Mike Johnson attempts to defend Trump after president says ‘I love the inflation’ – live

From 2h ago US House speaker tries to explain away Trump's 'I love the inflation' comment Hours after Donald Trump brushed off concerns about new data showing that inflation jumped to an annual rate of 4.2% in May by saying “I love the inflation”, the US House speaker, Mike Johnson, accused a CNN journalist of taking the president’s comment “totally out of context”. “The president is laser-focused on the domestic economic situation”, Johnson insisted. “He is working to bring down prices; his working to get the strait of Hormuz reopened.” As he walked through the US Capitol, trailed by reporters, Johnson said that the meaning of the president’s comment, which was made in his presence during an Oval Office event, was crystal-clear, at least to him. “What he was saying is: ‘It’s going to be great to have that number and compare it to what comes next, when we get these situations resolved, that’ll be a fun thing to consider,’” the Republican congressman suggested. In fact, Trump’s meaning was far from clear, coming at the start of a rambling answer to the question of whether he was concerned “about the latest inflation number, which came out this morning”. “No, I love it, the numbers were great. You know what I really loved? I love the inflation n – you know why? Because as soon as this war is over,” the president began, before interrupting his answer with a long tangent on what he called the success of a US military effort to sneak oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz, which he said had contributed to a drop in oil prices. “I can say it now, something you didn’t know. Do you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran, until right now. We took out the other night 22 ships late at night with no lights because they don’t have any radar because we blasted the crap out of it. We took out – that’s why oil is $85 a barrel,” the president said, without further explaining why he “loved” the inflation data showing the third consecutive monthly increase since the start of the Iran war and a three-year high. Trump then continued for three more minutes, recounting what he called the success of the US attacks on Iran, and Venezuela, and never returning to the question of inflation, but instead repeating his familiar, baseless claim that he told advisers in February that war was necessary because “Iran’s going to have a nuclear weapon very soon” and that he had expected the impact of his war on Iran on the price of oil and the stock market to be worse. In fact, US intelligence agencies had assessed that Iran had given up the pursuit of nuclear weapons in 2003 and not restarted the effort. When Trump finished speaking, a reporter reminded him of the topic, asking if he expected “inflation to come down between now and November”. “When the war is over? It’s coming down,” Trump replied. “It’s going to come down like a rock.” Share Updated at 18.14 EDT Key events Democratic senators rule out renewing surveillance law unless Trump relents on installing Pulte intelligence director As Donald Trump appeared unwilling on Wednesday to back off his plan to install as acting director of national intelligence an unqualified political “attack dog”, federal mortgage director Bill Pulte, Senate Democrats said they would not vote to reauthorize a warrantless surveillance law before it expires on Friday. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa), permits US intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreign targets operating outside the country without a warrant. Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey was asked by a reporter if he would support a short-term extension of the law until the July Fourth holiday. “With Pulte still in there? I’m not for that,” Kim told Punchbowl News. “We should not reauthorize FISA”, his colleague from Connecticut, Chris Murphy, posted, “until there is ZERO CHANCE Bill Pulte (or anyone else with a history of or intent to abuse of power to hurt Trump’s political opponents) gets anywhere near our classified services.” In a social media video, Murphy said Pulte has “zero experience in national secutiry or intelligence". “The reason anybody knows who Bill Pulte is, is because he’s just a Trump attack dog who got put at an agency, a federal housing finance agency, apparently for the explicit purpose of combing through the private mortgage records of anybody that has ever criticized Donald Trump”, Murphy added. “But because he showed that he was willing to make public sensitive private information about the president’s political enemies, he’s now being put in charge of the entire American intelligence infrastructure”. Share US military announces new 'self-defense strikes' on Iran In a brief statement, the US military’s Central Command announced on Wednesday afternoon that US “forces began launching additional self-defense strikes today at 5.15pm ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief’s direction. The strikes are in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.” Share Updated at 18.04 EDT US House speaker tries to explain away Trump's 'I love the inflation' comment Hours after Donald Trump brushed off concerns about new data showing that inflation jumped to an annual rate of 4.2% in May by saying “I love the inflation”, the US House speaker, Mike Johnson, accused a CNN journalist of taking the president’s comment “totally out of context”. “The president is laser-focused on the domestic economic situation”, Johnson insisted. “He is working to bring down prices; his working to get the strait of Hormuz reopened.” As he walked through the US Capitol, trailed by reporters, Johnson said that the meaning of the president’s comment, which was made in his presence during an Oval Office event, was crystal-clear, at least to him. “What he was saying is: ‘It’s going to be great to have that number and compare it to what comes next, when we get these situations resolved, that’ll be a fun thing to consider,’” the Republican congressman suggested. In fact, Trump’s meaning was far from clear, coming at the start of a rambling answer to the question of whether he was concerned “about the latest inflation number, which came out this morning”. “No, I love it, the numbers were great. You know what I really loved? I love the inflation n – you know why? Because as soon as this war is over,” the president began, before interrupting his answer with a long tangent on what he called the success of a US military effort to sneak oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz, which he said had contributed to a drop in oil prices. “I can say it now, something you didn’t know. Do you know we’ve been taking out millions of barrels of oil? Nobody knows it. You know who doesn’t know about it? Iran, until right now. We took out the other night 22 ships late at night with no lights because they don’t have any radar because we blasted the crap out of it. We took out – that’s why oil is $85 a barrel,” the president said, without further explaining why he “loved” the inflation data showing the third consecutive monthly increase since the start of the Iran war and a three-year high. Trump then continued for three more minutes, recounting what he called the success of the US attacks on Iran, and Venezuela, and never returning to the question of inflation, but instead repeating his familiar, baseless claim that he told advisers in February that war was necessary because “Iran’s going to have a nuclear weapon very soon” and that he had expected the impact of his war on Iran on the price of oil and the stock market to be worse. In fact, US intelligence agencies had assessed that Iran had given up the pursuit of nuclear weapons in 2003 and not restarted the effort. When Trump finished speaking, a reporter reminded him of the topic, asking if he expected “inflation to come down between now and November”. “When the war is over? It’s coming down,” Trump replied. “It’s going to come down like a rock.” Share Updated at 18.14 EDT Hegseth says US will strike Iran again tonight: 'If we need to negotiate with bombs, then we'll negotiate with bombs' Speaking to reporters outside the headquarters of US Central Command in Tampa on Wednesday, Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, confirmed Donald Trump’s earlier statement that the US plans to strike Iran again tonight. “The war department is prepared to set the terms to ensure that we get the kind of deal President Trump expects,” Hegseth told reporters. “Those strikes that happen tonight will be strong,” Hegseth said, before suggesting that the military assault could be averted if Iran agrees to a peace deal with the president. “President Trump is a deal-maker, the best in the world,” Hegseth went on. “He’s prepared to make that deal; Iran would be wise to take it.” “If we need to negotiate with bombs, then we’ll negotiate with bombs,” he added. The defense secretary also suggested that what he called a successful US mission to guide oil tankers through a crucial choke point in the Gulf means that “the United States of America controls the strait of Hormuz”. Share Updated at 17.12 EDT Defense industry leaders preparing for 'ugly' meeting with Trump as concerns grow over shrinking US missile supply, NBC News reports The leaders of roughly seven defense companies have been preparing to meet with Donald Trump at the White House later this week in what is expected to be a contentious discussion amid mounting concerns over the dwindling US supply of missiles, NBC News reports citing two people familiar with details of the meeting. Trump is expected to press the companies to find ways to swiftly increase their production of weaponry for the Pentagon, the people and one other person familiar with the upcoming meeting told NBC News. The deputy defense secretary, Stephen Feinberg, is also expected to attend, two of the people said. In public, Trump has boasted that the US has a “virtually unlimited supply” of weapons, but the president has expressed anger and frustration to aides and allies over thinning American stockpiles, the people added. One of the people told NBC News they anticipate the meeting is “going to be ugly”. Indeed, as Trump threatened to resume bombing Iran again today, the US military has already burned through missiles and interceptors at a rate that has alarmed some defense officials. Last month, the Associated Press reported that US military contractors will need at least three years to replenish stockpiles of three key weapons systems used heavily in Trump’s war against Iran – a timeframe that has become a major concern. Share Updated at 16.34 EDT When the best referee in Africa is barred from working at the World Cup after being denied entry at the US border, claims of this being an inclusive tournament ring hollow. Omar Abdulkadir Artan was supposed to make history this week, becoming the first Somali referee to officiate at a World Cup. Instead, he is watching from home. In this video, Morgan Ofori digs into a historic year for African nations against the backdrop of US travel bans. Share The day so far Donald Trump said the US will attack Iran on Wednesday, and accused Tehran’s peace negotiators of “playing us for suckers”, just a day after claiming again that a peace deal was imminent. “We hit them hard yesterday and we’re going to hit them hard again today,” the president told reporters at the White House, hours after the two sides traded fire, drawing neighbouring Gulf states back into the on-and-off war that has consumed the region since late February. William Christou has our story. Trump also signed the GOP’s $70bn bill that will fund ICE and the border patrol through 2029 into law, after the House narrowly passed the legislation yesterday. Marina Dunbar has this report. Trump also stood firm on his decision to install controversial loyalist Bill Pulte as the country’s top intelligence official, demanding Congress pass a short-term extension of a surveillance law set to expire amid intense criticism of the appointment. Pulte will has been asked “to execute the immediate and needed downsizing” of the office of the director of national intelligence, the president declared, after lining him up to serve as acting director on a temporary basis. Here’s our report. Scandal-plagued Democrat Graham Platner will face the Republican senator Susan Collins in the Maine election in November in what will be a marquee race that could help decide control of the Senate. Here’s David Smith’s report. Bill Gates is facing questions from the House oversight committee about his association with Jeffrey Epstein. “I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct,” the Microsoft co-founder said in his opening statement. “I have never victimized anyone.” More from Anna Betts here. Share Updated at 15.22 EDT Trump claims US military carried out 'secret mission' to help move 100m barrels of oil through strait of Hormuz Maya Yang The US military carried out a “secret mission” last month to “support oil tankers and other commercial ships through the strait of Hormuz”, according to Donald Trump. In a Truth Social post today, the president said that the effort, which he said he directed, “resulted in more than 100 million barrels of oil” moving through the crucial chokepoint and “into the open market”. Trump described the effort as “wildly successful,” adding that the “United States of America controls the Strait of Hormuz, not Iran”. Trump’s latest comments mark a pivot away from his words last month in which he repeatedly said during a cabinet meeting: “Nobody’s going to control” the strait of Hormuz. He added: “It’s international waters.” In that same meeting, Trump threatened to bomb Oman upon being asked whether he would accept a short-term deal that would allow Iran and Oman to control the strait, saying: “It’s international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up.” Share Updated at 14.47 EDT Democrats rally round Platner in Maine as Trump reaffirms grip on GOP after primaries David Smith Progressives rallied around Graham Platner after his primary victory in Maine yesterday while Donald Trump again exerted his grip on the GOP by helping to defeat a politician who had pushed for the release of the Epstein files. Primary elections were held in four states – Maine, Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina – before November’s midterms to decide control of both chambers of Congress. The results offered mixed signals about the direction of the two parties. The marquee race was a Senate primary election in Maine, where Platner won 72% of the vote, defeating the state governor, Janet Mills, who had suspended her campaign but remained on the ballot, and third-placed David Costello, based on early results reported by Reuters. The result sets up a bruising general election battle against the Republican incumbent, Susan Collins, which is likely to be tight, and could help decide control of the Senate. Other elections offered fresh evidence of the issues shaping the wider political landscape. South Carolina served up another test of Trump’s enduring influence over the Republican party. The president enjoyed a comfortable victory through his ally Lindsey Graham, who secured renomination to the Senate without being forced into a runoff. In the primary for governor, the congresswoman Nancy Mace became the latest casualty of Trump’s efforts to topple Republicans, after she demanded the release of the government’s Epstein files. But Trump’s preferred candidate, the state’s lieutenant governor, Pamela Evette, failed to secure an outright majority and must now face Alan Wilson, the state’s attorney general, in a runoff election this month. The longtime South Carolina congressman James Clyburn easily fended off a little-known primary challenger. Two Republicans are still competing for the chance to face Clyburn but he is expected to be the overwhelming favourite in the general election. In Nevada, Democrats selected the state’s attorney general, Aaron Ford, as their nominee for governor, setting up what is expected to be one of the country’s most competitive statewide contests. Ford defeated the Washoe county commissioner, Alexis Hill, after largely ignoring his primary opponent and focusing instead on the Republican governor, Joe Lombardo. Nevada also produced one of the most important congressional contests of the cycle. Republicans nominated Marty O’Donnell, a Trump-endorsed composer best known for creating the soundtrack to the hugely successful Halo video game franchise, to challenge the Democratic congresswoman Susie Lee in the state’s highly competitive third congressional district. Teresa Benitez-Thompson won the Democratic primary in Nevada’s second district. Benitez-Thompson, a former assembly leader, faces an uphill battle. Republicans outnumber Democrats by 70,000 in the district that covers Reno and rural northern Nevada. Share Updated at 14.07 EDT Trump says he thinks AI companies will agree to 'giving back' to the public Also in the Oval Office earlier, Donald Trump said he expects top artificial intelligence companies to agree to “giving back” to the public, an apparent reference to a possible government stake in the firms. “I’m going to have meetings with the top 12 or 15 executives very shortly, and we’re talking about giving back something to the public, and if we do that, the public will become very rich,” Trump told reporters. “I think they’ll do that, and I think it’ll make it very popular.” An agreement to give the US government equity stakes could have a massive impact on the government’s finances. OpenAI – which is targeting a valuation of up to $1tn – in April publicly proposed creating a “public wealth fund” to invest in AI companies, according to a company statement. Proceeds from the fund would be “distributed directly to citizens”, according to the company. The Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, a Trump critic who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020, has expressed support for the idea of creating a US sovereign wealth fund by taking 50% stock in AI companies. Trump said last week that his team was looking into the idea. But beyond Washington, concern is growing among Americans about AI negatively affecting their lives, from fears that the rise of AI could put them out of work to the environmental impacts of nationwide datacenter projects. With Reuters. Share Updated at 13.49 EDT Here’s my colleague Marina Dunbar’s report on Donald Trump signing the nearly $70bn immigration enforcement package into law today, after the House narrowly passed the legislation, ensuring funding for ICE and border patrol activities through the rest of his presidency. “This morning, I’m thrilled to sign the Secure America Act to immediately and fully fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of my term,” Trump said during the signing in the Oval Office. “We’ll give the heroes of ICE and border patrol – and that’s what they are, they’re heroes – the support and resources they need to defend our borders, protect our homeland and to keep America safe.” Share Updated at 13.27 EDT Trump says 'people have wanted to downsize' intelligence community for a while When asked about his earlier comment that he had asked Bill Pulte, whom he plans to install as acting director of national intelligence on 19 June, “to execute the immediate and needed downsizing of the office, reverting staff to their home agencies”, Donald Trump stood by his social media post. “People have wanted to downsize for a while,” Trump said. “Many people don’t want it at all. A lot of people thought it was a duplication.” Trump’s choice of Pulte as the country’s top intelligence official has prompted widespread concern over his complete lack of national security experience. The president defended his choice on Wednesday, telling reporters: “Smart people are smart people. I always say I’d rather have smart than experienced, but experience is good too.” He said he hoped reporters would give Pulte an “easy run”, as “he’s very busy”. “He doesn’t need stupid people saying, ‘Why didn’t you get a higher mark at a certain college?’” Trump said. “Because he’s highly educated, he was a great student, he’s great at everything he’s done. How come he got a B-plus? See, they’ll go after him for getting a B-plus instead of an A, but the other guy can be a thug.” Share Updated at 13.02 EDT Trump calls Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner 'an outright pig' Donald Trump answered a question on Wednesday about Adam Hamawy, the army doctor who has secured the Democratic nomination to represent New Jersey’s 12th congressional district, with a comment about Graham Platner, who has secured the Democratic nomination for the US Senate in Maine. “I actually think the one in Maine is worse because he’s just an outright pig,” Trump said Wednesday. “I watched him a couple of times. He’s like a pig, that’s what he reminds me of.” Platner’s campaign overcame a mountain of personal controveries ranging from alleged “toxic” behavior towards women to a tattoo recognised as a Nazi symbol. Read more here: Share