US President Donald Trump lashed out Sunday at the leaders of both warring parties in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, expressing frustration as efforts to kick-start ceasefire talks remain deadlocked.Trump first criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin for questioning the credibility of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as a negotiating partner, saying he was “very angry, pissed off” with the Kremlin chief.But the US leader later softened his tone on Putin and instead turned his ire on Zelensky, warning him Ukraine would have “big, big problems” if he got cold feet over a deal to sign over mineral rights to the United States.Trump is trying to broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and its Russian invader, and has been pushing Zelensky to sign an agreement to give US firms exclusive access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals.Earlier Sunday, NBC News journalist Kristen Welker said Trump had called her to express his fury over Putin questioning Zelensky’s future — something Trump himself has done — and threatening secondary tariffs on firms dealing in Russian oil.Later, Trump spoke to reporters on his plane flying back to Washington from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, and toned down some of his criticism.  – ‘Big problems’ -“I was disappointed in a certain way,” Trump said. “Some of the things that he said over the last day or two having to do with Zelensky because when he considers Zelensky not credible. He’s supposed to be making a deal with him, whether you like him or you don’t like him.”So I wasn’t happy with that, but I think he’s going to be good and I certainly wouldn’t want to put secondary tariffs on Russia.”Trump then turned his fire on Zelensky, saying: “I see he’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal. And if he does that he’s got some problems. Big, big problems.”We made a deal on rare earth and now he’s saying, well, you know, I want to renegotiate the deal. He wants to be a member of NATO. Well, he was never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that. So if he’s looking to renegotiate the deal, he’s got big problems.”The US president has been pushing for a speedy end to the more than three-year war since taking office, but his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough despite negotiations with both sides.Putin rejected a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day ceasefire, and on Friday suggested Zelensky be removed from office as part of the peace process.Warming ties between Washington and Moscow since Trump’s return to office and his threats to stop supporting Kyiv have bolstered Russia on the battlefield as it pursues its floundering invasion.Ukraine has accused Russia of dragging out talks with no intention of halting its offensive, with fresh attacks on the northeastern border city of Kharkiv.Six strikes hit overnight Saturday into Sunday, wounding personnel undergoing treatment at a military hospital and killing at least two people in a residential building, according to Ukrainian officials.Russian forces also captured a village just seven kilometers (four miles) from the border of Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region in their latest advance, Moscow said Sunday.The Kremlin’s troops have not crossed the boundary of the region since their offensive began in 2022, but they have been grinding toward it for months in the hope of a breakthrough.- No ceasefire -Putin, in power for 25 years and repeatedly elected in votes with no competition, has often questioned Zelensky’s “legitimacy” as president, after the Ukrainian leader’s initial five-year mandate ended in May 2024.Under Ukrainian law, elections are suspended during times of major military conflict, and Zelensky’s domestic opponents have all said no ballots should be held until after the conflict.Trump has himself had rocky relations with Zelensky, calling him a “dictator” and clashing with him live on camera at the White House last month.Zelensky, in his evening address on Saturday, sought to rally his country’s allies against Putin.”For too long now, America’s proposal for an unconditional ceasefire has been on the table without an adequate response from Russia,” Zelensky said. “There could already be a ceasefire if there was real pressure on Russia.” 

Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his suggestion he might seek a third term as president, which would defy the two-term limit stipulated in the US Constitution.In a Sunday morning phone call with NBC News, Trump said “I’m not joking,” when asked to clarify a remark on seeking another term, adding: “There are methods which you could do it.”The 78-year-old billionaire has a long history of suggesting he might serve more than two terms, but Sunday’s remarks — followed by comments to reporters aboard Air Force One — were the most concrete in terms of referring to plans in place to achieve the goal.Trump has launched his second presidency with an unprecedented demonstration of executive power, using the world’s richest man Elon Musk to dismantle swaths of the government, and said his supporters want even more.”We have almost four years to go and that’s a long time but despite that so many people are saying you’ve got to run again. They love the job we’re doing,” Trump said Sunday aboard the presidential jet, apparently referring to his political allies and supporters.Trump appeared to wave off a reporter’s question about whether he is planning not to leave office on January 20, 2029, the next Inauguration Day, saying: “I’m not looking at that, but I’ll tell you, I have had more people ask me to have a third term.”Earlier in the day Trump told NBC he had been presented with plans that would allow him to seek reelection.When the network asked Trump of a possible scenario whereby Vice President JD Vance would run for president and then abdicate the role to Trump, the president said “that’s one” method.He added that “there are others,” but refused to share further details.Amending the US Constitution to allow a third presidential term would require a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate, which Trump’s Republican Party does not have, or a constitutional convention called by two thirds of the states that would propose changes to the charter.Both routes appear to be unlikely, given the current number of states and Congressional seats under Republican control.Whether he goes through Congress or the states, he would then require ratification from three-quarters of all state legislatures.A constitutional convention has never been successfully called in the United States, where all 27 constitutional amendments have been passed by the congressional method.In January, days after Trump took office, Republican Andy Ogles of Tennessee introduced a House joint resolution to amend the constitution to allow presidents up to three terms.

An election to choose a new supreme court judge in the northern US state of Wisconsin wouldn’t usually make much noise.But when the world’s richest man took an interest in the race, people began to notice, and protests on Sunday drew crowds.Tech baron and political provocateur Elon Musk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has poured money into the Tuesday election, hoping to secure a conservative win.The liberal candidate, 60-year-old Susan Crawford, was campaigning the old-fashioned way, addressing a crowd at an antiques shop meeting on a rainy Sunday morning.”So Elon Musk, folks, that guy, right? He has now spent more than $25 million, it goes up every day,” Crawford told the crowd.”He’s working as the unelected right-hand man to the president. He’s got an agenda.”If Crawford’s Republican-backed opponent, Brad Schimel, beats her, he will tip the balance on the Wisconsin court to the right.Once every four years Wisconsin — home to six million people and mainly known for beer and cheese production — becomes a vital swing state in a presidential election.- Straight-armed salute -And if the conduct or result of that poll are challenged, it is the Wisconsin Supreme Court that will have to rule on that.      Musk’s support for Schimel could, therefore, be a political game-changer.But at small-town rallies, the South African-born oligarch’s eruption into Wisconsin’s affairs seems to have provoked as much resistance as support. Rob Patterson, a 65-year-old retired electrical engineer, came to a rally in Crawford with a sign showing Musk giving a straight-armed salute. “Oi wanker, our Supreme Court is not for sale,” the sign read.Since buying himself a $277 million role in Trump’s presidential campaign last year, the Tesla and SpaceX chief has gained unprecedented power for an unelected official.Once Trump returned to the White House he invited his sponsor to head a new cost-cutting agency named after an internet meme: the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. In just a few weeks Musk has already sacked or suspended tens of thousands of federal workers, gutted foreign aid and begun the job of dismantling several agencies. “It’s like a bull in a china shop. He has no idea what he’s doing,” complained Patterson.Outside a supermarket in Elkhorn, 70-year old retired elementary school teacher Linda Suskey says she plans to vote for Crawford to keep balance in the court.And she doesn’t have much time for Musk’s blandishments.”He uses his money to get what he wants, which is more money,” she told AFP.”I think he’s got too much power, and he doesn’t answer to anybody — and yeah, he’s just controlling things to help the rich get richer.”These views are not universal. Wisconsin is a swing state for a reason, and conservative voters like 60-year-old Matt Edler thinks Musk’s DOGE work is “excellent.””Elon Musk has been appointed… by the president to do it. If it wasn’t his name, it could be anybody else’s name, but the actions I think are warranted,” he said.- ‘Activist judges’ -But Edler’s not sure yet whether he will vote on Tuesday, and he said he wasn’t aware of what Musk has been doing to help Schimel defeat Crawford.Aside from campaign donations to the conservative, Musk has promised two prize checks of $1 million each to two voters who turn out in the court race.This mirrored his scheme during the presidential race to hand out $1 million a day to a voter who registered in a swing state vital to Trump’s victory.Through his political organization, Musk has also offered $100 each to voters who sign his petition against “activist judges” in Wisconsin.When he launched the petition, Crawford accused him of seeking to buy a seat on the state supreme court in order to swing judgements in favor of his companies.Tesla has launched a legal challenge to Wisconsin’s law banning car automakers from directly owning car dealerships. The case could well end up before the court. 

An enormous tree known as the Jackson Magnolia which has shaded the White House’s South Portico for the majority of US presidencies will be taken down this week, Donald Trump said Sunday.Arborists have struggled for years to keep alive the sickly southern magnolia, whose striking figure marks a focal point along the building’s southern facade.According to tradition, the tree was planted by former president Andrew Jackson to commemorate his wife who died just before his swearing-in in 1829. It was purportedly a sapling brought from his home in Tennessee.The tree is the oldest on the White House grounds, according to the National Park Service, which notes that starting in the 1870s most presidents began installing their own commemorative trees.”The bad news is that everything must come to an end,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, explaining that the magnolia was “in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed.”Trump said the historic magnolia would be replaced by “another, very beautiful tree” and that its wood would be preserved “and may be used for other high and noble purposes.”The White House gardens already made headlines earlier this year when Trump said he was planning to pave over the famed Rose Garden that the Oval Office overlooks, to give it the patio-like feel of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.”The grass just doesn’t work,” Trump told Fox News, adding that it gets “soaking wet.”During Trump’s first term, his wife Melania oversaw a renovation of the Rose Garden, controversially rearranging the fabled plot’s traditional design.