Wanderlust

Tag: White House

  • Iran deal comparisons cloud Trump’s North Korea summit

    President Donald Trump’s triumphant assertions about the success of the unprecedented Singapore summit are being met with skepticism and outright derision from critics seizing on the contradiction bet

    WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s triumphant assertions about the success of the unprecedented Singapore summit are being met with skepticism and outright derision from critics seizing on the contradiction between his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and his willingness to accept vague pledges from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

    White House officials have repeatedly stressed that this week’s meeting in Singapore is the beginning, not the end, of a process that Trump’s team argues could have only been jump-started with the face-to-face meeting. The Singapore summit set out broad goals to be met in the coming months while the Iran deal, signed by President Barack Obama in 2015 and approved by seven nations, was an imperfect end to 18 months of negotiations, they say. Criticism that Tuesday’s commitment does not include specifics on denuclearization and verification is too early, they argue.

    “While I am glad the president and Kim Jong Un were able to meet, it is difficult to determine what of concrete nature has occurred,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said he wanted Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will lead the follow-on negotiations, to explain details of what the administration has in mind.

    The top Democrat on that panel, Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who also opposed the Iran deal, took issue with Trump’s zeal as well as his announcement of the suspension of U.S.-South Korea military exercises.

    “In exchange for selfies in Singapore, we have undermined our maximum pressure policy and sanctions,” Menendez said.

    For Iran deal proponents, though, the Singapore summit was evidence of Trump’s lack of preparedness and poor negotiating skills. Iran deal opponents, meanwhile, seemed willing to wait and see.

    Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a Trump advocate and fervent Iran deal foe, urged patience and sought to dispel suggestions that the president had unwisely plunged into a meeting with a dictator after having withdrawn from the accord with Tehran. He noted, as did other Trump allies, that North Korea already had nuclear weapons and the capability to deliver them whereas Iran did not.

    “There is a school of thought that … the United States president should not sit down with two-bit dictators,” Cotton told conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt. “I think there’s some validity to that school of thought with the exception (of) once those dictators have nuclear weapons.”

    “You know, countries like Iran and Cuba and other two-bit rogue regimes don’t have nuclear weapons, yet,” he said. “They can’t threaten the United States in that way. Once they have missiles that can deliver them to use, I would liken it to past presidents sitting down with Soviet dictators.”

    Victor Cha, a Georgetown University professor and former National Security Council director for Asia in President George W. Bush’s administration, lamented that the summit results “left a lot to be desired.” But he also maintained that the Trump-Kim meeting had reduced the chance of conflict even if it was only a “modest start.”

    “Despite its many flaws, the Singapore summit represents the start of a diplomatic process that takes us away from the brink of war,” Cha wrote in The New York Times in the immediate aftermath of the summit. “Mr. Trump’s unconventional approach leaves a lot to be desired in the foreign policy of the United States, but there was no other path to this less-than-satisfying but digestible outcome.”

    Kelsey Davenport, the nonproliferation policy director at the Arms Control Association, which supported the Iran deal, called the summit result “mediocre.”

    “The vague language on denuclearization is not a breakthrough, it is a boilerplate reiteration of past statements,” she said, adding: “It is far too early in the process for Trump to declare success.”

    In the case of the Iran deal, even the most generous assessors of the Singapore summit sought to remind the White House that intense diplomacy preceded the agreement with Tehran.

    “Pompeo will now have to undertake the kind of arduous, multiyear negotiations with Pyongyang that former secretary of state John Kerry undertook with Tehran,” Cha and Koreas expert Sue Mi Terry said in a paper for the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Trump has assailed Obama’s deal with Iran as the ‘worst ever,’ but he now faces substantial challenges to achieve as much as Obama did.”

    Iran itself cautioned North Korea against taking Trump at his word.

    “We are facing a man who revokes his signature while abroad,” the semi-official Fars news agency quoted government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht as saying on Tuesday.

  • Meek Mill, rapper, details withdrawal from Donald Trump’s prison reform panel

    Meek Mill, a previously incarcerated rapper scheduled to participate in President Trump’s prison reform panel Friday, said he abruptly withdrew from the event rather than risk distracting from the dis

    Meek Mill, a previously incarcerated rapper scheduled to participate in President Trump’s prison reform panel Friday, said he abruptly withdrew from the event rather than risk distracting from the discussion.

    “I was originally scheduled to be part of a panel on Prison Reform at the White House to help shed light on the issues within the system,” the performer, born Robert Rihmeek Williams, said in a statement.

    “Unfortunately, the focus turned to the President and Myself, which concerned me that it might take away from creating a positive result from today’s discussions,” added Mr. Williams, 31. “As a result, I decided not to attend so that the focus would be solely on fixing our prison system. Most importantly I remain fully committed to improving our criminal justice system.”

    Mr. Williams was released from prison in April after spending five months behind bars for a probation violation, and he emerged pledging to use his fame to help reform the existing criminal justice system.

    “Although I’m blessed to have the resources to fight this unjust situation, I understand that many people of color across the country don’t have that luxury and I plan to use my platform to shine a light on those issues,” he said in a statement following his release last month.

    “I want people to know the situation is not about me on any level,” the rapper told CBS News recently. “It’s about changing policies and doing things to protect people like myself who deserve a second chance even if you’re innocent.”

    Mr. Williams was initially sentenced to spend two to four years in prison after he was arrested in 2017 while on probation for a previous conviction, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted him bail last month and he was released early as a result.

    The White House said in a statement Friday that the panel event would bring together “a diverse group of thought leaders from across the country to discuss the need for federal prison reform.

    “There is no substitute for personal accountability and there is no tolerance for those who take advantage of society’s generosity to prey upon the innocent,” Mr. Trump said afterwards. “But if we want more prisoners to take charge of their own lives, then we should work to give them the tools to stand on their own two feet.”

  • Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron state visit to focus on Iran nuclear deal

    President Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday for the administration’s first state visit, cementing the close alliance between the two countries with a whirlwind of events that i

    President Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday for the administration’s first state visit, cementing the close alliance between the two countries with a whirlwind of events that include a Marine One helicopter tour of Washington and a private dinner at Mount Vernon.

    On the business side of visit, Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron will broach trade and military issues, including the touchy subject of the Iran nuclear deal in which the two men take opposite views.

    Mr. Trump wants to scuttle the Obama-era agreement with Iran, and he could move to withdraw the U.S. as soon as next month. Mr. Macron has urged Mr. Trump to reconsider.

    “The president has been extremely clear that he thinks it is a bad deal. That certainly hasn’t changed,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

    Still, she said the president would listen to arguments for how the deal could be improved to benefit the American people.

    In New York City on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said it’s up to the European signatories of the nuclear deal to convince President Trump not to exit the controversial accord.

    “It is either all or nothing,” Mr. Zarif tweeted. “European leaders should encourage Trump not just to stay in the nuclear deal, but more important to begin implementing his part of the bargain in good faith.”

    Mr. Zarif’s comments followed vows from other Iranian officials to “shred” the nuclear agreement if Washington withdraws.

    On Tuesday night, Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump will host the French president and his wife, Bridgette Macron, at his presidency’s first state dinner. The main course will be rack of spring lamb, and the entertainment will be a performance by the Washington National Opera from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, according to the White House.

    “This visit will celebrate the long and enduring friendship between France and the U.S.,” said Mrs. Sanders.

    Mr. Trump waited longer than many of his predecessors to host a state visit. He is the first president since Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s to finish his first year in office without one.

    Although they appear to be political opposites, Mr. Trump and Mr. Macron made fast friends when they met at a NATO summit. The bond grew stronger when Mr. Macron hosted Mr. Trump in Paris for Bastille Day.

    “They are not such an odd couple when you scratch the surface,” said Michael C. Desch, director of the Notre Dame International Security Center.

    He referred to Mr. Trump as a Francophile.

    “At least in terms of the pomp and circumstance of French governmental ceremonies. Remember that it was at a Bastille Day parade that the president got the idea for a military parade here,” said Mr. Desch. “Also, they share a surprising number of similarities, both personal, both political outsiders and businessmen, to substantive: Syria and the war on ISIS.”

    For the state dinner, Mr. Trump broke with tradition by not inviting journalists or any Democratic members of Congress.

    He also is hosting a smaller gathering than the White House soirees thrown by his predecessor.

    Mr. Trump has about 150 guests on the list. The guests at President Obama’s state dinners numbered in the hundreds, which required a huge tent on the South Lawn because there wasn’t a room large enough inside the White House to accommodate so many people.

    Mr. Obama’s first state dinner was for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and featured vegetarian food. The event was marred by party crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi, winemakers from Virginia who were angling for a spot on the reality TV show “Real Housewives of D.C.”

    The couple’s ability to crash the state dinner, including getting photos with Vice President Joseph R. Biden, prompted a Secret Service security review and led to the resignation of White House social secretary Desiree Rogers.

    Mr. Obama and President Clinton held their first state dinners in November of their first year in office. President George W. Bush had his in September of his first year.

    In their eight years as president, Mr. Obama and Mr. Bush hosted 13 state dinners. Mr. Clinton threw 28 state dinners.

    Mrs. Trump, who is responsible for organizing nearly every detail of the visit and the grand state dinner, has spent months planning events for the Macrons’ three-day visit to the capital.

    “The menu will be a showcase of the best of America’s cuisines and traditions, with nuances of French influences prepared by the renowned White House Executive Chef, Christeta Comerford,” the White House said in a statement outlining details of the state visit and dinner.

    The first course at the state dinner will be goat cheese gateau, tomato jam, buttermilk biscuit crumbles and young variegated lettuces. The main course includes rack of spring lamb, burnt cipollini soubise and Carolina gold rice jambalaya.

    Dessert will be nectarine tart and creme fraiche ice cream.

    “The wines were selected to complement the menu and embody the historic friendship between the United States and France, which dates back to the American Revolution,” said the White House.

    Mr. Trump does not drink alcohol, but Mr. Macron, who has a reputation for following a strict diet, is known to drink wine for lunch and dinner.

    The wines for the state dinner include Domaine Serene Chardonnay Evenstad Reserve from 2015, which is the product of American and French collaboration. The wine was aged in 40 percent French oak barrels for more than 12 months, according to the White House.

  • Donald Trump goes all out for first state visit, will welcome Emmanuel Macron

    President Trump’s first state visit will welcome French President Emmanuel Macron with pomp and grandeur including a traditional review of U.S. troops, a diner showcasing the “best of American cuisine

    President Trump’s first state visit will welcome French President Emmanuel Macron with pomp and grandeur including a traditional review of U.S. troops, a diner showcasing the “best of American cuisines” and a performance by the Washington National Opera, the White House said Monday.

    First lady Melania Trump, whose office organized the grand affair, released details of the visit by Mr. Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron for three days of events that include a state dinner Tuesday.

    “First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald J. Trump are excited to welcome President Emmanuel Macron and Mrs. Brigitte Macron of France for the Trump Administration’s first state visit,” the White House said.

    Mr. Trump is the first president since Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s to not host a state visit during his first year in office. The week’s events, however, are designed to make up for any lost time.

    The visit kicks off Monday with the president and first lady welcoming the Macrons with a tree-planting ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

    Monday evening, the two couples will depart the White House on the presidential helicopter Marine One, for a scenic tour of historic monuments in Washington, ending at Mount Vernon — the iconic home of America’s first president, George Washington.

    The White House released details of Tuesday’s events:

    Arrival Ceremony:

    On Tuesday Morning, April 24, the President and First Lady will host the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. With the practice tracing back to the 17th century, the Trump Administration is proud to carry on the traditional military arrival ceremony. Nearly 500 members of the United States Armed Forces from all five military branches will be on the South Lawn for the traditional “Review of the Troops.” Guests invited to attend the ceremony include Cabinet Secretaries, Members of Congress, military families, and students from the Maya Angelou French Immersion School in Temple Hills, Maryland.

    State Dinner:

    The color scheme is cream and gold and the china settings consist of the Clinton china for the baseplate, along with both Bush (43) and Clinton china for the dinner service. The First Lady chose the Bush china with the green color palette to complement the spring green and white flowers that will be featured in the State Dining Room. Mrs. Trump has also selected pieces from the extensive Vermeil collection as well as American Silver from the White House Collection — from Tiffany & Co. and S. Kirk & Sons — to add to the décor in the State Dining Room.

    Entertainment:

    Washington National Opera from the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

    Floral Arrangements:

    The Cross Hall will feature over 1,200 branches of cherry blossom, all grown in the United States.

    The State Dining Room will feature more than 2,500 stems of white sweet peas and nearly 1,000 stems of white lilac — both California and Dutch grown mixed.

    The parlors will feature a variety of mixed garden flowers. The Stephanotis vines, which will also be featured in the parlors, are from California.

    The Menu:

    The menu will be a showcase of the best of America’s cuisines and traditions, with nuances of French influences prepared by the renowned White House Executive Chef, Christeta Comerford.

    The first course celebrates the wondrous first harvest of spring, using greens from the White House kitchen garden.

    The main course will be a Rack of Spring Lamb and Carolina Gold Rice Jambalaya, which will be cooked in a New Orleans tradition and scented with the trinity of Cajun cooking — celery, peppers, and onions, and spiced with herbs from the South Lawn.

    Dessert will be a Nectarine Tart infused with White House honey and accented by crème fraîche ice cream.

    Wines:

    The wines were selected to complement the menu and embody the historic friendship between the United States and France, which dates back to the American Revolution.

    The Domaine Serene Chardonnay “Evenstad Reserve” 2015 is the product of American and French collaboration — a combination of French plants from Dijon that thrive in the volcanic Oregon soil and colder temperatures. The wine was aged in 40 percent French oak barrels for more than 12 months.

    The Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir “Laurène” 2014 — This wine uses the motto “French soul–Oregon soil.” The grapes at Domaine Drouhin are harvested and sorted by hand and fermented in French Oak barrels.

    Schramsberg Demi-Sec “Crémant” has been served in the White House for official and ceremonial events many times over the years. The subtle sweetness and creamy effervescence of the 2014 vintage is the perfect accompaniment for a nectarine tart.

  • Business and pleasure on menu for Macron’s second day in US

    A sit-down between President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron followed by a joint news conference highlight the business portion of the French leader’s second day in Washington.

    WASHINGTON (AP) – A sit-down between President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron followed by a joint news conference highlight the business portion of the French leader’s second day in Washington.

    The pageantry of Macron’s official state visit, the first of the Trump presidency, comes Tuesday night with a lavish state dinner at the White House. About 150 guests are expected to dine on rack of lamb and nectarine tart and enjoy an after-dinner performance by the Washington National Opera.

    Monday night was more relaxed, featuring a helicopter tour of Washington landmarks and a trip to the Potomac River home of George Washington with their wives for dinner. The presidents and their spouses hopped on a helicopter bound for Mount Vernon, Washington’s historic riverside home, for a private dinner one night before the leaders sit down for talks on a weighty agenda including security, trade and the Iran nuclear deal.

    “This is a great honor and I think a very important state visit given the moment of our current environment,” Macron said Monday after his plane landed at a U.S. military base near Washington.

    Macron’s pomp-filled three-day state visit to Washington underscores the importance that both sides attach to the relationship: Macron, who calls Trump often, has emerged as something of a “Trump whisperer” at a time when the American president’s relationships with other European leaders are more strained. Trump, who attaches great importance to the optics of pageantry and ceremony, chose to honor Macron with the first state visit of his administration as he woos the French president.

    For all their camaraderie, Macron and Trump disagree on some fundamental issues, including the multinational nuclear deal, which is aimed at restricting Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. Trump, skeptical of the pact’s effectiveness, has been eager to pull out as a May 12 deadline nears. Macron says he is not satisfied with the situation in Iran and thinks the agreement is imperfect, but he has argued for the U.S. sticking with the deal on the grounds that there is not yet a “Plan B.”

    The Trumps and Macrons helped plant a tree on the White House grounds together before boarding Trump’s Marine One helicopter for a scenic tour of monuments built in the capital city designed by French-born Pierre L’Enfant as they flew south to Mount Vernon, the first U.S. president’s home along the Potomac River.

    The young oak is an environmentally friendly gift to the White House from Macron, and one that also bears historical significance. It sprouted at a World War I site in France, the Battle of Belleau Wood, that became part of U.S. Marine Corps lore.

    After Trump’s helicopter landed at Mount Vernon, the two presidents, each holding his wife’s hand, walked a short distance and posed for pictures before they boarded golf carts that ferried them to the front door of Washington’s plantation house. The couples were led on a brief outdoor tour before they entered the pale yellow building for dinner of Dover sole, pasta stuffed with lemon ricotta, and chocolate souffle and cherry vanilla ice cream.

    Trump declared the dinner “really fantastic” before returning to the White House.

    He ended his first year in office without receiving a foreign leader on a state visit, the first president in nearly 100 years to fail to do so. He was Macron’s guest last July at the annual Bastille Day military parade in the center of Paris. Macron and his wife also took Trump and America’s first lady on a tour of Napoleon’s tomb and whisked them up in the Eiffel Tower for dinner overlooking the City of Light.

    Macron will be welcomed back to the White House on Tuesday with a traditional arrival ceremony featuring nearly 500 members of the U.S. military and a booming 21-gun salute. The state visit also offers Macron his first Oval Office sit-down with Trump and a joint White House news conference. There’s also a State Department lunch hosted by Vice President Mike Pence.

    The French president’s White House day will be capped Tuesday night with a state dinner, the highest social tribute a president bestows on an ally and partner.

    Melania Trump played an active role in every detail of the visit, said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

    The first lady settled on a state dinner menu of rack of lamb and nectarine tart, along with after-dinner entertainment provided by the Washington National Opera for about 150 guests. On Monday, she released details of the glitzy affair being planned to dazzle Macron and his wife, Brigitte.

    Dinner will be served in the State Dining Room, which will feature more than 2,500 stems of white sweet pea flowers and nearly 1,000 stems of white lilac. Separately, more than 1,200 branches of cherry blossoms will adorn the majestic Cross Hall.

    The first lady opted for a cream-and-gold color scheme, and will use a mix of china services from the presidencies of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

    State dinner tickets are highly sought after by Washington’s political and business elite. A few of those expected to attend: Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund and a former top French government official; House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.; Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton; Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mike Pompeo, Trump’s choice to be the next secretary of state.

    In a break with tradition, Trump has invited no congressional Democrats or journalists, said a White House official who was not authorized to discuss the arrangements publicly. But some Democrats did make the cut, including Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, whose office confirmed his attendance.

    ___

    Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

  • The Latest: Macron, Trump plant tree together at White House

    The Latest on the state visit by President Emmanuel Macron of France (all times local):

    WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the state visit by President Emmanuel Macron of France (all times local):

    6 p.m.

    President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron have ceremonially planted a tree together on the South Lawn of the White House as they kick off the first state visit of the Trump presidency.

    Holding brass shovels, the two leaders threw dirt onto the newly installed tree, a European Sessile Oak from Belleau Woods, where thousands of U.S. Marines died in a 1918 battle during World War I.

    Trump told reporters on Monday that France is “a very special country,” adding, “I love the tree.”

    Trump, Macron and their wives are taking Marine One from the White House to George Washington’s Mount Vernon for a private dinner Monday ahead of a formal day of business events Tuesday.

    ___

    5:35 p.m.

    French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived at the White House at the start of his meetings with President Donald Trump.

    Macron and his wife, Brigitte, were embraced by the president and first lady Melania Trump when their car pulled into the West Wing driveway Monday. The handshakes and pleasantries kicked off Macron’s state visit to Washington with Trump.

    The Macrons took an unscheduled walk along Pennsylvania Avenue earlier in the day.

    The two planned to present the Trumps with a tree on the South Lawn of the White House and then were flying aboard Marine One for dinner at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s historic riverside home.

    ___

    2:40 p.m.

    French President Emmanuel Macron is taking a stroll around the White House before he is set to kick off his state visit to Washington with President Donald Trump Monday evening.

    Macron says in a Monday afternoon tweet: “Before our first work meetings, let’s have a walk on Washington’s streets.”

    Moments earlier, Secret Service officers and agents rushed to keep up with his entourage as Macron departed Blair House for an unscheduled walk, greeting well-wishers along Pennsylvania Avenue. Macron is joined by his wife, Brigitte Macron, on the walk.

    The Macrons are being received by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House later Monday, before flying aboard Marine One for dinner at Mount Vernon. Following business meetings Tuesday morning, Macron will be the guest of honor at the Trump’s first State Dinner Tuesday evening at the White House.

    ___

    1:55 p.m.

    President Emmanuel Macron of France has arrived on a state visit to the United States. It’s the first such visit of President Donald Trump’s administration.

    Macron said after his plane landed Monday at a U.S. military base near Washington that he and Trump will discuss issues important to their countries.

    Macron calls the visit a “great honor.” It’s his first trip to Washington since his election last year.

    Trump and first lady Melania Trump are taking Macron and his wife, Brigitte, to dinner Monday at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home along the Potomac River.

    On Tuesday at the White House, Macron will be treated to a military arrival ceremony, Oval Office time with Trump, a joint news conference and a glitzy state dinner with nearly 150 guests.

    ___

    12:05 p.m.

    Melania Trump is serving rack of lamb and nectarine tart at Tuesday’s White House state dinner for President Emmanuel Macron of France.

    It’s the first state dinner of President Donald Trump’s administration.

    The first lady also chose the Washington National Opera to entertain the approximately 150 guests after dinner.

    Mrs. Trump’s office on Monday released details of the affair being planned to dazzle Macron and his wife, Brigitte. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards are among those who have said they are attending.

    The first lady has saved a few choice details for the last minute. They include the full guest list and what she’s wearing.

  • Donald Trump, South Korea prep for nuclear talks with the North

    President Trump spoke Friday with South Korea President Moon Jae-in about setting up denuclearization talks with the North, said the White House.

    President Trump spoke Friday with South Korea President Moon Jae-in about setting up denuclearization talks with the North, said the White House.

    Mr. Trump said he wants to hold the historic face-to-face talks with North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un before the end of May.

    “Both leaders affirmed the importance of learning from the mistakes of the past, and pledged continued, close coordination to maintain maximum pressure on the North Korean regime,” the White House said in a statement.

    Mr. Kim requested the talks, agreeing to cease nuclear weapons and missile tests, after severe economic sanctions were imposed on the Hermit Kingdom by the U.S. and other nations, including North Korea chief sponsor China.

    Mr. Trump has demanded North Korea demonstrate its willingness to stop nuclear test before opening talks, an issue that came up in the call Mr. Moon.

    “The two leaders agreed that concrete actions, not words, will be the key to achieving permanent denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” said the White House. “The two leaders expressed cautious optimism over recent developments and emphasized that a brighter future is available for North Korea, if it chooses the correct path.”

  • Donald Trump inches closer to blaming Russia for poisoning ex-spy in the U.K.

    President Trump said Tuesday that he was prepared to condemn Russia for the poisoning of a ex-British spy in the U.K., but he still wanted to have all the facts.

    President Trump said Tuesday that he was prepared to condemn Russia for the poisoning of a ex-British spy in the U.K., but he still wanted to have all the facts.

    A day earlier, the White House resisted blaming Russia for the attack despite British Prime Minister Theresa May saying it was “highly likely” that Moscow was behind the assassination attempt.

    “It sounds to me like it would be Russia based on all the evidence they have. I don’t know if they have come to a conclusion,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday.

    SEE ALSO: Trump ousts Tillerson, taps CIA Director Pompeo for State Dept.

    The president said that he planed to speak later in the day with Mrs. May.

    “As soon as we get the facts straight, if we agree with them, we will condemn Russia or whoever it may be,” Mr. Trump told reporters Tuesday.

    Former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia Scribal, 33, were found collapsed on a city bench March 4 in Salisbury, England. They had been exposed to a military-grade nerve agents known as Novichok, according to British authorities.

    Mr. Skripal and his daughter remain in a critical but stable condition in the hospital.

    In 2004, Mr Skripal was convicted by the Russian government of spying for MI6. He was released to the U.K. in a spy swap in 2010.

    The White House resistance to blaming Russia was the final split between Mr. Trump and former Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose ouster was announced Monday.

    Mr. Tillerson said that Russia was “clearly” behind the poisoning.

  • Elizabeth Warren fears Trump to be ‘taken advantage of’ by Kim Jong-un

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, said she supported a “diplomatic approach” to North Korea but worried President Trump would be “taken advantage of” by Kim Jong-un.

    Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman Ron Johnson warned Sunday about being “snookered again” by North Korea after the White House agreed last week to denuclearization talks with leader Kim Jong-un.

    Citing previous deals that saw the United States give up more than it got, Mr. Johnson urged the administration to maintain its maximum-pressure policy on North Korea.

    “Again, you have that history. Let’s not be snookered again,” said Mr. Johnson on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “Let’s not be Charlie Brown to North Korea’s Lucy. We’ve seen this movie before; that’s why we’ve called on President Trump to make sure that we maintain the maximum-pressure campaign.”

    SEE ALSO: Elizabeth Warren: ‘I am not running for president’ in 2020

    The Wisconsin Republican added that, “If anything, I would continue to ratchet up sanctions until they again have complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.”

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, said she supported the “diplomatic approach” but worried Mr. Trump would be “taken advantage of.”

    “Here’s what I’m concerned about: I want the president to succeed,” said Ms. Warren. “When the president succeeds in negotiations like this, the United States succeeds, it makes us safer, it makes whole world safer, but I am very worried he’s going to go into these negotiations and be taken advantage of.”

    .@SenWarren tells @Acosta she is “very glad” to see the Trump administration move towards diplomacy on North Korea#CNNSOTUhttps://t.co/yfyRAsNirk

    — State of the Union (@CNNSotu) March 11, 2018

    She cited concerns about staffing at the State Department, saying it had been “decimated.”

    “There are a lot of issues involved with them and our State Dept has just been decimated,” said Ms. Warren. “We don’t have an ambassador to South Korea. We don’t have an assistant secretary for the entire region. There are all kinds of spaces that are open at the State Department generally and particularly in this region, and that matters when you’re going into negotiations like this.”

    White House spokesman Raj Shah offered few details Sunday about the logistics of the summit, adding that “nothing’s been ruled out.”

    “It’s going to be a time and a place to be decided. We don’t have an announcement right now but we have accepted this offer and we hope that it can be part of an important breakthrough,” Mr. Shah told ABC’s “This Week.”

    Would Mr. Trump go to North Korea? “I don’t think that’s highly likely, but again, I’m not going to rule anything out,” Mr. Shah said.

    Could the meeting between Pres. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take place at the White House? Deputy Press Sec. @RajShah45 tells @jonkarl: “Nothing’s being ruled out.” #ThisWeekpic.twitter.com/DafWPBZx5K

    — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 11, 2018

  • Trump says North Korea won’t test missiles before his meeting with Kim Jong Un

    President Trump said Saturday he’s counting on North Korea to refrain from any missile tests while he prepares for his first face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

    President Trump said Saturday he’s counting on North Korea to refrain from any missile tests while he prepares for his first face-to-face meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

    Departing the White House for a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump predicted “tremendous success” with his pending diplomacy in Asia.

    “I think North Korea is going to go very well,” the president told reporters. “I think this is going to be something very successful. We have a lot of support. The promise is they wouldn’t be shooting off missiles in the meantime, and they’re looking to de-nuke. So that’d be great.”

    Earlier, the president said on Twitter that he trusts Pyongyang to keep its commitments against provocation leading up to the talks.

    “North Korea has not conducted a Missile Test since November 28, 2017 and has promised not to do so through our meetings. I believe they will honor that commitment!” Mr. Trump tweeted.

    Pyongyang claimed after its most recent missile test in November that it has a new rocket capable of striking anywhere on the U.S. mainland, and declared itself a “complete” nuclear state.

    Earlier Saturday, Mr. Trump said that China’s president is pleased that Mr. Trump is pursuing diplomacy with North Korea instead of “the ominous alternative.”

    “Chinese President XI JINPING and I spoke at length about the meeting with KIM JONG UN of North Korea,” Mr. Trump tweeted about their phone call a day earlier. “President XI told me he appreciates that the U.S. is working to solve the problem diplomatically rather than going with the ominous alternative. China continues to be helpful!”

    Mr. Trump, who vowed last year to rain “fire and fury” on North Korea if it attacks the U.S., accepted an invitation from Mr. Kim to meet for talks within the next two months. The date and location haven’t been set.

    Chinese state media said Mr. Xi applauded the move by Mr. Trump as a “positive gesture.”

    “We hope that all relevant parties can make positive gestures and refrain from actions that prevent the situation on the Korean peninsula from calming down,” Mr. Xi was quoted as saying on state-run broadcaster CCTV.

    The White House said Friday that North Korea must demonstrate “concrete steps” toward denuclearization before the talks can go forward.

    China is North Korea’s most important trading partner. The president has been pushing Mr. Xi to exert more economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea to scale back its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

    Mr. Trump also said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom he spoke on Thursday, “is very enthusiastic about talks with North Korea.”