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Donald Trump experienced the agony and the ecstasy of football on Sunday as he was booed at the final of the FIFA Club World Cup — even as he joined in some high-spirited celebrations with champions Chelsea.The US president was front and center as the winners took to the stage, grinning broadly in his red tie and clapping and jumping with the players as the jubilant Blues lifted the gleaming trophy, which he had presented to captain Reece James.But moments earlier, loud booing could be heard among cheers and applause as Trump walked onto the pitch for the presentation with FIFA president Gianni Infantino — before the music in the stadium was turned up.Earlier, the Republican billionaire was also applauded as he and First Lady Melania Trump arrived for the match at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, just outside New York City.But when a jumbotron screen briefly showed Trump saluting to the US national anthem, yet more boos could be heard in the giant stadium, before the camera quickly cut away.The scorn did little to dampen the president’s spirits as he handed out trophies to the star players including the Golden Ball for best player to Cole Palmer, followed by handshakes and medals to the defeated Paris Saint-Germain.He later called the crowd “tremendous.””We had a great time,” he told reporters as he landed at Joint Base Andrews outside the US capital Washington after the match. The Republican’s appearance at the game also came on the first anniversary of the assassination attempt that he survived at an election rally in Pennsylvania.Trump has made no secret of his desire to use this year’s club championship and next year’s 2026 World Cup as symbols of the “Golden Age of America” during his second term in the White House.Next year’s World Cup, the final of which will be held at the same stadium, will coincide with the 250th anniversary of America’s independence.Trump has even set up a White House task force to ensure next year’s championship — hosted jointly with Canada and Mexico — goes smoothly.- ‘He loves it’ -Trump has fostered a close relationship with Infantino, who has been a frequent visitor to the White House.The president has kept the Club World Cup trophy next to his desk in the Oval Office since the FIFA president dropped by in March.Infantino, who is no stranger to dealing with hard-nosed world leaders including Russia’s Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2018 World Cup, thanked Trump for his support on Saturday.He said Trump had “embraced immediately the importance of the FIFA Club World Cup, and of course of the World Cup next year.”Infantino also joked that Trump “certainly loves as well the trophy” — whose gold-plated curves match the gilded makeover that the president has given the Oval Office.But Trump’s fondness of football, or soccer as he would say, is also personal.The president’s 19-year-old son Barron is a fan, as Infantino pointed out in a press conference at FIFA’s new office in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday.Asked if Trump liked the game, Infantino replied: “Well I think he does. In his first term as president of the United States, there was a soccer goal in the garden of the White House.”He then explained to me that his son loved football, and that he loved the game. And of course when you are a parent, you love what your children love, so I think that he loves it.”As a boarding school student at the New York Military Academy, Trump himself also reportedly played the game for a season.- ‘Go home’ -But in typical form, Trump has also mixed political controversy with his football fandom.Hosting Italian side Juventus in the Oval Office in June, he delivered a diatribe on transgender people in sports before asking the players: “Could a woman make your team, fellas?”Most of the players looked bemused before Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied: “We have a very good women’s team.””He’s being very diplomatic,” said Trump.Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown — part of his “America First” policy — has meanwhile sparked fears that football fans will be discouraged from coming to the United States for the 2026 World Cup.In May, Vice President JD Vance said that fans would be “welcome to come… but when the time is up, they will have to go home.”

The United States military teamed with Panamanian police to conduct a series of new exercises aimed at protecting the Panama Canal, amid tensions over alleged Chinese influence along the prized trade route.To kick off the drills, three US Army helicopters arrived in Panama on Sunday — two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and a CH-47 Chinook — landing at the Panama-Pacific Airport, formerly the US Howard base.Michael Palacios, subcommissioner of Panama’s National Aeronaval Service — known as SENAN — said the exercises would prepare Panama’s forces, as well as countries in the region, against any threats to the security and defense of the canal.US soldiers conducted similar exercises in Panama a month ago, under a bilateral agreement that allows Washington to use Panamanian air and naval bases for training without establishing its own bases. The agreement sparked protests in the Central American country, and came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to reclaim the canal.He has repeatedly claimed that China has too much influence over the canal, which handles about 40 percent of US container traffic and five percent of world trade. In April, Trump called for the free transit of American commercial and military ships through the inter-oceanic route, claiming the canal would “not exist” without the US. But Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino said the toll fees are regulated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous governing body overseeing the trade route.US presence in Panama remains a sensitive issue, as it evokes a time when Washington had an enclave of military bases in the country before the canal was handed over to Panamanians on the last day of 1999.SENAN officials said the US maneuvers will last until Friday and will respect “national sovereignty.”Palacios said the exercise has been held for 23 years.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday that Brussels would continue to hold off on hitting back at US steel and aluminium tariffs, as it seeks a deal to avoid broader 30-percent levies.US President Donald Trump on Saturday threw months of painstaking negotiations into disarray by announcing he would hammer the 27-nation bloc with the sweeping tariffs if no agreement is reached by August 1.”The United States has sent us a letter with measures that would come into effect unless there is a negotiated solution, so we will therefore also extend the suspension of our countermeasures until early August,” von der Leyen told journalists.”At the same time, we will continue to prepare for the countermeasures so we’re fully prepared,” she added.The European Commission president insisted that the European Union has “always been very clear that we prefer a negotiated solution. This remains the case, and we will use the time that we have now till August 1″.The move by von der Leyen will spur hope that Trump’s latest threat — in which he also targeted Mexico — has not killed off the progress made in negotiations so far between Brussels and Washington.The European Union’s current suspension of its retaliation over US steel and aluminium tariffs had been set to expire overnight Monday to Tuesday. – ‘Ready to respond’ -Brussels has readied duties on US goods worth around 21 billion euros ($24 billion) in response to the levies Trump slapped on metal imports earlier this year.But it announced in April it was holding off on those measures to give space to find a broader trade agreement with the Trump administration.”Since the very beginning, we have worked and now are ready to respond with countermeasures. We’ve prepared for this, and we can respond with countermeasures if necessary,” von der Leyen said.EU trade ministers meet in Brussels Monday to discuss the bloc’s response to Trump’s latest move — and how strong a line to take with Washington. On Sunday Chancellor Friedrich Merz told the ARD broadcaster that if the threatened tariffs came into effect they would “overtake a lot of the efforts we have been making” towards reviving the economy and would “hit our exporters to the core”.He said he agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said on Saturday the EU had to “step up the preparation of credible countermeasures” in the event of no deal before August 1.In his statement Saturday, Macron also urged the European Commission — which negotiates on behalf of all EU countries — to “resolutely defend European interests”.- Meloni’s warning -Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement Sunday: “A trade war within the West would weaken us all in the face of the global challenges we are confronting together.”Europe has the economic and financial strength to assert its position and reach a fair and sensible agreement,” she added.Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has unleashed sweeping stop-start tariffs on allies and competitors alike, roiling financial markets and raising fears of a global economic downturn.But his administration is coming under pressure to secure deals with trading partners after promising a flurry of agreements.So far, US officials have only unveiled two pacts, with Britain and Vietnam, alongside temporarily lower tit-for-tat duties with China.The European Union, alongside dozens of other economies, had been set to see its US tariff level increase from a baseline of 10 percent on July 9, but Trump pushed back the deadline to August 1.In a letter published on Saturday, Trump cited the United States’s trade imbalance with the bloc as justification for the new 30-percent levies.The EU tariff is markedly steeper than the 20-percent levy Trump had unveiled in April — before hitting pause as markets went into meltdown.burs-jj/giv

“Superman” the latest big-budget action film featuring the iconic DC superhero, powered to the top of the North American box office in its debut weekend with $122 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.The Warner Bros. and DC Studios film — directed by James Gunn — stars up-and-comer David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, and “The Marvelous Mrs Maisel” star Rachel Brosnahan as his perennial love interest Lois Lane.”This is an outstanding domestic opening for the 7th episode in a superhero story that’s been filmed for over 75 years,” said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “Mr Gunn chose not to rely on big stars. The storytelling and filmmaking are doing the work here.””Jurassic World: Rebirth” — the latest installment in the blockbuster dinosaur saga — slipped to second place in its second week of release at $40 million in the United States and Canada, Exhibitor Relations said.The Universal film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, takes viewers to an abandoned island research facility for the original Jurassic Park theme park, where secrets — and genetically mutated dinosaurs — are lurking. “F1: The Movie,” the Apple and Warner Bros. flick starring Brad Pitt as a washed-up Formula One driver who gets one last shot at redemption, took third place at $13 million.”How to Train Your Dragon,” Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s live-action reboot of the popular 2010 film, came in at fourth place with $7.8 million.”It’s summertime and the big pictures are loud and visually dazzling: ‘Superman,’ ‘Jurassic,’ ‘F1,’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon’,” Gross said. “Audiences want to be transported and taken away, and they’re getting what they want.”Disney/Pixar Animation’s latest original film “Elio,” the story of a young boy who is mistaken by aliens as an intergalactic ambassador for Earth, finished up the top five with $3.9 million.Rounding out the top 10 were:”28 Years Later” ($2.73 million)”Lilo & Stitch” ($2.7 million)”Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” ($1.5 million)”M3GAN 2.0″ ($1.4 million)”Materialists” ($720,000)

Donald Trump will on Sunday showcase his unexpected attachment to a sport in which “America First” remains a dream, for now.The US president is attending the final of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup in his latest use of the beautiful game as a soft power political weapon.His appearance at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey, where Paris Saint-Germain face Chelsea, is very much a trial run for the World Cup final, which will take place in the same stadium next year.Trump has made it clear he sees both tournaments, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as showpieces for what he calls the “Golden Age of America” during his second term.The billionaire Republican’s close friendship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a frequent visitor to the White House, is also a factor in his appearance.Trump has kept the Club World Cup trophy next to his desk in the Oval Office since Infantino dropped by in March.But Trump’s embrace of football, or soccer as he would say, is also personal.The president’s 19-year-old son Barron is a fan, as Infantino pointed out in a press conference at FIFA’s new office in Trump Tower in New York on Saturday.Asked if Trump liked the game, Infantino replied: “Well I think he does. In his first term as president of the United States there was a soccer goal in the garden of the White House.”He then explained to me that his son loved football, and that he loved the game. And of course when you are a parent, you love what your children love, so I think that he loves it.”As a student at the New York Military Academy, Trump himself also reportedly played the game for a season.- ‘Go home’ -Trump’s apparent fondness for football may seem unusual for a country where, despite growing popularity, the sport still lags behind American football, basketball and baseball.The former reality TV star has, however, always had an eye for popularity, power and influence. And football in its own way brings all three.Trump pointed out when Infantino visited the White House in March that the United States won the right to host the 2026 World Cup in 2018, during his first term as president.He said he was “so sad” because he assumed he would not be president when the tournament came around — but his 2020 election loss meant that he would after all.The FIFA Club World Cup has meanwhile proved more successful than its critics predicted, with around 2.5 million people attending games across the country and some gripping games.Infantino, who is no stranger to dealing with hard-nosed leaders around the world, thanked Trump for his support on Saturday.He said Trump “embraced immediately the importance of the FIFA Club World Cup, and of course of the World Cup next year.”Infantino also joked that Trump “certainly loves as well the trophy” — whose gold-plated curves match the gilded makeover that the president has given the Oval Office.But in typical form Trump has also mixed political controversy with his football fandom.Hosting Italian side Juventus in the Oval Office in June, he delivered a diatribe on transgender people in sports before asking the players: “Could a woman make your team, fellas?”Most of the players looked bemused before Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied: “We have a very good women’s team.””He’s being very diplomatic,” said Trump.Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown — part of his “America First” policy — has meanwhile sparked fears that football fans will be discouraged from coming to the United States.In May, Vice President JD Vance said that 2026 World Cup fans were “welcome to come… but when the time is up they will have to go home.”

US President Donald Trump’s top immigration officials on Sunday defended the use of aggressive snatch and detain tactics by masked and armed federal agents, days after a federal judge ruled that arrests were being made “based upon race alone.”Trump’s border czar Tom Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the administration’s case on the Sunday talk shows, just a day after a farm worker died in California after being injured in a raid on a legal cannabis farm.On Friday, District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered a halt to “roving patrols” targeting suspected undocumented migrants in Los Angeles, saying a person’s race, language or workplace was not sufficient justification.”Physical description cannot be the sole reason to detain and question somebody,” Homan said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” adding: “It’s a myriad of factors.”But he acknowledged that appearance was one of those factors, and said there were sometimes “collateral arrests” of innocent people in targeted raids.He said the administration would comply with the judge’s decision but fight it on appeal.Noem called the judge’s ruling “ridiculous” and slammed what she called the “political” nature of the decision.”We always built our operations, our investigations on case work, on knowing individuals that we needed to target because they were criminals,” Noem said on “Fox News Sunday.”Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to deport millions of undocumented migrants, has taken a number of actions aimed at speeding up deportations and reducing border crossings.As a so-called “sanctuary city” with hundreds of thousands of undocumented people, Los Angeles has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration since the Republican returned to power in January.After ICE raids spurred unrest and protests last month, Trump dispatched the National Guard and US Marines to quell the disruption.California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has said the troops were not necessary to address the mostly peaceful protests, but his legal efforts to have them removed have failed so far.On Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided a cannabis farm in Ventura County outside Los Angeles. About 200 migrants were detained and clashes erupted with protesters.One worker being chased by ICE agents fell from the roof of a greenhouse, and died on Saturday.Homan called the death “sad” but specified that the man was not in ICE custody at the time of his death. 

A farm worker has died after being injured during a raid by US immigration agents on a legal cannabis farm in California, his family said on Saturday.Raids on agricultural sites Thursday resulted in the arrests of 200 undocumented migrants, as part of US President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging anti-immigration crackdown, and clashes between law enforcement officials and protesters.The farm worker’s family had started a page on the fundraising platform GoFundMe to help support his relatives in Mexico. On Saturday, the page posted an update to say he had “passed away.”Trump campaigned for the presidency on a harsh anti-immigration platform, likening undocumented migrants to “animals” and “monsters,” and since taking office he has delivered on promises to conduct a massive deportation drive.On Friday, he called demonstrators involved in attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents “slimeballs” and said they should be arrested.The chaotic raid on the cannabis plantation in Ventura County, about 56 miles (90 kilometers) from Los Angeles, saw the worker who later died being chased by ICE agents, his family said.”My uncle Jaime was just a hard-working, innocent farmer,” said a post on the GoFundMe page. “He was chased by ICE agents, and we were told he fell 30ft (9 meters).”The page described his injuries as “catastrophic.”Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman, said he was never in custody.”Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a green house and fell 30 feet,” McLaughlin said. “(Customs and Border Patrol) immediately called a medevac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”DHS said 200 undocumented migrants were arrested during raids on marijuana growing sites in Carpinteria and Camarillo on Thursday and 10 children were rescued “from potential exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking.”Glass House Brands, which owns the farms, said in a statement that it has “never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors.”DHS said more than 500 “rioters” had attempted to disrupt the operation and four US citizens are facing charges for assaulting or resisting officers.Tear gas was used against the protesters, some of whom were seen in television footage throwing projectiles at law enforcement vehicles. The department said immigration agency vehicles were damaged and a $50,000 reward was being offered for the arrest of an individual who allegedly fired a gun at law enforcement officers.- American dream ‘no longer’ -In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he had watched footage of “thugs” throwing rocks and bricks at ICE vehicles, causing “tremendous damage.”Trump said he was authorizing law enforcement officers who are “on the receiving end of thrown rocks, bricks, or any other form of assault, to stop their car, and arrest these SLIMEBALLS, using whatever means is necessary to do so.””I am giving Total Authorization for ICE to protect itself, just like they protect the Public,” he said.Trump has been involved in a showdown over immigration enforcement with Democratic-ruled California for weeks.The Republican president sent thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles last month to quell protests against round-ups of undocumented migrants by federal agents.California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the troops were not necessary to address the mostly peaceful protests, but his legal efforts to have them removed have failed so far.The cannabis farm in Camarillo was calm during a visit by an AFP reporter on Friday, as workers waited in line to collect their belongings and paychecks.”We’ve been here since six this morning asking questions but they’re not giving us any information,” said Saul Munoz, a 43-year-old Colombian whose son was detained on Thursday.”I just want to know how he’s doing,” Munoz said. “Bring him back to me and if it’s time for us to leave, we’ll leave.”The truth is the American dream is no longer really the American dream.”

President Donald Trump set out early in his second term to fulfill a decades-long desire of reshaping US trade with the world, but the main outcomes so far have been discord and uncertainty.The real estate tycoon, who has staked his reputation on being a consummate dealmaker, embarked on an aggressive strategy of punitive tariffs that his administration predicted could bring “90 deals in 90 days.”The score so far? Two. Three if you count a temporary de-escalation agreement with China.The 90-day deadline was due on July 9, with dozens of economies including the European Union, India and Japan facing tariff hikes without a deal.But days before it arrived, Trump issued a delay to August 1.It was his second extension since unveiling the tariffs in April — reigniting the “TACO Theory” that has gained traction among some Wall Street traders.The acronym coined by a Financial Times writer stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” highlighting the president’s inclination to roll back policies if markets turn sour.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, part of Trump’s multi-leader trade team, has reportedly been a key advocate for the pauses.But the label has irked Trump and he insisted Tuesday that the deadline had always been in August.”I didn’t make a change. A clarification, maybe,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting.This week, he published more than 20 letters dictating tariff rates to world leaders including in Japan, South Korea and Indonesia.”We invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World, by far,” Trump wrote.He also issued letters to the EU, Canada, Mexico and Brazil — although Brazil was not previously targeted by the steeper “reciprocal” tariffs and Canada and Mexico face a separate tariff regime.The documents “appear to be Trump’s way of combatting the TACO label,” said Inu Manak, a fellow for trade policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.”He wants to show that he’s not just kicking the can down the road on the deadline, but that he means business,” she told AFP.”He’s likely frustrated that there isn’t a parade of deals coming in.”- ‘Politically complicated’ -“The shift in his rhetoric from ‘there is no cost — the foreigners pay the tariffs’ to ‘there is a short term cost, but there will be a long term gain’ has put him in a more politically complicated position,” said William Reinsch, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Trump has repeatedly claimed that foreign countries foot the bill for tariffs, although the reality is more complicated with US companies generally paying them.”In the public’s mind, the tariffs are the pain, and the agreements will be the gain,” said Reinsch, a former US commerce official.He warned that without trade agreements, Americans could conclude Trump’s strategy was flawed and deem his tactics a failure.While the 90-deal goal was probably unrealistic, Reinsch said, “it’s clear that three (UK, China, Vietnam) with only one actual text made public (UK) is too small.”- Deflecting attention -Meanwhile, Trump has announced a 50 percent levy on copper imports starting August 1.Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said officials would also conclude investigations into semiconductors and pharmaceuticals — which could lead to tariffs — at month-end.”That timing is not coincidental — it lines up with the new deadline of August 1, adding more pressure and deflecting attention from any lack of deals that get made in that time frame,” Manak said.Analysts believe Trump’s supporters will likely not pay much attention to trade talks unless the tariffs fuel inflation.”Trade policy is not top-of-mind for the average voter,” said Emily Benson, head of strategy at Minerva Technology Futures.She expects the Trump administration’s focus on boosting US manufacturing and reinvigorating the defense industrial base means it could be willing to bear some political heat to achieve those objectives.But it’s a delicate balance.Voters will likely pay more attention if Trump follows through on his August tariff threats, Manak said.”And we could see a negative market reaction as well, which would not go unnoticed.”

Workmen plant electricity poles in the rust-orange earth of the Navajo Nation and run cables to Christine Shorty’s house — finally giving her power against the searing Arizona desert heat. It will be a luxury in the vast Native American reservation, the largest in the United States, where more than 10,000 families are still without electricity and therefore air conditioning.”It’s climate change. It’s getting hotter,” Shorty tells AFP. “This would be easier for us with the fan and maybe air conditioning. And we look forward to that.”In her 70 years, Shorty has seen her isolated, tiny hamlet of Tonalea, a dot in the enormous area of the reservation, change dramatically.Summer monsoon rains are rarer, and temperatures can touch 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) in July and August — previously unthinkable in the hamlet, located on a plateau at an altitude of 5,700 feet (1,730 meters).The area’s seasonal lakes are drying up, and in some years the livestock are dying of thirst. Like many others, Shorty has a generator and small solar panels that allow her to power a gas fridge, cook and watch television. But their power is limited, and she often has to choose which appliance to plug in. Being hooked up to the electrical grid is “a big change. It’s going to make my life a lot easier,” she tells AFP.- ‘Survival mode’ -Most of the United States was electrified in the 1930s under president Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal initiatives. But in the Navajo Nation, which stretches across Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, the first efforts only began in the 1960s, and there are still not enough power lines. “This area was looked over,” says Deenise Becenti of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), the agency that manages the reservation’s infrastructure. “That surprises many people. They’re saying, you know, why are there third world conditions that exist here in the United States, the greatest country in the world?”To catch up, the semi-autonomous government of the reservation launched the “Light Up Navajo” project in 2019. The humanitarian initiative sees electricity companies from all over the country send their employees to work in the reservation for around a dozen weeks a year.Since 2019, electricity has been supplied to 5,000 families in the reservation, including 1,000 thanks to “Light Up Navajo,” Becenti said.  But as climate change drives temperatures higher, families still without power in the reservation — where many live below the poverty rate and unemployment is high — are in “survival mode,” she said. – ‘Angry’ -Elbert Yazzie’s mobile home turns into a furnace in the summer, and he has already lost one member of his extended family to heat stroke.”I used to like the heat,” the 54-year-old, who lives in nearby Tuba City, tells AFP.”But when you get older I guess your body can’t take it no more.”His home was finally connected to electricity just weeks ago.Since then, he has rigged up an evaporative air cooler, also known as a “swamp cooler,” by salvaging three broken appliances from a garbage dump.”Now we can turn on the A/C anytime we want, so we don’t have to worry about the heat, and the generator and the gas, and all that stuff,” he says.”Now we don’t have to go to (other) people’s houses to cool down, we can just stay home, relax, watch TV, things like that.” He and Shorty are the fortunate ones. Without more funding, connecting the remaining 10,000 Navajo families without electricity could take another two decades, Becenti says.That is far too long for Gilberta Cortes, who no longer dares let her children play outside in the summer, for fear of getting heat-exacerbated nosebleeds. An electricity pole has just been erected in front of the 42-year-old’s house and a line is due to be extended to her in a few months’ time. But she has endured too much false hope to be serene. “My mom and dad were in their 20s, they were promised power,” but it never materialized, she says.”I’m still angry.”

President Donald Trump urged his political base on Saturday to stop attacking his administration over files related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a case that has become an obsession for conspiracy theorists.Trump’s Department of Justice and the FBI said in a memo made public last week there was no evidence that the disgraced financier kept a “client list” or was blackmailing powerful figures.They also dismissed the claim that Epstein was murdered in jail, confirming his death by suicide at a New York prison in 2019, and said they would not be releasing any more information on the probe.The move was met with incredulity by some on the US far-right — many of whom have backed Trump for years — and strident criticism of Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.”What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!” Trump said Saturday in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform.”We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” he added, referring to his “Make America Great Again” movement. Many among the MAGA faithful have long contended that so-called “Deep State” actors were hiding information on Epstein’s elite associates.”Next the DOJ will say ‘Actually, Jeffrey Epstein never even existed,'” furious pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones tweeted after last week’s move. “This is over the top sickening.”Far-right influencer Laura Loomer called for Trump to fire Bondi over the issue, labeling her “an embarrassment.”But on Saturday, Trump came to the defense of his attorney general, suggesting that the so-called “Epstein Files” were a hoax perpetrated by the Democratic Party for political gain, without specifying what benefits they hoped to attain.On Saturday, Trump struck an exasperated tone in his admonishment of his supporters.”For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again,” he said. “Let’s…not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”The US president called for Patel and Bondi to instead focus on what he terms “The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020,” which Trump lost to Joe Biden.The Republican has repeatedly perpetuated unfounded conspiracy theories about his loss being due to fraud.He called for the FBI to be allowed to focus on that investigation “instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein. LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE’S GREAT!”Trump, who appears in at least one decades-old video alongside Epstein at a party, has denied allegations that he was named in the files or had any direct connection to the financier.”The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been,” said FBI Director Patel on Saturday, hours before Trump’s social media post.Not everyone, however, seemed to be on the same page.US media reported that Dan Bongino — an influential right-wing podcast host whom Trump appointed FBI deputy director — had threatened to resign over the administration’s handling of the issue.