US politics live: China says US Secretary of State’s comments on Tiananmen Square are an ‘attack’

China has furiously responded to comments made by the US Secretary of State today, decrying them as an “attack” on the government.

Welcome back to our live coverage of US politics. It’s been dramatic today. When is it not?

Billionaire finance titan Ray Dalio, known for founding the world’s biggest hedge fund, Bridgewater, has warned that the United States’ mounting national debt is “nearing the point of no return”, and is at risk of plunging the country’s economy into a “death spiral”.

That ominous warning comes within the pages of Mr Dalio’s newly published book How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle. In the book, as reported by CNN, he blames President Donald Trump’s policy agenda - specifically his tariffs, along with the tax and spending bill you can read about in earlier posts - for creating unusual volatility in the bond market.

Mr Dalio describes the “imminent risk” of a worst-case scenario - a full-blown debt crisis - as “very low”. But he warns the long-term risk is “very high”.

“Even though this progression has happened many times in history, most policy makers and investors think their current circumstances and monetary system won’t change,” he says.

“The change is unthinkable. And then it happens suddenly.”

“A spiral of rising interest rates leading to worsening credit risk, leading to less demand for the debt, leading to higher interest rates is a classic debt ‘death spiral’.”

Meanwhile Mr Trump’s White House has responded to mounting criticism of his so-called “Big Beautiful” spending bill, most eye-catchingly from the billionaire Trump megadonor Elon Musk, by mocking fellow Republicans’ concerns and demanding their support.

Mr Musk, who has just formally exited his role heading up Mr Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, eviscerated the legislation today, calling it a “disgusting abomination” and demanding an end to the career of any politician in Congress who votes for it.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” said Mr Musk.

“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

Read on for more updates.

Originally published as US politics live: China says US Secretary of State’s comments on Tiananmen Square are an ‘attack’