Three-page memo released by White House provides overview of 79-year-old president’s medical checkup – key US politics stories from Saturday, 30 May at a glanceUS President Donald Trump’s doctor said he was in “excellent health” but has advised him to lose weight, according to a memo released by the White House after the 79-year-old underwent a routine medical check.“President Trump remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and overall physical function,” said Trump’s doctor, US Navy captain Sean Barbabella. Continue reading...
The testy relationship between Jill Biden and Kamala Harris has again bubbled up in the pages of the former first lady’s upcoming memoir including her going scorched […]
President Trump asked for several amendments to the deal his envoys reached with their Iranian counterparts during a Situation Room meeting on Friday, according to a senior administration official and a second source briefed on the issue. Why it matters: Trump wants the deal and expects to finalize it soon, but is keen to strengthen several points that are important to him — particularly around Iran's nuclear material, two U.S. officials said. Trump's request has launched another round of back-and-forth between the parties that could last several days.The intrigue: Trump announced on Friday that he'd be convening the Situation Room meeting on the deal, and seemed to suggest he was leaning toward accepting.A White House official told reporters after the meeting that Trump "will only make a deal that is good for America, satisfies his redlines and makes sure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon."Iranian officials told state media they also had not approved the final text, though two U.S. officials claimed earlier in the week that Tehran was prepared to sign and it was all down to Trump.Behind the scenes: According to the two sources, Trump asked his team to make changes to the draft on clauses regarding Iran's nuclear program.In its current form, the memorandum of understanding includes a commitment from Iran not to pursue a nuclear weapon, but no specific concessions beyond that.It states that there will be a 60-day window to negotiate on nuclear commitments from Iran and sanctions relief from the U.S., with the first issues on the docket being how to dispose of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile and limit further enrichment.Zoom in: Trump wants to try to amend that part. "It's more specifics about how the U.S. gets the material and the timing," a senior administration official said, referring to the enriched uranium.The second source said Trump also wants to amend some of the wording around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.The U.S. official said Trump was told it would take around three days before the Iranians get back with a response. "They're literally in caves and they're not using email," the senior administration official said. What they're saying: "There will be a deal. The imminence of it, we'll see. We're willing to wait so the president gets what he asks for. It could be a week. It could be less. It could be more. At the turn of the week, we hope to have something," the senior administration official said.Iranian state media has reported that a deal is close but not final, and claimed Iran would receive billions in frozen funds. The White House denies that.The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.
Business leaders and industry groups are waiting for clarity and follow-up from the Trump administration on promises it made during the China summit earlier this month, according to new reporting. The White House assured that a "board of trade" would help relieve Chinese and American tariffs, but it's still "ironing" out the plan, "a signal the clarity industry is searching for is unlikely to come all at once," Politico reported. Ed Brzytwa, an executive for the Consumer Technology Association, said industry groups don't know what kind of products will see reduced tariffs. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer "hasn't been clear about it, neither have the Chinese," he told Politico. Trump has "three and a half months to get this thing up and running," Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade negotiator, told Politico. She was looking ahead to Chinese leader Xi Jinping's upcoming visit to Washington in September. "There will be pressure to show progress, given how few deliverables came out of this last summit meeting," Cutler said. An anonymous White House official told Politico, "further details to come" on the plans that came out of the summit. "The administration looks forward to engaging more with the business community on this historic policy that reflects our commitment to better manage trade between the U.S. and China," the official said, according to Politico.
Donald Trump's Saturday Truth Social spiral drew swift mockery from critics across the political spectrum, with a prominent journalist declaring the president was "really crashing out" and a former Republican congressman summing it up in three words.Trump said Saturday:"We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain. Cancel it, just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center, because a Highly Conflicted, Crooked Federal Judge, said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money in order to MAKE THE CENTER GREAT AGAIN, actually, far greater than it ever was before! It would have also been nice to see a Republican/Democrat union bring it back to life. The Kennedy Center is broken, unsafe, and $busted, and has been for many years! Judge Cooper also stated that the highly prestigious Board of the Center was not authorized to add on the name 'TRUMP' despite the fact that hundreds of millions of dollars of my time and money will be necessary for its successful reincarnation. So now, the Kennedy Center will collapse, both structurally and financially. Judge Cooper and his wife, Amy Jeffress (obfuscation anyone?), should be ashamed of themselves. Judge Cooper, like numerous other Crooked Judges on my cases, should be IMPEACHED."Aaron Rupar, who has built a large following tracking Trump's online behavior, quoted Trump's lengthy rant calling for a MAGA rally to replace the America 250 concert and his threats that the Kennedy Center would collapse without him. "Holy s---, Trump is really crashing out," Rupar wrote.Adam Kinzinger, the former Illinois Republican congressman who voted to impeach Trump and has since become one of his most outspoken GOP critics, had a shorter take. Quoting Rupar's post, Kinzinger wrote simply: "Such a baby."Author Jennifer Erin Valent chimed in, "His notorious self obsession has reached the stage of derangement, and still, no one seems inclined to do a thing about it. The dereliction of duty in our time is truly staggering."Academic Karen Piper said, "This is called a narcissistic injury."The posts came as part of a broader meltdown that included Trump unveiling a drone port rendering for the White House roof, posting an AI image of himself appearing to use the American flag as a tissue, calling Republican allies "losers," and demanding that Judge Christopher Cooper be impeached after the jurist ordered Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center.
President Donald Trump on Saturday suggested canceling planned performances by musicians for the Great American State Fair later this summer in Washington, after several artists pulled out of the event.“We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social Saturday afternoon.“Cancel it,” Trump said, before launching in
President Trump announced he will be headlining the opening ceremony for the Great American State Fair in June as part of the United States’ 250th-birthday celebrations in Washington. It comes after multiple recording artists pulled out of a series of concerts meant to take place during the fair, scheduled for June 24 to July 10 on Washington’s National Mall.
Donald Trump escalated his attacks on the federal judiciary this week, calling for a judge who ruled against him to face criminal charges and attacking the judge's wife in the process, prompting condemnation from legal observers and journalists who called the posts the work of "a lunatic."Trump targeted Judge Cooper after a ruling that ordered Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center, lashing out in a lengthy Truth Social rant that also included a declaration that he now has "no interest" in renovating the historic venue."Trump eventually says Judge Cooper 'should be brought up on charges,'" legal journalist Roger Parloff wrote on X, adding a note of dark humor: "Hopefully Todd Blanche won't scroll down far enough to see it." Parloff noted Trump's stated justification was that the judge's wife had worked as an attorney on cases Trump disapproves of.Independent journalist Aaron Rupar was less measured. "Folks, these are the rantings of a crazy person," he wrote. "Note how Trump resorts to attacking the wives of men he doesn't like. The president is a lunatic."Craig Caplan, a producer for C-SPAN, added important context about the judge Trump was targeting: Cooper was nominated by President Obama and confirmed unanimously by the Senate 100-0 in 2014.Trump's attacks on judges and their families have drawn repeated criticism from legal experts who argue the conduct is designed to intimidate the judiciary and undermine public confidence in the courts. The American Bar Association and several judicial watchdog organizations have previously flagged Trump's attacks on judges as threats to judicial independence.The Kennedy Center dispute is one of several ongoing legal battles in which Trump has publicly attacked presiding judges after unfavorable rulings.Hopefully Todd Blanche won't scroll down far enough to see it, but Trump eventually says Judge Cooper "should be brought up on charges. " (Mainly because his wife worked as an attorney on some cases Trump doesn't approve of.) https://t.co/hDGWramFYt— Roger Parloff (@rparloff) May 30, 2026
Donald Trump threatened on Saturday that the Kennedy Center faces inevitable ruin after a federal judge ordered his name removed from the iconic Washington venue, declaring in a lengthy Truth Social post that the building "will collapse, both structurally and financially" without his involvement.Trump announced he was walking away from the project entirely and attacked Judge Christopher Cooper, who blocked the Kennedy Center from temporarily closing during proposed renovations and ordered Trump's name stripped from the building and its official title."The Kennedy Center is broken, unsafe, and $busted, and has been for many years," Trump wrote, adding that without his investment the venue is doomed. "So now, the Kennedy Center will collapse, both structurally and financially."Trump claimed that "hundreds of millions of dollars of my time and money" would have been necessary for the center's "successful reincarnation" and accused Cooper of blocking what he called a chance to "make the center great again."He also went after the judge personally, naming Cooper's wife, attorney Amy Jeffress, and suggesting her background represented a conflict of interest. "Judge Cooper and his wife, Amy Jeffress, should be ashamed of themselves," Trump wrote, before calling for Cooper's impeachment. "Judge Cooper, like numerous other Crooked Judges on my cases, should be IMPEACHED."Cooper, who was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate 100-0 in 2014, has not responded to Trump's public attacks.The post came as part of a broader Friday afternoon Truth Social spree in which Trump also proposed replacing the America 250 concert with a MAGA rally, dismissing the performers who had dropped out as "overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring."