Donald Trump’s senior trade adviser has told a Sky News reporter to “stop that crap” while facing questions over the US president’s tariffs policy.
Peter Navarro insisted Mr Trump was “negotiating strategically” after Sky’s US correspondent Mark Stone said the president “seems to be changing his mind by the hour at the moment”.
Mr Trump had announced an increased tariff of 50% on Canadian steel and aluminium on Tuesday but then halted the plan just hours later.
There are, however, 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports to the US in effect from today, affecting UK products worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
Image: Peter Navarro responded to questions about tariffs
Mr Navarro said: “The policy is ‘no exemptions, no exclusions’ and that will change if the president changes his policy.
“But there’s a very good reason why ‘no exemptions, no exclusions’ exists as a policy because when we were kind enough as a country to make those kind of gestures to our friends, they bit the hand that fed them and that’s not going to happen again.”
It’s worth saying upfront that the Trump administration has been significantly more accessible than the Biden administration.
It was rare for Biden officials to appear outside the White House for impromptu moments with reporters.
A large cast of Trump officials are frequently in front of the cameras. That’s encouraging.
That said accessibility isn’t the same as transparency. Just because the officials are out there doesn’t mean they welcome robust interrogation.
Peter Navarro’s pushback at my questions was surprising and revealing. I’ve questioned him a few times over the past few weeks. His engagement has been calm, but not this time.
He was irritated certainly, rattled maybe; wholly unwilling to accept that the markets had reacted negatively to what he called ‘Trump-omics’.
He said the president’s flip-flopping was simply a negotiation tactic – so not the revenue generator they have been presented as.
If they are simply a negotiating tactic, then are they temporary? If so, how does the administration raise its revenue?
In response, Stone said: “The president seems to be changing his mind by the hour at the moment. What are your views on the fact that…”
Mr Navarro replied: “Sir, you don’t understand what a negotiation looks like. The president is negotiating strategically. So stop with the rhetoric, okay? Just stop that crap.”
Stone said: “But he does seem to be changing his mind all the time…”
Mr Navarro responded: “Stop that crap. That’s a bunch of cr…”
When Stone said it was “causing havoc to the stock markets”, Mr Navarro responded: “It’s not causing havoc.”
Who is Peter Navarro?
In 2017, during the last Trump presidency, Politico suggested Navarro was “the most dangerous man in Trump world”.
Navarro is a long-time aide and confidante of Donald Trump and a true loyalist.
His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought. He is a long-time advocate of tariffs with upfront plans to upend the post-WW2 economic system of free trade and international institutions.
Establishment economists consider him to be fringe. That’s precisely why he appeals to President Trump.
He was jailed in 2024 for defying a congressional subpoena. He was told to appear before the House Select Committee investigating the 6 January 2021 attack on the Capitol. He refused to comply.
The committee alleged that he developed plans to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.
The subpoena was motivated by a plan Navarro revealed in a book published in 2021.
“Green Bay Sweep” was a plot by he and other Trump loyalists to overturn the 2020 election.
He described it as “last, best chance to snatch a stolen election from the Democrats’ jaws of deceit.”
Rudy Giuliani has been hospitalised following a car crash in New Hampshire, a spokesperson for the former New York City mayor said.
Mr Giuliani suffered “a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg” when his vehicle was struck from behind while driving on a highway near Manchester on Saturday evening, according to Michael Ragusa, Mr Giuliani’s head of security.
“He sustained injuries but is in good spirits and recovering tremendously,” Mr Ragusa said in a statement on X, adding: “This was not a targeted attack.”
Mr Giuliani was in a rental car and “no one knew it was him”, according to Mr Ragusa.
His head of security said the 81-year-old had been “flagged down by a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence incident” and contacted police on her behalf. The crash shortly after was “random and unrelated” to the domestic violence incident, Mr Ragusa said.
Image: Rudy Giuliani attended Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via Reuters
Mr Giuliani, who worked as an attorney for Donald Trump in his failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is expected to be released from hospital in a few days.
His son, Andrew Giuliani, thanked people for reaching out after hearing about his father’s accident, writing on X: “Your prayers mean the world.”
More on Rudy Giuliani
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“As a son, I can tell you that I’m honored to have a Dad that I can call the toughest SOB I’ve ever seen,” he added.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Image: Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
Image: An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Image: Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
Image: The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Image: Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
US President Donald Trump has revoked Secret Service protection for former vice president and 2024 Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
A senior adviser to Harris, Kirsten Allen, confirmed the decision. “The vice president is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety,” said the adviser.
Typically, vice presidents receive a six-month security detail from the Secret Service after they leave office, although it had been extended to 18 months for Harris, according to officials.
Initially, then-president Joe Biden extended her security arrangements to one year, or January 2026, according to reports.
However, a Secret Service official told Sky News’ US partner, NBC, that Biden subsequently signed an executive memorandum in January increasing the then vice-president’s protection period even further, to 18 months.
Former US presidents receive Secret Service protection for life.
Harris, who lost the 2024 presidential election to Mr Trump, is due to start a book tour for her memoir, “107 Days”, shortly.
She was the Democratic nominee for 107 days after Biden exited the race in the weeks following a challenging debate against Trump.
Mr Trump has also ended federal security protection for others, including former national security adviser John Bolton. Last week, FBI agents raided Bolton’s Maryland home.
In March, the president ended protection for Joe Biden’s children – Hunter and Ashley Biden.
Harris has not ruled out a possible presidential run in 2028. She announced in July that she would not run for governor of California in 2026.