Donald Trump launched a fresh tirade Tuesday against European countries that refused to join his war against Iran, calling out the UK and France, as transatlantic relations soured from the spiralling conflict that has wreaked havoc on the global economy.
On his Truth Social website, the US president told governments worried about fuel prices to “go get your own oil” by force from the Gulf, comments that sent oil prices even higher.
In a tentative sign of a more proactive European pushback to the war, it was revealed on Tuesday that France had blocked Israeli planes from flying weapons through its airspace while Italy refused last-minute permission for US bombers to land in Sicily.
Global frustration with the economic fallout is growing. The Irish taoiseach, Micheál Martin, said on Tuesday that the oil supply shock caused by the US-Israeli attack on Iran was “probably the worst ever”.
‘Get your own oil’: Trump launches tirade against Europe for not joining Iran war
Spain has denied the US use of its bases and airspace for the war, and on Tuesday Madrid’s defence minister said the country would not “accept lectures from anyone”. The UK, meanwhile, has allowed the US to use its bases for a war its government says is illegal, but has nonetheless received public admonishment from Trump.
Trump signs order to restrict mail-in ballots in probably unconstitutional move
The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to compile a list of verified US citizens who can vote in every state. It also directs the United States Postal Service (USPS) to begin rule-making on a process that would require states to notify the agency of voters who intend to receive a mail-in ballot and prohibit them from receiving one unless they are on a USPS-approved list of eligible voters.
US judge orders Trump to halt $400m White House ballroom project
US district judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a request for a preliminary injunction by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a non-profit organization that brought a lawsuit alleging that Trump had exceeded his authority by razing the East Wing and beginning construction without approval from Congress. The Trump administration immediately appealed against the order.
Plans for gaudy Trump presidential library in Miami spark ridicule
In a city of respected art deco buildings, ridicule is being heaped on the latest structure proposed for Miami’s skyline: the Donald J Trump presidential library, unveiled in ambitious plans posted to social media on Monday night.
A 1 minute 40 second video tour of the proposed gargantuan structure revealed it will be decked, almost inevitably, in Trump’s trademark gold, including a giant statue of him, and will feature Air Force One, the $400m Boeing “flying palace” gifted to him by Qatar, in its cavernous lobby.
US average fuel price passes $4 a gallon for first time in four years amid Iran war
Average US fuel prices have crossed $4 a gallon for the first time in four years, piling pressure on drivers as Donald Trump’s war on Iran continues to boost oil markets.
The nationwide average climbed to almost $4.02 on Tuesday, according to AAA data, capping an extraordinary rise from $2.98 just a month ago. The fuel price last reached this high in August 2022.
Ex-FBI agents who worked on Trump cases sue agency and DoJ over firings
Three former FBI agents filed a class-action lawsuit against the bureau and justice department on Tuesday, along with the FBI director, Kash Patel, and attorney general, Pam Bondi, claiming they had been wrongfully terminated for working on the criminal cases related to Donald Trump.
Chatter and fear about US military draft emerge as Trump’s Iran war drags on
The United States is almost certainly not going to have a military draft to fight Iran. That hasn’t stopped the chatter, and anxiety, across the country.
What else happened today:
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth said the crews of two US army AH-64 Apache helicopters that hovered next to the singer Kid Rock’s swimming pool while he clapped and saluted on Saturday are no longer suspended.
The US supreme court on Tuesday ruled against a law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ children in Colorado, one of about two dozen states that ban the discredited practice.
An American journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the US said, as regional security deteriorates after the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
Citing the first amendment, a federal judge on Tuesday agreed to permanently block the Trump administration from implementing a presidential directive to end federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), two media entities that the White House has said are counterproductive to American priorities.
Chad Bianco, the Riverside county sheriff, has halted a contentious investigation into alleged voter fraud that has drawn opposition from the state’s attorney general.
The celebrity tabloid empire, TMZ, – better known for staking out actors and artists outside restaurants, gas stations, courthouses and their palatial estates – has turned its paparazzi prowess on a new and maybe equally chaotic subject: the US Congress. And America’s lawmakers may find themselves uniquely ill-equipped for the Hollywood experience.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Monday 30 March.
