Trump news – live: Ex-president says Musk won’t buy Twitter at ‘ridiculous price’ as Pence backs Gov Kemp

Donald Trump Jr has said in an interview that Mike Pompeo should be “smart enough” to know whether to run against his father Donald Trump, if the former president was to run again in the elections in 2024.

Mr Trump has not formally stated whether he will contest the next presidential elections.

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In an editorial board op-ed, The Philadelphia Inquirer has declined to endorse any of the candidates running in the Republican Party primary to run in Pennsylvania’s upcoming Senate election.

Headlined “We wanted to endorse in Republican primaries this year. We can’t”, the op-ed states that while the board leans Democrat, in previous years they have endorsed in Republican races and have always found: “points of agreement, sustained moments of mutual respect, and an appreciation of the kind of apolitical qualifications that are objectively deserving of praise”.

“Most fundamentally: We were all operating in the same reality,” the board writes. “That can’t be said in 2022.”

The op-ed continues:

When we sent a survey to Republican candidates in the Senate race to ascertain their positions on a range of issues, we learned that nearly everyone in the field felt our questions were biased and unfair.

In their view, among the most problematic queries that we asked was: Who won the 2020 presidential election? The only two options in the multiple-choice format were Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Only one candidate — Jeff Bartos — agreed to acknowledge reality.

If one of these Republicans wins the general election, they will represent Pennsylvania at the next State of the Union address. We guarantee that it will not be Donald Trump who walks into the U.S. Capitol to deliver the speech. The 2020 election is over. A candidate won, he lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and his name is Joe Biden.

How do you find points of agreement when you can’t reach common ground on facts so basic that they could be used in a field sobriety test?

Read the full piece here.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said she had promised herself not to “get emotional” at her final appearance behind the James Brady Briefing Room lectern, but that promise was quickly broken as she fought back tears just before taking questions from reporters for the 244th and final time.

Ms Psaki, who is reportedly decamping for a role with the MSNBC cable news network, thanked President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for giving her the honour of serving as the top White House spokesperson during the first 15 months of Mr Biden’s term.

Recalling her first meeting with Mr and Ms Biden after the 2020 election, she said they discussed “the importance of returning integrity, respect and civility to the White House” when engaging with the press.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

The chairwoman of the powerful House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform is demanding answers from the heads of the four largest baby formula producers in the United States on what their companies are doing to alleviate a formula shortage that has left parents scrambling to feed their children across the country.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Former Vice President Mike Pence will campaign with Georgia’s incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp the day before this month’s GOP primary in his most significant political beak with former President Donald Trump to date.

Kemp’s campaign announced Friday morning that Pence will headline a get-out-the-vote rally for Kemp on Monday, May 23rd, the day before the vote. That puts Pence in direct conflict with Trump-endorsed candidate David Perdue, who has been trailing in the polls. Kemp is one of Trump’s top targets this election cycle because of his refusal to cooperate with Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Donald Trump’s secretary of defense Mark Esper says he was “very concerned” about the possibility of the former president pulling the US out of Nato if he had won a second term.

Mr Esper, who has been promoting his book, replete with shocking stories from the Trump presidency, made the remarks in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

Further to Mr Esper’s comments on the possibility that Trump may have pulled the US out of Nato, President Joe Biden spoke today with the Prime Minister of Sweden and President of Finland to underscore his support of the alliance’s open-door policy.

Per the White House:

Readout of President Biden’s Call with Prime Minister Andersson of Sweden and President Niinistö of Finland

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland to discuss the close defense and security cooperation between our countries as well as our respective efforts aimed at strengthening Transatlantic security. President Biden underscored his support for NATO’s Open Door policy and for the right of Finland and Sweden to decide their own future, foreign policy, and security arrangements. The leaders also discussed the close partnership among our countries across a range of global issues, based on our common values and interests. They reiterated their shared commitment to continued coordination in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people affected by the war.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the scenes from a funeral in Jerusalem for a Palestinian-American journalist who fatally shot during an Israeli raid “deeply disturbing,” as widely shared footage shows Israeli officers beating pallbearers carrying the coffin containing the body of Shireen Abu Akleh.

“We have all seen those images. They’re obviously deeply disturbing. This is a day where we should all be marking, including everyone there, the memory of a remarkable journalist who lost her life,” Ms Psaki said from the White House on 13 May.

Alex Woodwards reports.