White House responds to first American Pope Robert Prevost’s anti-MAGA posts: Live updates

Karoline Leavitt, a devout Catholic, was asked about the ‘critical’ comments by Pope Leo on X about Trump and Vance.

A 2014 tweet is going viral where Prevost called Jesus a migrant and some of his social media content has been critical of the president.

Prevost specifically criticized the White House’s actions regarding immigration and in the past has expressed support for progressive causes.

The last time Prevost posted something to X was on April 14. The post he retweeted slams the Trump administration’s deportation of illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.

But Leavitt replied that the election of the first American Pope was a ‘surprise’ to everyone and avoided addressing the controversy head-on.

The president made his reaction to Pope Leo’s announcement yesterday very clear. He’s very proud to have an American pope.

I think it was a surprise to everyone, but it’s a great thing for the U.S. and the world and we are praying for him.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump again floated that he could push China’s tariff rate down to 80 percent when asked about it in the Oval Office Friday afternoon.

I put out a number today, 80 percent, so we’ll see how that all works out.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is headed to Switzerland to speak with his Chinese counterparts about the ongoing trade war.

The current tariffs on Chinese imports are at 145 percent.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump said Friday that the baseline 10 percent tariff was here to stay.

The president was asked what would happen to countries that don’t apply tariffs to U.S. products and why they wouldn’t get a reciprocal deal.

‘You are always going to have a baseline,’ he replied. ‘I mean there could be an exception at some point. We’ll see if somebody does something exceptional for us. It’s always possible.’

‘But basically, you have a baseline of a minimum of 10 percent and some of them will be much higher – 40, 50, 60 percent as they’ve been doing to us over the years,’ he added.

Trump rolled out his first post-Liberation Day trade deal Thursday, between the U.S. and the U.K.

The Dow and S&P 500 closed lower on Friday as markets awaited weekend US-China trade talks.

The world’s two biggest economies have imposed triple-digit levies on each other in recent weeks.

But President Donald Trump said an 80 percent tariff on China ‘seems right.’

Representatives from the two countries are scheduled to meet in Switzerland this weekend.

Analysts do not expect a breakthrough but are hoping for a thawing in the trade war.

Russia supports the implementation of a 30-day ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict, but only with due consideration of ‘nuances,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

This theme was long put forward by the Ukrainian side…

And as soon as it was advanced by the (U.S.) it was supported by President Putin with the reservation that it is very difficult to discuss this in detail if no answers are found to a large number of nuances around the notion of a ceasefire.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, along with two members of Congress, have been arrested after storming into a migrant detention facility.

New Jersey Democratic Reps. Robert Menendez, Jr. and Bonnie Watson Coleman were arrested with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

Some of the members claimed they were conducting ‘oversight’ when they walked into a secure area checkpoint and demanded to review the facility.

‘Members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond a bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk,’ DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

‘Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation.’

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., ripped the stunt on social media.

‘The House Democrats that just stormed an ICE detention facility are a disgrace. They care more about criminal illegal aliens than they do about Americans. Democratic leaders must condemn this stunt immediately.’

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the ‘frankly ridiculous’ claims that President Donald is profiting off the presidency.

During Friday’s press briefing, Leavitt was asked if Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric, as well as son-in-law Jared Kushner, would be traveling alongside the president to the Middle East.

‘I am not tracking family members joining us at this time, but of course the First Family is welcome to come,’ the press secretary answered. ‘I hope they would, they are great people, great to be around.’

The president is going to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over a three and a half day period, departing from the White House Monday.

His Trump Organization is developing luxury properties in all three Arab nations, with some deals inked as recently as last week, when son Eric, who serves as the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, made a trip to the region.

Kushner, who served in Trump’s first White House, started a private equity firm after leaving the administration and reportedly rececived a $2 billion investment from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In a follow-up question, Leavitt was asked if the president planned to meet with anyone involved in the family businesses or make site visits during the trip.

‘Not to my knowledge and let me just get to the premise of your question that both have you have raised,’ Leavitt responded. ‘I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in htis room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.’

Vladimir Putin vowed on Friday that Russia would win in Ukraine as the Soviet Union had in World War II, as he sought to rally support at a Moscow military parade.

Putin sat with China’s President Xi Jinping watching a procession of thousands of troops – some of whom fought in Ukraine – and an array of weapons including new tanks and drones to mark the defeat of the Nazis 80 years ago.

More than two dozen world leaders were in Moscow for the occasion.

The whole country, society and people support the participants of the special military operation. We are proud of their bravery and determination, of the fortitude that has always brought us only victory.

President Donald Trump plans to sign a proclamation to encourage migrants who are in the United States illegally to voluntarily depart the country, according to a White House official.

The ‘Project Homecoming’ initiative will encourage migrants to leave voluntarily with the assistance of the federal government and financial support, or face enforcement and penalties.

The voting history of the first-ever American pope shocked few when it was revealed on Thursday that he participates in Republican primaries.

Cardinal Robert Prevost, who was born in Chicago, Illinois and is of French and Italian descent, is a registered Republican. He has voted in GOP primaries and general elections when he is in the country, according to his voting record.

He has made a series of social media posts critical of the president’s policies and often reposts sentiments critical of the Trump administration.

Vice President JD Vance revealed Monday his ‘best friend’ in President Donald Trump’s cabinet, and also shared his thoughts about running for president in 2028.

The vice president was asked by Fox News host Martha MacCallum in an interview about a recent comment from Trump about theoretical Republican nominees to be his successor.

During Sunday’s interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, host Kristen Welker asked him about potential standard bearers for the MAGA movement in his absence.

Trump replied, ‘You look at Marco, you look at JD Vance, who’s fantastic.’

Hayden’s term as the first African American Librarian of Congress was cut short after she received an email from the Trump administration terminating her position.

The email, addressed to ‘Carla,’ said: ‘On behalf of President Donald J Trump, I am writing to inform you that our position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that 80 percent tariffs on Chinese goods ‘seems right’ as representatives prepared for weekend talks to contain a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet Chinese economic tsar He Lifeng in Switzerland for talks that could be the first step toward resolving their trade disputes.

Since taking office in January, Trump had hiked levies on imports from China to 145 percent.

Trump wrote on Truth Social:

China should open up its market to USA – would be so good for them!!! Closed markets don’t work anymore!!!

80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B.