US politics live: ‘Deteriorating quickly’: JD Vance weighs in on viral Sweeney drama

JD Vance has become the latest figure to weigh in on Sydney Sweeney’s controversial jeans ad, taking the opportunity to blast Democrats.

Welcome to our coverage of US politics.

Donald Trump has fired the government official responsible for publishing employment data after new jobs figures came out on Friday, US time, that were way below expectations.

The numbers, 25 per cent lower than expected, suggests Mr Trump’s “booming” America is perhaps not so booming.

But the US president said the figures were, in his opinion, “rigged” and that could have been done to make him “look bad”. There is no evidence for Mr Trump’s claims.

A senior Democrat said Mr Trump was “shooting the messenger” who brought “bad news for the economy”.

The weak jobs figures as well as the tariff announcements sent US markets lower on Friday.

One analyst has said the employment market was “deteriorating quickly” and recession fears were back.

On Friday, Mr Trump ordered two US nuclear submarines be moved closer to Russia due to “provocative statements” made by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

The two have been feuding on social media.

Meanwhile, the family of Virginia Giuffre, the victim of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell who took her own life recently, has spoken to CNN, saying she would have wanted “everything released”.

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Read on for more updates.

Originally published as US politics live: ‘Deteriorating quickly’: JD Vance weighs in on viral Sweeney drama