WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
1 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he’d be open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, under the right circumstances.
Trump tells Bloomberg News in an interview Monday, “If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would, absolutely, I would be honored to do it.”
Tensions with North Korea have escalated dramatically in recent weeks as American and other intelligence agencies have suggested the country was readying for a possible nuclear test.
The Trump administration has said all options, including a military strike, are on the table.
Trump says that “most political people would never say” they’d be willing to meet with Kim. But he adds: “I’m telling you, under the right circumstances, I would meet with him. We have breaking news.”
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1 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he’d be willing to consider raising the gas tax to fund his massive infrastructure plan. Trump tells Bloomberg News in an interview that “it’s something that I would certainly consider.”
He suggests the money could be earmarked for highway construction and repair. Raising U.S. gas taxes has generally been opposed by Republican lawmakers at the state level.
Trump also says the tax plan his administration outlined last week is just the starting point for negotiations with Congress.
He says, “Everything is a starting point.”
Trump’s proposed plan would slash the corporate tax rate to 15 percent and lower rates for individuals, likely increasing the deficit substantially if passed.
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12:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump is telling a group of community bankers that he will roll back regulations imposed on their industry after the nation’s 2008 financial crisis.
Trump is addressing the Independent Community Bankers Association at the White House. The bankers are wearing Trump inspired red baseball caps that say, “Make Community Banking Great Again!”
The president says the current law, known as the Dodd-Frank Act, is “out of control” and his administration is working to reform it.
He says his friends who are community bankers “have gone through hell” because of stringent regulations.
The 2010 Dodd-Frank law clamped down on certain banking practices and expanded consumer protections to try to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial meltdown.
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9:10 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he likes the sense of power he gets working in the Oval Office and describes one instance when the awe of the office made an industry official cry.
In an interview Monday on “CBS This Morning,” Trump says he prefers to negotiate from inside the Oval Office, including recent discussions on the military’s F-35 program. He says: “Calling from here and meeting here, and having meetings on that contract, I think, gives you additional power, if you want to know the truth.”
He says one person who runs a “major, major company” with a “magnificent office with beautiful glass walls” had been to the White House 51 times, but never inside the Oval Office. He says, “the person came into the Oval Office and started to cry.” He declined to name the person.
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7 a.m.
President Donald Trump is attacking the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, as a “bad leader” and says the Democrats are “never going to win another election.”
The president also suggested that congressional Republicans are still learning how to govern and will eventually unite.
Trump made his remarks during an interview that airs Monday on “CBS This Morning.” Trump tells the television network of congressional Republicans: “I like almost all of them a lot” and “I think you’re going to see the Republican party really come together.”
He says Democrats are great too, but attacked Schumer, saying he “doesn’t know how to lead.” Trump said of Schumer: “He has no leadership ability. And he’s bringing them so far left they’re never going to win another election, believe me.”
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5:40 a.m.
President Donald Trump’s campaign organization is launching a $1.5 million run of TV ads touting his accomplishments in his first 100 days.
The ad buy, announced Monday, is paid for by Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., and will air in major markets throughout the country and will target specific voting groups online.
The ad entitled “First 100 Days” highlights Trump’s first weeks in office, “exhibiting clear vision, resolute leadership, and an uncompromising dedication to the American people, just as he promised throughout the campaign,” the sponsor says in a statement.
It also says that “the campaign is continuing President Trump’s approach of reaching out to the American people directly by highlighting his work over the first 100 days and fighting back against the continued media bias.”
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3:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump is promoting a revamped health care overhaul effort after failing to advance legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act in his first three months in office.
Trump tweeted Sunday that a “new healthcare plan is on its way,” promising lower premiums and protection for people with pre-existing conditions. The House did not vote last week on a renewed effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Health Care Act, but the White House remains hopeful action could come soon.
The president has spent much of his first 100 days in office reckoning with the realities of governing, even with a Republican-led Congress. While health care negotiations continue to prove a challenge, negotiators reached agreement Sunday on a $1 trillion-plus spending bill that would fund the day-to-day operations of virtually every federal agency to Oct. 1.
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