Trump 2nd term updates: Trump says USAID is run by 'radical lunatics'

The comments came amid turmoil as DOGE took over USAID offices last week.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Ivan Pereira, Emily Chang, Andrea Pineda-Salgado, Meredith Deliso, and Julia Reinstein
Last Updated: February 2, 2025, 11:11 PM EST

President Donald Trump made good on his threats to impose tariffs on some of the U.S.'s trading partners, announcing Saturday that he will levy 25% tariffs on some goods from Canada and Mexico and 10% on Chinese goods.

Experts have warned that tariffs of this magnitude will likely increase prices paid by U.S. and Trump appeared to acknowledge that “some pain” might be possible in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee announced it will meet Tuesday, when it is expected to vote on the controversial nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing:
Jan 21, 2025, 6:16 PM EST

Trump says he'll impose tariffs on the European Union

During his AI infrastructure announcement, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the European Union, as he has done with Canada, China and Mexico.

"It's not just China. China is an abuser, but the European Union is very, very bad to us," Trump told reporters after the announcement. "They treat us very, very badly. They don't take our cars. They don't take our cars at all. They don't take our farm products. Essentially, they don't take very much. We have a $350 billion deficit with the European Union."

"They treat us very, very badly, so they're going to be in for tariffs."

Jan 21, 2025, 6:02 PM EST

Trump says looking at Feb. 1 date for tariffs

Trump said he is eyeing Feb. 1 as the date to start implementing his tariffs on China and Mexico.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, on Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Jan 21, 2025, 5:48 PM EST

Trump defends pardoning Jan. 6 convicts

Trump was asked about pardoning the Jan. 6 rioters during a news conference Tuesday and dodged a question about pardoning violent Jan. 6 convicts, including one who admitted to attacking an officer.

The president dodged the question, claiming he would look into it, before changing the subject to murders around the country that he claimed yielded no arrests.

He repeated his claim that the people pardoned were unjustly prosecuted, including the head of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.

"The cases that we looked at, these were people that actually love our country, so we thought a pardon would be appropriate," he said.

Trump was asked about the pardons again, as well as Vice President J.D. Vance's statement last week in which he opposed pardoning rioters who assaulted officers, but the president again claimed the rioters were unfavorably treated.

Jan 21, 2025, 5:35 PM EST

CEOs tout 'Stargate' joint AI infrastructure project with Trump

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Oracle's Larry Ellison joined President Donald Trump at the White House to tout the $500 billion investment in the "Stargate" venture.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump, from left, speaks as Masayoshi Son, SoftBank Group CEO, Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle Corporation and chief technology officer, and Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO listen at the White House, on Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump, from left, speaks as Masayoshi Son, SoftBank Group CEO, Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle Corporation and chief technology officer, and Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO listen in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, on Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

"We will immediately start deploying $100 million ... because of your success," Son said.

The businessmen said they plan on using artificial intelligence for various projects, including medical research.

"I'm thrilled we get to do this in the United States of America," Altman said.

Trump said he will be helping "a lot through emergency declarations because we have an emergency -- we have to get this stuff built."

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