Do Americans care about the Signalgate leaked military chat?
Caroline County is the kind of quiet place that found its voice in electing Donald Trump.
It’s rural and Republican territory, a 90-minute drive from Washington DC, and it backed Trump at the election.
Gauging political opinion isn’t necessarily easy here, division runs raw in small-town America.
As one cafe owner told me, in declining an interview: “My business is worth more than my opinion.”
Did we find any buyer’s remorse among Trump voters? In a word, no.
It’ll exist, no doubt, and there is enough anecdotal evidence of voters having second thoughts.
In Bowling Green, Caroline County, our straw poll – unscientific – found that Signalgate had left a Trump support shaken but not stirred.
“I’m impressed with the agenda,” said Robert Hayman, who voted for Trump.
On Signalgate, he said: “In my opinion it’s a non-story, compared to the misgivings of the previous administration.
“(It’s not a big story) to the extent that it has the effect on our safety.”
Robert Hayman voted for Donald Trump
Patty Roberts, who also voted for Trump, said the Signalgate episode had passed her by.
She told me: “I don’t know a whole lot about that. So I would probably refrain from talking about that. I don’t watch TV.”
How politics lands with people here depends on who they support and where they get their information.
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The response of the Trump administration has been to deny, dispute and deflect from the notion of incompetence surrounding the Signal chat story.
Non-Trump supporters were damning in their assessment of the Signalgate episode.
Iris Silver told me: “It just shows you where putting the wrong people in power positions is not a great idea.”
Jeremiah Hirsch, also anti-Trump, told me how the politics of the day weighed on the community.
He said: “We need this thing that we all deserve that’s a part of the American dream. I feel in some ways we’ve lost that.”
Iris Silver spoke to Sky News about the sitting US president
For some, Signalgate is a stone-cold scandal, for others not so much.
Caroline County is known as the cradle of horse racing.
The runners and riders are currently out of season, unlike the politics.
In that race, it’s a marathon and a sprint.
Children are among the fatalities in a mass shooting at a child’s birthday party in California.
Police said four people had died and 10 were wounded in the incident in Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco.
Officers were called on Saturday to a banquet hall just before 6pm local time (2am UK time) and district attorney Ron Freitas said children were among the dead.
He said the attacker was still at large.
First responders walk through a parking lot near the scene of a mass shooting in Stockton, California. Pics: AP
“We can confirm at this time that approximately 14 individuals were struck by gunfire, and four victims have been confirmed deceased,” San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said on X.
The post said early indications suggest it could be a “targeted incident” but that information remains limited.
Police have so far not disclosed the attacker’s identity and the motive is unclear.
Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee confirmed on Facebook that the shooting on Lucile Avenue happened at a child’s birthday party.
Pics: AP
Mayor Christina Fugazzi also said that “families should be together instead of at the hospital, standing next to their loved one, praying that they survive”.
California governor Gavin Newsom’s office added that he had been briefed on the “horrific shooting”.
Venezuela has accused Donald Trump of a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace “above and surrounding” the country should be considered closed “in its entirety”.
Mr Trump made the declaration amid growing tensions with President Maduro – and as the US continues attacking boats it claims are carrying drugs from Venezuela.
He wrote on Truth Social: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Air traffic above Venezuela on Saturday afternoon. Pic: FlightRadar24
Venezuela’s foreign affairs office called it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.
It accused the president of threatening “the sovereignty of the national airspace… and the full sovereignty of the Venezuelan state”.
President Trump’s words were part of a “permanent policy of aggression against our country” that breached international law and the UN Charter, it added.
The Pentagon and the White House have so far not given any additional detail on the president’s statement.
Mr Trump’s post comes after the American aviation regulator last week warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation”.
Nicolas Maduro is widely considered a dictator by the West. Pic: Reuters
The South American nation revoked operating rights for six major airlines that went on to suspend flights to the country.
Mr Trump warned a few days ago that land operations against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon”.
Such a move would be a major escalation in Operation Southern Spear – the US naval deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific that’s so far attacked at least 21 vessels.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
Read more:
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Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as “foreign terrorist organisations” – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda.
It claims the boats targeted are carrying drugs bound for the US, although Sky’s chief correspondent says the final destination is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
President Maduro has denied Mr Trump’s claims he is involved in the drugs trade himself and said his counterpart wants to oust him so he can install a more sympathetic government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves.
Mr Maduro is widely considered a dictator who’s cheated elections and has been president since 2013.
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