Trump administration officials have been out in force across the television networks, defending President Donald Trump’s economic policies after another week of reeling markets that saw the Republican administration reverse course on some of its steepest tariffs.
Meanwhile, Trump’s doctor says the oldest man elected president is “fully fit” to serve as commander in chief as the White House released results Sunday of Trump’s recent physical exam.
Here’s the latest:
President Trump is hosting Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, at the White House on Monday as the small Central American nation becomes a critical lynchpin of the U.S. administration’s mass deportation operation.
Since March, El Salvador has accepted from the U.S. more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants — whom Trump administration officials have accused of gang activity and violent crimes — and placed them inside the country’s notorious maximum-security gang prison just outside of the capital, San Salvador. It’s also holding a Maryland man who the administration admits was wrongly deported but has not been returned to the U.S., despite court orders to do so.
That has made Bukele, who remains extremely popular in El Salvador due in part to the crackdown on the country’s powerful street gangs, a vital ally for the Trump administration, which has offered little evidence for its claims that the Venezuelan immigrants were in fact gang members, nor has it released names of those deported.
▶ Read more about El Salvador President Nayib Bukele
Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to President Trump, said China’s decision to stop exports of some rare earth minerals was “concerning.”
Rare earths are critical ingredients for technology and electronic manufacturing.
“The rare earth limits are being studied very carefully, and they’re concerning, and we’re thinking about all the options right now,” Hassett told reporters outside the White House.
He spoke to Fox Business earlier in the morning, where he said the administration was “100% not” expecting a recession as Trump disrupts global trade with his tariff plans.
Trump bitterly attacked “60 Minutes” shortly after the CBS news magazine broadcast stories on Ukraine and Greenland on Sunday, saying the network was out of control and should “pay a big price” for going after him.
“Almost every week, 60 Minutes … mentions the name ‘TRUMP’ in a derogatory and defamatory way, but this Weekend’s ‘BROADCAST’ tops them all,” the president said on his Truth Social platform. He called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr to impose maximum fines and punishment “for their unlawful and illegal behavior.”
The network had no immediate comment.
Trump has an ongoing $20 billion lawsuit against “60 Minutes” for how it edited an interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris last fall. The president claims it was edited in a way to make Harris look good, something the newscast denies. But there are ongoing reports that Trump’s lawyers and CBS’ parent company are involved in settlement talks.
▶ Read more about Trump’s comments on “60 Minutes”
Trump’s doctor says the oldest man elected president is “fully fit” to serve as commander in chief as the White House released results Sunday of Trump’s recent physical exam. The 78-year-old Trump is 20 pounds lighter since his checkup as president in 2020 showed him bordering on obesity.
His physician, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, cited an “active lifestyle” that ”continues to contribute significantly” to the Republican president’s well-being. Trump turns 79 on June 14.
In a three-page summary of the comprehensive exam from Friday, the doctor said Trump is “fully fit to execute the duties of Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.”
Asked about the exam on Sunday and how he stays healthy, Trump said, “Because I enjoy what I’m doing and I like the results.
“I think we’re making America great again and it makes me feel good. It probably keeps me happy,” he told reporters accompanying him on a flight back to Washington from Florida.
▶ Read more about Trump’s physical results
Tariff exemptions announced Friday on electronics like smartphones and laptops are only a temporary reprieve until the Trump administration develops a new tariff approach specific to the semiconductor industry, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday.
White House officials, including Trump himself, spent Sunday downplaying the significance of exemptions that lessen but won’t eliminate the effect of U.S. tariffs on imports of popular consumer devices and their key components.
Trump added to the confusion hours later, declaring on social media that there was no “exception” at all because the goods are “just moving to a different” bucket and will still face a 20% tariff as part of his administration’s move to punish China for its role in fentanyl trafficking.
China’s commerce ministry in a Sunday statement welcomed the change as a small step even as it called for the U.S. to completely cancel the rest of its tariffs.
▶ Read more about possible tariff exemptions for electronics
China’s leader Xi Jinping said no one wins in a trade war as he kicked off a diplomatic tour of Southeast Asia on Monday, reiterating China’s commitment to global trade in contrast with Trump’s latest tariffs moves.
Although Trump has paused some tariffs, he has kept in place 145% duties on China, the world’s second-largest economy.
“There are no winners in a trade war, or a tariff war,” Xi wrote in an editorial jointly published in Vietnamese and Chinese official media. “Our two countries should resolutely safeguard the multilateral trading system, stable global industrial and supply chains, and open and cooperative international environment.”
Xi’s visit lets China show Southeast Asia it is a “responsible superpower in the way that contrasts with the way the U.S. under President Donald Trump presents to the whole world,” said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute.
▶ Read more about Xi’s trip to Southeast Asia
Trump administration officials were out in force across the television networks Sunday defending his economic policies after another week of reeling markets that saw the Republican administration reverse course on some of its steepest tariffs.
White House advisers and Cabinet members tried to project confidence and calm amid Trump’s on-again, off-again approach to tariffs on imported goods from around the world. But their explanations about the overall agenda, coupled with Trump’s latest statements, also reflected shifting narratives from a president who, as a candidate in 2024, promised an immediate economic boost and lower prices but now asks American businesses and consumers for patience.
A week ago, Trump’s team stood by his promise to leave the impending tariffs in place without exceptions. They used their latest news show appearances to defend his move to ratchet back to a 10% universal tariff for most nations except China (145%).
▶ Read more about the Trump team’s messaging surrounding tariffs
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