Trump news live: Snoop Dogg says he has 'nothing but love' for ex-president – The Independent

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Rap star had feuded with the Maga leader, but is now full of praise due to drug pardon
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E Jean Carroll exits court after Trump ordered to pay $83.3m for defamation
Snoop Dogg has said he has “nothing but love and respect” for Donald Trump after the former president pardoned Death Row Records co-founder Michael “Harry-O” Harris.
Mr Trump caught beef with the Drop It Like It’s Hot rapper during his first term, going as far as calling for his arrest over a controversial 2017 music video.
But in a new interview with The Times, Snoop praised the ex-president for pardoning Harris on his final day in office.
“So I have nothing but love and respect for Donald Trump,” Snoop told the news site.
Earlier, reports emerged that the Trump campaign had approached Robert F Kennedy Jr to serve as his running mate in the 2024 presidential elections.
Sources within Trumpworld told the New York Post Mr Kennedy, 70, was tapped around the time he announced his candidacy for president in April 2023.
However, senior Trump adviser Chris LaCivita poured cold water on the claims in a post on X on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, E Jean Carroll says she wants to do “something good” with the $83m in defamation damages awarded against Mr Trump in an interview with the New York Times.
Donald Trump took credit for scuppering a bipartisan border security deal at a political rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.
“As the leader of our party, there is zero chance I will support this horrible open borders betrayal of America,” Mr Trump told a crowd days out from the state’s presidential caucus on 8 February.
“I’ll fight it all the way. A lot of the senators are trying to say, respectfully, they’re blaming it on me. I say, that’s okay. Please blame it on me. Please.”
Mr Trump also praised Speaker Mike Johnson, who has said the Senate bill would be “dead on arrival” in the House.
Donald Trump has said he will send Texas “reinforcements” to deal with border control if elected president in the upcoming 2024 election. Amid the ongoing stand-off between Texas and federal authorities over the border, Mr Trump has vowed to support Governor Greg Abbott. “When I’m president, instead of trying to send Texas a restraining order, I will send them reinforcements,” he said. The former Republican president made the remarks at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, 27 January. Crowds of Maga supporters cheered after the leading contender for the GOP nomination made the comments.
E Jean Carroll says she wants to do “something good” with the $83m in defamation damages awarded against Donald Trump in an interview with the New York Times.
Ms Carroll said she would not “waste a cent” of the eyewatering sum, and would take her time to work out how best to spend it once the appeals process had concluded.
She told the Times that she would finally be able to afford luxury pet food for her two dogs, a pit bull and a Great Pyrenees.
Mr Trump has avoided mentioning Ms Carroll’s name since the verdict was reached on Friday, instead claiming the legal system was “out of control”.
Ms Carroll told the Times she had no clue whether the eight-figure damages payout would deter him from attacking her in the future.
She added that her victory was for women everywhere.
“This win, more than any other thing, when we needed it the most — after we lost the rights over our own bodies in many states — we put out our flag in the ground on this one. Women won this one. I think it bodes well for the future,” she told the news site.
E Jean Carroll waves as she leaves federal court after the verdict in her defamation case against former US president
David Lister, for Independent Voices, writes:
“Johnny Marr, once guitarist and co-songwriter with 1980s band The Smiths, has blown a gasket. He is furious that Donald Trump is using a Smiths song “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” as his campaign music. Marr does not want his song associated with a man who is politically on the right. And Trump is even further to the right than Marr’s former bandmate Morrissey….
“But I believe that rock stars are quite wrong to be irked when their music is used by politicians they disapprove of. It’s not just that it can be interpreted as virtue signalling, it’s something much more important: limiting their music to one side of the political spectrum diminishes it – and them – somewhat.
Great music is art – and art, once it is “out there”, belongs to everybody. Like a play or a novel or a painting, it belongs to everyone to make their own interpretations, to use and to love.”
Read David’s full piece below.
Guitarist Johnny Marr is in good company, along with artists like Abba and the Rolling Stones, of musical acts who do not want their songs used by the political right. But limiting your art to use by specific groups of people undermines the claim that it is art to begin with, writes David Lister
Donald Trump has claimed a drone attack that killed three US service members in Jordan was a “consequence of Joe Biden’s weakness and surrender”.
On Truth Social, the former president wrote: “The drone attack on a U.S. Military Installation in Jordan, killing 3 American Servicemembers, and wounding many more, marks a horrible day for America. 
“My most profound sympathies go to the Families of the Brave Servicemembers we have lost. I ask all Americans to join me in praying for those who have been wounded. This brazen attack on the United States is yet another horrific and tragic consequence of Joe Biden’s weakness and surrender….”
Mr Trump was extremely disparaging about US troops who died in combat during his presidency, calling them “suckers” and “losers” according to his former chief of staff John Kelly.
This satellite photo shows a military base known as Tower 22 in northeastern Jordan, where three American troops were killed and ‘many’ were wounded Sunday
Snoop Dogg has explained why he has “nothing but love and respect” for Donald Trump in a surprising U-turn.
The rapper praised the former president in an interview with The Times of London for pardoning Michael Harris, the co-founder of Snoop’s first label Death Row who was in prison for drug offences.
“So I have nothing but love and respect for Donald Trump,” he said.
Full story below.
Rapper’s days of trolling the former US president are behind him
Saturday Night Live set its sights on Donald Trump over the verdict in the E Jean Carroll defamation trial
One week after the SNL spotlight was placed on the trial, the latest episode’s Weekend Update segment, hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che, poked fun at the former president, who is running for office in the 2024 US election.
Trump, 77, was lampooned over the news that he has been ordered to pay $83m (£65m) to journalist E Jean Carroll in defamation damages, following which he asked his supporters to donate money to his presidential campaign.
“Trump is a billionaire, so obviously, he immediately hit up your grandma for five bucks,” Jost said in reference to the news, adding that the fine had been so steep as “that’s how unlikeable he is”.
Full story below:
Sketch show’s ‘Weekend update’ segment lampooned Trump once again
Leslie Vinjamuri writes for Independent Premium:
“Fear struck across Europe, a continent that is home to more than 746 million people, as just over 300,000 people turned out to vote in a small state in the upper northeast corner of the United States and delivered a resounding 11-point victory (a lead of just over 36,000 votes) for former president Donald Trump. With the result in the New Hampshire primary contest, the hope that Nikki Haley could turn the tide and bring a degree of normalcy back to the Republican Party quickly collapsed.
“Moderate Republicans, Democrats, independents and America’s closest allies in Europe and Asia had been watching this picturesque New England state to see if voters would catapult Haley into being a serious contenderfor the Republican nomination. In a high-stakes election that could have a dramatic effect on democracy in the United States, and for long-standing US global commitments on everything from climate change to Europe’s security, the defence of Ukraine, and US security commitments to both South Korea and Japan, there is no shortage of onlookers.”
Read the full story here.
Ahead of the November election, America and Europe have been sent a clear and present warning about the dangers of a second Trump presidency. But, writes Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, world leaders still have a chance to influence things for the better
Senior Trump adviser Chris LaCivita poured cold water on reports that they had approached Robert F Kennedy Jr to be on the ticket in a post on X on Saturday night.
“This is 100% FAKE NEWS – NO ONE from the Trump Campaign ever approached RFK jr (or ever will) – one of the most LIBERAL and radical environmentalists in the country,” Mr LaCivita wrote.
E Jean Carroll says she wants to do “something good” with the $83m in defamation damages awarded against Donald Trump in an interview with the New York Times.
Ms Carroll said she would not “waste a cent” of the eyewatering sum, and would take her time to work out how best to spend it once the appeals process had concluded.
She told the Times that she would finally be able to afford luxury pet food for her two dogs, a pit bull and a Great Pyrenees.
Mr Trump has avoided mentioning Ms Carroll’s name since the verdict was reached on Friday, instead claiming the legal system was “out of control”.
Ms Carroll told the Times she had no clue whether the eight-figure damages payout would deter him from attacking her in the future.
She added that her victory was for women everywhere.
“This win, more than any other thing, when we needed it the most — after we lost the rights over our own bodies in many states — we put out our flag in the ground on this one. Women won this one. I think it bodes well for the future,” she told the news site.
E. Jean Carroll waves as she leaves federal court after the verdict in her defamation case against the former US president
Nikki Haley says that she “absolutely” trusts the jury who awarded E Jean Carroll $83m in damages after she was defamed by Donald Trump.
Appearing on Meet the Press on Sunday morning, Ms Haley said the verdict shouldn’t disqualify her rival in the Republican presidential primary from running.
“I absolutely trust the jury. And I think that they made their decision based on the evidence,” she told host Kristen Welker.
“I think the American people will take him off the ballot.”
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Former president reacts furiously on Truth Social with baseless attack on Biden
Reuters and AFP
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