Former Vice President Mike Pence says he’s not endorsing Trump

Former Vice President Mike Pence says anyone who puts himself over the US Constitution should never be president of the nation. (AP/File photo)

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Updated 16 March 2024

March 16, 2024 04:48

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he’s not endorsing Trump

“I believe anyone that puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States," says Pence, who served was vice president during Trump's term

Updated 16 March 2024

March 16, 2024 04:48

NEW YORK: Former Vice President Mike Pence says he will not be backing Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
“It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year,” Pence said in an interview with Fox News Channel Friday, weighing in for the first time since the former president became the presumptive GOP nominee. Pence ran against Trump for their party’s nomination but dropped his bid before voting began last year.
The decision makes Pence the latest in a series of senior Trump administration officials who have declined to endorse their former boss’s bid to return to the Oval Office. While Republican members of Congress and other GOP officials have largely rallied behind Trump, a vocal minority has continued to oppose his bid.
It also marks the end of a metamorphosis for Pence, who had long been seen as one of Trump’s most loyal defenders but broke with his two-time running mate by refusing to go along with Trump’s unconstitutional scheme to try to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. When Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s win, Pence was forced to flee to a Senate loading dock as rioters chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” outside.
In order to participate in the Republican primary debates, Pence was required to sign a pledge saying that he would support the party’s eventual nominee. And during the first debate in Milwaukee, Pence was among the candidates who raised their hands when asked whether they would support Trump even if he were convicted in one of his four criminal indictments.
But Pence had made clear he had come to harbor serious reservations about Trump’s actions and his policy stances.
“I believe anyone that puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again,” he said during his campaign launch speech.
As the campaign progressed, he raised alarms about the party’s resistance to sending aid to Ukraine and called on his fellow Republicans to reject what he called the “siren song of populism” espoused by Trump and his followers.
In the interview on Fox’s “The Story with Martha MacCallum,” Pence said he was “incredibly proud” of his and Trump’s record in office, but said, “During my presidential campaign I made it clear that there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues, and not just our difference on my Constitutional duties that I exercised on January the 6th.”
“I mean, as I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life,” he went on, also referencing what he called Trump’s “reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our administration’s effort to force” the sale of the popular TikTok app.
“In each of these cases, Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. And that’s why I cannot in conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign,” he said.
Pence declined to say whom he would be voting for — “I’m going to keep my vote to myself,” he said — but made clear it wouldn’t be Biden.
“I would never vote for Joe Biden,” he said. “I’m a Republican.”

Topics: 2024 US Elections Mike Pence Donald Trump

Macron says France and allies ‘united’ on Ukraine

Updated 9 sec ago

AFP

February 20, 2025 05:53

Macron says France and allies ‘united’ on Ukraine

US President Donald Trump has stunned the European Union by saying he is ready to resume diplomacy with Vladimir Putin after three years of Russia’s war against Ukraine

Updated 9 sec ago

AFP

February 20, 2025 05:53

PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that France and its allies agreed Ukraine’s rights and European security concerns should be taken into account in any deal to end the war with Russia, before he heads to Washington next week.
“The position of France and its allies is clear and united. We wish for peace in Ukraine that is lasting,” Macron said on X after a meeting with the leaders of 19 mostly European countries, with most taking part by video link.
US President Donald Trump has stunned the European Union by saying he is ready to resume diplomacy with Vladimir Putin after three years of Russia’s war against Ukraine, over the heads of both European countries and Kyiv.
Macron held the meeting on Ukraine Wednesday afternoon in a bid to coordinate a European response to what he has called an “existential threat” from Russia after the shock US policy shift.
“We stand by Ukraine and will carry out all our responsibilities to ensure peace and security in Europe,” Macron said after the video conference.
But he said participants, which included the leaders of EU nations as well as Iceland, Norway and Canada, stressed Ukraine should be included and “its rights respected” in the process.
They said “robust and credible guarantees” were needed to ensure a lasting deal, and “European security concerns” must be taken into account.
“We are convinced of the need to increase our defense and security spending and capacities for Europe and each of our countries,” Macron added.
Macron is set to meet Trump in Washington as early as Monday, Trump told reporters aboard his plane on Wednesday.
A White House official previously told AFP the meeting would take place “early next week,” on condition of anonymity.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet US envoy Keith Kellogg on Thursday and that he hopes for “constructive” work with the United States, after Trump lashed out against him on social media.
Trump on Wednesday called Zelensky a “dictator,” after a day earlier accusing Kyiv of having “started” the war, sparking pushback from even some members of his own Republican party.
France has been one of Ukraine’s main Western backers since Russia began its full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
Macron on Monday hosted key European leaders including from Germany, Britain, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands, as well as NATO and EU chiefs for emergency talks, but several smaller European countries including Romania and the Czech Republic were reportedly aghast at not having been invited.
Romania’s interim president Ilie Bolojan and Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Luc Frieden were present in person at the meeting on Wednesday afternoon, the French presidency said.
The leaders of Lithuania, Cyprus, Finland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia and the Czech Republic meanwhile joined via video conference call.
Hungary and Slovakia, whose prime ministers are seen as close to Putin, as well as NATO member Turkiye, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is eager to act as a mediator, were not on the list of participants.
“Russia poses an existential threat to Europeans,” Macron said in an interview with French regional newspapers published on Tuesday.
“Do not think that the unthinkable cannot happen, including the worst.”
Macron appeared open to the idea of sending forces to Ukraine but emphasized that this could take place only in the most limited fashion and away from the front lines.
France, along with Britain, was considering sending “experts or even troops in limited terms, outside any conflict zone,” he said.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France may have to make some difficult choices.
“Russia has decided to make enemies of us, and we must open our eyes, realize the scale of the threat and protect ourselves,” he told broadcaster RTL.
“If we do nothing, if we remain blind to the threat, the front line will move ever closer to our borders.”
He said earlier that only the Europeans could provide the guarantees necessary to ensure long-lasting “peace” in Ukraine.
To keep up the pressure on Moscow, EU countries on Wednesday agreed a new round of sanctions on Russia, diplomats said.

German voters prepare to elect a new parliament. Here’s what to expect on and after election day

Updated 28 min 25 sec ago

February 20, 2025 05:19

German voters prepare to elect a new parliament. Here’s what to expect on and after election day

Preelection polling shows a mainstream conservative bloc with about 30 percent support and the far-right Alternative for Germany with around 20 percent.
Germany is a leading member of NATO and the second-biggest weapons supplier to Ukraine

Updated 28 min 25 sec ago

February 20, 2025 05:19

BERLIN: German voters go to the polls Sunday to elect a new parliament that will determine how the country is run for the next four years.
Europe’s biggest economy is the 27-nation European Union’s most populous nation and a leading member of NATO, as well as the second-biggest weapons supplier to Ukraine, after the United States, following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Germany’s next government will be central to Europe’s response to an assertive new US administration.
Here’s a look at what to expect for Sunday and beyond.
What happens on election day?
Polls are due to open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.. Germans can also vote by postal ballot, but their ballot must arrive by the time polling stations close on election day to be counted.
Exit polls will come and vote-counting will begin immediately after voting ends, and the general picture of the outcome should be clear very quickly. A final official result is expected early Monday.
Who are the contenders?
Four candidates are running to be Germany’s next leader: incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the center-left Social Democrats; Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union party; current Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, of the environmentalist Greens; and Alice Weidel, of the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
Preelection polls have put Merz’s Union bloc in the lead with support of about 30 percent, ahead of AfD, with around 20 percent. Scholz’s Social Democrats and Habeck’s Greens are further back.
Merz is favored to replace Scholz as chancellor, but it’s not yet clear what governing coalitions will be possible after the election. How easy it is to form a government may depend in part on how many parties are in the new parliament. Opinion polls show three parties hovering around the 5 percent of the vote needed to win seats.
All mainstream parties say they won’t work with AfD.
What’s up for grabs?
At least 59.2 million people in a country of 84 million are eligible to vote for the new Bundestag, or lower house of parliament. It is the 630-member Bundestag that will elect the next chancellor, Germany’s equivalent of a prime minister.
There are 29 parties on the ballot, but it’s likely that between five and eight of them will get enough votes to win seats in parliament. In most cases, parties must win at least 5 percent of the vote to get a share of the seats.
What happens after polls close?
Germany’s electoral system rarely gives any party an absolute majority and opinion polls suggest that no party is anywhere near one this time. The country has no tradition of minority governments at national level, which means that two or more parties will most likely form a coalition.
There is no formal referee for the process of forming a new government, and no set time limit. Parties hold exploratory talks to determine who they have most common ground with, and one combination of parties then moves on to formal coalition talks.
Those negotiations typically produce a detailed coalition agreement setting out the new government’s plans. That will typically need approval at least from conventions of the parties involved. Some parties may choose to put it to a ballot of their entire membership.
Once that process is complete, the Bundestag can elect the new chancellor.
What’s at stake?
A strong German government would be important to Europe’s response to the new US administration and to turmoil in Ukraine and elsewhere.
Germany and neighboring France have traditionally been the motor of the EU, but both heavyweights have been consumed by domestic political instability in recent months.
This election is being held seven months earlier than originally planned because Scholz’s three-party coalition collapsed in November as it argued about how to reinvigorate the economy, which has shrunk for the past two years. One of the new government’s most urgent tasks will be to find a coherent response to that problem.
Another challenge will be further reducing irregular migration, which has been a top issue in the campaign.
Merz has said he hopes to form a new government by mid-April if he wins. Scholz’s outgoing government will remain in office on a caretaker basis until the Bundestag elects the new chancellor.

Topics: Germany

Trump could pursue streamlined initial deal on Ukraine minerals, sources say

Updated 20 February 2025

Reuters

February 20, 2025 05:04

Trump could pursue streamlined initial deal on Ukraine minerals, sources say

Zelensky rejected detailed US proposal for minerals deal for lack of security guarantees for Kyiv
Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv this week for talks with Zelensky

Updated 20 February 2025

Reuters

February 20, 2025 05:04

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: The Trump administration may seek to strike a simplified minerals deal with Ukraine to get a pact in place quickly and later negotiate detailed terms, such as how much of Ukraine’s vast resources the US would own, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

This follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s rejection of a detailed US proposal last week that would have seen Washington receiving 50 percent of Ukraine’s critical minerals, which include graphite, uranium, titanium and lithium, the latter a key component in electric car batteries.

That episode made clear that reaching a full deal will take time, the sources said.

But US President Donald Trump wants a pact with Ukraine in place before potentially authorizing more US military support for Kyiv or moving ahead with a bid to broker formal peace talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the three-year-old war, which was triggered by Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.

Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is in Kyiv this week to discuss the parameters of a revised pact and what Ukraine needs in return for signing.

Zelensky said he would meet with Kellogg on Thursday “and it is crucial for us that this meeting — and overall cooperation with America — be constructive.”

When asked if US officials would continue to pursue a deal, a Trump adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said about Zelensky: “Absolutely, we need to get this guy back to reality.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The push for a deal continues despite a widening rift between Trump and Zelensky. Trump denounced his Ukrainian counterpart as “a dictator without elections” on Wednesday after Zelensky said Trump was trapped in a Russian disinformation bubble, a response to the US president suggesting Ukraine started the war.

The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine in the past three years , and Trump has said US investment in Ukrainian minerals could ensure “that we’re going to in some form get this money back.” He is pushing for Kyiv to grant the US mineral concessions worth $500 billion in recognition of Washington’s aid.
The sources said it is important to Trump that he can signal publicly to the American people that the US is recouping the aid.

Less ‘rapacious’
It’s unclear the extent to which the original US proposal was framed as compensation for past weapons shipments or for future installments. But Zelensky said it focused too heavily on US interests and lacked security guarantees for Kyiv. “I can’t sell our country,” he told reporters Wednesday.

A third source familiar with the matter said Ukraine is willing to make a deal with the Trump administration. Another source also said Kyiv was ready to make a deal but that it must not look as “rapacious” as the arrangement the US first proposed.

Details of the US discussions about a potential mineral deal, including who inside the administration helped draft the original proposal, are unknown.

The revised approach is just one of several being discussed at the White House on how to clinch a deal with Kyiv in the coming weeks, an unusually quick timeline for a complex sector where deals usually involve private companies and state entities, not governments.

Trump on Wednesday repeated his frustration that most US aid was grants while Europe, he said, primarily made loans. “While the United States gets nothing back, so they get their money back,” he said.

He also criticized Zelensky’s rejection of the 50-50 split, characterizing it as breaching an accord without any evidence Kyiv had actually agreed to it. “And we had a deal based on rare earth and things, but they broke that deal… they broke it two days ago,” Trump said.

‘Tried, tested’ Chinese tool
A revised, simplified approach would help the United States sidestep numerous legal and logistical hurdles and give it time to negotiate the details of the development, including revenue sharing, at a later date.
“The US has not historically used natural resource-for-aid swaps, but it’s a tried and tested tool in China’s minerals playbook,” said Gracelin Baskaran, director of the critical minerals security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Ukraine was keenly interested in building a deeper economic and security relationship with the United States and finding a way to recognize the significant US investment already made in Ukraine’s future, said Tyson Barker, former US deputy special envoy for Ukraine’s economic recovery.
“The Ukrainians are more than willing to give extra advantages to the United States, in the form of privileged concessional access to critical mineral resources, in recognition of the billions of dollars that American taxpayers have put into Ukraine,” he said. “This is something that the Ukrainians have been strategizing about for some time.”
Barker said some similar terms would need to be offered to other countries that contributed heavily to Ukraine during the war, including Canada, Britain, Japan and the EU. But Russia also covets Ukraine’s natural resources and its forces, which have already seized a fifth of Ukraine including reserves of rare earths, are now little more than 4 miles from a giant lithium deposit. Ukraine and the United States need to discuss the fate of mineral deposits in areas captured by Russia, Zelensky has said, questioning if minerals in those areas would be given to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his partners Iran, North Korea and China.

Topics: Trump Returns Russia-Ukraine Conflict Keith Kellog

Drug trafficker tunnel found between Spanish enclave, Morocco: police

Updated 20 February 2025

AFP

February 20, 2025 00:56

Drug trafficker tunnel found between Spanish enclave, Morocco: police

Updated 20 February 2025

AFP

February 20, 2025 00:56

MADRID: Spanish police said Wednesday they had discovered a tunnel running from Moroccan territory to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta as part of an operation targeting suspected trafficking of hashish.
The police stated the underground gallery, several dozen meters long and 12 meters deep, was uncovered during a search of a warehouse in an industrial zone of Ceuta, a small territory located on Morocco’s northern Mediterranean coast opposite mainland Spain.
“It is a narrow construction, reinforced with wood which could have been used to transport drugs between Morocco and Spain,” said a statement from the Civil Guard police force.
Spanish media reported the tunnel as measuring at least 50 meters long, running just inside Moroccan territory.
It could, however, prove even longer, with authorities yet to determine where it ends.
The discovery came during an operation targeting a number of criminal gangs accused of smuggling hashish into Spain in lorries.
The police said the crackdown, dubbed Operation Hades, has led to the arrest of 14 people over the past three weeks, including two policemen, and the discovery of 6,000 kilos of the drug.

Topics: Spain Morocco

Trump administration tells Pentagon to slash budget

Updated 20 February 2025

AFP

February 20, 2025 00:50

Trump administration tells Pentagon to slash budget

Updated 20 February 2025

AFP

February 20, 2025 00:50

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has ordered senior US military leaders to plan for expansive cuts that could slash the defense budget by eight percent annually, or some $290 billion within the next five years, US media reported Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Pentagon to develop the deep reductions, The Washington Post reported, citing a memo.

The Pentagon’s budget for 2025 is some $850 billion. Lawmakers across the political spectrum agree that the massive spending is needed to deter threats, especially from China and Russia.

The cuts, if implemented in full, would reduce that figure by tens of billions each year to some $560 billion by the end of the five years.

The report did not give details of where the cuts would be made in the world’s biggest military, but an earlier Post report said that junior civilian workers, not uniformed personnel, were being targeted.

The news — which comes after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency reportedly visited the Pentagon last week — was likely to be met with stiff resistance from both the military and Congress.

Trump on Wednesday signaled support for a House of Representatives bill that would increase the defense budget by $100 billion — a move at odds with the Hegseth-directed cuts.

The planned reductions also run counter to calls by Trump and Hegseth for NATO members to increase their military spending to five percent of GDP a year.

The United States currently spends around 3.4 percent of its GDP on defense, and the five percent threshold would be even farther out of reach if the Pentagon’s budget is reduced.

The stock prices of major US defense contractors were hit by the news, with Lockheed Martin dropping briefly before recovering, Northrop Grumann falling nearly two percent and Palantir closing down more than 10 percent.

Hegseth’s memo said the proposed cuts must be drawn up by February 24, and include 17 categories that Trump wants exempted, including operations at the US border with Mexico and modernization of nuclear weapons and missile defense.

It also calls for funding for regional headquarters such as Indo-Pacific Command and Space Command.

But other major centers such as European Command, which has led the way on US strategy throughout the war in Ukraine, and also Africa Command and Central Command — which oversees operations in the Middle East — were absent from the list, the Post reported.

The Defense Department “must act urgently to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence,” Hegseth wrote in the memo, dated Tuesday, according to the Post.

“Our budget will resource the fighting force we need, cease unnecessary defense spending, reject excessive bureaucracy, and drive actionable reform including progress on the audit,” he reportedly continued.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to slash government spending and end US support for Ukraine in its war against Russian invasion.

Topics: Trump Returns Pentagon

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he’s not endorsing Trump

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he’s not endorsing Trump

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Macron says France and allies ‘united’ on Ukraine

Macron says France and allies ‘united’ on Ukraine

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Former Vice President Mike Pence says he’s not endorsing Trump

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