Trump’s Pennsylvania town hall, interrupted by medical emergencies in crowd, turned into an impromptu concert

(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday. The call took place two days after he announced that he planned to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico on his first day in the White House.

Trump called the conversation “wonderful” and “very productive” in a post on Truth Social, saying the two leaders talked about the border control and how to combat the flow of illegal drugs — but these topical conversation points may be the only things on which the two could entirely agree.

Earlier in the day, Sheinbaum confirmed that she had spoken with Trump, and that they did discuss the shared border, writing on X: “I had an excellent conversation with President Donald Trump. We discussed Mexico’s strategy on the migration phenomenon and I shared that caravans are not arriving at the northern border because they are being taken care of in Mexico.”

But Trump went further, proclaiming that the Mexican president “agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border.”

In a follow-up post, he added, “Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA.”

Sheinbaum then appeared to directly contradict the president-elect’s account of the conversation, posting on X: “In our conversation with President Trump, I explained to him the comprehensive strategy that Mexico has followed to address the migration phenomenon, respecting human rights. Thanks to this, migrants and caravans are assisted before they reach the border. We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”

Trump and Sheinbaum both also concur that they spoke about stemming the flow of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, into the U.S.

Sheinbaum wrote on X that they “discussed strengthening collaboration on security issues within the framework of our sovereignty and the campaign we are carrying out in the country to prevent the consumption of fentanyl.”

And following their call, Trump announced on Truth Social that part of his plan to address the fentanyl epidemic in the U.S. will be a large advertising campaign.

“I will be working on a large scale United States Advertising Campaign, explaining how bad Fentanyl is for people to use – Millions of lives being so needlessly destroyed,” Trump wrote. “By the time the Campaign is over, everyone will know how really bad the horror of this Drug is.”

The call was arranged after Trump this week announced plans to slap tariffs on Mexico, as well as Canada and China, in an effort to stem illegal border crossings and stop the flow of drugs entering the U.S.

On Tuesday, Sheinbaum fired back, warning him not to start a trade war that she said would hurt the U.S.

“President Trump, it is not with threats nor with tariffs that migration and drug consumption in the U.S. will be dealt with,” Sheinbaum said at a press conference, reading from a letter she’d written to Trump. “These great challenges require cooperation and mutual understanding.”

She also disputed Trump’s claims about migration and drugs, and she blamed the U.S. for Mexico’s drug war — pointing to U.S. consumption and American guns.

“We don’t make guns, we don’t consume synthetic drugs. Those killed by crime to meet the demand for drugs in your country are unfortunately our responsibility,” she said.

The swift rebuke was a departure from Sheinbaum’s mentor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had a chummy relationship with Trump during his first term.

When Trump similarly threatened tariffs on Mexico and to shut the border in 2018, the two men negotiated a deal to beef up Mexican immigration enforcement with U.S. support, reducing the numbers at the border — and Trump dropped his threats.

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(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump announced that Alina Habba, his senior adviser and attorney, will serve as counselor to the president.

The appointment was shared through a post on Truth Social on Sunday evening, in which he wrote, “Alina has been a tireless advocate for Justice, a fierce Defender of the Rule of Law, and an invaluable Advisor to my Campaign and Transition Team. She has been unwavering in her loyalty, and unmatched in her resolve – standing with me through numerous ‘trials,’ battles, and countless days in Court.”

“As a first generation American of Middle Eastern Heritage, she has become a role model for women in Law and Politics, most recently being named Chaldean Woman of the Year,” the post continued, before congratulating Habba and her family on the appointment.

In his former administration, the position was held by Kellyanne Conway. It is not associated with the White House counsel’s office.

In additional social media posts the same evening, Trump announced several State Department roles, including Michael Anton as director of policy planning, Michael Needham as counselor and Christopher Landau as deputy secretary.

“Michael served me loyally and effectively at the National Security Council in my First Term,” Trump’s post regarding the director of policy planning position said.

“He spent the last eight years explaining what an America First foreign policy truly means,” it added.

For Needham, he wrote, “Mike has capably served Senator Marco Rubio for many years, and is a key leader in the America First Movement. He has been on the front lines of the fight for the Forgotten Men and Women of America for nearly two decades, and will do a great job at State.”

In while appointing the deputy secretary of the State Department, the president-elect posted, “Chris will work closely with our great Secretary of State Nominee, Marco Rubio, to promote our Nation’s security and prosperity through an America First Foreign Policy. Chris served as my Ambassador to Mexico, where he worked tirelessly with our team to reduce illegal migration to the lowest levels in History.”

“He is also one of our Country’s great lawyers, and clerked for both Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas on the United States Supreme Court,” the post continued. “He graduated from Harvard College, first in his Class, and Harvard Law School, and has argued nine cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

All four of the posts appeared on Trump’s account within the span of about one minute, just before 7 p.m.

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(NORTH CAROLINA) — Donald Trump isn’t taking any chances in battleground North Carolina — making four stops in the state over two days — on Tuesday as well as Monday.

The polls here are tight. But more than that, the former president’s advisers are keenly aware that some of the state’s counties hardest hit by flooding from Hurricane Helene are deeply conservative.

He needs voters to turn out in those counties to win here again.

Looking through the state’s election data, in 2020 Trump won 23 of the 25 counties included in the federal disaster declaration in North Carolina.

While Trump is still making false claims about the administration’s response to the storm, there’s been a notable shift in one area in particular: early voting.

After railing against mail-in voting and early voting for years, he’s now urging people to vote early if they can.

At his rally Monday night, signs urged residents to make a plan to get to the polls.

Both Democrats and Republicans feel optimistic about the strong early voting numbers in this state.

And we saw why as we traveled across the state — long lines stretched outside polling locations with Democrats and Republicans lining up one after another, ready to cast their ballots.

We met voter Roger Mills in Charlotte. He told us he doesn’t love everything Donald Trump says but he is voting for him anyway.

“I don’t like the way the country’s headed right now. I’m one of those that thinks we’re headed in the wrong direction. So, I thought, hey, I liked it in 2016 to 2020 I liked it well, except for the pandemic. So, I said I’d like to get back to that,” Mills said.

He called the former president “abrasive.”

“He talks without thinking sometimes, but I like his policies — his policies, I believe are good for America,” he said, adding, “[Harris] flip-flopped so many times I can’t tell where she stands.”

Angela Larry was at that polling location, too. She was eager to cast her ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I’m excited! I used to wait for Election Day to be part of the process but I’m part of the process today,” she said after she voted early. As a mother, she told us she supports Harris because of her stance on reproductive rights.

“We have a choice. Our bodies. We are females. We need to make the decisions. I don’t like that someone who doesn’t have a clue — that can’t walk the walk — has something to say what women go through,” she said.

Like many voters we’ve met — Angela Larry is just ready for it all to be over.

“I just want to get it over with. I’m ready for it to be over.”

Two weeks to go …

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