster for some time. They tried to rally opposition to a review of Afghanistan policy, with Bannon pushing for a privatisation of the US intervention. The prelude to the war came after Charlottesville when Bannon supported Trump in his message that both sides were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville — thereby tacitly supporting the white supremacists, even while other advisers warned him against such statements. Kelly hit back. His allies spread stories that Trump disliked Bannon’s leaking, especially about White House in-fighting, and the books and articles portraying the chief strategist as the power in the executive. Bannon also helped design his own demise – unwittingly or deliberately – by committing “suicide by journalist”. Piqued by a story in The American Prospect about North Korea, he called up the journalist to complain about the government’s approach – which he blamed on generals like McMaster. The enemy, he said, was China in an economic war. He also boasted about his influence, claiming he could have people fired in the government. The article was quickly presented to Trump. On Friday morning, in a staff meeting, the president said his right-hand ideologue would be leaving that day. The beginning of the end The Bannon-Breitbart campaign to vanquish McMaster, and then maybe National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, and then maybe Kelly, and then maybe even Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will get the publicity accorded to a dramatic story. Framed as a valiant fight against the “deep state”, it will have its vocal partners. We’ll hear from alt-right polemicist Mike Cernovich, who accused McMaster of manipulating intelligence reports to Trump. We’ll also get insight from “Pizzagate” agitator Jack Posobiec, InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones (“McMaster’s sold out”), and even ex-KKK grand wizard David Duke. It is unlikely to succeed. The retired generals in the White House have succeeded in containing the machinery around Trump, even if the president cannot be restrained on Twitter. They will have the power of executive agencies behind them. Most of the media will have no desire to aid and abet Bannon. Posobiec may appeal to the wonders of social media and InfoWars but, as Charlottesville showed, the alt-right is discovering that it may not even have a secure position on that battleground. Still, the campaign will be a most unwelcome flank attack as Trump finds himself surrounded on all sides: the Russia investigation, the failure to pass a single major piece of legislation since January, the questions over ethics and conflicts of interests, the looming deadline for adoption of the federal government’s budget, and the white supremacy spectre. Once upon a time – even last week – the mantra “Trump still has his base” was being invoked to minimise the threat to the president. Now even that base is fragmenting. For the occupant of the White House, it is now Total #WAR. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Opinion:  For Trump, it is now Total #WAR from Bannon

US President Donald Trump lashed out at a bombshell-filled book that hits the shelves on Friday, dismissing it as &quot;full of lies&quot; after threats of legal action failed to block its release.

Publishers responded to a cease-and-desist letter by moving forward by four days the release of &quot;Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House&quot; -- an expose by author and political muckraker Michael Wolff that quotes key Trump aides expressing serious doubt about his fitness for office.

&quot;I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for the author of the phony book! I never spoke to him for the book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don`t exist,&quot; Trump tweeted.

&quot;Look at this guy`s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!&quot; Trump wrote -- a possible reference to Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist, or Steve Rubin, the publisher of Wolff`s book.

The book -- which paints Trump as mentally unstable and far out of his depth -- includes extensive quotes from Bannon, who also received a &quot;cease and desist&quot; order from Trump`s attorneys.

&quot;Your publication of the false/baseless statements about Mr. Trump gives rise to, among other claims, defamation by libel, defamation by libel per se, false light invasion of privacy, tortious interference with contractual relations, and inducement of breach of contract,&quot; Trump`s lawyers said in the letter to Wolff.

In the book, excerpts of which were published this week, Bannon is quoted accusing Trump`s eldest son Don Jr of &quot;treasonous&quot; contacts with a Kremlin-connected lawyer, and saying the president`s daughter Ivanka, who imagines running for president one day, is &quot;dumb as a brick.&quot;But it is Trump himself who is cast in the most unfavorable light by a series of his top aides.

The book claims that for &quot;Steve Mnuchin and Reince Priebus, the president was an `idiot.` For Gary Cohn, he was `dumb as shit.` For H.R. McMaster, he was a `dope.` The list went on.&quot;

White House issued a scorched-earth dismissal of the book, its author and his sources.

&quot;I don`t think (Americans) really care about some trash that an author that no one had ever heard of until today, or a fired employee, wants to peddle,&quot; said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, calling the book &quot;complete fantasy.&quot;

Behind the scenes, though, Trump has been enraged by the betrayal by Bannon -- a man who engineered the New York real estate mogul`s link to the nationalist far right and helped create a pro-Trump media ecosystem.&nbsp;

&quot;He called me a great man last night. He obviously changed his tune pretty quick,&quot; Trump said in the White House`s Roosevelt Room Thursday.&nbsp;

Sanders suggested that Bannon`s employer, Breitbart News, should consider firing him.He wasn`t fired, but Bannon`s main financial backer is formally cutting ties with him, The Washington Post reported.

&quot;I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected,&quot; the newspaper quoted billionaire conservative donor Rebekah Mercer as saying.

Her family has had no contact with Bannon for months, nor has it given money to support his political agenda, &quot;nor do we support his recent actions and statements,&quot; she was quoted as saying.

Bannon, who left the White House in August, is also quoted in the book as saying that the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 election will focus on money laundering.

The investigation by Mueller, a former FBI director, is looking into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to help get him elected -- a charge the president has repeatedly and vehemently denied. 
Russia-related allegations in the book also ensnare Don Junior, who took a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016 after an intermediary promised material that would incriminate Trump`s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Trump`s son-in-law Jared Kushner and then campaign chairman Paul Manafort also attended the meeting at Trump Tower in New York.&quot;The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor -- with no lawyers,&quot; Bannon was quoted as saying in the book.&nbsp;

&quot;Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad shit, and I happen to think it`s all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately,&quot; he said.

Wolff`s book -- which he says is based on interviews with Trump, his senior aides and others -- makes a litany of shocking claims, including Trump`s belief that he installed Mohammed bin Salman as Saudi Arabia`s crown prince.

&quot;We`ve put our man on top,&quot; Trump is said to have claimed to friends.&nbsp;

The book also claims that Trump considered appointing a friend to the Supreme Court vacancy filled by Neil Gorsuch, eats food from McDonald`s because he believes it to be safe from poison, and that his team did not believe he was capable of winning the election.

&quot;Shortly after 8 p.m. on Election Night, when the unexpected trend -- Trump might actually win -- seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears -- and not of joy,&quot; it said.

"I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don`t exist," Trump tweeted.

US President Donald Trump lashed out at a bombshell-filled book that hits the shelves on Friday, dismissing it as "full of lies" after threats of legal action failed to block its release. Publishers responded to a cease-and-desist letter by moving forward by four days the release of "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" -- an expose by author and political muckraker Michael Wolff that quotes key Trump aides expressing serious doubt about his fitness for office. "I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for the author of the phony book! I never spoke to him for the book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don`t exist," Trump tweeted. "Look at this guy`s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!" Trump wrote -- a possible reference to Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist, or Steve Rubin, the publisher of Wolff`s book. The book -- which paints Trump as mentally unstable and far out of his depth -- includes extensive quotes from Bannon, who also received a "cease and desist" order from Trump`s attorneys. "Your publication of the false/baseless statements about Mr. Trump gives rise to, among other claims, defamation by libel, defamation by libel per se, false light invasion of privacy, tortious interference with contractual relations, and inducement of breach of contract," Trump`s lawyers said in the letter to Wolff. In the book, excerpts of which were published this week, Bannon is quoted accusing Trump`s eldest son Don Jr of "treasonous" contacts with a Kremlin-connected lawyer, and saying the president`s daughter Ivanka, who imagines running for president one day, is "dumb as a brick."But it is Trump himself who is cast in the most unfavorable light by a series of his top aides. The book claims that for "Steve Mnuchin and Reince Priebus, the president was an `idiot.` For Gary Cohn, he was `dumb as shit.` For H.R. McMaster, he was a `dope.` The list went on." White House issued a scorched-earth dismissal of the book, its author and his sources. "I don`t think (Americans) really care about some trash that an author that no one had ever heard of until today, or a fired employee, wants to peddle," said White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, calling the book "complete fantasy." Behind the scenes, though, Trump has been enraged by the betrayal by Bannon -- a man who engineered the New York real estate mogul`s link to the nationalist far right and helped create a pro-Trump media ecosystem. "He called me a great man last night. He obviously changed his tune pretty quick," Trump said in the White House`s Roosevelt Room Thursday. Sanders suggested that Bannon`s employer, Breitbart News, should consider firing him.He wasn`t fired, but Bannon`s main financial backer is formally cutting ties with him, The Washington Post reported. "I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected," the newspaper quoted billionaire conservative donor Rebekah Mercer as saying. Her family has had no contact with Bannon for months, nor has it given money to support his political agenda, "nor do we support his recent actions and statements," she was quoted as saying. Bannon, who left the White House in August, is also quoted in the book as saying that the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 election will focus on money laundering. The investigation by Mueller, a former FBI director, is looking into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to help get him elected -- a charge the president has repeatedly and vehemently denied. Russia-related allegations in the book also ensnare Don Junior, who took a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016 after an intermediary promised material that would incriminate Trump`s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Trump`s son-in-law Jared Kushner and then campaign chairman Paul Manafort also attended the meeting at Trump Tower in New York."The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor -- with no lawyers," Bannon was quoted as saying in the book. "Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad shit, and I happen to think it`s all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately," he said. Wolff`s book -- which he says is based on interviews with Trump, his senior aides and others -- makes a litany of shocking claims, including Trump`s belief that he installed Mohammed bin Salman as Saudi Arabia`s crown prince. "We`ve put our man on top," Trump is said to have claimed to friends. The book also claims that Trump considered appointing a friend to the Supreme Court vacancy filled by Neil Gorsuch, eats food from McDonald`s because he believes it to be safe from poison, and that his team did not believe he was capable of winning the election. "Shortly after 8 p.m. on Election Night, when the unexpected trend -- Trump might actually win -- seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears -- and not of joy," it said.

Trump lashes out at bombshell book after failing to block release

The White House has said it would announce specific actions against Pakistan this week to force it to crack down on terrorists on its soil, reflecting president Donald Trump&#39;s tough stance against the country over the issue.

The remarks by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders came after Trump accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but &quot;lies and deceit&quot; and providing &quot;safe haven&quot; to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

&quot;They can do more to stop terrorism and we want them to do that,&quot; Sanders said.

The White House said it would likely announce actions to pressure Pakistan within days.

&quot;We&#39;ll continue to keep you posted as those decisions are finalised,&quot; Sanders said.

&quot;In terms of specific actions, I think you will see some more details come out on that in the next 24 to 48 hours...&quot; Sanders told reporters on Tuesday during a news conference in which she asked Pakistan to step up its actions against terrorists and militant groups operating from its soil.

Fox News reported that the announcement in this regard is expected Thursday.

However, there was no response from the White House on the timing and nature of such an announcement.

On Monday, in his first tweet of the year, Trump said that the US has &quot;foolishly&quot; given Pakistan more than USD 33 billion in aid over the last 15 years.

A day later, the White House said that it was suspended USD 255 million financial security assistance to Pakistan as mandated by Congress in its 2016 budget.

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley also accused Pakistan of playing a &quot;double game&quot; by claiming to support the US-led war against terrorism while providing a haven to terrorist groups.

Pakistan has expressed &quot;deep disappointment&quot; over the US statements, saying the accusations strike with &quot;great insensitivity&quot; at the trust between the two countries.

Pakistan&#39;s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in a tweet challenged President Trump&#39;s claim that the US has given Pakistan more than USD 33 billion dollars as aid over the last 15 years, saying verification by an audit firm would prove the US president wrong.&nbsp;

The remarks by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders came after Trump accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit"

The White House has said it would announce specific actions against Pakistan this week to force it to crack down on terrorists on its soil, reflecting president Donald Trump's tough stance against the country over the issue. The remarks by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders came after Trump accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years. "They can do more to stop terrorism and we want them to do that," Sanders said. The White House said it would likely announce actions to pressure Pakistan within days. "We'll continue to keep you posted as those decisions are finalised," Sanders said. "In terms of specific actions, I think you will see some more details come out on that in the next 24 to 48 hours..." Sanders told reporters on Tuesday during a news conference in which she asked Pakistan to step up its actions against terrorists and militant groups operating from its soil. Fox News reported that the announcement in this regard is expected Thursday. However, there was no response from the White House on the timing and nature of such an announcement. On Monday, in his first tweet of the year, Trump said that the US has "foolishly" given Pakistan more than USD 33 billion in aid over the last 15 years. A day later, the White House said that it was suspended USD 255 million financial security assistance to Pakistan as mandated by Congress in its 2016 budget. US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley also accused Pakistan of playing a "double game" by claiming to support the US-led war against terrorism while providing a haven to terrorist groups. Pakistan has expressed "deep disappointment" over the US statements, saying the accusations strike with "great insensitivity" at the trust between the two countries. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in a tweet challenged President Trump's claim that the US has given Pakistan more than USD 33 billion dollars as aid over the last 15 years, saying verification by an audit firm would prove the US president wrong.

US to announce more specific actions against Pakistan

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believes he will be fairly treated in a special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election, but said he did not know how long the probe would last.

The federal investigation has hung over Trump&#39;s White House since he took office almost a year ago, and some Trump allies have in recent weeks accused the team of Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller of being biased against the Republican president.

But in an interview with the New York Times, Trump appeared to shrug off concerns about the investigation, which was prompted by U.S. intelligence agencies&#39; conclusion that Russia tried to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton by hacking and releasing embarrassing emails and disseminating propaganda.

&quot;There&#39;s been no collusion. But I think he&#39;s going to be fair,&quot; Trump said in what the Times described as a 30-minute impromptu interview at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Mueller has charged four Trump associates in his investigation. Russia has denied interfering in the U.S. election.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said this month that he was not aware of any impropriety by Mueller&#39;s team.

Trump&#39;s lawyers have been saying for weeks that they had expected the Mueller investigation to wrap up quickly, possibly by the end of 2017. Mueller has not commented on how long it will last.

Trump told the Times that he did not know how long the investigation would take. &quot;Timing-wise, I can&#39;t tell you. I just don&#39;t know,&quot; he said.

Trump said he thought a prolonged probe &quot;makes the country look bad&quot; but said it has energized his core supporters.

&quot;What it&#39;s done is, it&#39;s really angered the base and made the base stronger. My base is strong than it&#39;s ever been,&quot; he said.

Break from Golf

 
The interview was a rare break in Trump&#39;s Christmas vacation in Florida. He has golfed each day aside from Christmas Day, and mainly kept a low profile, apart from the occasional flurry of tweets.

He spent one day golfing with Republican Senator David Perdue from Georgia, who has pushed legislation to cap immigration numbers, and had dinner on Thursday with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, an international trade hawk.

Trump told the Times he hoped to work with Democrats in the U.S. Congress on a spending plan to fix roads and other infrastructure, and on protections for a group of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.

Trump spoke about trade issues, saying he had backed off his hard line on Chinese trade practices in the hope that Beijing would do more to pressure North Korea to end its nuclear and missile testing program. He said he had been disappointed in the results.

He also complained about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which his administration is attempting to renegotiate in talks with Mexico and Canada.

Trump said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had played down the importance of Canadian oil and lumber exports to the United States when looking at the balance of trade between the two countries.

&quot;If I don&rsquo;t make the right deal, I&rsquo;ll terminate NAFTA in two seconds. But we&rsquo;re doing pretty good,&quot; Trump said.

Mueller has charged four Trump associates in his investigation. Russia has denied interfering in the U.S. election.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believes he will be fairly treated in a special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election, but said he did not know how long the probe would last. The federal investigation has hung over Trump's White House since he took office almost a year ago, and some Trump allies have in recent weeks accused the team of Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller of being biased against the Republican president. But in an interview with the New York Times, Trump appeared to shrug off concerns about the investigation, which was prompted by U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Russia tried to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton by hacking and releasing embarrassing emails and disseminating propaganda. "There's been no collusion. But I think he's going to be fair," Trump said in what the Times described as a 30-minute impromptu interview at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Mueller has charged four Trump associates in his investigation. Russia has denied interfering in the U.S. election. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said this month that he was not aware of any impropriety by Mueller's team. Trump's lawyers have been saying for weeks that they had expected the Mueller investigation to wrap up quickly, possibly by the end of 2017. Mueller has not commented on how long it will last. Trump told the Times that he did not know how long the investigation would take. "Timing-wise, I can't tell you. I just don't know," he said. Trump said he thought a prolonged probe "makes the country look bad" but said it has energized his core supporters. "What it's done is, it's really angered the base and made the base stronger. My base is strong than it's ever been," he said. Break from Golf The interview was a rare break in Trump's Christmas vacation in Florida. He has golfed each day aside from Christmas Day, and mainly kept a low profile, apart from the occasional flurry of tweets. He spent one day golfing with Republican Senator David Perdue from Georgia, who has pushed legislation to cap immigration numbers, and had dinner on Thursday with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, an international trade hawk. Trump told the Times he hoped to work with Democrats in the U.S. Congress on a spending plan to fix roads and other infrastructure, and on protections for a group of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. Trump spoke about trade issues, saying he had backed off his hard line on Chinese trade practices in the hope that Beijing would do more to pressure North Korea to end its nuclear and missile testing program. He said he had been disappointed in the results. He also complained about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which his administration is attempting to renegotiate in talks with Mexico and Canada. Trump said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had played down the importance of Canadian oil and lumber exports to the United States when looking at the balance of trade between the two countries. "If I don’t make the right deal, I’ll terminate NAFTA in two seconds. But we’re doing pretty good," Trump said.

Trump says Russia probe will be fair, but timeline unclear: Report

The US is not satisfied with Pakistan&#39;s cooperation in the war against terror as it has not done &quot;anything significant&quot; to rein-in the Taliban and the Haqqani network and destroy their sanctuary on its territory as part of its promise, a senior White House official has said.

He also termed the release of Mumbai-terror attack accused Hafiz Saeed as &quot;a step backward&quot; in that direction.

The official said that the release of the Coleman family, held captive for five years by the Haqqani network, from inside Pakistan was &quot;not an indication&quot; of Islamabad&#39;s cooperation with the US in the war against terrorism.

Based on the intelligence shared by the US, in October, the Pakistan Army rescued Caitlan Coleman, her husband Joshua Boyle and their three children after five years of their abduction by terrorists having ties to the Afghan Taliban from the mountainous Kurram Valley region, bordering Afghanistan.

&quot;Our diplomatic pressure, as well as our own intelligence agencies diligent work led to the release of the Coleman family. So, I am not sure if that qualifies as step forward (by Pakistan as part of the South Asia Strategy announced by President Donald Trump in August),&quot; the official told PTI.

&quot;We are happy that the Colemans are free and that they have been released. But we are still waiting to see Pakistan take steps to rein in the Taliban and the Haqqani network. We are not satisfied that they have done anything significant on this front,&quot; he said.

The US, the official said, has now a different approach to Pakistan. &quot;We expect, Pakistan to take steps against terror sanctuary on its territory&quot;.

Acknowledging that Pakistan has not taken steps it promised after the announcement of the South Asia Strategy, the senior administration official said that the White House is still hopeful that Pakistan sees that it is in its interest to co-operate on the US strategy in Afghanistan.

&quot;But we have not yet seen any significant changes. We still remain hopeful. And we recognise that some of these changes take a bit of time and wouldn&#39;t necessarily occur overnight.

&quot;But we will expect to see these changes within a certain time-frame. Our patience is not unlimited when it comes to the steps that we expect them to take,&quot; he said.

The Trump Administration has been very specific with Pakistan on the steps that it needs to take, we have laid out very specific steps that they need to take to degrade these groups activities and to facilitate a genuine dialogue, the official said.

&quot;But, I don&#39;t think we have seen any significant steps in that direction. So, we are still waiting and watching and monitoring (Pakistan) very closely. And we&#39;re still hopeful that we will see Pakistan take some of those steps to crack down on the Taliban, the Haqqani network, and ensure that there are no safe havens, for these groups to continue operating inside Pakistan,&quot; he added.

The US, the official said, would be looking for very specific action from Pakistan within coming weeks and months.

He said that by spring, the Trump Administration would hope to see some real efforts on &quot;genuine&quot; peace process, as it is not interested in talks for talk&#39;s sake.

&quot;We would like to see a genuine peace dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban. We know that the Taliban has made gains for the last several years. So until they are convinced that they are not going to have sanctuary in Pakistan, we don&#39;t believe they&#39;ll be ready for talks.

&quot;They will continue to believe that they can advance on the battlefield rather than on the negotiating table,&quot; he said, adding &quot;so, we need to see Pakistan ensures that they don&#39;t have a sanctuary within Pakistan. And only at that time we assess that they&#39;ll really be ready for genuine negotiations with the Afghan government&quot;.

The White House official, however, refused to give any timeline for actions on Pakistan, saying he thinks that it would not be helpful.

&quot;But I just want to assure you that that we are thinking in terms of timelines and we are monitoring the progress and we do expect meaningful actions in a certain time-frame and we are prepared to implement new policies and take different steps if we don&#39;t see some progress,&quot; he said.

The US is not satisfied with Pakistan's cooperation in the war against terror as it has not done "anything significant" to rein-in the Taliban and the Haqqani network and destroy their sanctuary on its territory as part of its promise, a senior White House official has said

The US is not satisfied with Pakistan's cooperation in the war against terror as it has not done "anything significant" to rein-in the Taliban and the Haqqani network and destroy their sanctuary on its territory as part of its promise, a senior White House official has said. He also termed the release of Mumbai-terror attack accused Hafiz Saeed as "a step backward" in that direction. The official said that the release of the Coleman family, held captive for five years by the Haqqani network, from inside Pakistan was "not an indication" of Islamabad's cooperation with the US in the war against terrorism. Based on the intelligence shared by the US, in October, the Pakistan Army rescued Caitlan Coleman, her husband Joshua Boyle and their three children after five years of their abduction by terrorists having ties to the Afghan Taliban from the mountainous Kurram Valley region, bordering Afghanistan. "Our diplomatic pressure, as well as our own intelligence agencies diligent work led to the release of the Coleman family. So, I am not sure if that qualifies as step forward (by Pakistan as part of the South Asia Strategy announced by President Donald Trump in August)," the official told PTI. "We are happy that the Colemans are free and that they have been released. But we are still waiting to see Pakistan take steps to rein in the Taliban and the Haqqani network. We are not satisfied that they have done anything significant on this front," he said. The US, the official said, has now a different approach to Pakistan. "We expect, Pakistan to take steps against terror sanctuary on its territory". Acknowledging that Pakistan has not taken steps it promised after the announcement of the South Asia Strategy, the senior administration official said that the White House is still hopeful that Pakistan sees that it is in its interest to co-operate on the US strategy in Afghanistan. "But we have not yet seen any significant changes. We still remain hopeful. And we recognise that some of these changes take a bit of time and wouldn't necessarily occur overnight. "But we will expect to see these changes within a certain time-frame. Our patience is not unlimited when it comes to the steps that we expect them to take," he said. The Trump Administration has been very specific with Pakistan on the steps that it needs to take, we have laid out very specific steps that they need to take to degrade these groups activities and to facilitate a genuine dialogue, the official said. "But, I don't think we have seen any significant steps in that direction. So, we are still waiting and watching and monitoring (Pakistan) very closely. And we're still hopeful that we will see Pakistan take some of those steps to crack down on the Taliban, the Haqqani network, and ensure that there are no safe havens, for these groups to continue operating inside Pakistan," he added. The US, the official said, would be looking for very specific action from Pakistan within coming weeks and months. He said that by spring, the Trump Administration would hope to see some real efforts on "genuine" peace process, as it is not interested in talks for talk's sake. "We would like to see a genuine peace dialogue between the Afghan government and the Taliban. We know that the Taliban has made gains for the last several years. So until they are convinced that they are not going to have sanctuary in Pakistan, we don't believe they'll be ready for talks. "They will continue to believe that they can advance on the battlefield rather than on the negotiating table," he said, adding "so, we need to see Pakistan ensures that they don't have a sanctuary within Pakistan. And only at that time we assess that they'll really be ready for genuine negotiations with the Afghan government". The White House official, however, refused to give any timeline for actions on Pakistan, saying he thinks that it would not be helpful. "But I just want to assure you that that we are thinking in terms of timelines and we are monitoring the progress and we do expect meaningful actions in a certain time-frame and we are prepared to implement new policies and take different steps if we don't see some progress," he said.

Pakistan hasn't done anything significant in war against terror: US

A British woman who was wrongly tagged by US President Donald Trump on Twitter mistaking her for UK Prime Minister Theresa May, has sought an apology from the White House,&nbsp;

Theresa May Scrivener, a housewife, said she has been unable to leave her home.

Scrivener, who lives in the coastal town of Bognor in West Sussex, used her middle name when she set up her Twitter handle @TheresaMay in 2009.

Trump tagged that handle instead of the British Prime Minister&#39;s handle before deleting the message to send it to the correct handle: &quot;@Theresa_May don&#39;t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!&quot;.

Trump&#39;s tweet was a response to the British Prime Minister&#39;s rebuke that the US President was &quot;wrong&quot; to re-tweet controversial anti-Muslim videos posted by British far-right group Britain First.

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.<a href="https://twitter.com/theresa_may?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Theresa_May</a>, don&rsquo;t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/936037588372283392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&quot;It&#39;s amazing to think that the world&#39;s most powerful man managed to press the wrong button. I&#39;m just waiting for a call from the White House with an apology,&quot; said Scrivener, who has been bombarded by messages from contrite Americans apologising for their President.

&quot;I haven&#39;t been able to leave my house. I&#39;ve been bombarded and been contacted by press from around the world... I&#39;m just glad he was not contacting me to say he was going to war with North Korea,&quot; the 41-year-old said.

Scrivener, whose Twitter account has just six followers compared with Prime Minister May&#39;s 427,000, has said she has no plans of changing her social media account name.

&quot;He [Trump] needs to think before he tweets. We - Theresa May and I - are so different. Our profiles are completely different. She runs the country, I&#39;m a mum from Bognor,&quot; she said, refusing to be drawn any further into the controversy over the content of Us President&#39;s tweets.

Trump&#39;s re-tweet of three videos first posted by Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First, has created a major uproar in the UK.

Several MPs have demanded that a state visit invitation, extended to the US President on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, be withdrawn in protest.&nbsp;

Scrivener, who lives in the coastal town of Bognor in West Sussex, used her middle name when she set up her Twitter handle @TheresaMay in 2009.

A British woman who was wrongly tagged by US President Donald Trump on Twitter mistaking her for UK Prime Minister Theresa May, has sought an apology from the White House, Theresa May Scrivener, a housewife, said she has been unable to leave her home. Scrivener, who lives in the coastal town of Bognor in West Sussex, used her middle name when she set up her Twitter handle @TheresaMay in 2009. Trump tagged that handle instead of the British Prime Minister's handle before deleting the message to send it to the correct handle: "@Theresa_May don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!". Trump's tweet was a response to the British Prime Minister's rebuke that the US President was "wrong" to re-tweet controversial anti-Muslim videos posted by British far-right group Britain First. .@Theresa_May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2017 × "It's amazing to think that the world's most powerful man managed to press the wrong button. I'm just waiting for a call from the White House with an apology," said Scrivener, who has been bombarded by messages from contrite Americans apologising for their President. "I haven't been able to leave my house. I've been bombarded and been contacted by press from around the world... I'm just glad he was not contacting me to say he was going to war with North Korea," the 41-year-old said. Scrivener, whose Twitter account has just six followers compared with Prime Minister May's 427,000, has said she has no plans of changing her social media account name. "He [Trump] needs to think before he tweets. We - Theresa May and I - are so different. Our profiles are completely different. She runs the country, I'm a mum from Bognor," she said, refusing to be drawn any further into the controversy over the content of Us President's tweets. Trump's re-tweet of three videos first posted by Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First, has created a major uproar in the UK. Several MPs have demanded that a state visit invitation, extended to the US President on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II, be withdrawn in protest.

Wrong 'Theresa May' tagged by Trump on Twitter demands apology

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday dismissed reports that President Donald Trump wants him to resign.

Asked by reporters whether leaks from the White House were designed to force him out, Tillerson said: &quot;It&#39;s laughable.&quot;

The Newyork Times first reported that the White House had developed a plan to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Mike Pompeo, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, within weeks, a senior Trump administration official said on Thursday.

Under the plan, Republican Senator Tom Cotton would be tapped to replace Pompeo at the CIA, the New York Times reported, citing senior officials.

The Times, the first to report the plan, said it was not immediately clear whether President Donald Trump had given final approval to the shakeup.

Asked by reporters whether leaks from the White House were designed to force him out, Tillerson said: "It`s laughable."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday dismissed reports that President Donald Trump wants him to resign. Asked by reporters whether leaks from the White House were designed to force him out, Tillerson said: "It's laughable." The Newyork Times first reported that the White House had developed a plan to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Mike Pompeo, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, within weeks, a senior Trump administration official said on Thursday. Under the plan, Republican Senator Tom Cotton would be tapped to replace Pompeo at the CIA, the New York Times reported, citing senior officials. The Times, the first to report the plan, said it was not immediately clear whether President Donald Trump had given final approval to the shakeup.

'It's laughable,' says Tillerson on Trump firing him

The White House has developed a plan to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Mike Pompeo, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, within weeks, a senior Trump administration official said on Thursday.

Under the plan, Republican Senator Tom Cotton would be tapped to replace Pompeo at the CIA, the New York Times reported, citing senior officials.

The Times, the first to report the plan, said it was not immediately clear whether President Donald Trump had given final approval to the shakeup.

Tillerson&#39;s departure would end a troubled tenure for the former Exxon Mobile chief executive who has found himself increasingly at odds with Trump over policy challenges such as North Korea and under fire for his planned cuts at the State Department.

John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, developed the transition plan and has discussed it with other officials, the Times reported. Under his plan, the staff reshuffle would happen around the end of the year or shortly afterwards.

Tillerson&#39;s departure has been widely rumoured for months, with attention focused on Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as his likely replacement.

But Pompeo, a former three-term member of Congress, has increasingly moved to the forefront as he has gained Trump&#39;s trust on national security matters.

Under the plan, Republican Senator Tom Cotton would be tapped to replace Pompeo at the CIA, the New York Times reported, citing senior officials

The White House has developed a plan to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with Mike Pompeo, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, within weeks, a senior Trump administration official said on Thursday. Under the plan, Republican Senator Tom Cotton would be tapped to replace Pompeo at the CIA, the New York Times reported, citing senior officials. The Times, the first to report the plan, said it was not immediately clear whether President Donald Trump had given final approval to the shakeup. Tillerson's departure would end a troubled tenure for the former Exxon Mobile chief executive who has found himself increasingly at odds with Trump over policy challenges such as North Korea and under fire for his planned cuts at the State Department. John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, developed the transition plan and has discussed it with other officials, the Times reported. Under his plan, the staff reshuffle would happen around the end of the year or shortly afterwards. Tillerson's departure has been widely rumoured for months, with attention focused on Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as his likely replacement. But Pompeo, a former three-term member of Congress, has increasingly moved to the forefront as he has gained Trump's trust on national security matters.

White House has plan to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA chief: US official

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders stressed the importance of the UN-led peace process in resolving the Syrian civil war, the White House said in a statement.

In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin also agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State, the statement said.

In addition, the two leaders discussed how to achieve peace in Ukraine and the need to keep the pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear programme, it said.

In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State

US President Donald Trump spoke on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders stressed the importance of the UN-led peace process in resolving the Syrian civil war, the White House said in a statement. In the more than hour-long phone call, Trump and Putin also agreed to explore ways to cooperate in the fight against militant groups such as Islamic State, the statement said. In addition, the two leaders discussed how to achieve peace in Ukraine and the need to keep the pressure on North Korea to end its nuclear programme, it said.

Trump, Putin discuss support for UN peace process in Syria: White House

US President Donald Trump will not hold a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam, the White House said Friday after the two countries sent mixed messages about the encounter.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have plummeted as a US probe has accused Trump&#39;s former campaign aides of secretly meeting Kremlin-connected officials -a charge Moscow denies.

Both leaders are attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in the city of Danang and there had been conflicting indications as to whether a face-to-face was on the cards.

&quot;Regarding a Putin meeting, there was never a meeting confirmed, and there will not be one that takes place due to scheduling conflicts on both sides,&quot; press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters just before Air Force One touched down in the Vietnamese beach resort city.

However, Moscow on Friday was holding out for a potential meeting between the two leaders, who will be in Vietnam for the next two days.

&quot;There is no clarity yet,&quot; Putin&#39;s spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies, adding that officials were &quot;continuing&quot; attempts to agree on a meeting.

Both Moscow and Trump had previously suggested that talks were likely to take place.

On Sunday the US president said &quot;it&#39;s expected we&#39;ll meet with Putin&quot; to discuss North Korea&#39;s nuclear ambitions.

Four days later Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told Russian news agencies that the two would hold a meeting in Vietnam with the time and place still to be determined.

But hours later US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said no decision had been made on talks, which would be the first between the two men since they met at the G20 summit in Germany in July.

Trump&#39;s relationship with Moscow has haunted the first year of his administration.

His former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate are under house arrest on charges including conspiracy to launder money, linked to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into allegations that the campaign colluded with Russia.

Russia has denied allegations of interfering in the US election last year that brought Trump to power.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have plummeted as a US probe has accused Trump's former campaign aides of secretly meeting Kremlin-connected officials -a charge Moscow denies

US President Donald Trump will not hold a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam, the White House said Friday after the two countries sent mixed messages about the encounter. Relations between Moscow and Washington have plummeted as a US probe has accused Trump's former campaign aides of secretly meeting Kremlin-connected officials -a charge Moscow denies. Both leaders are attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in the city of Danang and there had been conflicting indications as to whether a face-to-face was on the cards. "Regarding a Putin meeting, there was never a meeting confirmed, and there will not be one that takes place due to scheduling conflicts on both sides," press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters just before Air Force One touched down in the Vietnamese beach resort city. However, Moscow on Friday was holding out for a potential meeting between the two leaders, who will be in Vietnam for the next two days. "There is no clarity yet," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies, adding that officials were "continuing" attempts to agree on a meeting. Both Moscow and Trump had previously suggested that talks were likely to take place. On Sunday the US president said "it's expected we'll meet with Putin" to discuss North Korea's nuclear ambitions. Four days later Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told Russian news agencies that the two would hold a meeting in Vietnam with the time and place still to be determined. But hours later US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said no decision had been made on talks, which would be the first between the two men since they met at the G20 summit in Germany in July. Trump's relationship with Moscow has haunted the first year of his administration. His former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate are under house arrest on charges including conspiracy to launder money, linked to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into allegations that the campaign colluded with Russia. Russia has denied allegations of interfering in the US election last year that brought Trump to power.

Trump will not meet with Putin in Vietnam: White House

A man is facing charges after he made a bomb threat, alleging that he &quot;dropped explosives&quot; along the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue near Lafayette Square and the White House.

In a statement, the United States Secret Service stated, &quot;Ervin Pettaway, 33, of Washington, DC, was charged with one count of felony threats.&quot;

The incident unfolded at 9:24 AM (local time) when a Secret Service officer patrolling in the area was told by a man that he had put explosives there.

The man identified as Ervin Pettaway was immediately taken into custody by the officer and all pedestrian and vehicular traffic was cleared from the area, the statement added.

The area was checked and a phone was found, which the officials said, was dropped by Pettaway.

No explosives were detected and the lockdown on the White House for a brief period was lifted at 10:23 am, the statement further said

The man alleged that he 'dropped explosives' along the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue near Lafayette Square and the White House

A man is facing charges after he made a bomb threat, alleging that he "dropped explosives" along the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue near Lafayette Square and the White House. In a statement, the United States Secret Service stated, "Ervin Pettaway, 33, of Washington, DC, was charged with one count of felony threats." The incident unfolded at 9:24 AM (local time) when a Secret Service officer patrolling in the area was told by a man that he had put explosives there. The man identified as Ervin Pettaway was immediately taken into custody by the officer and all pedestrian and vehicular traffic was cleared from the area, the statement added. The area was checked and a phone was found, which the officials said, was dropped by Pettaway. No explosives were detected and the lockdown on the White House for a brief period was lifted at 10:23 am, the statement further said

Man arrested for 'dropping explosives' at White House

Donald Trump&#39;s Twitter account vanished for 11 minutes on Thursday.&nbsp;

Visitors to&nbsp;@realDonaldTrump around 2300 GMT Thursday were greeted with the message &quot;Sorry, that page doesn&#39;t exist!&quot;

Given the US president&#39;s frequent use of the platform, it was speculated that Twitter had deliberately disabled Trump&#39;s account.&nbsp;

Twitter first blamed the deactivation to &quot;human error&quot;.&nbsp;

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Earlier today <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realdonaldtrump</a>&rsquo;s account was inadvertently deactivated due to human error by a Twitter employee. The account was down for 11 minutes, and has since been restored. We are continuing to investigate and are taking steps to prevent this from happening again.
&mdash; Twitter Government (@TwitterGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterGov/status/926238960594178048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-twitter-account-vanishes-briefly-23412" target="_blank">Also read:&nbsp;Trump&#39;s Twitter account vanishes, briefly</a>

It later said a departing worker was to blame.&nbsp;

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Through our investigation we have learned that this was done by a Twitter customer support employee who did this on the employee&rsquo;s last day. We are conducting a full internal review. <a href="https://t.co/mlarOgiaRF">https://t.co/mlarOgiaRF</a>
&mdash; Twitter Government (@TwitterGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterGov/status/926267806261407744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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That a customer support employee had disabled Trump&#39;s account on his last day at work.&nbsp;

And that they were &quot;conducting a full internal review&quot;.&nbsp;

The Twitterati have in the past accused Trump of violating the platform&#39;s guidelines -- by issuing a&nbsp;clear threat of violence.

Trump had at one time threatened that North Korea &ldquo;won&rsquo;t be around much longer&rdquo; if the country&rsquo;s leadership allowed hostile rhetoric against the United States to continue.

The North Korean government called it a declaration of war.&nbsp;

This time of course Twitter was able to see the humour in the temporary disabling:&nbsp;

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We&#39;ll never forget the 10 minutes of peace while Donald Trump&rsquo;s Twitter account was down.
&mdash; Luisa Haynes (@wokeluisa) <a href="https://twitter.com/wokeluisa/status/926231137869058053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Twitter HQ when they found out Donald Trump got deactivated for 11 minutes. <a href="https://t.co/dqu79C3x6Q">pic.twitter.com/dqu79C3x6Q</a>
&mdash; THANKFUL X (@XLNB) <a href="https://twitter.com/XLNB/status/926272156123652097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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New Twitter employee mistakenly deactivates Donald Trump&#39;s Twitter account <a href="https://t.co/gZ50xWC2bo">pic.twitter.com/gZ50xWC2bo</a>
&mdash; Alex Marr (@Alexmarr98) <a href="https://twitter.com/Alexmarr98/status/926266209452150784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Trump's Twitter account was disabled for 11 minutes

Donald Trump's Twitter account vanished for 11 minutes on Thursday. Visitors to @realDonaldTrump around 2300 GMT Thursday were greeted with the message "Sorry, that page doesn't exist!" Given the US president's frequent use of the platform, it was speculated that Twitter had deliberately disabled Trump's account. Twitter first blamed the deactivation to "human error". Earlier today @realdonaldtrump’s account was inadvertently deactivated due to human error by a Twitter employee. The account was down for 11 minutes, and has since been restored. We are continuing to investigate and are taking steps to prevent this from happening again. — Twitter Government (@TwitterGov) November 3, 2017 × Also read: Trump's Twitter account vanishes, briefly It later said a departing worker was to blame. Through our investigation we have learned that this was done by a Twitter customer support employee who did this on the employee’s last day. We are conducting a full internal review. https://t.co/mlarOgiaRF — Twitter Government (@TwitterGov) November 3, 2017 × That a customer support employee had disabled Trump's account on his last day at work. And that they were "conducting a full internal review". The Twitterati have in the past accused Trump of violating the platform's guidelines -- by issuing a clear threat of violence. Trump had at one time threatened that North Korea “won’t be around much longer” if the country’s leadership allowed hostile rhetoric against the United States to continue. The North Korean government called it a declaration of war. This time of course Twitter was able to see the humour in the temporary disabling: We'll never forget the 10 minutes of peace while Donald Trump’s Twitter account was down. — Luisa Haynes (@wokeluisa) November 2, 2017 × Twitter HQ when they found out Donald Trump got deactivated for 11 minutes. pic.twitter.com/dqu79C3x6Q — THANKFUL X (@XLNB) November 3, 2017 × New Twitter employee mistakenly deactivates Donald Trump's Twitter account pic.twitter.com/gZ50xWC2bo — Alex Marr (@Alexmarr98) November 3, 2017 ×

Trump Twitter account shut down by employee on last day of work

US President Donald Trump, known for his prolific and sometimes incendiary tweeting, defended his use of the social media platform in an interview aired Sunday, saying without it he might not be president.

&quot;I have friends that say &#39;Oh, don&rsquo;t use social media,&quot; the Republican leader - who boasts 40.9 million Twitter followers and tweets everything from policy announcements to personal attacks to threats against foreign nations - told the Fox News program Sunday Morning Futures.

&quot;But I doubt I would be here if it weren&#39;t for social media, to be honest with you.&quot;

&quot;Tweeting is like a typewriter,&quot; he said. &quot;When I put it out, you put it immediately on your show.&quot;

&quot;I mean, the other day I put something out. Two seconds later I`m watching your show - it is up.&quot;

Leaders from across the political spectrum have repeatedly urged Trump to rein in his frequent and controversial tweeting, which sometimes contains factual inaccuracies and has provoked ire among adversaries and allies on both the domestic and international levels.

On Thursday, former secretary of state John Kerry slammed the president&#39;s Twitter use for creating a destructive atmosphere of &quot;chaos politics.&quot;

But Trump emphasised that by using Twitter, as well as the platforms Facebook and Instagram, he can bypass media outlets that he says treat him &quot;unfairly.&quot;

&quot;When somebody says something about me, I&rsquo;m able to take care of it,&quot; he said. &quot;The other way I wouldn`t be able to get the word out.&quot;

The president also gave himself a pat on the back for the art of his posts, which often contain grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and misused punctuation.

&quot;They&rsquo;re well-crafted,&quot; he said of his tweets. &quot;I was always a good student.&quot;

"Tweeting is like a typewriter," he said. "When I put it out, you put it immediately on your show."

US President Donald Trump, known for his prolific and sometimes incendiary tweeting, defended his use of the social media platform in an interview aired Sunday, saying without it he might not be president. "I have friends that say 'Oh, don’t use social media," the Republican leader - who boasts 40.9 million Twitter followers and tweets everything from policy announcements to personal attacks to threats against foreign nations - told the Fox News program Sunday Morning Futures. "But I doubt I would be here if it weren't for social media, to be honest with you." "Tweeting is like a typewriter," he said. "When I put it out, you put it immediately on your show." "I mean, the other day I put something out. Two seconds later I`m watching your show - it is up." Leaders from across the political spectrum have repeatedly urged Trump to rein in his frequent and controversial tweeting, which sometimes contains factual inaccuracies and has provoked ire among adversaries and allies on both the domestic and international levels. On Thursday, former secretary of state John Kerry slammed the president's Twitter use for creating a destructive atmosphere of "chaos politics." But Trump emphasised that by using Twitter, as well as the platforms Facebook and Instagram, he can bypass media outlets that he says treat him "unfairly." "When somebody says something about me, I’m able to take care of it," he said. "The other way I wouldn`t be able to get the word out." The president also gave himself a pat on the back for the art of his posts, which often contain grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and misused punctuation. "They’re well-crafted," he said of his tweets. "I was always a good student."

Donald Trump touts Twitter use as key to White House win

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/white-house-probing-use-of-private-email-by-trump-aides-report-20811" target="_blank">White&nbsp;House</a>&nbsp;officials&nbsp;believe Chief of Staff John Kelly&#39;s personal cell phone was compromised, raising concerns that hackers or foreign governments may have had access to data on the phone, Politico reported on Thursday.

The suspected breach could have happened as long ago as December, Politico reported, citing three US&nbsp;government&nbsp;officials.

Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, joined the Trump administration in January as secretary of Homeland Security. He became&nbsp;White&nbsp;House&nbsp;chief of staff in July.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/kushner-used-personal-email-for-wh-business-20613" target="_blank">The&nbsp;White&nbsp;House&nbsp;did not immediately respond </a>to a request for comment from Reuters.

Politico reported that the suspected breach was discovered after Kelly turned his phone over toWhite&nbsp;House&nbsp;tech support this summer complaining that it was not working or properly updating software.

It was unclear what, if any, data may have been accessed, Politico reported.

Politico reported that a&nbsp;White&nbsp;House&nbsp;official said that Kelly had not used the personal phone often since joining the administration, instead relying on his government-issued phone for most communications.

White House officials believe Chief of Staff John Kelly's personal cell phone was compromised, raising concerns that hackers or foreign governments may have had access to data on the phone

White House officials believe Chief of Staff John Kelly's personal cell phone was compromised, raising concerns that hackers or foreign governments may have had access to data on the phone, Politico reported on Thursday. The suspected breach could have happened as long ago as December, Politico reported, citing three US government officials. Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, joined the Trump administration in January as secretary of Homeland Security. He became White House chief of staff in July. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Politico reported that the suspected breach was discovered after Kelly turned his phone over toWhite House tech support this summer complaining that it was not working or properly updating software. It was unclear what, if any, data may have been accessed, Politico reported. Politico reported that a White House official said that Kelly had not used the personal phone often since joining the administration, instead relying on his government-issued phone for most communications.

White House chief of staff's personal cellphone compromised - Politico

The White House has launched an internal probe of the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/kushner-used-personal-email-for-wh-business-20613"> use of private email for official business</a> by senior aides to President Donald Trump, news outlet Politico reported Thursday.

The administration is scouring the White House server for emails to and from private email accounts of these aides, Politico said, quoting four people familiar with the probe.

Politico said at least five current and former White House officials used private email to conduct government business: Trump&#39;s son in law and adviser Jared&nbsp;Kushner, daughter Ivanka, economic adviser Gary Cohn, former strategic adviser Steve Bannon and former chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Politico said the probe began this week after it reported private email use by&nbsp;Kushner.

The internal probe could take weeks or even months, it said.

Trump&#39;s White House legal staff is reviewing the accounts to see if any of the messages sent relate to the Russia probes being carried out by two congressional panels and special counsel Robert Mueller, Politico quoted one of its sources as saying.

As a candidate, Trump routinely attacked his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, telling supporters &quot;she has to go to jail&quot; over the affair.

Politico reported Monday that&nbsp;Kushner&nbsp;used a personal account to send messages to senior White House officials and outside advisers about media coverage, planning events, and other issues.

There is no suggestion the emails contained highly sensitive information or were classified, it added, but they could fall foul of the Presidential Records Act, which requires all documents related to the president&#39;s personal and political activities to be archived.

Kushner&#39;s numerous responsibilities within the Trump administration include trying to broker peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In addition to the email controversy,&nbsp;Kushner&nbsp;is facing scrutiny over the Trump campaign&#39;s alleged collusion with Russia to interfere in the 2016 US election, which is the subject of the probes in Congress and by Mueller.

The administration is scouring the White House server for emails to and from private email accounts of these aides, Politico said, quoting four people familiar with the probe

The White House has launched an internal probe of the use of private email for official business by senior aides to President Donald Trump, news outlet Politico reported Thursday. The administration is scouring the White House server for emails to and from private email accounts of these aides, Politico said, quoting four people familiar with the probe. Politico said at least five current and former White House officials used private email to conduct government business: Trump's son in law and adviser Jared Kushner, daughter Ivanka, economic adviser Gary Cohn, former strategic adviser Steve Bannon and former chief of staff Reince Priebus. Politico said the probe began this week after it reported private email use by Kushner. The internal probe could take weeks or even months, it said. Trump's White House legal staff is reviewing the accounts to see if any of the messages sent relate to the Russia probes being carried out by two congressional panels and special counsel Robert Mueller, Politico quoted one of its sources as saying. As a candidate, Trump routinely attacked his Democrat rival Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, telling supporters "she has to go to jail" over the affair. Politico reported Monday that Kushner used a personal account to send messages to senior White House officials and outside advisers about media coverage, planning events, and other issues. There is no suggestion the emails contained highly sensitive information or were classified, it added, but they could fall foul of the Presidential Records Act, which requires all documents related to the president's personal and political activities to be archived. Kushner's numerous responsibilities within the Trump administration include trying to broker peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In addition to the email controversy, Kushner is facing scrutiny over the Trump campaign's alleged collusion with Russia to interfere in the 2016 US election, which is the subject of the probes in Congress and by Mueller.

White House probing use of private email

Donald&nbsp;Trump&#39;s son-in-law and top&nbsp;aide, Jared&nbsp;Kushner, has been&nbsp;registered&nbsp;to&nbsp;vote&nbsp;as a&nbsp;woman&nbsp;for eight years, US media reported.

Voter information records held by New York show the presidential adviser&nbsp;whose portfolio includes everything from seeking peace in the Middle East to reining in the opioid crisis in the United States was&nbsp;registered&nbsp;as &quot;female.&quot;

The screenshot, published by Wired, is not the first time the young statesman has fallen foul of bureaucracy.&nbsp;(Also Read: <a href="http://http://www.wionews.com/world/jared-kushner-sought-secret-communications-line-with-russia-report-16095">Jared Kushner sought secret communications line with Russia: Report</a>)

Kushner, who is married to&nbsp;Trump&#39;s daughter Ivanka, also filled out paperwork for his White House security clearance wrongly and had to refile it repeatedly, CBS reported.

Prior to 2009,&nbsp;Kushner&#39;s New Jersey voter registration noted his gender as &quot;unknown,&quot; according to The Hill&nbsp;news site.

Kushner, the scion of a wealthy property-owning family, is one of a number of&nbsp;Trump&#39;s inner circle previously found to have been&nbsp;registered&nbsp;to&nbsp;vote&nbsp;in more than one state during last year&#39;s&nbsp;election, the Washington Post has reported.

Others include ex-White House press secretary Sean Spicer and ex-lead strategist Stephen Bannon.

Multiple registrations were pointed to by the president as a sign of purported widespread voter fraud in the 2016&nbsp;election.&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;said millions of people illegally cast votes for Hillary Clinton but has never substantiated his claim.

Kushner&nbsp;-- a person of interest in the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the US&nbsp;election&nbsp;-- has also recently been accused of using private email accounts to conduct government business.

Trump&#39;s insurgent presidential campaign was galvanized by supporters&#39; demands that Clinton be jailed for her use of private email servers while Secretary of State.

Voter information records held by New York show the presidential adviser whose portfolio includes everything from seeking peace in the Middle East to reining in the opioid crisis in the United States was?registered?as "female."

Donald Trump's son-in-law and top aide, Jared Kushner, has been registered to vote as a woman for eight years, US media reported. Voter information records held by New York show the presidential adviser whose portfolio includes everything from seeking peace in the Middle East to reining in the opioid crisis in the United States was registered as "female." The screenshot, published by Wired, is not the first time the young statesman has fallen foul of bureaucracy. (Also Read: Jared Kushner sought secret communications line with Russia: Report) Kushner, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, also filled out paperwork for his White House security clearance wrongly and had to refile it repeatedly, CBS reported. Prior to 2009, Kushner's New Jersey voter registration noted his gender as "unknown," according to The Hill news site. Kushner, the scion of a wealthy property-owning family, is one of a number of Trump's inner circle previously found to have been registered to vote in more than one state during last year's election, the Washington Post has reported. Others include ex-White House press secretary Sean Spicer and ex-lead strategist Stephen Bannon. Multiple registrations were pointed to by the president as a sign of purported widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election. Trump said millions of people illegally cast votes for Hillary Clinton but has never substantiated his claim. Kushner -- a person of interest in the ongoing probe into Russian interference in the US election -- has also recently been accused of using private email accounts to conduct government business. Trump's insurgent presidential campaign was galvanized by supporters' demands that Clinton be jailed for her use of private email servers while Secretary of State.

Trump aide and son-in-law Kushner registered to vote as a woman: Reports

President Donald Trump will announce his decision on America&#39;s strategy in Afghanistan in an address to US troops and the nation Monday night, almost 16 years after the war began.

The US leader will &quot;provide an update on the path forward for America&#39;s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia&quot; in an address to be delivered at 9 pm (0100 GMT Tuesday) from the military base at Fort Myer southwest of the capital, the White House said in a statement.

The US president, fresh from a nearly three-week-long working vacation at his New Jersey resort, was en route to the US capital late Sunday, and took a swipe at one of his customary Twitter targets -- the news media.

&quot;Heading back to Washington after working hard and watching some of the worst and most dishonest Fake News reporting I have ever seen!&quot; he wrote.

Trump gathered top security officials Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland to weigh his options in the grueling conflict, saying afterwards that &quot;many decisions&quot; had been made.

Wary of international involvements but eager for progress in the drawn-out Afghan war, the Trump administration had originally promised a new plan by mid-July.

Trump was said to be dissatisfied by initial proposals to add a few thousand more troops in the country, and advisers were studying an expanded strategy for the broader South Asian region, including Pakistan.

The decision comes after the departure from the White House on Friday of Steve Bannon, Trump&#39;s firebrand chief strategist, a nationalist who was said to be disinclined to seeing US forces more deeply mired in the troubled region.&nbsp;

Trump&#39;s Defense Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed in Amman, Jordan on Sunday that the administration had agreed on a new strategy for Afghanistan after &quot;rigorous&quot; debate, but refused to provide any details about the decision.

&quot;I&#39;m very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous, and did not go in with a preset condition in terms of what questions could be asked and what decisions could be made,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

&quot;Everyone who had equity was heard,&quot; he said, including budget officials responsible for funding the effort.

Trump had several options on the table, that ranged from backing away from the country to stepping up US efforts to defeat the Taliban. In June he gave Mattis the power to increase troop numbers above the estimated 8,400 that have been in the country -- close to 4,000 more, according to reports.&nbsp;

Mattis arrived in Jordan Sunday on the first day of a five-day swing through the Middle East, Turkey and Eastern Europe.

There are now about 8,400 US and 5,000 NATO troops supporting Afghanistan&#39;s security forces in the fight against Taliban and other militants. But the situation has remained as deadly as ever, with more than 2,500 Afghan police and troops killed from January 1 to May 8.

The US leader will 'provide an update on the path forward for America's engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia', the White House said in a statement

President Donald Trump will announce his decision on America's strategy in Afghanistan in an address to US troops and the nation Monday night, almost 16 years after the war began. The US leader will "provide an update on the path forward for America's engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia" in an address to be delivered at 9 pm (0100 GMT Tuesday) from the military base at Fort Myer southwest of the capital, the White House said in a statement. The US president, fresh from a nearly three-week-long working vacation at his New Jersey resort, was en route to the US capital late Sunday, and took a swipe at one of his customary Twitter targets -- the news media. "Heading back to Washington after working hard and watching some of the worst and most dishonest Fake News reporting I have ever seen!" he wrote. Trump gathered top security officials Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland to weigh his options in the grueling conflict, saying afterwards that "many decisions" had been made. Wary of international involvements but eager for progress in the drawn-out Afghan war, the Trump administration had originally promised a new plan by mid-July. Trump was said to be dissatisfied by initial proposals to add a few thousand more troops in the country, and advisers were studying an expanded strategy for the broader South Asian region, including Pakistan. The decision comes after the departure from the White House on Friday of Steve Bannon, Trump's firebrand chief strategist, a nationalist who was said to be disinclined to seeing US forces more deeply mired in the troubled region. Trump's Defense Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed in Amman, Jordan on Sunday that the administration had agreed on a new strategy for Afghanistan after "rigorous" debate, but refused to provide any details about the decision. "I'm very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous, and did not go in with a preset condition in terms of what questions could be asked and what decisions could be made," he said. "Everyone who had equity was heard," he said, including budget officials responsible for funding the effort. Trump had several options on the table, that ranged from backing away from the country to stepping up US efforts to defeat the Taliban. In June he gave Mattis the power to increase troop numbers above the estimated 8,400 that have been in the country -- close to 4,000 more, according to reports. Mattis arrived in Jordan Sunday on the first day of a five-day swing through the Middle East, Turkey and Eastern Europe. There are now about 8,400 US and 5,000 NATO troops supporting Afghanistan's security forces in the fight against Taliban and other militants. But the situation has remained as deadly as ever, with more than 2,500 Afghan police and troops killed from January 1 to May 8.

Trump to announce decision on new US strategy in Afghanistan

&nbsp;United States President Donald Trump wants to cut off all military aid to Pakistan as he thinks that the Washington is being ripped off by Islamabad.

As per Foreign Policy report, US&nbsp;is considering to increase troop levels up to 15, 000 in Afghanistan as part of the new strategy, which also would change the US&nbsp;relationship with Pakistan significantly.

The report quoted a White House official as saying that &quot;the President thinks we&#39;re being ripped off by Pakistan. The president wants to cut off all military aid to Pakistan. That&#39;s part of the strategy&quot;.

The report further said the Pentagon has already frozen support to Islamabad under the coalition support fund, which provides payments to Pakistan for supporting counterterrorism operations.

This move is being considered due to Pakistan&#39;s constant support to insurgent group Taliban. However, US&nbsp;wants to ensure the survival of the Afghan government by ending the war in the country by negotiating with the Taliban.

This move is triggered by Pakistan&#39;s insufficient actions against the Haqqani network, an insurgent group based in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said.

Currently, around 8400 US.soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan.

Terming Afghanistan issue as &#39;a mess&#39; that he took over from the previous administration; Trump had said that his administration is getting close to a decision on an updated strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis had also hinted that President Trump is &quot;very close&quot; to making a decision on the strategy.

&quot;We&#39;re sharpening each one of the options so you can see the pluses and minuses of each one so that there&#39;s no longer any new data you&#39;re going to get. Now [he can] just make the decision,&quot; Mattis said.

Earlier, reports had emerged that the US&nbsp;administration may consider outsourcing the war management in Afghanistan to a private firm. (ANI)

This move is reported;y being considered due to Pakistan's constant support to insurgent group Taliban

United States President Donald Trump wants to cut off all military aid to Pakistan as he thinks that the Washington is being ripped off by Islamabad. As per Foreign Policy report, US is considering to increase troop levels up to 15, 000 in Afghanistan as part of the new strategy, which also would change the US relationship with Pakistan significantly. The report quoted a White House official as saying that "the President thinks we're being ripped off by Pakistan. The president wants to cut off all military aid to Pakistan. That's part of the strategy". The report further said the Pentagon has already frozen support to Islamabad under the coalition support fund, which provides payments to Pakistan for supporting counterterrorism operations. This move is being considered due to Pakistan's constant support to insurgent group Taliban. However, US wants to ensure the survival of the Afghan government by ending the war in the country by negotiating with the Taliban. This move is triggered by Pakistan's insufficient actions against the Haqqani network, an insurgent group based in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said. Currently, around 8400 US.soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan. Terming Afghanistan issue as 'a mess' that he took over from the previous administration; Trump had said that his administration is getting close to a decision on an updated strategy for the war in Afghanistan. US Defense Secretary James Mattis had also hinted that President Trump is "very close" to making a decision on the strategy. "We're sharpening each one of the options so you can see the pluses and minuses of each one so that there's no longer any new data you're going to get. Now [he can] just make the decision," Mattis said. Earlier, reports had emerged that the US administration may consider outsourcing the war management in Afghanistan to a private firm. (ANI)

Trump wants to 'cut all military aid to Pakistan', thinks Washington is being 'ripped off' by Islamabad: Report

The United States is speaking out with a unified message on North Korea, the US State Department insisted Wednesday, playing down divergent comments from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

&quot;Whether it&#39;s the White House, the State Department, the Department of Defense, we are speaking with one voice,&quot; said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.

&quot;And the world is, in fact, speaking with one voice, and we saw that as it came out of the UN Security Council with the resolution that passed less than a week ago&quot; approving more sanctions against Pyongyang, she said.

She was speaking after Trump warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un that he faced &quot;fire and fury&quot; over his weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Trump, enjoying a working holiday at his New Jersey golf course, went on to boast that the US nuclear arsenal was &quot;more powerful than ever.&quot; &nbsp;&nbsp;

As tensions on the Korean peninsula flared, Tillerson took a very different tone, insisting there was &quot;no immediate threat&quot; from North Korea.&nbsp;

Nauert said Trump&#39;s remarks fit into a &quot;pressure campaign&quot; to force North Korea to back off from its nuclear development and further missile tests.&nbsp;

&quot;That campaign is working,&quot; she said, adding that Trump and Tillerson held an hour-long phone conversation after the president&#39;s comments.

&quot;Let&#39;s consider what is alarming,&quot; she said. &quot;What is alarming, two ICBM tests in less than a month, two nuclear tests that took place last year.&quot;

Trump, enjoying a working holiday at his New Jersey golf course, went on to boast that the US nuclear arsenal was 'more powerful than ever'

The United States is speaking out with a unified message on North Korea, the US State Department insisted Wednesday, playing down divergent comments from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. "Whether it's the White House, the State Department, the Department of Defense, we are speaking with one voice," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. "And the world is, in fact, speaking with one voice, and we saw that as it came out of the UN Security Council with the resolution that passed less than a week ago" approving more sanctions against Pyongyang, she said. She was speaking after Trump warned North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un that he faced "fire and fury" over his weapons and ballistic missile programs. Trump, enjoying a working holiday at his New Jersey golf course, went on to boast that the US nuclear arsenal was "more powerful than ever." As tensions on the Korean peninsula flared, Tillerson took a very different tone, insisting there was "no immediate threat" from North Korea. Nauert said Trump's remarks fit into a "pressure campaign" to force North Korea to back off from its nuclear development and further missile tests. "That campaign is working," she said, adding that Trump and Tillerson held an hour-long phone conversation after the president's comments. "Let's consider what is alarming," she said. "What is alarming, two ICBM tests in less than a month, two nuclear tests that took place last year."

US on North Korea: 'speaking with one voice'

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