Other news we’re following:
- Merz says he found Trump open to dialogue and committed to NATO: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, a day after meeting with Trump at the White House, that he encountered a US administration open to discussion and returned confident that Washington remains committed to NATO.
- Judge puts temporary hold on Trump’s latest ban on Harvard’s foreign students: A federal judge late Thursday temporarily blocked a proclamation by Trump that banned foreign students from entering the US to attend Harvard University.
- Iranians react to new Trump travel ban: Iranians again face a US travel ban imposed by Trump, with the decision drawing anger, frustration and some shrugs given the decades of tensions between the countries. Trump imposed a similar ban during his first term before withdrawing America unilaterally from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Is a Trump-Musk detente coming? — 8:42 a.m.
By the Associated Press
After Thursday’s spectacular blow-up between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk – which unfolded in real time – the big question for this Friday is: What next?
In a call with ABC News on Friday, Trump called Musk a “man who has lost his mind.”
According to the network’s correspondent, Jon Karl, the president said he is “not particularly” interested in speaking with Musk directly. Still, Trump said Musk wants to talk to him, Karl reported.
Judge puts temporary hold on Trump’s latest ban on Harvard’s foreign students — 8:21 a.m.
By the Associated Press
A federal judge late Thursday temporarily blocked a proclamation by Trump that banned foreign students from entering the US to attend Harvard University.
Trump’s proclamation was the latest attempt by his administration to prevent the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college from enrolling a quarter of its students, who account for much of Harvard’s research and scholarship.
Harvard filed a legal challenge the next day, asking for a judge to block Trump’s order and calling it illegal retaliation for Harvard’s rejection of White House demands. Harvard said the president was attempting an end-run around a previous court order.
A few hours later, US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston issued a temporary restraining order against Trump’s Wednesday proclamation. Harvard, she said, had demonstrated it would sustain “immediate and irreparable injury” before she would have an opportunity to hear from the parties in the lawsuit.
Burroughs also extended the temporary hold she placed on the administration’s previous attempt to end Harvard’s enrollment of international students.
Trump and Musk break up, and Washington holds its breath — 8:17 a.m.
By the Associated Press
After long months when Trump and Musk appeared united in their chaotic mission to remake Washington, their relationship imploded this week like a star going supernova.
It began with Musk complaining about the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda, which the president at first took in stride. Eventually, Trump let slip that he was disappointed in his former adviser, prompting Musk to unleash a flood of insults and taunts.
He accused Trump of betraying promises to cut federal spending, shared a suggestion that the president should be impeached and claimed without evidence that the government was concealing information about his association with infamous pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Perhaps most viciously, Musk insisted that Trump wouldn’t have won last year’s election without his help.
Trump, not one to slouch from a fight, could hold back no longer. He posted that Musk had been “wearing thin,” that he had “asked him to leave” his administration, that the tech titan had “gone CRAZY.”
Maybe, Trump threatened, he should save taxpayer money by canceling government contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies.
Goodbye Mr. Nice Guy? Investors dump Tesla on bet Trump may lash out at Musk through his car company — 8:14 a.m.
By the Associated Press
Investors bought hundreds of billions of dollars of Tesla stock after Trump was elected on a bet that politics were more important than profits.
In three hours Thursday, they learned yet again how dangerous that gamble could be.
Shares of Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker plunged more than 14% in a stunning wipeout as investors dumped holdings amid a bitter war of words between the president and the world’s richest man.
The disagreement started over the president’s budget bill, then quickly turned nasty. After Musk said that Trump wouldn’t have gotten elected without his help, Trump implied that he may turn the federal government against his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.
The drop on Thursday partially reversed a big runup in the eight weeks since Musk confirmed that Tesla would be testing an autonomous, driverless “robotaxi” service in Austin, Texas, this month.
