Trump’s meeting with Biden hugely anticipated – but pick of Matt Gaetz for attorney general was day’s big bombshell
At the White House on Wednesday, a hugely anticipated moment – the beginning of the transfer of power between two such fierce foes.
It was a moment of history, a moment of symbolism. It could have stoked bitterness and glee, but there was no sign of either.
However, it was not the biggest moment of the day. That came later.
For a second consecutive night, remarkable names have emerged for the people Donald Trump wants in his White House.
After Tuesday night’s news that Fox News host and former National Guard Major, Pete Hegseth, had been chosen by Mr Trump to be the next defence secretary, on Wednesday night came another Trump bombshell – and it sent establishment eyebrows beyond orbit.
‘A gonzo agent of chaos’
Firebrand, ultra-Maga loyalist Matt Gaetz has been announced as Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, the country’s top law enforcement official.
This was entirely unexpected and sent Washington into an evening tailspin.
Veteran Democratic senator Chris Murphy declared the announcement to be “a red alert moment for our democracy”.
Representative Jim Himes, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN the role of attorney general requires “…care, prudency, a deep respect for the rule of law… Matt Gaetz is the opposite of all of those things, he is a gonzo agent of chaos”.
Gaetz, 42, has faced multiple allegations of wrongdoing, including a federal sex trafficking probe that ended without charges against him.
Matt Gaetz. Pic: Reuters
A related House ethics inquiry is ongoing but would be dropped if he were to leave Congress because it only has jurisdiction in that forum.
He has never worked as a prosecutor and has only worked in law for a few years at local level.
His nomination requires the approval of Congress. Even with a Republican majority in both houses, Gaetz may struggle. He is not popular among more traditional Republican politicians.
For Donald Trump, the choice reflects precisely the vision he outlined for the Justice Department – a department that will do his bidding with no sense of independence or objectivity.
It is an intentionally provocative pick of a proud provocateur. On brand to a tee and it is the product of American democracy.
The White House transition
Earlier in the day, Donald Trump’s private jet touched down at Joint Base Andrews on the edge of Washington DC. The cameras caught it passing the parked presidential jets on the tarmac – the planes that will be flying him again soon.
Donald Trump arrives prior to meeting with President Joe Biden. Pic: Reuters
The president-elect’s staff were framing this flight to Washington as a triumphant return. On social media, one senior adviser set the images of the landing to the sound of Kanye West’s Homecoming.
It was back to the future for the comeback president.
As he descended the steps of “Trump Force One”, I’d have given more than a penny for the inner thoughts of the man.
Surely, for him, this moment was a neat two fingers for the many who said he never would; that he never could.
But he did. Four years ago he was a busted flush in the eyes of the Washington establishment; a liability to them exiled to Mar-a-Lago. He had lost the White House and his party had failed to win either house of congress.
Four years on, he won back the White House, taking every one of America’s swing states, and his party has won both houses of Congress – a clean sweep. And he did it all despite the court cases, the warnings that he is a threat to the democracy of the nation.
Love him or loathe him, admire him or fear him, his return on Wednesday to the White House to begin the transition to be America’s 47th president is a stunning political turnaround.
Anticipating this moment of transition, this moment in history, the cameras of the world were there.
The incoming president was a few minutes late for his appointment with the outgoing president. They met in the Oval Office in front of a roaring fire that was, for sure, warmer than the vibe in the room.
A handshake and civility
For all the anticipation – what would it be like? The body language? The mood?
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Trump returns to White House
If Donald Trump was gleeful, he didn’t show it. If Joe Biden was bitter, he didn’t show it either.
Two men who have such starkly different visions shook hands. Two men who have exchanged such brutal words for each other over the course of many years now smiled and exchanged pleasantries.
“A danger to democracy,” Joe Biden has said of Donald Trump so many times. Well, now the process of democracy required this moment: a handshake and civility.
President Biden surely wanted to give Donald Trump what he never offered four years ago: a concession of defeat and a transition.
Remember, in 2020, there was no Oval Office moment. Instead, Donald Trump was denying he had lost the election.
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It was the outgoing press secretary left to describe the details of the two-hour meeting.
“I can say that it was indeed very cordial, very gracious and substantive. And I mentioned at the top, national security was discussed, domestic policy issues were discussed.”
By nightfall, the White House had released the official photos of the meeting. They are images for the ages.
Pic: White House
Donald Trump with Joe and Jill Biden at the White House. Pic: White House
It is almost as if the last few years never happened.
A reset? No.
A pause for posterity, before the new world begins.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
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Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
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US
Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’
Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.
Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.
“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
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Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained
Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.
On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.
A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.
It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
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Putin-Witkoff meeting
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.
However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.
“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.
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