WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has returned from an end-of-year holiday to face fresh legislative challenges, midterm elections and threats abroad.
The president opened the second year of his presidency with confrontational tweets targeting Iran and Pakistan. He tweeted Tuesday: “The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their ‘pockets.’ The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!”
Trump on Monday slammed Pakistan for “lies & deceit,” saying the country had played U.S. leaders for “fools,” by not doing enough to control militants.
Pakistani officials, including Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, responded on Twitter that the country would make clear “the difference between facts and fiction.”
Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday the United States should be aware his country’s nuclear forces are now a reality, not a future threat. To that, Trump only said: “We’ll see.”
The president is hoping for more legislative achievements after his pre-Christmas success on taxes. He plans to host Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin at Camp David next weekend to map out the 2018 legislative agenda.