Trump news recap: President-elect plans to declare National Emergency and use military for mass deportations

Democrats are melting down after Donald Trump confirmed he will declare a national emergency and use troops to boot illegal migrants from the country.

House Judiciary Democrats simply wrote on X 'the reports are true' while sharing a clip of CNN sharing Trump's plan.

Conservative commentator Steve Cortes chimed in, saying: 'It was so painful for CNN to report this.'

The account 'Republicans against Trump' criticized the timing of his post, at 4am ET.

'In a 4 am post, Donald Trump confirmed he plans to use the military to carry out the mass deportation of 15 million [sic] immigrants,' said the account on X.

Squad Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called out Trump's 'xenophobia and cruelty.'

Donald Trump has nominated former Congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy to be his Transportation Secretary.

The president-elect announced late Monday he had picked Duffy, a father of nine who appeared on MTV series the Real World in the 1990s, to take the spot filled by Pete Butttigieg.

Duffy is married to fellow Fox personality Rachel Campos-Duffy, who he met on the reality series Road Rules: All Stars in 1998.

After leaving his reality career behind he then turned to politics and public service.

In Wisconsin in 2022 he was appointed the Ashland County District Attorney and in 2008 was in the Republican slate of 2010 electors in the presidential election.

In 2010, he was elected to Congress to represent Wisconsin's seventh congressional district.

Donald Trump's pick to head the Federal Communications Commission slammed Saturday Night Live for featuring Kamala Harris and has warned TV networks to be careful of 'bias.'

Brendan Carr, who is the top Republican on the independent commission that oversees radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the U.S., also has often targeted Big Tech, accusing them of censorship.

Trump called his pick a 'warrior for Free Speech.' Carr has embraced Trump's positions on social media, tech and television companies.

'Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans' Freedoms, and held back our Economy,' Trump said in a statement.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter in West Palm Beach, Florida

Matt Gaetz allegedly partied, used drugs and paid women for sex repeatedly between 2017 and 2019 while serving in the House of Representatives, an attorney claims.

The bombshell allegations have been central to a House Ethics Committee investigation into the ex-lawmaker that was abruptly paused last week following Gaetz's resignation after being nominated by Donald Trump to be attorney general.

The attorney for two women involved in that same probe into Gaetz's conduct came forward Monday revealing damning new details about Donald Trump's attorney general nominee.

The Republican attended up to 10 'sex parties' where illegal drugs and 'group sex situations' were present, according to Orlando-based attorney Joel Leppard.

Both women represented by Leppard allege that Gaetz paid them for sex, the attorney claims.

'She testified [that] in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17,' Leppard said Monday.

Hunter Biden, wife Melissa Cohen and son Beau enjoyed a VIP tour of Disneyland with friends in their first public outing since Democrats were trounced in the election.

Baby Beau, 4, and mom Melissa wore matching mouse ears. Beau's had a Santa hat while Melissa's sported a red spotted bow.

Hunter, 54, was spotted on the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride with his son and a friend. The trio also hopped on the Peter Pan ride and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

President Joe Biden's son looked gloom despite the park having the moniker the 'Happiest Place on Earth.'

It was the first sighting of Hunter since Kamala Harris lost the election. And it comes a month before he's scheduled to be sentenced on federal charges related to a gun purchase and his taxes.

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent in Washington, D.C.

Is Donald Trump planning to attend Tuesday's SpaceX 'Starship' rocket launch on Tuesday?

SpaceX founder Elon Musk is ever present at Trump's side and a visit to the launch site in Texas would show the depth of their relationship.

The Trump transition has made no announcement but the Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday it was placing temporary flight restrictions over Brownsville and Boca Chica for a VIP movement during the launch window. At the same time, it is dropping restrictions over the president-elect's home in Palm Beach, Florida.

GOP Co-Chair Michael Whatley declared a win for the GOP after the state's supreme court ruled that 'undated ballots' cannot be counted.

It comes amid a recount in the Senate race between Republican Dave McCormick (who was declared the winner by AP) and Democrat incumbent Bob Casey.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter in West Palm Beach, Florida

Montana Republican Senator-elect Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, applauded Donald Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence.

'Tulsi Gabbard has my full confidence and support for her nomination to serve as DNI,' Sheehy wrote in a statement on Monday.

The two met while Sheehy was in Hawaii while serving in the military and Gabbard served as a Congresswoman from the state.

The Republican wrote he looks forward to her reorienting the intelligence community back to 'putting America first.'

Some of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks have sparked dismay and even outrage as he prepares to reenter the White House for a second term next year.

It is becoming more clear that some of his more controversial nominees would face an uphill climb to be confirmed in the Senate.

Several could face being blocked altogether even with Republicans retaking the majority come January. 

It would not be the first time a Cabinet nominee was blocked by the Senate, but it has been decades since the last time it occurred.

Here are the Cabinet nominees who did not make the cut in the Senate:

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter in West Palm Beach, Florida

President Joe Biden wrote a letter to Republican Speaker Mike Johnson urging him to approve additional emergency management funds for hurricane victims.

The president asked the chief leader of Congress to approve nearly $100 billion worth of disaster relief aid.

In his letter, the president requested Johnson provide funding for the Small Business Administration, which has received over 100,000 loan applications.

'With the Congress now back in session, I write to request urgently needed emergency funding to provide for an expeditious and meaningful Federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters. In the weeks since these deadly storms tore through communities across the Southeast, members of my Administration and I have traveled to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to meet with families, business owners, farmers, local and State officials, and first responders to stand with these communities in the wake of these disasters and to hear firsthand what they need from the Federal Government in order to make a full recovery. Additional resources are critical to continue to support these communities,' Biden wrote Johnson.

Whether there is the appetite to pass such a massive spending bill just before Christmas when Congress has another looming government funding deadline will have to be determined by Johnson and current Senate Leader Chuck Schumer.

Current AG Jason Miyares quickly earned the endorsement of Gov. Glenn Youngkin after announcing his reelection bid:

As Attorney General, Jason vigorously defends the laws of the Commonwealth, stands with law enforcement every single day while leading our shared fight to end the free flow of opioids and fentanyl into our communities, and has been a constant advocate for victims of human trafficking and domestic violence. He has never backed down when it comes to standing up for Virginians. He is an exceptional Attorney General.

Youngkin, who is term-limited, will be stepping down next year.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears is running to replace him as the leader of the commonwealth.

The governor also endorsed Sears saying:

Winsome has been an outstanding Lt. Governor, and she will be a great Governor. She has been an outspoken advocate for commonsense conservative principles and policies, a passionate voice for our military and veterans, and a relentless advocate for educational freedom and economic opportunity. She brings the fighting spirit of a Marine to the office every single day.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Melania Trump will be able to continue her book, jewelry and merchandise sales career after she returns to the White House with no legal restrictions on profiting financially as first lady.

The returning first lady has been hawking her memoir 'Melania'; NFTs, or non-fungible tokens; Christmas decorations; jewelry; and a digital photo collection, continuing her sales pitch after her husband Donald Trump won a second term.

The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution forbids an elected official from profiting from their public position. And there is a long list of rules governing federal employees and outside financial ventures.

But a spouse is not a federal employee. And first lady is an honorary position - it's not mentioned in the Constitution or in federal law. So Emoluments rules don't apply.

'As first lady, the ethics rules don't apply because that person is not a government employee,' the Office of Government Ethics told DailyMail.com.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor for DailyMail.com in Rio de Janeiro

A ‘family photo’ of world leaders at the G20 summit in Rio was missing the leader of the world’s most powerful nation.

President Joe Biden was not on hand as the leaders of the most powerful economies all gathered and clasped hands, applauding after the traditional ‘family photo.’

Local media broadcast the gathering while the leaders were arrayed in front of a view of Rio’s stunning coastline, with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background.

It later broadcast a clip of Biden, wearing a blue suit walking alongside Secret Service agents and an official White House photographer.

He arrived late with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, getting there right after the photo session ended. The photo was for a new Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty being championed by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

It comes on a trip to Latin America that began with Biden ignoring a series of questions about President-elect Donald Trump and ended up in the back of a photo in Peru.

At both the APEC Summit in Lima and the G20 here in Rio, China’s President Xi Jinping is receiving an official state visit. In Peru that got him an elaborate welcome ceremony.

Polymarket, the forecasting market on which bettors heavily backed Donald Trump to win the election, is now taking wagers on whether his Cabinet picks will be confirmed.

Bettors are currently not confident that Matt Gaetz will be confirmed as Attorney General, and he is given only a 21 percent chance.

There is more confidence that Pete Hegseth will be confirmed as Secretary of Defense.

The market gives Hegseth a 70 percent chance of being confirmed.

Jon Jones got into the patriotic spirit after Saturday's knockout win over Stipe Miocic with a special message for Donald Trump.

Jones and Trump shook hands and capped a fight night charged with politics as much as punches inside a raucous Madison Square Garden where 'USA!' chants echoed through the arena.

'A big, big thank you to President Donald Trump for being here tonight,' Jones said inside the cage before presenting Trump with the belt and imitating the President-elect's curious robot dance. 'I'm proud to be a great American champion. I'm proud to be a Christian-American champion.'

The mention of Jones' faith struck a chord with the crowd, which grew louder in that moment.

It was also well received with Trump supporters online.

CBS has come under fire after furious NFL fans accused the network of editing out a player's Donald Trump-inspired celebration on Sunday.

During their clash with the Miami Dolphins, Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers celebrated a superb 20-yard touchdown run by performing the famous Trump dance which is proving very popular in the league right now.

Bowers' celebration was captured by CBS on its live broadcast of the game, while the NFL also posted a clip of both his touchdown and the dance that followed on social media.

Yet in their own social-media post, CBS opted to share a shorter video which ends just before the Raiders star pulls out Trump's notorious two-handed shuffle.

Fans were left seething after watching the clip, with many claiming the broadcasters purposely decided to cut it in order to leave Bowers' celebration out.

'Cutting out the Trump dance celebration? Wow. This is why CBS is a joke,' one user said on X.

There are still five House races yet to be called by the Associated Press as Republicans hope to grow their slim majority.

The seats are located in Alaska, California (two seats), Iowa and Ohio.

Last week, Republicans officially got over the 218-seat threshold for a majority in the 435-member chamber over a week since the election.

It takes 218 for a majority with three vacancies in Ohio, California and New York that will not be filled until special elections in 2025.

The stunning clean sweep comes days after Trump's White House victory over Vice President Kamala Harris and Republicans successfully flipping the Senate with key wins in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana.

GOP Rep. Morgan Luttrell posted on X that he's flying on plane with 'tape on the wing.'

It's concerning as House Speaker Mike Johnson is managing an extremely thin majority and can't afford to lose any votes.

'I'm sure there's nothing to worry about,' the lawmaker said along with a picture of the taped wing.

DailyMail.com star columnist Maureen Callahan called the hosts of Morning Joe 'smarmy charlatans' who 'kissed the ring' with their secret trip to Mar-a-Lago to meet Donald Trump.

Callahan pointed out how they have both compared the president-elect to Adolf Hitler and said he is 'killing women'.

'Nothing like the courage of your convictions,' she added in an X post.

Sweden is sending out some five million pamphlets to residents urging them to prepare for the possibility of war, with instructions on how to stockpile food and water amid growing fears of a conflict with Russia.

Neighboring Finland has also launched a new preparedness website while Norwegians recently received booklets instructing them on how to manage on their own for a week in the event of war and other threats.

Both Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment to join the US-led military alliance NATO in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Since the start of the war, Stockholm has repeatedly urged Swedes to prepare both mentally and logistically for the possibility of war, citing the serious security situation in its vicinity.

The booklet 'If Crisis or War Comes', sent by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), contains information about how to prepare for emergencies such as war, natural disasters, or cyber attacks.

It is an updated version of a pamphlet that Sweden has issued five times since World War II. However, underlining the seriousness of the potential threat, the book is twice the size of previous years.

In one of the more worrying excerpts, which harks back to advice given by governments during the darkest days of the Cold War, it informs people of the risk of nuclear weapons.

'The global security situation increases the risks that nuclear weapons could be used. In the event of an attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, take cover in the same way as in an air attack,' it instructs readers.

Gov. DeSantis is holding his cards close to his chest about who will replace Marco Rubio in the Senate after he was tapped to become Trump's Secretary of State.

We have already received strong interest from several possible candidates, and we continue to gather names of additional candidates and conduct preliminary vetting.

More extensive vetting and candidate interviews will be conducted over the next few weeks, with a selection likely made by the beginning of January.

From Rob Crilly, Chief U.S. Political Correspondent in Washington, D.C.

Monday brings renewed focus on the remaining major Cabinet and White House jobs to be filled, according to sources in Palm Beach.

That means the big economic and finance jobs. There have been plenty of names connected to these posts and plenty of stories knocking candidates up the ladder or back down, as speculation grips political reporters.

Today, aides will be focused on these key jobs:

• Treasury secretary
• Commerce secretary
• Trade representative
• Director of the Office of Management and Budget
• Chair of the National Economic Council

Whether or not we get any announcements is very much up in the air.

American parents fighting for school choice and parental rights are planning to hold President-elect Donald Trump to his campaign promise to destroy the Department of Education.

Tiffany Justice, the co-founder of Moms for Liberty spoke to DailyMail.com about what Trump's victory means for parents fighting for these basic rights for their kids and less government control.

‘I think [Trump] has a very clear mandate from the American people to shrink the size of government and to engage on the issues that are tearing the fabric of our country apart,’ Justice told DailyMail.com.

And although Justice is rumored to be on Trump's shortlist to become the head of the Education Department, she wouldn't mind being its last secretary.

She described the Department of Education’s efforts as ‘completely unconstitutional’ and said she would celebrate the end of the department particularly if Trump could send the money directly to the states.

‘Giving the power back to the people is the most important thing to education,’ she said. ‘Local control.’

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Footage of President Joe Biden 'wandering off' into the Amazon rainforest has gone viral - but it's not what it seems.

On Sunday, Biden became the first sitting president to visit the Amazon, delivering brief remarks before departing the podium and heading down a path.

It was the same pathway he entered from and reporters on the scene confirmed to DailyMail.com that Biden did not get lost.

But online observers wrongly interpreted the clip as the 81-year-old having a senior moment.

The X account @PopBase posted a clip of Biden's exit, innocently labeling it: 'Joe Biden becomes the first sitting US President to visit the Amazon Rainforest.'

But that cued a number of people asking where the president was going.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has hit back over claims his tattoos are associated with white supremacists.

The veteran responded to an Associated Press story that said he was flagged as a possible 'insider threat' by a fellow service member due to a tattoo on his bicep.

That service member had sent an email to the District of Columbia National Guard over the tattoo which reads 'Deus Vult', claiming it was used by white supremacists.

In the email, obtained by AP, the soldier said the phrase, which translates to 'God wills it' was used to 'invoke the myth of a white Christian medieval past'.

The email continued that it has 'enjoyed popularity with members of the alt-right over its popularity' and has been widely used by nationalist groups in Europe.

Hegseth, 44, has since slapped down this claim as being a display of 'Anti-Christian bigotry'.

The House Ethics Committee will meet this week regarding potentially making the Matt Gaetz report public.

It comes after Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he does not want the House Ethics Committee to release its report.

Following Donald Trump's nomination of Gaetz to serve as attorney general, there have been increasing bipartisan calls for the report on his alleged sexual misconduct and drug use to be released.

That would break with Ethics Committee norms as Gaetz resigned his spot in Congress immediately after being nominated, meaning the committee no longer has jurisdiction over the former Florida Republican.

Speaker Mike Johnson said that Congress will likely move a deadline to finish up bills to fund the government until after the new year.

He told Fox News' Shannon Bream:

We’re running out of clock, December 20 is the deadline.

We’re still hopeful we might be able to get that done, but if not, we will have a temporary measure, I think it would go into the first part of next year and allow us the necessary time to get this done.

I think it would be ultimately a good move because the country would benefit from it because then you’d have Republican control and we’d have more say in what those spending bills are.

If a short-gap spending agreement is reached, it would avoid launching the government into a Christmas break shutdown.

Donald Trump fired out a string of early decisions on who will be in his cabinet, but one post is taking longer.

The competition to become Treasury Secretary has become a 'knife fight,' the New York Times reported.

Trump has added former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and billionaire Marc Rowan to the list of candidates, according to reports.

A former investment banker, Warsh, 54, served on the Federal Reserve Board from 2006 to 2011. He was seen as both a fiscal hawk and a proponent of higher savings rates.

Rowan, 62, co-founded investment manager Apollo Global Management and became the firm's CEO in 2021.

Republican U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, 65, who Trump met at Mar-a-Lago last week, is also in the running for the role, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Howard Lutnick (below), the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, and investor Scott Bessent have been considered as top candidates for the job.

The Republican president-elect has begun to have second thoughts about Lutnick and Bessent, the New York Times reported, and was expected to invite candidates to meet with him in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago club this week.

Lutnick co-chaired Trump's transition effort. A New Yorker like Trump, he has uniformly praised the president-elect's economic policies, including his backing of tariffs.

Bessent, a key economic adviser to Trump, is a longtime hedge fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years and has a warm relationship with the president-elect.

Billionaire Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came out in favor of Lutnick on Saturday, making public the internal jockeying on the decision.

The Trump transition team has not commented.

The White House hit back at the Kremlin Monday after it claimed U.S. authorization for Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia was 'fueling the fire' – with Putin allies even claiming it could lead to World War III.

The incendiary rhetoric comes as Ukraine prepares to use the green light to potentially launch powerful long-range weapons provided by Washington to strike Russian and North Korean troops trying to claw back territory seized in a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

‘With regard to the comments that came out of Russia, the fire was lit by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,' White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told reporters in Rio where President Biden is attending the G20 summit.

'So I think this notion of fuel on the fire is simply a side issue to the main issue, which is Russia waging a war of aggression across a sovereign border into Ukraine and continuing to do so,' he added.

President-elect Donald Trump and New York Mayor Eric Adams shared a brief exchange at UFC 309, and their intimate conversation has been revealed by an expert lip reader.

The inside look into how the men feel about one another comes after Adams, 64, congratulated Trump, 78, on his election victory before skipping out on a major Democrat Party fundraiser the next day.

Relations between the pair appear to have been cordial in the build-up to the election and since, as they bonded over their experiences being indicted.

Jeremy Freeman, a certified expert at lip reading, evaluated the footage of the chat between the politicians, and what he found exhibits a continuation of this warm relationship as Trump appeared to thank the mayor.

He told DailyMail.com Trump started out by saying 'Oh Eric...' before his face was blocked for a moment by the mayor. He continued by saying 'Not really. Thank you for all the...' before again being blocked from view.

Sarah Palin appears to be venting her frustration over not receiving one of Donald Trump's coveted cabinet spots after supporting the President-elect throughout his campaign.

The former Alaska governor and GOP vice-presidential candidate, an early and vocal supporter of Trump since at least 2011, made a series of cryptic posts to social media with screengrabs of other users who were questioning why she had not been drafted into his Cabinet.

In one Sunday post announcing breaking news of a Trump nominee, Palin posted a screengrab of a text message with someone asking her: 'What about you?' to which she replied 'Thank you.'

In another frame, she posted a selfie looking calm while writing the pointed yet exasperated words: 'Funny how politics work.'

Palin also posted a rant by one of her supporters to her X and Instagram stories that labelled her as 'Trump before Trump', wondering aloud why she hadn't been given any kind of role.

'Currently, President elect Trump has named his secretaries for the VA, Energy, Interior and EPA administrator. Any one of these positions I hoped Sarah Palin would get,' the user wrote online.

'Palin was Trump before Trump. I have been saying this for years. Sarah Palin is the Mother of MAGA. Back then [16 years ago], she was the face of the tea party, what would then become the MAGA movement.

Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski had a question for those criticizing their trip to Mar-a-Lago to meet Donald Trump.

'For those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back – why wouldn’t we?'

She added: 'My father [diplomat Zbigniew Brzezinski] often spoke with world leaders with whom he and the United States profoundly disagreed...That's a task shared by reporters and commentators alike....

'Joe and I realized it’s time to do something different and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him.'

Brzezinski shared that Trump was cheerful during their meeting and seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats.

Donald Trump is focused on putting in place a team that immediately course-corrects the U.S. economy.

But this effort has bled into a bitter public fight over who should lead the president-elect's Treasury Department.

Top Trump allies Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who he picked to lead the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), are advocating for transition co-chair Howard Lutnick to get the coveted role.

The last-minute support for Lutnick comes amid a private lobbying campaign for investor Scott Bessent to get the job.

Musk's public backing for Lutnick in a post on X went as far to discredit Bessent after Trump expressed his admiration for the finalist.

A failed Republican House and Senate candidate from Arizona is 'begging' to be the next Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director, sources familiar with the selection process told DailyMail.com.

Blake Masters has spoken to many close with the transition team and even has Donald Trump's Attorney General pick Matt Gaetz lobbying for his appointment to the agency that falls under the Department of Justice.

Masters initially wanted the White House personnel position, a person close to transition efforts claims. But the role was filled by Sergio Gor.

Donald Trump Jr has accused President Joe Biden of trying to start WWIII before his father can take office.

Biden gave the green light for Ukraine to blast targets inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles on Sunday.

The decision is a major policy shift and comes as Biden is about to leave office while President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.

Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr, posted on X after Biden's decision was announced, saying that 'the military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives'.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

President Joe Biden spent several hours touring the Amazon rainforest on Sunday - making him the first sitting U.S. president to do so.

He taunted President-elect Donald Trump at the conclusion of his tour, saying 'nobody can reverse' his green legacy.

'It's no secret that I'm leaving office in January,' Biden said, reading from teleprompters set up in the jungle setting. 'I will leave my successor and my country a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so.'

Biden said that while some seek to 'deny or delay' the clean energy revolution 'nobody, nobody can reverse it.'

'Not when so many people, regardless of party or politics, are enjoying its benefits. Not when countries around the world are harnessing the clean energy revolution to pull ahead themselves,' the 81-year-old Democrat said.

'The question now is, which government will stand in the way and which will seize the enormous economic opportunity,' Biden added.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor in Rio de Janeiro

The White House is giving assent to Donald Trump’s contacts with foreign leaders – without saying it has eyes on what Joe Biden’s successor is up to.

Trump met with Argentinian President Javier Milei at Mar-a-Lago, his first in-person foreign leader this month. His cell phone has been ringing off the hook since the election, and there are even reports he has been picking up calls from unknown overseas numbers, after pledging to solve conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine during the presidential transition.

Asked by DailyMail.com in Rio whether the White House is keeping tabs on the interactions either with foreign governments or with the Trump transition, White House Deputy National Security wouldn’t answer directly.

‘I guess I’d say it’s not unusual for an incoming administration or an incoming president to engage with people who will be his counterparts, and beyond that I don’t have much to say about it,’ he said. He quickly pivoted away from a question about whether the White House knows how many such calls Trump has held.

President Biden himself has avoided repeated questions about Trump on his trip to South America, which began with the APEC summit in Lima, Peru and continues today at the G20 in Rio de Janeiro. His latest non-answer came after he delivered remarks at a museum in the Amazon, and indigenous guests played maracas as soon as his spech concluded.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor in Rio de Janeiro

The White House hit back at the Kremlin Monday after it said reports the U.S. was providing Ukraine authorization to use long-range weapons inside Russia was ‘fueling the fire’ of the conflict.

‘The fire was lit by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This notion of fuel on the fire is simply a side issue to the main issue,’ White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told reporters in Rio where President Biden is attending the G20 summit.

Other Russian allies of Vladimir Putin have said the move could lead to World War II. Donald Trump, Jr. used similar language, saying the outgoing administration is trying to start World War III with the reported move before his father can resolve the conflict.

The White House refused to confirm reports that the Biden Administration had given the new authorization – even while defending efforts to ramp up support at ‘every phase’ of the war. ‘I obviously have seen the reports, and I don’t have anything to confirm for you,’ Finer said.

He said throughout the conflict the U.S. has been ‘extraordinarily successful in providing Ukraine what they needed in the moment that they needed it,’ with artillery and long-range ammunition. ‘We have done this at every phase of the conflict, including the provision of ATACMs for the Ukrainians to use inside their own borders, which obviously took place earlier this year,’ he said.

He also cited ‘a significant escalation that involves the deployment of a foreign country’s forces on its own territory’ – Russia deploying thousands of North Korean troops as it seeks to retake territory that Ukraine seized inside its Kursk territory.

US President Joe Biden's decision to give Ukraine the green light to blast targets inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles may trigger a broader war and lead to yet more bloodshed, former American military chiefs and analysts warn.

Retired Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis warned yesterday that allowing Kyiv to use America's ATACMS rockets even in a limited capacity would 'enrage Putin and likely broaden the war' just weeks before Donald Trump arrives in the White House.

'I feel it's going to enrage Putin, which is problematic... ATACMS are not going to make a major difference quite frankly, but what it will do is put Mr. Trump as he assumes the presidency in a much worse situation.

'What we don't need at this late hour is the Biden administration exacerbating a pretty bad situation,' he told Fox News.

Biden's decision, which signals a dramatic U-turn in US policy, comes as Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting to gain as much territory as possible ahead of Trump's return to the Oval Office amid fears the president-elect may seek to force a ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long pressed his Western allies to allow his country to strike military targets deeper inside Russia, saying the ban had made it impossible for Kyiv to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.

Senior Russian politicians have declared President Joe Biden has taken a 'big step towards World War Three' after his administration reportedly gave the green light for Ukraine to blast targets inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles.

The decision, which comes on the eve of the 1000th day of war in Ukraine amid the dying days of the Biden administration, heralded a torrent of apocalyptic warnings from Russian lawmakers.

'This is a very big step towards the beginning of the Third World War,' said Putin-loyalist Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the upper house and a retired security service general.

He slammed the move from Biden - 'a departing old man who will no longer be responsible for anything in two months'.

Hardline Liberal-Democatic party leader Leonid Slutsky said: 'Biden has apparently decided to end his presidential term and go down in history as Bloody Joe.

'It will mean only one thing - direct US participation in the military conflict in Ukraine, which will inevitably entail the harshest response from Russia, based on the threats that will be created for our country.'

Russian senator Andrey Klishas said: 'The West has decided on a level of escalation that could end with the remnants of Ukraine completely losing their statehood.'

Putin himself is yet to respond to the major change in Western policy.

Morning Joe host Joe Scarbrough anticipated criticism for his trip to meet Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Journalists, political strategists and social media users on X accused the MSNBC anchors of 'shamelessness' and ‘bending the knee’ with their first meeting with the president-elect in years.

Many pointed out how the liberal broadcasters frequently called the 78-year-old a fascist and compared him to Adolf Hitler.

'Hitler getting a lot more meeting requests than I would’ve thought,' Republican strategist and CNN panelist Scott Jennings wrote.

The Free Press columnist Eli Lake added: 'Why would Trump bother talking to these people other than to urge them to seek mental health counseling?'

'Annals of shamelessness: They call Trump a fascist, and much, much more, and then, just 22 days after his 'Nazi-like' rally, they fly to Florida for an audience,' Washington Examiner Chief Political Correspondent Byron York said.

'Afterward, they say, "We didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues," but they want to "restart communications." What?'

‘@Morning_Joe is officially dead,’ wrote Georgia PeachForver46. ‘They literally went to Mar-a-Lago to bend the knee & capitulate. @morningmika @JoeNBC that's not journalism or telling truth to power. It's pathetic.’

‘Bend the knee to the King in order to save their careers’, wrote Vince Langman with a crying laughter emoji.

'Wow—Morning Joe and wife symbolically bending the knee to the new President! They’re still crazy Left but at least recognizing reality,' Michael Carozza wrote.

Scarborough tried to get ahead of the backlash by saying: ‘Don't be mistaken, we are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump.

‘We are here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights that are going to better equip all of us in understanding these deeply unsettling times, and I am reminded of what Marty Garron, legendary editor told his Washington Post editors back in the first term: “We are not going to war, we are going to work.” So let's go to work now’.

The hosts of Fox & Friends praised President Donald Trump for meeting with MSNBC' Morning Joe hosts last weel after they called him a fascist and compared him to Adolf Hitler.

'Just a short time ago this morning, the host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe program announced that they privately met face-to-face with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday,' reported Bill Melugin from Palm Beach.

'They said it was their first meeting with him in seven years and that while they disagree with him on a variety of topics, they agreed to reopen lines of communication, saying they don’t want to just talk about Donald Trump. They want to start talking to him again.'

'We’re just hearing that, too. Bill,' Brian Kilmeade replied. 'That is probably the most magnanimous thing any individual in America has done in a long time.

'For three years, they called fascist Hitler every day. And to every panel, there was nobody even to say ever since Harold Ford left that building, there was not one person saying anything nice about Trump. And for him to take that was a breakfast. “

'It just shows you, though, that he does want to smooth things over' Ainsley Earhardt added. 'Maybe he is going to unite our country.'

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have revealed they visited president-elect Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago over the weekend.

The Morning Joe stars said on Monday they traveled 'personally' to meet with Trump on Friday in order to 'restart communications and set a 'new approach.'

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's salubrious neighbourhood was visited by one of America's famous 'Trump Trains' over the weekend, sparking outrage amongst local liberals, MailOnline can reveal today.

The cortege of cars, all decorated with Trump banners and flags to celebrate the election win, processed through Montecito where several people stood on street corners to give drivers the middle finger.

One proud parent said on social media: 'Our daughter and her friend participated in the Trump Train in Montecito, Cal today. Naturally, the liberals were in rare form' - a nod to the swearing locals.

Images from the procession showed the scale of the so-called 'Trump Train' as it went through Montecito. Some vehicles had flags in the back, others had painted the sides with the Stars and Stripes. Drivers wore MAGA caps.

Incoming president Donald Trump has confirmed he is ready to declare a national emergency and use the military to deport illegal immigrants from America.

Responding to a post on Truth Social made by activist Tom Fitton, who said the 'incoming Trump administration [are] prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program', Trump wrote: 'TRUE!!!'

Trump has long promised not only to curb illegal immigration, but to deport those who currently live in the US.

He said just days after winning the 2024 election that his fight to deport an estimated 11 million people would have no 'price tag.'

He told NBC: 'Really, we have no choice. When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now they’re going to go back to those countries because they’re not staying here. There is no price tag.'

The American Immigration Council estimated that the cost of a mass deportation on the scale that Trump wants could cost $315billion.

Donald Trump's MAGA faithful were outraged after it was leaked that Mitch McConnell hatched a plot to stall his Cabinet nominations in the Senate.

The backlash began after a now-deleted tweet from New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer claimed McConnell told colleagues 'there will be no recess appointments' for the president-elect's cabinet members.

'Message to Trump Team: "There will be no recess appointments" Sen. Mitch McConnell said tonight at a Washington gathering,' Mayer wrote on X at around 8 pm Sunday.

Trump has promised to use the strategy to defy Congressional oversight and bypass the Senate confirmation process when appointing people to senior administration positions.

He has demanded that the incoming GOP Senate leader back his use of recess appointments. McConnell recently stepped down from his position as GOP leader in the Senate and was replaced by South Dakota Senator John Thune.

Still, the 82-year-old McConnell seemed confident about his prediction. It's unclear if he will run for re-election in 2026 at 84 and could feel less influenced by his desire to keep his seat.