US president Donald Trump is "CEO of the country, he can fire anyone he wants", Americas envoy to the UN Nikki Haley has said, while defending him for firing former FBI director James Comey.
Haley said she believed that the criticism of Trump stems from discomfort with his propensity to act on his decisions.
"The president is the CEO of the country," Indian-origin Haley told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on This Week yesterday. "He can hire and fire anyone he wants."
She was responding to a question if she found herself having to explain to foreign diplomats Trumps domestic policy decisions.
"I think what you can see is that this is a president of action," she said of Trump. "The reason people are uncomfortable is because he acts."
Asked whether the president sought a pledge of loyalty from her, Haley replied, "No".
At the same time, she said that during her tenure as South Carolina's governor demonstrations of "loyalty and trust" were important to her.
Regarding the presidents tweet this week warning the fired FBI director that he better hope there are no "tapes" of their private conversations, Haley seemed unconcerned by the possibility that the president was taping conversations.
"I assume I'm being taped everywhere," she said.
Haley also addressed a range of other topics, including North Korea's latest missile launch Saturday night.
She said there is a growing international consensus to impose further sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear programme and that the US will "tighten the screws" on North Korean president Kim Jong Un's government.
Trump has said in the past that he would be willing to sit down with Kim Jong Un, but Haley said such a meeting would only happen if North Korea meets certain conditions.
"A missile test is not the way to sit down with the president," Haley said.
On May 10, Trump fired 56-year-old Comey, abruptly removing the top sleuth overseeing a criminal probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)