‘Ridiculous’: Obama blasts Trump treason claim
Former president Barack Obama has hit back at Donald Trump’s latest shock allegations, describing them as “bizarre” and “outrageous”.
North America
Don't miss out on the headlines from North America. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Former president Barack Obama has hit back at Donald Trump’s allegations of treason and sedition, describing them as “bizarre” and “ridiculous”.
“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response,” Mr Obama’s spokesman said.
“But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”
It came after Mr Trump called for former president Barack Obama to be prosecuted for allegedly ordering an assessment that Russia meddled to help him with the 2016 election.
“Whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people,” Mr Trump said in the Oval Office after referencing newly aired allegations of Mr Obama’s role in allegations of Russian interference after Mr Trump won his first term of office.
“It’s criminal at the highest level,” the president added, referring to documents released last week by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
“It would be President Obama, he started it. And (Joe) Biden was there with him, and (James) Comey was there, and (James) Clapper — the whole group was there, and (John) Brennan.”
Trump added: “The leader of the gang was President Obama … He’s guilty.
“This was treason, this was every word you could think of. They tried to steal the election. They tried to obfuscate the election.”
FOLLOW UPDATES:
TRUMP ANNOUNCES TRADE DEAL WITH JAPAN
Donald Trump announced that his administration had wrapped up a massive trade agreement with Japan, two weeks after threatening the US ally with 25 per cent tariffs
“We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, perhaps the largest Deal ever made. Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things. Japan will pay Reciprocal Tariffs to the United States of 15%.”
On July 7, Mr Trump told Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru his country would pay a 25 per cent duty on exports to the US if a deal wasn’t wrapped by August 1.
Japan is the fifth-largest US trading partner among individual nations, trailing Mexico, Canada, China and Germany.
OLYMPIC CHIEFS BAN TRANSGENDER ATHLETES
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee is falling in line with an executive order from US President Donald Trump banning transgender women from women’s sports.
The committee quietly updated its eligibility rules, adding a paragraph to its 27-page “Athlete Safety Policy” posted to its website that includes language that implies it bars transgender women from competing in women’s divisions.
Mr Trump signed the “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports” executive order — also known as Executive Order 14201 — in February.
“The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities, e.g., IOC, IPC, NGBs, to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act,” the added language in the document stated.
It’s not clearly stated how the policy will be enforced, and it is unclear whether any American Olympians will be banned from the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics taking place in Los Angeles.
US LEAVES ‘WOKE’ UNESCO
US President Donald Trump is pulling America out of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), citing its pro-China and anti-Israel leanings as well as its woke agenda, The New York Post has learned.
Australia is a founding member of UNESCO which was established in 1946.
UNESCO has been a focal point of criticism for decades, with the organisation’s structure
frequently described as overly bureaucratic and inefficient.
The US stopped funding UNESCO after it voted to include Palestine as a member in 2011.
Prior to America’s official withdrawal, UNESCO has 194 Members and 12 Associate Members.
Mr Trump ordered a 90-day review of America’s presence in UNESCO back in February, with special emphasis on probing any “anti-Semitism or anti-Israel sentiment within the organisation.”
Upon conducting the review, administration officials took issue with UNESCO’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies as well as its pro-Palestinian and pro-China bias, a White House official told The Post.
“President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO — which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November,” White House deputy spokesperson Anna Kelly said.
“This President will always put America First and ensure our country’s membership in all international organisations aligns with our national interests.”
Among the faults cited are UNESCO’s publication of an “anti-racism toolkit” in 2023 and its 2024 “Transforming MEN’talities” initiative, the former of which called on member states to adopt “anti-racist” policies and compete in a “race to the top” to be the foremost social justice advocate, answering questions about the history of racism in their jurisdictions and then working to ensure equity.
The “MEN’talities” initiative published a report highlighting the organisation’s work in India aimed at reshaping how “men think about gender issues” – especially “harmful gender norms.”
The gender program also published a video game report last year that looked into how games could “promote gender equality.”
“It is not only about controlling the negative impacts, but also relying on video games to address sociocultural stereotypes and encourage positive, anti-discriminatory behaviours,” assistant director-general for the social and human sciences Gabriela Ramos said at the time.
Meanwhile, UNESCO used its Executive Board to force through anti-Israel and anti-Jewish actions, including designating Jewish holy sites as “Palestinian World Heritage” sites, the White House official said.
UNESCO frequently uses language stating that Palestine is “occupied” by Israel and condemns the Jewish state’s war on Hamas, without criticising the terror group’s brutal reign over Gaza.
In addition, Beijing is the second-largest funder of UNESCO, with Chinese nationals like deputy director-general Xing Qu in key leadership positions.
“China has leveraged its influence over UNESCO to advance global standards that are favourable to Beijing’s interests,” the official said.
The Chinese Communist Party has particularly been criticised for using its influence in UNESCO to downplay the role of minorities like Uyghur Muslims in the nation’s history.
Trump initially ordered the US out of UNESCO in 2017, then as now citing anti-Israel bias.
The US first withdrew from the UN organisation in 1983 under President Ronald Reagan, saying at the time that the organisation “has extraneously politicised virtually every subject it deals with. It has exhibited hostility toward a free society, especially a free market and a free press, and it has demonstrated unrestrained budgetary expansion.”
President Joe Biden made the US rejoin UNESCO in 2023, arguing that an American presence was needed to counter China’s growing hold on the organisation.
The Biden administration also vowed to pay back more than A$900 million in dues incurred since the US stopped contributing in 2011 due to the inclusion of Palestine as a member.
TRUMP REACHES TRADE DEAL WITH PHILIPPINES
US President Donald Trump announced he had reached a trade deal with the Philippines after meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos
“It was a beautiful visit, and we concluded our Trade Deal, whereby The Philippines is going OPEN MARKET with the United States, and ZERO Tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19% Tariff,” Mr Trump wrote to Truth Social.
“In addition, we will work together Militarily. It was a Great Honor to be with the President. “He is Highly Respected in his Country, as he should be. He is also a very good, and tough, negotiator. We extend our warmest regards to the wonderful people of The Philippines!”
The Philippines, a former US colony and longtime ally, was among countries confronted by Mr Trump with letters this month warning of 20 per cent tariffs on all their goods coming into the United States as of August 1 – up from a previous threat of 17 per cent.
The trade rift comes despite increasingly close defence relations between the United States and the Philippines, which has seen high tensions with China.
The United States last year under former president Joe Biden deployed ground-launched missiles in the Philippines.
Washington has also eyed ammunition manufacturing in the Philippines, despite the closure in 1992 of the US naval base at Subic Bay due to heavy public pressure.
“All of what we consider part of the modernisation of the Philippine military is really a response to the circumstances that surround the situation in the South China Sea,” Marcos said.
“We are essentially concerned with the defence of our territory and the exercise of our sovereign rights,” he said.
“Our strongest, closest, most reliable ally has always been the United States.” China and the Philippines have engaged in a series of confrontations in the contested waters, which Beijing claims almost entirely, despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.
Parts of this story originally appeared in The New York Post.
More Coverage
Originally published as ‘Ridiculous’: Obama blasts Trump treason claim
Join the conversation
Menendez brother rushed to hospital
The lawyer for one of the Menendez brothers has called for the immediate release of the parent killer due to a “serious condition”.
Read more
Devastating disease affecting Bruce Willis, thousands of Aussies
Hollywood star Bruce Willis can now barely speak or walk due to a rare brain disease. Here’s what you need to know.
Read more