Latest news with #OvalOffice
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Elon Musk's drug test in doubt as hidden clues raise more questions for doctors
Tech tycoon and former First Buddy Elon Musk is speaking out about the media's attention on his alleged drug use in a way some say will do nothing to refute the rumors. Rumors of Musk's supposed drug use have been circulating in the pubic eye for months, with major publications publishing that the former head of DOGE reportedly used substances like ketamine and ecstasy while on the campaign trail with President Donald Trump. Musk refuted these claims during a Q&A in the Oval Office last month and in his latest effort posted results from a urine drug test on X earlier this week. In a photo of the urinalysis, the results showed he tested negative for illegal drugs like cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana, as well as prescription drugs that are sometimes abused like opiates, benzodiazepines and barbiturates. Levels of waste products in his urine were also measured and showed normal results. But Dr Holly Schiff, a licensed clinical psychologist familiar with urinalysis as a diagnostic tool for substance use disorders, told that his latest post is not as convincing as he may think it is. While she has not treated Musk and does not know the specifics of his testing, Dr Schiff told this website: 'Many recreational drugs clear from urine in one to three days. 'The test being done when it was and shared publicly makes me think it was more a PR rebuttal to prove his critics wrong, and posting it on social media with the "lol" adds a performative layer that can invite skepticism.' And one detail in particular stood out to her. On his urinalysis, Musk's creatinine level is 47.16 milligrams per deciliter of urine (mg/dL) – nothing immediately alarming given the normal range is 20 to 300 mg/dL. A creatinine test is a measure of how well the kidneys are doing their job of filtering waste from the blood But creatinine is typically above 50 among adult men, who tend to have higher muscle mass than women, and creatinine is a byproduct of muscle metabolism. Dr Schiff said: 'The low creatinine level suggests urine dilution, whether that is intentional to flush substances or unintentional, due to high fluid intake. So this is a less concentrated sample.' At the same time, she pointed out that certain drugs are cleared from the body relatively quickly. Ketamine passes from the body in around 12 hours. And, Dr Schiff added: 'This was also a one-time scheduled test that can easily be prepared for; therefore, not equivalent to randomized testing over time.' A scheduled test is one a person can prepare for by abstaining from drugs for the time necessary to fall below detectable thresholds. Another way to fall below the threshold is by diluting drug concentrations in urine by over-hydrating, a method that will also drive down urine creatinine levels. Dr Johnny Parvani, an emergency medicine physician who founded an IV therapy company - who also had not treated Musk and does not know the specifics of the testing - told 'Since every test has its detection limits, the more diluted the urine, the more likely it will fall below detectable thresholds. 'This is actually the reason for the World Anti-Doping Agency limitation on the use of IV fluids, because it can help dilute and flush out performance-enhancing drugs below detection limits.' Drug tests are typically administered at random to spot any substance use issues or to check in on someone who is meant to be cutting back or abstaining altogether. 'It doesn't rule out past drug use, prescription drug use or long-term use patterns,' Dr Schiff added. 'For meaningful clinical insight, we would need randomized, observed testing over time, ideally with behavioral and medical evaluations corroborating the results.' The person who collected Musk's sample is listed as Jennifer Taylor on the results. Her LinkedIn says she is the owner of Fastest Labs in Austin - where the results indicate the urine test was done. Collectors are typically the same sex as the person giving the urine sample as, in some cases, they will accompany the patient to ensure the sample is actually theirs and has not been tampered with. That a woman is listed as the sample collector suggested to Dr Schiff that the test itself could have been what experts call unobserved, meaning the sample was provided in private without direct visual supervision. 'So, of course, there is always the possibility of substituting or manipulating a sample,' she said. 'Lack of observation undermines the test's evidentiary strength.' Musk has been open in the past about using ketamine prescribed by a doctor to treat depression. But the recent investigation by The New York Times cited unnamed people familiar with Musk's daily habits who said his chronic use of the powerful anesthetic had begun to affect his bladder. The same report alleged that Musk traveled with a daily case of about 20 different pills, including ones marked Adderall. 'A clean test does not rule out use of substances not covered, nor non-substance causes of behavioral change,' Dr Schiff said. 'This test also does not give us any information about use weeks or months ago or current medication status, like sleep aids or prescription stimulants. 'So while the test is technically clean, a single, not random, [potentially] unobserved collection with potential sample dilution cannot definitively rule out recent or intermittent drug use. This appears more strategic than clinically necessary.'
New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The great showboating debate, Juventus meet Donald Trump and Mudryk's doping charge
The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic's daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox. Hello! Stay tuned for Juventus' bizarre appearance in the Oval Office. But first, where does the line fall between imagination and humiliation? On the way: • The fickle art of showboating • Juve inthe White House • Barca agree Williams terms • Mudryk's doping charge Prince Naseem Hamed, the multi-time world champion featherweight who graced boxing with his presence in the 1990s, wrote the book on showboating. Dig out any compilation of his unorthodox, switch-hitting years and his bragging runs right through it. Was it basic confidence or performative disrespect? I'm not sure Hamed or boxing cared, but in football, it's a thin line. As with any sport, the game has a hierarchy of talent, giving some players the scope to laud it over others. That wasn't necessarily the case when Bayern Munich rattled 10 goals past Auckland City at the Club World Cup last Sunday but in response to being asked if he felt sorry for their victims, Bayern midfielder Michael Olise replied: 'No.' Advertisement The ethics of showboating caught the imagination of Stuart James and Jack Lang, to the extent that The Athletic pair set out to discover how people in football perceive it. It's a top read and it deserves attention. Is it a problem that Memphis Depay, during a Brazilian game in March, stood on top of the ball to waste time with victory in the offing (causing a brawl in the process)? Should we laugh or tut at players doing keepie-uppies when a game is out of sight? Can Neymar tease whenever he pleases, on the basis that he is Neymar? I've long suspected that coaches take a dimmer view of showboating than players, and the feature compiled by Stuart and Jack suggests as much (as did Oliver Glasner hauling off Romain Esse during Crystal Palace's last game of the Premier League season). Their piece starts with Peter Bosz, the PSV boss, cringing at the 'disrespect' shown by his team to Liverpool during a Champions League tie in January. 'I would have sawed them off below the knees,' Bosz said. Beyond humiliation, there's the real danger of showboating going wrong — as per Mario Balotelli trying (and failing) to cheekily backheel in an easy chance for Manchester City in a friendly against LA Galaxy in 2011 (above). His manager, Roberto Mancini, wasn't pleased. But then again, didn't those excesses make Balotelli the character he was? A decade ago, Neymar got it in the neck for rubbing it in towards the end of a Copa del Rey final in which Barcelona were seeing off Athletic Club. You've probably seen the footage of it (above): his attempt to guide a backheel flick over the head of a defender. The opposition were lining up to give him a shoeing. He drew plenty of criticism afterwards too. Andoni Iraola, who played at right-back for Athletic Club, said it was a trick without 'elegance or sportsmanship'. But this was Neymar's alternative take: 'It's a way of dribbling past an opponent like any other. You can't get angry because it's my style of play. I've been doing that for years.' Advertisement Does he have a point? Is it fair to drool over footballers with elevated levels of skill but only on our terms? I once saw Raphinha bury former Palace defender Gary Cahill with an exceptional piece of skill and it was glorious. There's a risk of indecency, certainly, but the boundary is subjective, and Bayern smashing 10 past Auckland was merely them completing a full day's work. That sweet spot between professionalism, entertainment and high-and-mighty disapproval? It's not easy to find. Since FIFA has a knack of making 'man kicks ball' a sideshow, let's rattle through day five of Club World Cup results. Manchester City beat Wydad Casablanca, despite Rico Lewis just about taking an opponent's head off. Real Madrid made heavy weather of a 1-1 draw Al Hilal, despite the iffy award of a penalty (which they missed). Red Bull Salzburg carved out a 2-1 victory over Pachuca, despite torrential rain halting play for an hour and a half. But the real action, as ever, was off the pitch. After criticism of its decision to ditch a planned anti-discrimination campaign, FIFA backtracked by displaying inclusivity messages at yesterday's matches, proving that not all publicity is good publicity. Remarkably, it's unclear if this was just for one day. And then, in the hours before their 5-0 win over Abu Dhabi's Al Ain, we witnessed a crop of Juventus players and staff — USMNT's Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah included — showing up in the White House for a 16-minute audience with Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino, in which the U.S. president opined about the Iran-Israel conflict and transgender women in sport. Speaking after the game, Weah was completely nonplussed. 'They told us we have to go, and I had no choice but to go,' he said. 'It was a bit weird. When (Trump) started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of like, 'I just want to play football, man'.' Infantino loves an Oval Office visit. You just constantly wonder when he'll visit Planet Earth. You're forgiven if you've forgotten that Mykhailo Mudryk is a Chelsea player. The Ukrainian winger has been mothballed for seven months, waiting to find out if an adverse drugs test would result in full-blown disciplinary proceedings. The news he didn't want came through yesterday as England's Football Association announced that he had been charged with a breach of its anti-doping rules. We've previously reported how Mudryk, 24, returned a positive test for meldonium, which can enhance an athlete's endurance levels. He denies knowingly taking a banned substance. Advertisement The development leaves him and his club on the hook. If found guilty, Mudryk — the signing which, in January 2023, signalled Chelsea's drift towards inordinately long contracts — faces a ban of up to four years: that prospect hanging over a player who cost £62million ($78.9m) and holds a deal running to 2031. In the worst-case scenario, what choice would Chelsea have but to cut their losses? (Selected games, times ET/UK) FIFA Club World Cup: Group A: Palmeiras vs Al Ahly, 12pm/5pm – DAZN/DAZN; Inter Miami vs Porto, 3pm/8pm – TNT, Fubo, DAZN/DAZN; Group B: Seattle Sounders vs Atletico Madrid, 6pm/11pm – DAZN/DAZN; Paris Saint-Germain vs Botafogo, 9pm/2am – DAZN/DAZN. Concacaf Gold Cup: Group D: Saudi Arabia vs USMNT, 9.15pm/2.15am – Fox Sports, Fubo, ViX/Premier Sports. We'll close out today with a further mention of the aforementioned red card shown to Rico Lewis in Manchester City's defeat of Wydad Casablanca. Opinion was divided over whether he deserved to walk for his boot-to-chin tackle on Samuel Obeng, but I liked the perspective on the foul given by broadcaster DAZN's Ref Cam (above), which showed the match official's perspective of Lewis' lunge in real time. Through the eyes of Brazilian Ramon Abatti, it looks like a red to me.
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Inside Donald Trump's extraordinary bromance with Gianni Infantino
Gianni Infantino was in the Oval Office almost seven years ago when he introduced Donald Trump, then in his first term as president of the United States, to the concept of football's yellow and red cards. The Fifa president was a much less globally established figure in 2018 – just a few weeks past his first World Cup finals at the head of the organisation he had ruled since shortly after its 2015 crisis. Trump was then effusive in his praise of Infantino's efforts to secure the United States the 2026 World Cup finals, although regretted that he would not be in office when the tournament arrived. 'The media is going to be very boring,' Trump riffed, as his mind wandered to 2026 and the possibility of a post-Trump White House. 'It's going to be very boring. They'll all be out of business, I guess.' As Trump brought matters to a close, Infantino managed to take control for a few seconds to explain the refereeing cards that he had brought Trump as a novelty gift. 'Yellow card is a warning,' Infantino said, 'and when you want to kick out some… like this'. He raised the card in the time-honoured fashion and Trump looked delighted. He had been handed the perfect visual joke which gave him the chance to take centre-stage. Trump took the red and brandished it in the direction of the media. The cameras clicked. And then it was back to questions about who might pay for the border wall with Mexico. The rise of Infantino, the Swiss lawyer who became the most powerful man in sport, or at least its most powerful broker, is an extraordinary tale. His presidency itself has been built on not one but two US World Cups endorsed by Trump. And another delivered to the Saudi Arabia ruler, Crown-Prince Mohamed Bin-Salman – to whom Trump is often said to have smoothed the path. That meeting, in 2018, demonstrated something as true then as it is now: Infantino has learned – ahead of many of the leaders of European nations – how to manage Trump in public and private. And he was at it again last night. The Fifa president was back at the White House with a selection of Juventus players and management in the early hours of Thursday, British time. Trump shook hands with the two US players in the side – Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah – and then Infantino and the players stood around while the US president expounded on the big questions of the day, none of which were Fifa Club World Cup -related. There was the potential for US intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict and his opposition to the Iranian state having a nuclear weapon. But it was to Infantino whom Trump went back again and again as the straight man for his quips. He joked about the scarcity of tickets for Juve's game a few hours later, a 5-0 win against Al-Ain, and whether Infantino could get some for his friends. Then later, when Trump finally had a question that he liked, he turned to his friend and chuckled, 'One out of 10, Gianni, one out of 10'. Infantino beamed back. For others, like the Juve party, life in proximity to Trump can be utterly baffling. At one point, Trump, musing on trans rights, asked them: 'Could a woman make your team?' Later, mid-point about B52 stealth bombers, Trump turned to the bewildered players and asked: 'You guys want to be stealthy, right?' But each time Infantino was called upon to respond to, or sustain, a Trump joke, he knew exactly what to do. He never misses a chance to emphasise the US role in the two Fifa tournaments being staged there currently and next year – and with good reason. From Trump, Infantino has the biggest economy in the world in which to stage Fifa's most lucrative event, the 2026 men's World Cup finals. Infantino also has the US for his personal project: the 32-team Club World Cup that began on Saturday. The latter is a blatant grab at the lucrative elite-club broadcast rights. A declaration of war with Uefa and European domestic leagues over the calendar. It would be right to say that it is by far the most disruptive event ever conceived of and forced through on the say-so of a Fifa president. How many will attend, stream or watch may just be a side issue. Infantino has consolidated power with two key world leaders as fond of disruption as he is himself. The Trump-Infantino bromance is strong, for now. Trump has personally chaired televised World Cup press announcements, posed with the Tiffany & Co designed Club World Cup trophy, and lavished praise on Infantino. While Bin-Salman who has done something even more important: he has paid for the whole thing. Centre-stage with Trump again this week, the question once again is: how did Infantino get here? Infantino's rise after Fifa corruption Ten years ago, at the age of 45, Infantino emerged from the wreckage of the careers of his Fifa predecessor Sepp Blatter and his former boss, Uefa president Michel Platini, to seize power at Fifa. He did so on his famous 'Fifa 2.0' ticket – promising a departure from the corruption of the past. When Swiss police swooped on the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich on May 27, 2015, to arrest Fifa executives, they did so as part of an FBI operation to take Fifa out at the knees. It was the 2010 vote for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals that had humiliated the 2022 US bid and piqued the interest of another US president, Bill Clinton. Post-White House he had given his support to US 2022 and was in Zurich when the US polled just three Fifa executive committee votes in the first round. If Clinton's interest in Fifa and football was awakened before 2010, then Fifa certainly had his full attention now. Soon the power of the FBI was concentrated on Fifa and, within five years, the Blatter power structure had been dismantled. In the aftermath of May 2015, Fifa had turned to a Clinton-friendly institution to begin the 'Fifa 2.0' project. That was the crisis management and public affairs advisory Teneo, staffed by a number of former Clinton advisers, many of whom had worked on the US 2022 bid. Later that year Infantino was voted on to Fifa's reform committee and in the following February he was elected to the presidency. He was endorsed by many as the man to clean up Fifa, including the English Football Association. Eight months later, the US presidential elections delivered a shock. Instead of Hillary, and a second Clinton family presidency, it was Trump. Why Trump backed US World Cup bid Infantino needed the 2026 World Cup – the first awarded in his presidency – to go to the world's most powerful nation. Fifa needed the commercial deals and the big international brands to return, as well as the US ticket and hospitality market. Improbably, Trump seemed to like it, too. The world stage, and the US competence at global events, seemed to catch his famously butterfly attention. He was impressed by Infantino in a way one would not imagine Trump would be, when presented with a middle-aged Swiss lawyer in suit and tie. Perhaps that was because Trump's youngest child Barron, now 19, was a keen football fan and had told his father that Infantino was a serious figure. Trump considered the 2026 bid important enough that it stayed in the family. While bidding is the responsibility of national associations, in this case the US Soccer Federation (USSF), the point of contact in the White House was a familiar face. That was Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been part of the government's support for Los Angeles' successful bid for the 2028 Olympics. Political patronage is required for any successful World Cup bid in order to sign the demanding legal guarantees Fifa requires on visa and tax issues. The USSF would eventually build a tripartite bid with its Mexican and Canadian counterparts – but Trump barely ever mentions the involvement of those two nations. Indeed, when Infantino nervously added the co-hosts to a conversation during a press briefing at the White House last month, Trump praised him for gabbling the names of both countries quickly. With Fifa coming out of a crisis and looking for a safe home for the 2026 finals, many feel that it would always be the US and its two junior partners. The only rival that announced itself before the 2017 deadline was Morocco, a perennial failed World Cup bidder, which would have represented a huge commercial and logistical risk for Fifa. Nevertheless, Trump's propensity to offend some or all of the 211 Fifa member nations ahead of the 2018 vote could not be underestimated. Infantino would have to work hard to deliver a US World Cup in 2026. First there were the immigration laws introduced in Trump's first term that were potentially objectionable to many of the nations voting. There was also Trump's widely reported ' s---hole countries ' remark in January 2018, made privately to a group of senators, and directed at Central American and African countries which had high levels of immigration into the US. But Infantino wanted the US and its two neighbours to host 2026. Kushner had Bin Salman onside. The public backing of Saudi Arabia for US 2026 was regarded as crucial. Infantino would later host Trump at Davos as his guest of honour in 2019. That year, Fifa even managed to navigate the embarrassment of the US women's World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe, and other team-mates, refusing to visit the White House. This was a relationship to be protected at all costs. As for the vote on the 2026 venue, Morocco never got close. The US polled more than double the number of votes as Morocco at the Fifa Congress at the Russia World Cup in June 2018. Infantino had delivered for Trump, and, for a self-declared transactional president, that seemed to resonate. Saudi backing key to Club World Cup Even before the 2018 Fifa vote in Moscow, Infantino had been discussing the possibility of a new competition: an expanded, four-yearly summer global club competition that would take precedence over its existing Club World Cup. Not that the new Club World Cup would replace the pre-existing one. That December competition would eventually be rebranded the Fifa Intercontinental Cup, as it once was in a previous iteration. Originally the competition was to be backed by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, itself backed by Saudi Arabia – a huge investment of £25 billion and a first tournament in China in 2021. Then football was turned upside down by Covid, the European Super League breakaway and its backlash. Infantino was notably slow to add his voice to the condemnation of the Super League. The New York Times would later report it had seen documents that showed Infantino had struck an agreement with the 12 Super League clubs to back the project in return for their support for his Club World Cup. La Liga president Javier Tebas publicly alleged the same. Infantino is not, however, easily deterred. Although the 2021 Club World Cup never went ahead, the idea of the tournament did not go away. Only at the Club World Cup of December 2023 did Fifa finally announce the expanded 32-team format, a qualification principle and some dates for the tournament. It did so in a hotel in Jeddah with the details briefed by Fifa officials while Infantino himself declined to do any interviews with media. Unlike his predecessor Blatter, who could not resist the adversarial press conference, Infantino never offers himself for interview. Or at least not those who might ask awkward questions. His main Club World Cup preview to date has been with the US YouTuber Darren Watkins, known under the moniker 'iShowSpeed'. 🚨| BREAKING: FIFA President Gianni Infantino just pulled up on Speed's stream and brought him the official kickoff ball for the first Club World Cup match 🤯🔥 — Speedy HQ (@IShowSpeedHQ) May 23, 2025 Defeat for Trump in the election of November 2020 had left Infantino with a problem. The administration of president Joe Biden was not nearly as keen on Fifa and Infantino, and Fifa had a double-commitment in the US. Not only was it planning for 2026, but it was scrambling to do the same for the Club World Cup one year earlier. Remarkably, the 11 Club World Cup host cities were announced as late as last September. Infantino threw Inter Miami – and Lionel Messi – into the competition with an impromptu announcement in October. The $1billion (£850 million) global broadcast deal with DAZN was announced in December. In May, Fifa ejected the Mexican club Leon over multi-club ownership rules. Only at the start of this month did they stage a play-off between Major League Soccer's LAFC and Mexico's Club America to decide a replacement, won by the former. It has been last minute all the way. Infantino has the tiger by the tail Trump had complained in 2018 that he would be out of office by the time the Fifa show arrived. Then in December last year his election victory returned him to the White House and, amid the tumult of his second term, reignited the Infantino partnership. The Fifa president has not missed an opportunity to court Trump and his inner circle. He was even late for his own Fifa Congress in May in Paraguay having overstayed with the Trump tour of the Middle East – a move that prompted a walkout by western European national associations, including the English FA. Infantino may argue in private that he has to play by the Trump rules. Fifa is wedded to the US and its volatile president for the next 13 months – and the commercial success of 2026 is crucial to Fifa. On one side, Infantino has the most divergent institutions around the globe, and many among them will find Trump's policies and remarks abhorrent. On the other side, the Fifa president knows that to retain power he must generate revenue for his 211 members and with the Club World Cup he aims eventually to tear a big slice of that off his Uefa rivals. History suggests that as long as Infantino can come up with the cash, his membership might be prepared to hold their noses. So far Trump has been a powerful ally, but also one that will not hesitate to retaliate if he feels slighted. Infantino has the tiger, but only by its tail. That said, Infantino knows Trump well. The US president agreed in March to an appearance with the Club World Cup trophy in which Infantino seemed keen to test the power of Trump's oft-mentioned fondness for golden objects. The concentric rings could be moved into different positions, Infantino demonstrated, when unlocked by a key. Infantino handed it to the US president amid applause. 'That is something, huh?' Trump declared, although he had seemed to enjoy more the red card he was given. It was the announcement of the World Cup Task Force by Trump in May that really underscored the relationship between the two men. In attendance were key figures from the Trump administration. With vice-president JD Vance on his right side and Infantino to his left, Trump was in a buoyant mood. He praised the Fifa president as 'one of the most powerful men in sport'. 'You can see Gianni is a very enthusiastic man and that's one of the reasons you [Infantino] have had so much success,' Trump said. 'He's like someone who just woke up on Christmas morning as a young child and saw those toys under the tree and that enthusiasm really plays well.' One can tell Infantino is cautious around Trump. He is aware that he must join in the 'Maga' badinage but also try to get across his official Fifa messaging and play to his own base – the 211 Fifa members. He is always at pains to remind the world of the existence of the 2026 co-hosts Mexico and Canada and nervously laughed off Trump's joke that he was right to mention them only in passing. Infantino reassured the US president that 78 of the 104 tournament games would be in the US. He repeated the claim that 2026 would be like '104 Super Bowls'. Across both tournaments there would be 10 million tickets sold. There would be $50 billion (£37 billion) in added economic output, Infantino said, and 300,000 US jobs created. Two million visitors, he said, would come. Although different figures have been quoted at different times. Flattery works in the court of Trump Behind the scenes, Fifa needs the Trump administration's guarantees on visas and taxes. Fifa does not pay local taxes and that is why its travelling four-yearly men's World Cup is so lucrative. For that to happen, Infantino needs to have a relationship with the man at the top and that is how he has learnt to do business with Trump, as he has done with Bin-Salman. A personal relationship, flattery, playing his role in the Trump court at all costs. Infantino might well just say with a shrug that this is the reality of doing business, but he will also be aware he is walking a fine line. As with all who stay in Trump's orbit, there is always uncertainty. Trump did not put in an appearance for the start of the tournament on Saturday in Miami as might once have been hoped by Infantino. The Juventus White House visit seems also to have been brokered by Trump's friend and the club's executive chairman, John Elkann, the American scion of the Agnelli dynasty. The 2026 World Cup is a logistical departure for Fifa. There is no local organising committee. Historically, the LOC was fundamental: made up of the country's leading football administrators, politicians and others who had strong relationships with central and regional government as well as all the other apparatus of state required to stage a major event. The LOC would use the planning and staging as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop football nationally. That was the case for the USSF in 1994, when the World Cup last came to the US. Not this time. Fifa has moved to offices in Miami and is doing the planning itself. The USSF, which bid for the event, has been largely sidelined. The task force announced last month will be headed by Andrew Giuliani, son of Trump's friend Rudy – but that is not the same. It would be no different from an English World Cup without the visible presence of the FA. At an event last week in New York to mark one year out from the start of 2026, all 11 host cities were present but not the USSF and, notably, not Fifa. Instead, the really big questions that remain about 2026 – on the financial arrangements and visas – as well as the federal budget that will be granted to host cities for issues such as security, would appear to be subject to negotiations behind the scenes.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
‘These are the most magnificent poles made': As Middle East rages, Trump brags about new flag poles at the White House
As hostilities between Iran and Israel continued to escalate in the Middle East, Donald Trump appeared to have other more pressing domestic matters on his mind – the erection of new flagpoles at the White House. 'It is my Great Honor to announce that I will be putting up two beautiful Flag Poles on both sides of the White House, North and South Lawns. It is a GIFT from me of something which was always missing from this magnificent place,' the president wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. The digging and placement of the poles was due to begin at 7:30 a.m ET on Wednesday. Flags will then be raised at around 11a.m, he added. 'These are the most magnificent poles made – They are tall, tapered, rust proof, rope inside the pole, and of the highest quality,' the president added. 'Hopefully, they will proudly stand at both sides of the White House for many years to come!' The poles are part of several personal 'touches' previously promised by Trump, including new artwork, an overhaul of the Oval Office decor and possibly covering up the lawn in the Rose Garden. This includes hanging his infamous mugshot just outside the Oval Office, which now also features a wall-mounted copy of the Declaration of Independence that is shielded by dark drapes and many golden accents. Trump's Tuesday excitement for the new flagpoles came roughly eight hours after he issued a thinly veiled threat against Iran, demanding an 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER' from the nation's forces. In another Truth Social post, markedly different in tone from his flagpole message, the president wrote that the U.S. 'know exactly where' Iran's 'so-called Supreme Leader,' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is 'hiding' and described him as an 'easy target' who is currently 'safe' in his current location. 'We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers,' he continued before adding: 'Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Trump and his administration have consistently denied any American involvement in Israel's campaign to cripple Iran's nuclear program. But by Wednesday morning, the president also seemed to have poles on the brain – with the erection of the flagstaffs, and another Truth Social post, that read: 'Great Poll Numbers For Trump!'
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Trump Can't End FEMA But It Needs Reform, Says Obama's FEMA Head
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he intends to whittle down or phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and last week he gave a rough timeline for that: 'after hurricane season.' 'We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to the state level,' Trump told reporters on June 10 during a briefing in the Oval Office.
