Some, perhaps, may not be aware, but the state of Florida is considered “Trump country”.
The 45th president of the United States is wildly popular here.
As a simple measure of his favourability, look no further than the recent polls in the contest for the Republican Party’s nomination in next year’s presidential campaign.
Donald Trump‘s primary competitor happens to be the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis – but it is not looking like much of a contest at the moment.
A recent poll revealed that Trump had a whopping 34-point lead over his younger challenger.
However, there are people in the “Sunshine State” who will do what they can to avoid him. On the day when Trump was due to be dragged into a Miami courthouse by federal prosecutors, we found plenty of residents had gone to the beach.
Perhaps it was an act of escape, with thousands of pro-Trump supporters taking positions near the Wilke D Ferguson Jr Courthouse – and it may have been an act of escapism as well.
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Joseph LaCroix told me that Trump’s 37-count indictment would not change the way anyone feels.
“In a perfect world, it should, it would, but here we are,” he said with a shrug.
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Beachgoer Andrea Ray said she was astonished when she heard that the former president would be read his rights in a federal court.
“I am happy that he is being indicted for crimes, crimes that he has probably committed, but I just didn’t think it was going to happen.”
The prosecution of Trump has certainly shocked many in Florida. The state votes Republican and it votes for Donald Trump – and there are those who think the Biden administration is out to get him.
But on Miami Beach’s Ocean Drive, people see things in a different way.
The world-famous Palace Drag Show was doing a booming trade, with hundreds of customers enjoying a boisterous show. The performers told us that the former president doesn’t speak to – and hasn’t spoken up – for them.
“What do you make of Donald Trump?” I asked drag performer, Kat Wilderness.
Image: Drag queen Kat Wilderness
“I don’t see him, no, unfortunately. We have someone who is against us, but we are not hurting anyone, we’re about love, acceptance, we just want to live life the way that everyone wants to live their lives – fully. I don’t see who you are talking about.”
Drag shows in Florida have been subject to Governor DeSantis’ so-called “war-on-woke” with new legislation banning children from attending shows.
In proposals that have been vigorously opposed by LGBTQ+ activists, Donald Trump says he plans to pass laws banning gender-affirming care – like surgery and therapies – for minors nationwide.
I asked performer Akasha O’Hara Lords whether America in 2023 was a good place to be.
Image: Drag queen Akasha O’Hara Lords
“You know, we’re in a rocky stage, but if everyone votes, we will be fine in the end.”
She may find it difficult to win meaningful backing in Florida. Ninety miles up the road, we heard pro-Trump firebrand and aspiring office-holder Kari Lake whip up a crowd of thousand or more conservatives “in the fight to save our country”.
Image: Kari Lake
Lake, who lost the Arizona governor’s race to her Democrat party opponent in 2022, told the audience to “drain their bank accounts” in an attempt to get Trump re-elected.
The former television journalist is touted by many as a possible running mate for Trump in the coming presidential election.
“Trump is a warrior, a warrior, he is Godzilla and (his opponents) are just tiny geckos running around,” she said to uproarious applause.
Florida, it seems, is “Trumpland” – the place where the former president is still the king and a trip to the coast is not going to change that reality.
Soulja Boy has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm during a traffic stop.
The rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was a passenger in the car that was stopped in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles early on Sunday morning, the LAPD said.
“A passenger was detained and police arrested DeAndre Cortez Way for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm,” the statement added.
Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a felony.
The 35-year-old was booked into jail in the LAPD’s Wilshire Division shortly after 6am. It is not clear if he has since been released.
Police did not provide information on what prompted the traffic stop and who else was in the vehicle with Way.
Soulja Boy is yet to publicly comment on the incident.
Soulja Boy is best known for his 2007 hit Crank That, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and landed him a nomination for best rap song at the Grammys.
The rapper was arrested and charged with a felony in 2014 for carrying a loaded gun during a traffic stop in LA.
In April this year, the Chicago hip-hop artist was ordered to pay more than $4m (£3m) in damages to his former assistant after being found liable for sexually assault, as well as physically and emotionally abusing them.
Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.
Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.
After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.
Image: Kevin Wade O’Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.
Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.
Image: Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Image: Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office
O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.
He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.
Donald Trump says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the “appropriate regions” in a row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
It comes after Mr Medvedev, who is now deputy chair of Russia‘s Security Council, told the US president on Thursday to remember Moscow had Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort.
On Friday, Mr Trump wrote on social media: “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.
“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
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Trump: ‘We’re going to protect our people’
Speaking outside the White House later in the day, Mr Trump was asked about why he had moved the submarines and replied: “We had to do that. We just have to be careful.
“A threat was made and we didn’t think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful. So I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia and we’re going to protect our people.”
The spat between Mr Trump and Mr Medvedev came after the US president warned Russia on Tuesday it had “10 days from today” to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face tariffs, along with its oil buyers.
Moscow has shown no sign that it will agree to Mr Trump’s demands.
Trump’s move appears to signal a significant deterioration in relationship with Putin
Normally it’s Moscow rattling the nuclear sabres, but this time it’s Washington in what marks a dramatic escalation in Donald Trump’s war of words with the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
More importantly, it appears to signal a significant deterioration in his relationship with Vladimir Putin.
The US president’s patience with the Kremlin was already at its thinnest earlier this week, when he shrank his deadline for progress towards a peace deal from 50 days to 10.
But Russia’s lack of outward concern with this stricter ultimatum – which has swung from dismissive to (in Medvedev’s case) insulting – seems to have flicked a switch.
For this is the first time Trump’s pressure on Moscow has amounted to anything more than words.
We don’t know where the subs are, or how far they had to move to get closer to Russia, but it’s an act that sits several rungs higher than the usual verbal threats to impose sanctions.
How will Russia respond? I’m not sure Vladimir Putin has ever caved to an ultimatum and I doubt he’ll start now.
But I don’t think he’ll want the situation to deteriorate further. So I suspect he’ll make another offer to the US, that’s dressed up as a concession, but in reality may prove to be anything but.
It’s a tactic that’s worked before, but the stakes have suddenly got higher.
On Thursday, Mr Medvedev reminded Mr Trump that Russia possessed a Soviet-era automated nuclear retaliatory system – or “dead hand”.
Mr Medvedev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was referring to a secretive semi-automated Soviet command system designed to launch Russia’s missiles if its leadership was taken out in a decapitating strike.
He made the remarks after Mr Trump told him to “watch his words” after Mr Medvedev said the US president’s threat of hitting Russia and its oil buyers with punitive tariffs was “a game of ultimatums” and added that “each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war” between Russia and the US.
Image: Dmitry Medvedev. Pic: Reuters
Mr Medvedev served as Russia’s president from 2008 and 2012, when Mr Putin was barred from seeking a third consecutive term, but then stepped aside to let him run again.
As deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, he has become known for his provocative and inflammatory statements since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.