Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Rex Tillerson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rex Tillerson. Show all posts

Monday, August 13, 2018

BREAKING: Omarosa's White House recordings fuel Trump woes


by Melissa Gruz and Biodun Iginla, France24, Washington DC


    © AFP/File | President Donald Trump (L) has already branded Omarosa Manigault Newman (R, in focus) a "lowlife" after she released a recording of her firing by chief of staff John Kelly

    WASHINGTON  - 
    President Donald Trump on Monday plunged himself into a made-for-TV spat with his former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman -- a mud-slinging match that has fueled fears of chaos in his White House and cast doubt on his pledge to hire "only the best people."
    Manigault Newman -- who first gained fame as a contestant on Trump's reality show "The Apprentice," and then secured a $180,000-a-year staff job at the White House -- released a recording of a private conversation she had with the president after she was fired.
    The recording is the latest volley from the disgruntled 44-year-old starlet, once an ardent Trump ally, and represents another stunning breach of presidential trust. It also came on the eve of the release of her tell-all book, "Unhinged."
    NBC's "Today" program on Monday played the brief recording, in which Trump claims to have had no knowledge that she was sacked and expresses regret at the news.
    That revelation sparked a stream of presidential invective on Twitter.
    "Wacky Omarosa, who got fired 3 times on the Apprentice, now got fired for the last time. She never made it, never will," Trump said in a stream of angry tweets.
    The Republican president claimed that Manigault Newman "already has a fully signed Non-Disclosure Agreement!" -- a first admission that members of the administration were asked to sign potentially illegal hush deals.
    If such deals prohibit government staff from revealing all information they learn of at work, the American Civil Liberties Union said "they are unconstitutional and unenforceable."
    - 'They run a big operation' -
    Manigault Newman's recordings have also caused political problems for Trump, dominating American headlines for days -- and she told NBC that there are "absolutely" more audio files.
    The latest recording appears to show a president who has little knowledge of what is happening inside his own White House -- or who is willing to lie to avoid confrontation.
    "Omarosa? Omarosa, what's going on? I just saw on the news that you're thinking about leaving? What happened?" he said, apparently unaware she had already been fired.
    "Nobody even told me about it," Trump is heard saying, after chief of staff John Kelly terminated her employment.
    "You know they run a big operation, but I didn't know it," he says, adding: "I didn't know that. Goddamn it. I don't love you leaving at all."
    - 'Wacky Omarosa' -
    Trump had already branded "Omarosa" -- as she is commonly known in America -- a "lowlife" after she released a recording of her firing by Kelly, seemingly recorded in the White House Situation Room.
    He hurled angry tweets at his former friend, as he prepared to return to the White House following an 11-day vacation in New Jersey.
    "She begged me for a job, tears in her eyes, I said Ok. People in the White House hated her. She was vicious, but not smart. I would rarely see her but heard really bad things," Trump tweeted.
    "Nasty to people & would constantly miss meetings & work. When Gen. Kelly came on board he told me she was a loser & nothing but problems. I told him to try working it out, if possible, because she only said GREAT things about me - until she got fired!"
    Trump seemed to acknowledge that the unseemly fight would have been unusual for most of his 44 predecessors as president of the United States.
    "While I know it?s 'not presidential' to take on a lowlife like Omarosa, and while I would rather not be doing so, this is a modern day form of communication and I know the Fake News Media will be working overtime to make even Wacky Omarosa look legitimate as possible. Sorry!"
    She fired back, telling NBC: "I think it's sad with all of the things going on in the country that he would take time out to insult me and to insult my intelligence. This is his pattern with African Americans. He doesn't know how to control himself."
    Trump came to office vowing to hire "only the best people" -- but has struggled to put a lid on leaks, incompetence, backbiting and scandal inside his White House.
    Manigault Newman is only one of a number of senior aides to Trump who have left the White House or been dismissed in the first 18 months of his presidency.
    Others on that list include former national security advisor Michael Flynn, communications director Anthony Scaramucci, chief strategist Steve Bannon, secretary of state Rex Tillerson and the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt.

    Posted by at No comments:
    Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

    Saturday, April 28, 2018

    Nigerian president's US visit to focus on security, economy


    by Tokun Lawal and Biodun Iginla, France24, Lagos, Nigeria


      © AFP / by Stephanie FINDLAY | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is to meet President Donald Trump on Monday, the first African leader to be received by Trump's administration in the White House

      LAGOS  - 
      Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is to meet President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, the first African leader to be received by Trump's White House administration.
      All eyes will be on Trump after he earlier called African nations "shithole" countries, a damaging remark he has since denied.
      Trump's relationship with the continent suffered a further setback in March when former secretary of state Rex Tillerson was fired while in Nigeria on his first trip to the continent.
      As a result, the visit revealed little about Trump's Africa policy.
      Buhari's visit comes after Trump met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday and French President Emmanuel Macron last week to discuss the contentious Iran nuclear deal and biting trade sanctions.
      According to a White House statement, the talks will focus on fighting terrorism and insecurity, economic growth and democratic development in Nigeria, set to hold presidential polls in February next year.
      Nigeria is entering its ninth year fighting Boko Haram extremists, who have devastated the northeast of the country and killed over 20,000 people in a bloody quest to establish an Islamist state.
      Buhari is also battling a so-called herdsmen crisis, a sectarian conflict hardening along religious lines that has claimed scores of lives this year in escalating violence.
      "I think both sides have a clear agenda in this meeting and it's security and economic issues. They both have something to gain," J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Washington-based Atlantic Council, told us at France24. 
      "On President Trump's side, it's definitely putting that controversy behind him," Pham said.
      "On President Buhari's side, it's having the prominence of being the first African leader received at the White House in this administration."
      - Improved relations -
      In spite of Trump's remarks, Nigeria's relationship with the United States has improved since he came into office, according to Lauren Blanchard, African affairs specialist with the Congressional Research Service.
      "(The visit) is intended to signal that the United States continues to see Nigeria as one of its most important partners on the continent," Blanchard said.
      "Cooperation has improved over the course of President Buhari's tenure but not as fast as both sides would like," she added.
      Buhari, who like Trump has a tendency to make gaffes, had lambasted former President Barack Obama shortly after coming into office for refusing to sell Nigeria weapons to fight Boko Haram.
      "Unwittingly, and I dare say unintentionally, the application of the Leahy Law Amendment by the United States government has aided and abetted the Boko Haram terrorists," Buhari said during a visit to Washington.
      Under the legislation, the US is prevented from offering weapons or training to countries where there is credible information of human rights abuses by authorities.
      In contrast, Trump's administration has gone ahead with the reported $496 million sale of up to a dozen Super Tucano aircraft, a plane with surveillance and attack capabilities, set to be delivered in 2020.
      The deal has recently come under scrutiny in Nigeria, a country with endemic corruption, where lawmakers are accusing the president of illegally withdrawing funds to purchase the planes.
      - Re-election momentum -
      While no major trade announcements are expected, Trump and Buhari will also be talking about ways to deepen economic cooperation.
      "There is the security element and the economic element that dovetails with Trump's agenda to push American business," said Pham.
      Buhari, who is seeking re-election in 2019, is likely to play up his administration's agriculture reforms and underline his commitment to democracy.
      This trip will also be used by his government to underscore that Buhari is fit for office after a series of health scares during his tenure.
      "It undercuts the 'Baba go slow' narrative," said Pham, referring to a nickname given to Buhari for his slow pace in office. "It's a build-up to his re-election campaign."
      The 75-year-old former military ruler was Nigeria's first opposition challenger to defeat an incumbent in a largely fair poll.
      His election as president triggered a wave of optimism for oil-rich Nigeria, which has Africa's biggest population but wrestles with rampant corruption and poor governance.

      Posted by at No comments:
      Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,
      Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)