Trump news at a glance: president touts ‘strong talks’ with Iran that Iran says have not happened | Trump administration
Donald Trump claimed there were talks between the United States and Iran over the past day in which both sides had “major points of agreement”, appearing to avert a potentially serious escalation of the conflict.
Tehran denied the claim that Trump was also speculating that a deal could soon be reached to end the war. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said no negotiations had taken place with the United States since the bombing campaign began 24 days ago.
In a series of presidential announcements Monday, Trump first posted on social media that he had extended his deadline by five days, saying the United States and Iran had had “very good and productive conversations” in recent days, then told reporters in Palm Beach, Fla., that his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his close aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner had had “very, very strong talks” with the Iranians a day earlier.
Trump’s threat over the weekend to “strike and destroy” Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure if Tehran did not allow ships to move freely through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran’s threat to destroy infrastructure across the Middle East in retaliation, had raised fears of a worsening conflict and a global economic crisis.
Later on Monday, Trump addressed the chances of a deal with Iran, saying: “We give it five days, and then we’ll see where it takes us. And I would say at the end of that period, I think it could very well end up being a very good deal for everyone.”
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TSA lines stretch for hours as Trump deploys ICE agents to US airports
Security lines stretched for hours Monday at U.S. airports where unpaid Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) screeners refused to show up for work and ICE agents deployed by Donald Trump were reportedly seen in a dozen cities.
The president said over the weekend that immigration agents could help manage long lines, but in Atlanta there was little immediate impact from their presence. Meanwhile, airport staff were getting creative trying to round up thousands of disgruntled passengers.
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Senate confirms Trump loyalist Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security secretary
The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Markwayne Mullin as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, elevating the Republican senator to a role where he will be one of the public faces of Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
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U.S.-Iran ceasefire bets show signs of insider knowledge, experts say
Several accounts on online platform Polymarket bet on a ceasefire between the United States and Iran over the weekend, which appears to show signs of insider knowledge, experts say.
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US to pay French energy company nearly $1 billion to shut down wind project
As an energy crisis triggered by the war in Iran sends global fossil fuel prices soaring, the Trump administration announced it would pay $1 billion to French energy major TotalEnergies to halt its plans to build wind farms off the U.S. east coast.
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The US Supreme Court appears ready to limit mail-in voting before the midterms
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared poised Monday to restrict how mail-in ballots can be counted if they arrive after Election Day, which would affect the laws of more than a dozen states in a midterm election year.
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Trump erects statue of Christopher Columbus on White House grounds
A statue of Christopher Columbus has been installed on the White House grounds in Donald Trump’s latest attempt to position the controversial explorer as a founding hero of the United States.
The president had the 13-foot statue, which weighs a ton, placed outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Pennsylvania Avenue. It is a replica of a monument to Columbus that was torn down and thrown into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor by city protesters amid widespread anti-racism demonstrations in 2020.
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What else happened today:
A catch-up? Here’s what happened Sunday March 22.
