President Donald Trump dominated the headlines on Friday, October 23, with a series of striking remarks at a midterm campaign rally in Florida, touching on Iran, Cuba, the press corps and the Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking to supporters, Trump said the United States could launch another military operation against Iran, telling the crowd, "We may do another little Epic Fury," using the US military's name for its war on Iran. The remark came after US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said a strike could come as soon as this weekend. Asked about Barrack's comment, Trump said he did not know anything about a weekend strike plan.
Trump also turned his attention to Cuba, saying American warships returning from the Middle East could stop near the island. "We'll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran," he said. Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez rejected the remarks on social media, saying Cuba rejects "every threat related to US ambitions toward Cuba." Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called on Cubans seeking change to form a "discreet partnership" with the CIA.
On Saturday, Trump confirmed in a social media post that he may move the White House press corps to a different location, while dismissing a New York Times report that he planned to remove the press room and restore a historic swimming pool on the site. "I may move the Fake News to a less obnoxious location," he wrote.
Separately, the Justice Department on Friday warned California election officials to identify suspected non-citizens on voter rolls and set aside their mail-in ballots, seeking to block more than 20,000 ballots ahead of the November 3 midterms. The move marks a fresh escalation in the administration's scrutiny of voter registration.
At the Florida rally, Trump also repeated his claim that he has settled eight wars and again expressed disappointment at not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.
Sources: Reuters, News18, The Tribune, CNN
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