Trump news – live: 'Asked to leave for telling the truth': Expert who testified in impeachment escorted from White House
President declares trial victory as crucial witness fired from administration
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Donald Trump launched into another rally-like White House event, this time ostensibly supporting job opportunities for formerly incarcerated people and lower-income communities, during his remarks at an economic summit in Charlotte, North Carolina, hours after declaring that Nancy Pelosi broke the law when she ripped up a copy of his speech and ominously predicting the ousting of an impeachment witness.
The president hit out at Democrats from the White House lawn, calling them "crazy" and "evil" as he celebrated his administration's win in a federal appeals court case that dismissed a lawsuit by congressional Democrats trying to access his financial records to determine violations of the Constitution's emoluments clause.
Lt Col Alexander Vindman, a key impeachment witness as a member of the National Security Council, was escorted from the White House on Friday afternoon, apparent relation for his testimony.
Addressing rumours about staff departures, Mr Trump told reporters: "Well, I'm not happy with him. Do you think I'm supposed to be happy with him? I'm not."
All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment
Show all 6On Thursday, the president launched into a blistering, score-settling diatribe against the House Democrats following his impeachment acquittal by the Senate, calling the likes of the House Speaker and Adam Schiff “vicious” and “corrupt”, ex-FBI director James Comey “a sleazebag” and the bureau’s top brass “scum” from the East Room of the White House.
The president labelled his trial “bulls***” and also singled out lone rebel Republican senator Mitt Romney for using “religion as a crutch” in voting for his conviction, although arguably his most menacing proclamation came when he adopted a Mafia-style euphemism to say: “We’re going to take care of things because we can never allow this to happen again.”
His speech was met with widespread alarm, with 2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg branding the attack on Mr Romney “disgraceful” and ex-White House ethics chief Walter Shaub warning: “We’re in the heads-on-pikes phase of burgeoning authoritarianism.”
On Friday, following his razor-thin lead in the Iowa caucus, Mr Trump mocked Mr Buttigieg, saying "whoever the hell that is" while attacking Democrats for the drawn-out results.
Follow the news as it happened:
"Everyone is a threat."
The Independent's John T Bennett on wartime Trump:
HUD secretary Ben Carson is introducing the president at an Opportunity Now summit in Charlotte, North Carolina. The president arrived as the PA played Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American".
"Good music!" Trump says.
The Opportunity Now summit is aimed at addressing job opportunities in low-income areas and integrating formerly incarcerated people back into society.
Off the top, Trump declared that "we believe in no American left behind, that's what it's all about" and that his administration is building "the most inclusive economy and the most inclusive society to ever exist".
He called the impeachment a "failed hoax" and boasted about his acquittal and State of the Union TV ratings.
Trump repeats his claim that Hillary Clinton said a trade deal with South Korea would produce 250,000 American jobs. She never said that.
Earlier, he claimed that "we got rid of the Johnson Amendment ... Right?" The amendment prevents nonprofits including religious organisations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. It has not been repealed, but he doesn't enforce it.
He's hitting a lot of points on the economy that he made during his State of the Union
Trump says poverty among African-Americans has "plummeted to the lowest rate ever recorded", a rate that began under former president Barack Obama.
He brings up his campaign comments to black voters: "Remember I said, What do you have to lose? ... I said, 'You've been with the Democrats for 100 years ... They treat you badly and they only come around two months before the election.' ... I said, all these bad numbers, what the hell do you have to lose?"
He's making another claim that the US is in the middle of a "blue collar boom" that's "fuelling the stock market."
Despite an increase in overall wealth among American households, the poorest half of the US has only 1.6 per cent of that "net worth", which includes things like property, stocks and other assets (and subtracts debts). Predictably, more than 80 per cent of those "wealth" gains are among white people, according to federal surveys.
Trump brought up his "summer job" he once had in Cincinnati.
He was 25 years old, managing a building complex his father bought from the government.
Trump brought up Georgia pastor Tony Lowden, who he appointed to oversee re-entry programs for formerly incarcerated people.
Trump also brought up his administration's "school choice" voucher program offering $5 billion in annual federal tax credits for donations to groups offering scholarships to private schools and other education programs, which has been roundly criticised by public school advocates as an effort to privatise education at the exclusion of millions of students.
Trump mocked Democrats, saying the party can't even determine a winner in the Iowa caucus: "It turned out to be Pete Buttigieg whoever the hell that is."
He pointed to the media and cameras at the back of the room, a standard rally move, and called them fake news. The crowd chanted four more years. He said it drives people crazy if you call for 12 of 16 more years.
(This is an "official" White House event.)
Here's a look at Trump's remarks at the Opportunity Now summit, capping off a week of highs for the president.
As Trump said: "You'll be hearing."
Lt Col Alexander Vindman has been escorted from the White House and told his services are no longer needed.
His departure follows the president's acquittal in his impeachment, in which the Ukraine adviser to the National Security Council was a key witness.
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