Maya Yang
Donald Trump is receiving widespread backlash after he likened himself to a “king” on social media following his administration’s decision to rescind New York City’s congestion pricing program.
On Wednesday, following a letter issued by his transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, to the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, that ended the transportation department’s agreement with New York over a new congestion pricing program for Manhattan, Trump wrote on Truth Social:
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
The White House then proceeded to share Trump’s quote on social media, accompanied with a computer-generated image of Trump grinning on a fake Time magazine cover while donning a golden crown, behind him the skyline of New York City.
In response to Trump’s comments, Hochul issued a statement, saying: “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king.” She added: “Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City and critical to our economic future – as a New Yorker, like president Trump, knows very well.”
Good morning US politics readers. Today marks a full month since Donald Trump’s inauguration – and in that month the 47th president and his administration have fundamentally reshaped the federal government and driven a truck through international relations.
Trump is sure to celebrate at this year’s CPAC, which is held at the National Harbor in Maryland. As my colleagues David Smith writes, the conference will be a vivid demonstration of how his “Make America great again” (Maga) movement has gone from the margins to the mainstream.
The vice-president, JD Vance, is expected to address the conference at 10am ET. We’ll follow it live and bring you the key moments of his speech.
Trump’s move to end birthright citizenship may be headed to the supreme court after an appeals court declined to grant a justice department request that would have lifted a lower court’s order blocking the president’s executive order.
The US 9th circuit court of appeals decision means the case may be headed to the nation’s highest court, one month after Trump signed the executive order.
Here’s what else is happening today:
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After Trump escalated his rift with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday, Ukraine’s president is trying to move the difficult conversation with the US forward ahead of today’s meeting with Trump envoy Keith Kellogg. In his regular video update on Wednesday night, he said it was “crucial that this discussion and our overall cooperation with the US remains constructive”. We’re covering the latest developments in our Europe live blog:
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Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, is set to be confirmed today around 1.45pm.
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At 1pm, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will brief reporters.
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At 3pm, Trump is expected to address a White House reception for Black history month.
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At 7.20pm Trump speaks at a reception for Republican members of the National Governors Association.
Article by:Source: Fran Lawther
