President Trump thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a joint press conference Wednesday afternoon for working closely with the U.S. on several Middle East issues while noting the "challenges" created by Turkey's purchasing of Russian military equipment.
Among the topics the two leaders discussed at the White House was Turkey's decision to purchase a Russian missile defense program and its attacks on Kurdish forces in Syria.
The meeting comes at a low point in Turkish-U.S. relations, particularly in terms of Syria following Turkey's offensive against Kurds in the nation who had been solid allies of the U.S. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported the existence of U.S. drone video evidence of Turkish-backed gunmen targeting civilians in October.
Turkey began launching attacks in northern Syria, almost immediately after Trump announced the U.S. would pull out remaining troops. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle condemned Erdogan's actions in Syria as well as Trump's decision to pull the troops.
"I want to thank his partnership as we work to build a safe and prosperous Middle East," Trump said Wednesday. "I'm a big fan of the president."
Erdogan called Turkey the "most reliable partner in the region" for the U.S.
While Trump and Erdogan met, lawmakers spent more than six hours in the first of public impeachment hearings on Capitol Hill. President Trump said he was "too busy" to watch but also tweeted about the events happening down the street.
When questioned about the impeachment inquiry, Trump called it "a sham" that "shouldn't be allowed."
Trump said he will be releasing a second call related to the impeachment inquiry tomorrow, which he said predates the July 25 call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
He added, "I'd much rather focus on peace in the Middle East."
Fox News' John Roberts asked the president about the phone call between Trump and U.S. ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland that Ambassador Bill Taylor recounted in his testimony earlier today.
"I know nothing about that," Trump said. "I've never heard it [...] not even a little bit."
Taylor testified today that his staffer accompanied Sondland to a restaurant on July 26, heard Trump ask Sondland about "the investigations" and, after the call, Sondland told the staffer that "President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden."
Trump joked "only friendly reporters" from Turkey could ask questions.
Survivors of the Parkland School Shooting along with activists from March For Our Lives set up on the National Mall on Thursday. Their demonstration displayed 1,100 bodybags that spelled out the phrase “Thoughts and Prayers” to remind lawmakers that condolences are not enough and to push for action on guns. Each bag represented 150 lives lost due to gun violence. Trevon Bosley, a board member of March For Our Lives, joined Cheddar News to discuss the organization's return to Washington, DC. "The main thing bringing us back is that we have not seen anything being done on the national level for gun violence.” Bosley said. “We’re not seeing anything changed, and we’re not seeing lives being saved”
UK's prince William and his wife were met by protesters during their visit to Jamaica. Cheddar News speaks with political strategist Dee Dawkins-Haigler, who explains why the country's path to independence is relevant to Americans.
As President Biden travels to Europe this week amid Russia's ongoing invasion of its neighbor Ukraine, former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and former Bush administration State Department official David Tafuri, joined Cheddar News to discuss the president's stop in Brussels, Belgium, to coordinate with NATO leaders efforts to dissuade Russian President Putin's war. "The maintenance of sanctions and increasingly ratcheting up the sanctions is what he thinks will cause a country like Russia to back off," Tafuri said of Biden. "And so he's committed to that strategy."
John Logan, Director of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the growing unionization push by employees at Starbucks and Amazon, and the wider implications of employee organization at these big companies.
Cheddar's Arielle Hixson sat down with five Black women making history as part of the Biden administration's communications team. Karine Jean-Pierre, the principal deputy press secretary; Khanya Brann, the chief of staff to Kate Bedingfield; Amanda Finney, the chief of staff to Jen Psaki; Erica Loewe, the director of African American media; and Rykia Dorsey, the senior regional communications director, shared their stories.
President Biden has embarked on a crucial trip to meet with allies in Belgium and Poland to discuss new sanctions on Russia as it continues to wage war on Ukraine. The president will seek to address the growing humanitarian crisis out of Ukraine, demonstrate a united Western front against Russia, and reassure Ukraine that it has support from the U.S. Joel Rubin, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State & President of the Washington Strategy Group, breaks down what to expect from the President's crucial visit to Europe.
Catching you up on what you need to know Mar 24, 2022, with NATO meeting updates, Ukraine retaking suburbs around Kyiv, the spread of omicron subvariant BA.2 in China, Google Pay launching a third-party billing option, and a 16-year-old is suspected of being the Lapsus$ mastermind behind hacks of Microsoft and others.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in 52 years as the U.S. job market continues to show strength in the midst of rising costs and an ongoing virus pandemic.
Alicia Garza joined Cheddar News to talk about the Black Futures Lab where serves as founder and principal. The non-profit organization seeks to develop grassroots power in the Black community with projects like the Black Census, which takes into account the granular experiences of the demographic. "What we know about Black folks and the reason that we decided to focus on black communities again, it's because we're being left out and left behind their stories being told about us without our input and without our shaping," she said. "If we want a robust democracy in this country, we have to change that equation." Garza also touched on issues around voter suppression and the midterm elections.
