Jimmy Kimmel: Trump’s ‘worst week of his presidency so far’
Late-night hosts took aim at Donald Trump’s disastrous week and his impact on the global economy.On Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host referred to the “almost comical cloud of uncertainty” that has plagued the US for the past week as a result of Trump’s tariffs.“I might pull my money out of the market and put it into Beanie Babies,” he joked.After announcing record-high tariffs and tanking the stock market, Trump’s decision to then reverse them was heralded as a masterplan by his loyalists.“There’s no plan unless you consult the Magaverse and then there is and was,” he said.
Kimmel joked that “none of us can ever go on vacation because of the plan” and that all of this was just a way to “distract us from all the other horrible stuff”.He added: “We have a monkey flying the plane right now and almost half the passengers are like, ‘I think the monkey is doing a good job!’”He said that “the plane is pointing down” and that things are so bad that “Kanye tweeted pictures of Hitler this morning and no one even noticed”.Trump has also busied himself this week with rants about water pressure in the shower, signing an executive order to address it.Kimmel said it was like your “weird grandpa got elected president”.He also wondered why Trump would need a shower joking that “you’d think the three-hour tongue bath from Fox News would be sufficient”.
Kimmel then called it the “worst week of his presidency so far”.On Late Night, Seth Meyers said that Trump had been “manipulating the stock market” and the week’s “chaos and uncertainty” had led to some profiting more than others.He showed footage of various people sucking up to Trump this week, sitting around a table paying him compliments.Meyers compared it to “Hollywood agents after a giant flop” and that “even Trump looks a little uncomfortable”.Trump “feigned ignorance” when asked about his impact on the stock market even though Meyers called him “President Butterfly Effect” for the impact his decisions have “not just for the economy but for democracy”.
His 90-day pause on tariffs was met with excitement and confusion on Fox News with the hosts talking over each other “like a couple telling a story at a dinner party”.Just before the pause, he posted that “this is a great time to buy” which has led to some accusing him of potential insider trading.There has been praise for him fixing the downward turn of the stock market but Meyers said “you set a house on fire and then called the fire department” and “you don’t get credit for stopping an emergency you started”.He said Trump “lost his nerve because of panic in the bond markets” despite claims that this was all part of some great deal.“What did we win?” he asked adding: “There is no deal.
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Now is not the time to turn our backs on the world but to face forward | Rachel Reeves
This week we witnessed the uncertainty of a changing world. Financial markets and nation states responding to the dawn of a new economic era and the reality of new barriers to trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.This change can be unsettling for families who are worried about the cost of living and businesses concerned about what it means for them. But our task as a government is not to be knocked off course or to take rash action which risks undermining people’s security
Parliament approves British Steel bill as sources say owners blocked from entering Scunthorpe plant – as it happened
The Steel Industry (Special Measures) has now passed through the House of Lords and is awaiting royal assent.After receiving royal assent, it will become law at midnightAfter a remarkable day, we’ll be closing this blog shortly. Here’s a summary of the day’s developments:Proposals to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces have been approved by Parliament after an extraordinary sitting on Saturday.Emergency legislation giving the government the power to instruct British Steel to keep the plant open passed both the Commons and Lords in a single day unopposed.The TUC has welcomed the move, describing it as “the right thing to do and it’s in the national interest”
Starmer aiming to ‘pass emergency legislation in one day’ to save British Steel – as it happened
The government will “pass emergency legislation in one day” to protect the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, Starmer said.Speaking in Downing Street, the Prime Minister said:We will act with urgency. Now, we should be clear this situation and our response is unique.While it is true that we are facing a new era of global instability, our concerns about this plant and negotiations to protect it have been running for years.This moment could have happened at any time, but it has happened now, and I will not stand by
Labour MPs urge ministers to focus on rebuilding trading relationship with EU
Ministers should focus on rebuilding bridges with the EU, Labour politicians have said, after a senior adviser to Donald Trump downplayed the prospect of a breakthrough with the US.MPs said the government should “prioritise our trading relationship with the EU” and “get a sugar rush of growth” instead of banking on the prospect of preferential treatment from Washington.Trump imposed 10% tariffs on all UK exports this month, with several other markets, including the EU, facing steeper rates. After financial markets plummeted, the US president announced a temporary reprieve on Wednesday, reducing tariffs on almost all other countries to his baseline of 10%. Car, steel and aluminium imports continue to face a higher tariff of 25%
Rules of engagement for family rows over politics | Letters
Simon Usborne’s article made me reflect (The one change that worked: I quit fighting about politics with my friends and family, 7 April). Having been brought up to enjoy debate and argument, a good old “ding dong at dinner parties” was always fun. It wasn’t, however, lost on me that it could lead to frayed friendships, even if, in most circumstances, bridges were rebuilt. At work, winning the argument and driving change was all – regardless of the cost.More problematically though, as a “good parent”, who wanted to impart the skill of debate, ensure knowledge of the facts and set clear boundaries for my son, especially as he moved into his teens, I found myself easily triggered to defend a position or argue a point – calmly – thinking that I was helping in some way
Labour MP apologises for not declaring donation from firm he praised in Commons
A Labour MP has apologised and referred himself to the standards commissioner after promoting a company in the Commons without declaring it had given him a £10,000 donation.Steve Yemm, the Labour MP for Mansfield, spoke in a debate about construction standards last month and praised the electrical utility company Power Saving Solutions as “a company that is enabling reduced reliance on diesel-generated power on building sites”.Yemm cited Power Saving Solutions and the construction company JCB as “two great examples of private-sector firms enfranchising themselves in our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower”.He had received a £10,000 donation from Power Saving Solutions in April last year but did not mention this in his speech. The MP’s code of conduct states: “Members must declare any relevant interests when speaking in the house
UK and G7 allies look at lowering ‘meaningless’ cap on Russian oil exports
Worried about your stock market savings as Trump tariffs wreak havoc? Don’t panic
BP dropped its green pledges and turned back to oil. Now the price of crude has collapsed
Trump’s bullying must stop but the true costs of globalisation will remain | Richard Partington
After this, what more proof does Britain need that it cannot ‘cosy up’ to Trump? | William Keegan
Emergency law passed to force loss-making steel companies to keep operating