Salem Radio Network News Sunday, May 3, 2026

Audio

Greg Clugston

SRN Correspondent Greg Clugston keeps you informed about all the news coming from the White House.

Musk criticizes Trump’s “massive spending bill”

Wed, May 28, 2025 at 10:36 am
Elon Musk is breaking with President Trump over the size and scope of the so-called “big, beautiful bill.”
Musk has served as a senior adviser to the president and has been viewed as a Trump buddy. But the billionaire entrepreneur is not a fan of the president’s legislative agenda. He told CBS that the measure working its way through Congress is a “massive spending bill” that increases the federal deficit and “undermines the work” of his government efficiency office, known as DOGE. Musk said he thinks “a bill can be big or it could be beautiful,” but doesn’t know “if it could be both.”
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U.S. to expand social media vetting of foreign students

Wed, May 28, 2025 at 10:35 am
The Trump administration is stepping up its crackdown on international students. The State Department has halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the U.S. Officials say the suspension is intended to be temporary and does not apply to applicants who already had scheduled their visa interviews. The administration is preparing to add to its vetting process by expanding the screening of students’ social media activity.
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Trump sees “positive” step in U.S. trade talks with EU

Wed, May 28, 2025 at 7:19 am
Trade negotiations between the United States and European Union are back on track. After announcing a 50 percent tariff on EU goods on Friday, the president quickly agreed to delay those tariffs after a weekend phone call with the head of the European Commission. And now, Donald Trump says the EU “has called to quickly establish meeting dates.” He writes on social media that “this is a positive” development. And he urges both the EU and China to open up for trade with the U-S, promising that both will be “happy and successful, if they do.”
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Trump cites “positive” development in US-EU trade talks

Wed, May 28, 2025 at 6:41 am
Trade negotiations between the United States and European Union are back on track.
After announcing a 50 percent tariff on EU goods on Friday, the president quickly agreed to delay those tariffs after a weekend phone call with the head of the European Commission. And now, Donald Trump says the EU “has called to quickly establish meeting dates.” He writes on social media that “this is a positive” development. And he urges both the EU and China to open up for trade with the U-S, promising that both will be “happy and successful, if they do.”
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HHS no longer recommends COVID boosters for kids, pregnant women

Tue, May 27, 2025 at 2:32 pm
The Trump administration is no longer recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. The announcement came from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who claimed there’s a lack of clinical data to support annual COVID-19 booster shots for kids. At the recommendation of infectious disease experts, the government, until now, has been urging annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older. No one from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was in RFK Jr’s announcement video.
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Trump warns California over transgender athletes

Tue, May 27, 2025 at 1:54 pm
President Trump is threatening to withhold federal funding from California over a transgender athlete. In a warning to California, the president said the state would lose federal funding if it doesn’t adhere to his executive order banning biological males from girls’ and women’s sports. Writing online, he cited a transgender high school track and field athlete in California who has qualified to compete in the state finals this week. The president called it a “ridiculous situation” that is “demeaning to women and girls.” He also noted that Governor Gavin Newsom himself has said it’s wrong for transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
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Trump predicts “fairly significant” Senate changes to House bill

Tue, May 27, 2025 at 6:45 am
President Trump expects the Senate to make several changes to the massive tax-and-spend bill passed by the House last week. Over the holiday weekend, House Speaker Mike Johnson cautioned senators “not to meddle” with the bill too much, given how difficult it was to get the measure approved. But the president made this prediction: “I think they’re going to have changes. Some will be minor and some will be, you know, fairly significant.” There are several Senate Republicans who want to see deep spending cuts and a bill that doesn’t blow up the deficit.
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Trump upbeat about possible Iran nuclear deal soon

Tue, May 27, 2025 at 6:40 am
President Trump is hinting that an Iran nuclear deal could soon be announced. The president sounded upbeat following the latest round of talks between the United States and Iran. He pointed to “real, serious progress” in negotiations and said he might have something good to report soon. The two countries are discussing how to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting some economic sanctions.
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At Arlington National Cemetery, Trump honors fallen service members

Mon, May 26, 2025 at 12:59 pm
President Trump honored the nation’s fallen military service members during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the president laid a wreath and observed a moment of silence. During Memorial Day remarks, the president expressed his gratitude for those who gave their lives in service to America.
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As commander-in-chief, Trump to observe Memorial Day

Mon, May 26, 2025 at 6:51 am

President Trump is set to observe Memorial Day. In commemoration of this national holiday, the president will pay tribute to America’s fallen military service members. This morning, he’ll participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and give a speech at Arlington National Cemetery.

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Trump escalates fight with Harvard University

Mon, May 26, 2025 at 6:47 am
President Trump’s fight with Harvard University keeps escalating. After cutting off billions of dollars in federal funding to the Ivy League school, the Trump administration announced a ban on the enrollment of foreign students. That represents about one-quarter of Harvard’s student body. The school responded by filing a lawsuit, which claimed the government’s action is unconstitutional. And a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order stopping the government from pulling Harvard’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
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Trump agrees to delay 50% EU tariffs until July

Sun, May 25, 2025 at 8:44 pm

President Trump says the U-S will delay 50 percent tariffs on the European Union by several weeks.
The president agreed to a different tariff timeline after speaking with the president of the European Commission. On Friday, the president threatened 50 percent tariffs, complaining that talks with the EU were “going nowhere.” But after the Sunday phone call, he said the Europeans want “to get down to serious negotiations” and that delaying the tariffs will buy time for trade talks.

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Trump says Putin is “killing people and I don’t like it at all”

Sun, May 25, 2025 at 8:43 pm

President Trump is growing increasingly unhappy with Russian President Putin and his country’s punishing war against Ukraine. As the Trump administration tries to secure a ceasefire, the president isn’t hiding his frustration with Vladimir Putin, saying “I don’t like it all.” He said he’s always gotten along with Putin, but he’s unhappy about the constant Russian rockets hitting Ukraine. The president said he’s “absolutely” considering more sanctions against Moscow.

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Trump’s tax-and-spend bill could add trillions in debt

Sun, May 25, 2025 at 6:52 am
There’s a dispute over how President Trump’s tax-and-spend bill will affect the national debt. President Trump last week declared himself a “fiscal hawk” and the White House claimed that the legislation approved by the House won’t increase budget deficits. But the Congressional Budget Office estimates the tax provisions would add more than 3-trillion dollars to the national debt. And Moody’s downgraded America’s credit rating out of concern that the U.S government is heading toward an unsustainable mountain of debt.
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Ethical questions swirl around Trump’s cryptocurrency activities

Sun, May 25, 2025 at 6:44 am

Ethical questions are swirling around President Trump’s recent cryptocurrency dinner. On Thursday night, the president held a private dinner at his Virginia golf club for the 220 biggest investors in his Trump meme coin. The top 25 investors were invited to a private reception for even closer access. The White House defended the event. Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt claimed it’s “absurd” to say that Donald Trump is profiting from the presidency. However, critics –and even some pro-Trump crypto enthusiasts–charge that he’s using the power of the presidency to boost profits for his family business.

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Plans underway for huge military parade in D.C. in June

Sat, May 24, 2025 at 6:53 am
The Trump administration will stage a huge military parade in the nation’s capital next month. The parade on June 14th will celebrate the U-S Army’s 250th anniversary. And at the request of President Trump, the event will feature hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft. The Army said it’s also planning some additional asphalt work and putting new rubber padding on the tanks’ metal tracks to try to minimize street damage. More than 67-hundred soldiers will travel from bases around the country to participate and will be housed in two  federal buildings for several days.
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White House cheers lower gas prices for holiday weekend

Sat, May 24, 2025 at 6:40 am

The White House is drawing attention to gas pump prices on this holiday weekend. With many Americans traveling over Memorial Day weekend, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt points to a bright spot in the economy. And that’s well below GasBuddy’s average of 3-58 per gallon on Memorial Day last year. Triple-A forecasted that more than 39 million people are traveling by car this weekend.

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U.S. and Japan to hold “productive” tariff talks

Fri, May 23, 2025 at 12:38 pm

Japan’s prime minister has spoken with President Trump about the ongoing trade war. Prime Minister Ishiba said that he held telephone talks with Donald Trump and agreed to hold “productive” discussions at upcoming tariff talks between the two sides. He said Japan’s position to keep pushing Washington to drop all recent tariff measures is unchanged. Ishiba said he reminded the president that Japan’s position was for the U-S to scrap all recent tariffs on imports from Japan. The White House made no specific response.

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Trump threatens the EU and Apple with new tariffs

Fri, May 23, 2025 at 9:15 am

President Trump is ramping up his tariff threats. In another escalation of his trade war, the president is “recommending” 50 percent tariffs on the European Union starting on June 1st. He complained on social media that his administration’s discussions with the EU “are going nowhere.” Donald Trump also threatened to impose a 25 percent import tax on iPhones not made in the U-S. He said he has told Apple CEO Tim Cook to move iPhone manufacturing to the United States

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Harvard sues Trump administration over foreign students ban

Fri, May 23, 2025 at 9:05 am

Harvard University is suing the Trump administration over its ban on enrolling foreign students. In the lawsuit, Harvard is challenging the government’s decision to bar it from enrolling foreign students, saying the action violates the First Amendment and due process clause. The Ivy League school says the prohibition is an unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House’s political demands. About a quarter of Harvard’s students are from foreign countries. The Trump administration alleges that the school has created an unsafe campus environment for Jewish students.

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RFK Jr’s report on American health raises concerns about vaccines, Rx drugs

Thu, May 22, 2025 at 4:42 pm

A new government-issued report on American health takes aim at ultra processed foods and the overmedication of children. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. introduced the “Make America Healthy Again” report. It calls for increased scrutiny of the childhood vaccine schedule, a review of the pesticides sprayed on American crops, and describes the nation’s children as overmedicated. The report also comes out strong against ultra processed foods.

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Trump bars Harvard from enrolling international students

Thu, May 22, 2025 at 4:07 pm

The Trump administration has revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students. In the latest move of an escalating battle with the Ivy League school, the Trump administration says thousands of current Harvard students must transfer to other schools or leave the country. The Department of Homeland Security says Harvard has created an unsafe campus environment by allowing “anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators” to assault Jewish students on campus. Harvard, which unrolls more than six-thousand foreign students, called the action unlawful.

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Trump condemns killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers in DC

Thu, May 22, 2025 at 9:45 am

President Trump is condemning the murder of two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
A young couple was shot and killed while leaving an event at a Jewish museum Wednesday night in the nation’s capital, and the suspect yelled, “Free, free Palestine” after he was arrested. The president said “these horrible DC killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end now.” He wrote on social media that “hatred and radicalism have no place in the USA.”

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Trump celebrates House passage of his tax, spend bill

Thu, May 22, 2025 at 9:13 am

President Trump is celebrating House passage of a bill that contains his top priorities. The president calls it “arguably the most significant piece of legislation” in American history. It includes his campaign promises, including no taxes on tip income or overtime income. It’s projected the massive bill will add trillions of dollars to the nation’s debt. Writing on social media, the president praises House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership for getting his major tax bill passed. It now goes to the Senate and he’s urging lawmakers there to “send it to his desk “as soon as possible.”

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