Trump to rally in Florida after stoking Ramaswamy ad furor – US politics live

Donald Trump touted the justice department lawsuit that attempts to block the Senate race certification in Alaska, if the incumbent Republican that he has endorsed there loses. “I’m the one that said do it,” Trump told reporters ahead of a campaign rally in Florida. More here

Without evidence, the president claimed that Daniel J Sullivan, the retired schoolteacher and registered Republican running against the incumbent GOP senator Daniel S Sullivan, was “put up” by Democrats to siphon the vote against the Trump-endorsed candidate. A reminder that both Sullivans (no relation to one another) will be competing against Mary Peltola, the former Democratic congresswoman, who is currently leading in many polls against the incumbent Sullivan.

Earlier, Trump doubled down on his support for Vivek Ramaswamy’s widely condemned ad that features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent in the Ohio governor’s race, Amy Acton . “If my mother said bad things about me, do you think the Democrats would put it up? I think so, but my mother thought I was wonderful,” Trump said in response to Monica Alba, a reporter from NBC News.

Outside the White House on Friday, Trump scolded Alba, the reporter who followed up with questions about Acton’s childhood, and whether that changed the president’s perspective on the ad. “You’re a horrible little reporter, aren’t you?” Trump said, while continuing to ignore the myriad questions about the number of Republicans who have disavowed the ad. A reminder that Acton was removed from her mother’s care when she was 12, after her stepfather was charged with sexually abusing her. Her mother, Donna Arthur, fled the state with her husband, before his trial, and remained married to him until his death in 2004.

Susan Collins , the vulnerable Republican senator in Maine vying for a sixth term in office, said that she had secured additional tariffs exemptions on Canadian products that are crucial to her state’s agricultural industries. “Many of our farmers and growers rely on specialized equipment, packaging materials, and other products from Canada that are either unavailable from American suppliers or cannot be replaced without incurring significant expense,” Collins said in a statement.