Trump slams Joe Biden’s auto pen use as he signs sweeping nuclear power orders

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump mocked former President Joe Biden Friday afternoon as he signed a series of executive orders that promise to cut regulatory red tape to allow the building of more nuclear reactors to go forward.

I’m just thinking … as I sign, what about auto-pens? Could I use another pen? What did Biden do, did he have an auto-pen at the desk? … They used nuclear power.

The former president has been back in the news after a prostate cancer diagnosis and a damning book about his cognitive condition written by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson.

‘He didn’t do events like this, I guess,’ Trump continued. ‘You walk it to the other side of the room and have an auto-pen sign it.’

Trump then showed off one of the executive orders he signed with his overly large signature.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Hours after threatening to slap a 25 percent tariff on Apple, President Trump revealed that it would apply to Samsung and other phone makers as well.

‘It would be more. It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product. Otherwise it wouldn’t be fair,’ Trump said, when pressed by reporters in the Oval Office on why he would punish an American company.

Trump said the tariff would apply to ‘anybody that makes the product,’ after specifically mentioning the South Korean firm. The tariffs would begin ‘by the end of June,’ he said.

He spoke of what he called his ‘understanding’ with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who Trump blasted online Friday. ‘He said he’s going to India to build plants. I said, that’s okay to go to India, but you’re not going to sell into here without tariffs, and that’s the way it is,’ said Trump.

Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

There was an awkward cell phone interruption during President Trump’s Oval Office event – and it turned out it was the president’s own device blasting out the loud ring tone.

‘It’s only a congressman,’ quipped Trump at an event where he touted the ‘hot’ nuclear industry, a day after the House voted out his ‘big beautiful’ bill by a single vote.

‘Oh, it’s a phone call – do you mind?’ Trump asked the press before answering his phone during an event being carried live. When reporters asked who it was, Trump demurred, ‘I’d let you know, actually …’

That preceded yet another interruption just as Trump was getting asked about his administration barring Harvard from being allowed to take foreign students.

‘It’s a different congressman. They’re all congratulating us,’ said Trump.

A reporter couldn’t help asking if Trump was using an iPhone, on a day he threatened to slap a 25 percent tariff on Apple if it didn’t scrap its business plan and move manufacturing to the U.S.

‘Yes, lucky it is,’ Trump responded.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump doubled down on his threat to impose 50 percent tariffs on the European Union starting June 1.

He was queried about his Truth Social announcement during an executive order signing Friday afternoon in the Oval Office.

‘We were restricted from selling cars into the European Union, which is not nice,’ Trump complained.

The president then said he planned to ‘play the game like I know how to play the game.’

He was prodded about what he wanted to accomplish from the threat and was resistant to the idea that the tariffs would hurt American consumers.

‘There is no tariff because they’ll send their companies into the U.S. and build their plant,’ Trump said, later adding that his tariff plot would increase American jobs.

He was then asked if he thought he could make a deal with the EU in nine days.

‘I’m not looking for a deal, we set the deal, it’s at 50 percent,’ he continued.

Trump was also cagey is there was anything the EU could do to prevent the devastating tariffs from taking effect.

‘I don’t know we’re going to see what happens,’ he answered. ‘But right now it’s going in on June 1 and that’s the way it is,’ Trump said.

The father of the accused gunman who shot and killed two Israeli staffers at the Capital Jewish Museum was a special guest of a Democratic congressman for President Donald Trump‘s March address to Congress.

‘Eric Rodriguez was our guest during the President’s Joint Speech to Congress, but we don’t know his family,’ a spokesperson for Rep. Jesús ‘Chuy’ García (D-Ill.) confirmed.

Melania Trump turned to AI to record the audio version of her memoir, using the technology to replicate her voice.

The first lady said she used ‘strict supervision’ when using the technology, which can have errors in pronunciation and word choice.

While she embraced the new technology for her audiobook, Melania Trump has previously criticized, particularly when it comes to issues like deep fake pornography.

Between a barrage of executive orders, foreign trips and norm-shattering proclamations, Donald Trump has also been busy raking in cash.

The president has amassed a war chest of at least $600 million in political donations heading into the midterm elections, according to three people familiar with the matter.

It’s an unprecedented sum in modern politics, particularly for a lame-duck president who is barred by the U.S. Constitution from running again.

Trump is keeping an aggressive fundraising schedule with the ultimate goal of raising $1 billion or more to back his agenda and hold the House and Senate next November, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share internal details of the fundraising efforts.

The preoccupation with fundraising might seem highly unusual for a president who was notably averse to dialing for dollars when he first ran.

But according to people familiar with his thinking, it makes perfect sense: By amassing money, Trump amasses power.

Harvard University sued Trump one day after his administration issued a ban on the enrollment of foreign students.

The school said in a court filing Friday that Trump’s action will have an ‘immediate and devastating effect for Harvard and more than 7,000 visa holders.’

‘With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,’ Harvard went on.

‘Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.’

The Department of Homeland Security announced the move on Thursday, saying thousands of current students must transfer to other schools or leave the country.

President Donald Trump’s ban on foreign students studying at Harvard could result in Princess Elisabeth of Belgium having to leave the ivy league university.

The 23-year-old future queen just completed her first year of study and may not be able to return to its Boston campus after Trump revoked Harvard’s ability to enroll international students on Thursday.

‘Princess Elisabeth has just completed her first year. The impact of (the Trump administration’s) decision will only become clearer in the coming days/weeks. We are currently investigating the situation,’ the Belgian Royal Palace’s spokesperson Lore Vandoorne told Reuters.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Harvard University has filed suit against the Trump administration claiming unconstitutional retaliation for ending its ability to enroll foreign students.

‘With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard’s student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission,’ according to the suit. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard.’

It follows a letter Thursday from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday telling the school that ‘effective immediately’ its certification as part of a student visa program was revoked and accused the school of harbouring ‘pro-terrorist agitators’ and ‘promoting antisemitism.

The schools is filing for a temporary restraining order. Nearly half of Harvard’s Kennedy School comes from overseas. Legal experts have said Noem’s order could constitute viewpoint discrimination and was likely to meet a court challenge.

Wall Street tumbled early Friday after explosive new tariff threats by President Donald Trump against the European Union and Apple.

Trump, in social media posts, announced crippling tariffs of 50 percent on Europe starting June 1.

About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was already down 1 percent.

The S&P 500 shed 1.2 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped by 1.5 percent.

Apple shares plunged by 2.5 percent in the wake of a separate threat by Trump to tariff iPhones not made in America.

The president took to Truth Social to accuse the EU of being ‘very difficult to deal with’ and ‘taking advantage’ of the United States.

President Donald Trump is fed up with the wave of anti-Semitism being displayed in the U.S. and called for its end in the wake of the murder of two Israeli Embassy workers.

‘These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!’ Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday night. ‘Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA.’

President Donald Trump has been issued a stern warning from the Supreme Court that there is one official who is immune to his wrath and cannot be fired.

In a ruling over a separate court battle about Trump’s decision to fire two federal labor board members, SCOTUS reminded the president Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is effectively untouchable.

Powell, who has drawn the ire of the president several times since he returned to the White House for refusing to lower interest rates, is serving a fixed term set to expire in May 2026.

Kristi Noem told a bunch of illegal migrants they can ‘suck it’ on Thursday after their lawsuit against the Homeland Security chief was voluntarily dropped.

The suit was filed by the ACLU on behalf of ten detained migrants who the Trump administration were preparing to send to the infamous terrorist detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

More than 200 wealthy crypto bros descended on Donald Trump‘s Washington D.C. golf course on Thursday evening for a private dinner with the president.

They were treated to filet mignon and warm lava cake inside the two-story clubhouse at the golf course, which sits on 800 acres in Northern Virginia on the banks of the Potomac River.

The White House kept the guest list a secret but many of the invited posted about the event on social media, showing off photos of Marine One landing and the massive ballroom filled with guests in black-tie.

Hanging in the West Wing is an illustration of Trump alongside two other prominent Republicans, Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the move on Thursday, saying thousands of current students must transfer to other schools or leave the country.

In a statement they said that Harvard had created an unsafe campus environment by allowing ‘anti-American, pro-terrorists agitators’ on campus.

I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your for your attention to this matter!