{"id":120943,"date":"2025-01-01T00:41:38","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T00:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-has-great-meeting-with-dc-mayor-ahead-of-inauguration-and-suggests-canada-could-become-51st-state-live-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-01-01T00:41:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-01T00:41:38","slug":"trump-has-great-meeting-with-dc-mayor-ahead-of-inauguration-and-suggests-canada-could-become-51st-state-live-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-has-great-meeting-with-dc-mayor-ahead-of-inauguration-and-suggests-canada-could-become-51st-state-live-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump has \u2018great meeting\u2019 with DC mayor ahead of inauguration and suggests Canada could become 51st state: Live – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Incoming president planning swearing-in ceremony for January 20 and continuing to float idea of merging North American neighbor into United States
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Donald Trump<\/a> has met with Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser<\/a> to plan for his inauguration on January 20.
Mayor Bowser wrote on X that she had a \u201cgreat meeting\u201d with the president-elect and hoped they would find \u201ccommon ground\u201d after clashing in the past over the policing of the Black Lives Matter<\/a> demonstrations in D.C. in response to the killing of George Floyd<\/a> in summer 2020 and then the Capitol riot<\/a> six months later.
Trump is meanwhile continuing to circulate articles from right-wing media on his Truth Social<\/a> feed hinting at the prospect of the United States entering merger talks with Canada<\/a> about it becoming America\u2019s 51st state, capitalizing on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau<\/a>\u2019s rocky end to the year.
The idea was also entertained on Fox News<\/a> on Monday when Canadian businessman Kevin O\u2019Leary expressed his enthusiasm for the idea in conversation with Trump\u2019s former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany<\/a>.
The president-elect has also sought to revive talk about his acquiring Greenland<\/a> from Denmark<\/a> in recent days.
Congress<\/a> will reconvene on Friday after the New Year\u2019s celebrations, when House Speaker Mike Johnson<\/a> is up for re-election \u2014 and appears to be short of support.
TV doctor Mehmet Oz, Trump\u2019s nominee to lead the agencies overseeing federal healthcare programs, once said uninsured Americans have \u201cno right to health,\u201d in 10-year-old remarks that have resurfaced since his nomination to the incoming administration.
During a 2013 address to the National Governor\u2019s Association, Oz told attendees that uninsured people should be given \u201ca way of crawling back out of the abyss of darkness, of fear, over not having the health they need\u201d in a \u201cfestival-like setting\u201d with physicians.
\u201cBecause they don\u2019t have the right to health, but they have the right to access a chance to get that health,\u201d he added.
The TV personality has repeatedly peddled dubious medical claims
Trump\u2019s expansionist rhetoric has worried allies but elated enemies, with Russians viewing the president-elect\u2019s recent statements as evidence that Trump isn\u2019t opposed to foreign wars of conquest, as is the Kremlin, despite what he has otherwise stated.
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, D.C.:
By talking of making Canada the 51st state, \u201cTrump is basically saying, \u2018Russians, you can take the Baltics,\u2019\u201d said TV host
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie is so far the only GOP representative who is vocally not supporting Mike Johnson as House Speaker for another term.
With the GOP\u2019s extremely slim majority in the House, Johnson can only afford to peel off one vote from his own caucus to survive.
After House Speaker Newt Gingrich asked why Republican lawmakers are willing to fight it out rather than coalesce around Trump\u2019s pick, Massie wrote a lengthy post in response: \u201cChallenge accepted.\u201d
Massie argues Johnson can\u2019t inspire the public or make the GOP\u2019s case to the press, will cost the party the majority in midterm elections in 2026, only won the title by \u201cbeing the least objectionable candidate\u201d at the time, and \u201croutinely\u201d passes legislation with Democratic support.
\u201cIn closing, the emperor has no clothes and the entire conference knows it but few will say it. The general public knows it too. Please don\u2019t shoot the messengers,\u201d Massie wrote.
A Virginia man who allegedly used pictures of President Joe Biden for target practice was found at his home with the largest stockpile of homemade explosive devices in FBI history, authorities have said.
During the execution of a search warrant at Brad Spafford\u2019s 20-acre property in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, earlier this month, agents found \u201ca stockpile of more than 150 homemade improvised explosive devices, assessed as pipe bombs,\u201d according photos included with court documents.
More pipe bombs were found inside a backpack with a grenade-shaped patch that read \u201c#NoLivesMatter,\u201d a reference to a nihilistic, far-right ideology.
His attorneys filed a motion for his release from jail on New Year\u2019s Eve.
Brad Spafford, 36, was described as an extreme danger to the community\u2019 after a search of his home revealed more than 150 homemade explosives including pipe bombs
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is the son of immigrants who came to the United States from China and Taiwan.
He is the first member of his family to have been born in the U.S. and the first Asian American to be elected to statewide office in Connecticut.
If Trump tries to end birthright citizenship, despite the 14th Amendment enshrining a right of citizenship to people who are born in the country, Tong tells NBC News <\/a>he will be \u201cthe first to sue.\u201d
Tong is among roughly two dozen Democratic attorneys general on the frontline legal defense against Trump\u2019s threats to immigration rights, among other likely targets in the incoming administration.
Here\u2019s what Trump has said about birthright citizenship:
Trump says \u2018all\u2019 undccumented immigrants will be deported while focusing rhetoric on imagined masses of killers
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under immense pressure to resign with more members of his own party reportedly joining the effort to force him out after his deputy prime minister resigned and concerns about Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs increase.
Trudeau has faced record-low approval ratings over the last few months
Don Lemon\u2019s gleeful and profane celebration of the ongoing MAGA squabble over H-1B visas left several Fox News personalities outraged on Tuesday, with one panelist fuming whether the former CNN star thought her Donald Trump-supporting parents were \u201cstupid.\u201d
From The Independent<\/em>\u2019s Justin Baragona:
Don Lemon ridiculed \u2018America First\u2019 hardliners for having \u2018stupid MAGA brain\u2019 while lambasting them as \u2018dumb f***ing idiots\u2019 for not realizing that \u2018tech bros\u2019 would continue to advocate for skilled immigrants to be allowed into the country
Right-wing billionaire Elon Musk has changed his name to \u201cKekius Maximus\u201d on X, the social media platform he owns, signaling support for a type of cryptocurrency.
The world\u2019s richest man also updated his profile photo to an edited picture of \u201cPepe the Frog,\u201d a meme that has been co-opted by hate groups.
Katie Hawkinson has more:
The world\u2019s richest man\u2019s new handle and avatar appear to refer to a cryptocurrency \u2013\u00a0but they both include references previously co-opted by the far right
The Independent takes a look back at the top political moments of the last year \u2014 and some of the memorable scenes you may have forgotten from an unforgettable 2024:
One presidential election, two assassination attempts and hundreds of rallies filled the 2024 political headlines. But it didnt\u2019 stop there
Justin Caporale \u2014 one of the Trump campaign staffers who reportedly verbally abused staff at Arlington National Cemetery this summer \u2014 has been hired by the president-elect for his \u201cexternal operation\u201d as \u201cExecutive Producer for Major Events and Public Appearances.\u201d
Carpole \u201chas been with me right from the beginning of a very incredible journey, helping to produce our Historic Rallies and Events, including the Republican National Convention, Madison Square Garden, McDonalds commercial, and even my seriously viral \u2018Garbage Truck ride,\u2019\u201d Trump announced Tuesday.
\u201cOnce he finishes what will be our magnificent Inauguration presentation, Justin will continue to serve my external operation as Executive Producer for Major Events and Public Appearances,\u201d Trump added. \u201cCongratulations Justin. Keep up the GREAT work!\u201d
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