Trump reacts to a new pope being chosen as he gives Melania big kiss at White House event: Live updates

President Donald Trump reacted to history’s first U.S.-born Pope Thursday afternoon on Truth Social at Pope Leo made his debut.

Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump was asked to react to the news that a new Pope had been chosen as he exited an event hosted by first lady Melania Trump to celebrate military moms ahead of Mother’s Day.

I’ve seen the smoke but I haven’t seen the Pope.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump gushed over first lady Melania Trump’s mothering Thursday at an East Room event celebrating military moms ahead of Mother’s Day.

The Trumps entered the East Room together, as the president headed to the podium to introduce his wife.

Melania hasn’t moved back into the White House full-time, instead splitting her time between Washington, D.C., Mar-a-Lago and New York’s Trump Tower.

‘I especially want to thank one of the best moms that I know, that I’ve ever seen. Sometimes she’s almost too good,’ Trump told the mostly female crowd about his wife. ‘She is so good with Barron, but he’s grown up strong and nice. He’s a good boy. He’s a good student,’

He then added, ‘So I want to thank you, you’ve done a good job.’

In a rare emotional moment, the 78-year-old president also paid tribute to his own mother, Mary, who passed away in the year 2000.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Bernie Sanders offered a bizarre defense for using private jets while traveling the country to speak on his ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour, during which he slammed billionaires.

The democratic socialist and environmental campaigner said he should not be expected to ‘wait in line’ for commercial flights.

Sanders, 83, a longtime Vermont senator and two-time presidential candidate, said he made ‘no apologies’ for the trips.

He told Fox News that ‘you run a campaign, and you do three or four or five rallies in a week, the only way you can go around to talk to 30,000 people,’ is by private jet.

‘You think I’m going to be sitting on a waiting line at United while, what, 30,000 people are waiting around?’ Sanders said. ‘It’s the only way you can get around. No apologies for that.’

Last month, Sanders was spotted along with fellow progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez jet setting from stop to stop aboard a cushy Bombardier Challenger jet that reportedly costs $15,000 per hour to operate.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump made several public displays of affection as she hosted military moms in the White House’s East Room in anticipation of the Mother’s Day holiday.

The president introduced his wife at the event – which second lady Usha Vance and Vice President J.D. Vance also attended.

He remarked what a great job she did with Barron, who at 19 is a college freshman at New York University.

‘I especially want to thank one of the best moms that I know, that I’ve ever seen. Sometimes she’s almost too good. She is so good with Barron, but he’s grown up strong and nice. He’s a good boy. He’s a good student,’ Trump told his wife, who was seated in the front row. ‘So I want to thank you, you’ve done a good job.’

When Melania came onstage to speak, the president gave her a kiss on the cheek.

He also smooched her when she was seated among audience members that included Attorney General Pam Bondi, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and GOP Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst.

President Trump said he expects there to be substantive negotiations between the United States and China on trade.

He said tariffs on China couldn’t get higher than the current 145 percent.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and chief trade negotiator Jamieson Greer will meet China’s economic tsar He Lifeng in Switzerland this weekend for talks that could be the first step toward resolving a trade war disrupting the global economy.

You can’t get any higher. It’s at 145, so we know it’s coming down. I think it’s a very friendly meeting. They look forward to doing it in an elegant way.

President Donald Trump once again savaged Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

He complained that the Fed is refusing to lower interest rates.

Trump said cutting interest rates would be ‘like jet fuel’ for the economy ‘but he doesn’t want to do it.’

He said Powell is ‘not in love with me.’

President Donald Trump denied that he was overselling the trade deal with the U.K.

He insisted that it was far-reaching and could be expanded.

This is a very conclusive deal, but we think we can grow it even from that. This is a maxed-out deal.

We can now bring you footage of the moment Keir Starmer reacted to the US trade deal moments after he got off the phone with Donald Trump.

The Prime Minister decided to visit a Jaguar Land Rover plant to announce details of this ‘historic’ agreement.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch claimed that the UK has been ‘shafted’ by the Government’s deal with the US.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump said tariffs on British films were still being discussed but assured reporters in the Oval Office Thursday he could come to a deal.

‘James Bond has nothing to worry about,’ the president said.

The journalist had noted that it was a ‘great day for James Bond’ because of the vehicle deal between the U.S. and the U.K. would allow for the U.K. to send 100,000 cars into the U.S. with a lower 10 percent tariff, a boon for British carmaker Aston Martin, the cars Bond famously drove.

‘And you know, Sean Connery was a friend of mine,’ Trump also noted.

He said the late Scottish actor, who was the original Bond in films, helped the president get permitting for his Trump International golf club in Aberdeen, Scotland.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donald Trump’s trade agreement with the UK includes the country purchasing $10 billion in Boeing planes.

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick revealed this deatil of the deal at Thursday’s Oval Office announcement.

He said the UK opening their market has added $5 billion in opportunity to American exporters specifically when it comes to cars, steel and agriculture.

‘This would’ve taken us 3 years — Trump got it done in 45 days,’ Lutnick said. ‘Trump gets deals done.’

From left: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Vice President J.D. Vance and President Donald Trump announce a trade deal with the UK

The Prime Minister has insisted the US trade deal puts the UK in a better position as he was questioned on tariffs which will be maintained at 10pc

Asked if Britain was on a better footing with the deal than before the US introduced tariffs, Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘The question you should be asking is, is it better than where we were yesterday?’

He added: ‘What this does is to reduce to zero the tariffs on steel and aluminium. Look how important that is. Reduces massively from 27.5% to 10% the tariffs on the cars that we export, so important to JLR (Jaguar Land Rover), actually to the sector generally, but JLR in particular, who sell so many cars into the American market, proudly do that.

‘Of course, it also includes pharmaceuticals, some really important measures. Obviously, we don’t have tariffs yet, but we’ve got within the deal significantly preferential treatment whatever happens in the future. So this is hugely important for our pharmaceutical sector as well.’

Starmer insisted the deal shows the UK did the ‘hard yards’ after people urged him to walk away from trade talks and have a ‘different kind of relationship’ with the US.

Sir Keir Starmer said the US-UK trade deal is ‘just the start’ of an ‘ambitious’ economic partnership between the two nations.

Speaking from a Jaguar Land Rover plant, the Prime Minister added his officials are ‘hammering out’ further details with the US.

He said: ‘I also want to be clear, this is just the start with the deal we’ve done today. We can say jobs saved, jobs won, not job done, because we’re more ambitious for what the UK and the US can do together.

‘So we’re hammering out further details to reduce barriers to trade with the United States, across the board.’

First lady Melania Trump is skipping President Donald Trump’s whirlwind trip to the Middle East next week.

Daily Mail confirmed the first lady’s absence as the president visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over the course of three and a half days.

The Middle East trip was supposed to be the president’s first big foreign swing of his second term.

But due to the death of Pope Francis, Trump traveled to Rome first. Melania, a Catholic, accompanied him on that trip.

The first lady hasn’t fully moved back into the White House since Trump was sworn-in in January.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump didn’t wait to have British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fly-in before announcing the U.S.-U.K. trade deal on Thursday.

Instead Trump brought reporters into the Oval Office and had Starmer call-in.

The trade event wasn’t on the original White House public schedule for Thursday.

Both leaders touted that May 8 was Victory in Europe Day, when Germany surrendered to the allies, which included the United States and the United Kingdom.

On the phone, Starmer commented the timing ‘couldn’t be more apt.’

The prime minister said the announcement was ‘going to boost trade between and across our countries.’

‘With this President and Prime Minister, we have managed to achieve what many people have tried to achieve for years,’ Starmer also said.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donald Trump lauded the ‘incredible day for America’ as he struck a major trade deal with the United Kingdom.

It’s the first agreement reached since the president announced his massive tariff plan on April 2.

On Truth Social, Trump listed some of the ddetails of the deal.

As part of this Deal, America will raise $6 BILLION DOLLARS in External Revenue from 10% Tariffs, $5 BILLION DOLLARS in new Export Opportunities for our Great Ranchers, Farmers, and Producers, and enhance the National Security of both the U.S. and the UK through the creation of an Aluminum and Steel Trading Zone, and a secure Pharmaceutical Supply Chain.

He also previewed that more deals are coming after his ‘Liberation Day’ tariff threats shook international markets.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

The Dow exploded by over 500 points Thursday with the announcement that President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed to a U.S.-U.K. trade deal.

Trump sent the markets spiraling with his ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcement on April 2, setting 10 percent tariffs on most of the world, and higher reciprocal tariffs on countries that the president defined as bad trade actors.

The president then walked back the higher tariffs, putting them on pause for 90 days, while negotiations were ongoing.

Thursday’s announcement with the U.K. marked the first completed trade deal.

Trump put Starmer on the phone in the Oval Office as he cheered the deal.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Donald Trump blamed former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, 43, for prevailing ‘air traffic problems.’

The president railed against Buttigieg, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and is likely looking to launch another bid for the White House in 2028.

‘Air Traffic problems caused by the incompetent Biden Administration, as headed by, in this case, a total novice and political hack, Pete B. I WILL FIX IT!!!’ Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday.

The attack comes after a series of disasters and close calls in commercial U.S. air travel.

Joe and Jill Biden are re-emerging from their post-White House life to hit back against a spate of new books revealing embarrassing details about the former president’s declining health.

Their first big joint stop will be an interview on ABC’s The View on Thursday morning but the former first couple have other options they are considering, including a massive deal to publish their tell-all memoirs.

Biden is already hard at work on his own tome about his White House years, writing at his home office in Delaware and his post-presidential office in Washington D.C.

Donald Trump revealed he has struck a huge trade deal with the United Kingdom, the first such agreement since he launched a global trade blitz last month.

The president promised many more deals would follow with other countries after his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs sent the world economy into a tailspin.

It means Trump is handing a big political victory to a key ally, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been negotiating behind the scenes with the White House for weeks.

Fed chair Jerome Powell said uncertainty about the economy has only increased in the first decision since President Trump unleashed a series of aggressive tariffs on much of the rest of the world.

Powell said the possibility of the nightmare situation of stagflation – where inflation remains high and unemployment also increases – has increased, in a stark new warning.

‘If the large increases in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they’re likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth and an increase in unemployment,’ Powell said.

Rising prices and more unemployment threatens the Fed’s dual mandate to keep prices in check while ensuring a healthy labor market.

Inflation currently remains ‘somewhat elevated’ according to the Fed’s statement.