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President Donald Trump, right, and France's President Emmanuel Macron embrace at the conclusion of a joint news conference on February 24 [Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP]
By Alice Speri and Brian Osgood
Published On 24 Feb 2025

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24 Feb 2025 - 23:40
 (23:40 GMT)

That’s a wrap from us

Thank you for joining our coverage of day 36 of President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.

For more information about today’s meeting between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, read our coverage here.

And to understand how Europe is reacting to Trump’s increasingly hostile position on Ukraine, dive into this explainer.

We hope to see you again soon.

Trump and Macron leave following their February 24 news conference [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
24 Feb 2025 - 23:35
 (23:35 GMT)

Here is a summary of the day’s headlines

  • French President Emmanuel Macron visited his US counterpart Donald Trump at the White House, where he praised Ukraine for defending Europe’s “collective security”.
  • Trump asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his approval for European peacekeepers to enter Ukraine once a peace deal is struck.
  • Macron clarified, however, that  any European peacekeepers “would not be on the front lines” but would only serve to maintain a ceasefire: “They would not be part of any conflict.”
  • Trump once again pushed for Ukraine to offer the US a deal to obtain rights over its rare earth minerals, with Macron saying he supported an agreement that involved “very strong American involvement”.
  • The Trump administration has told federal employees they do not have to comply with an email calling for an accounting of their last week’s work, marking a break with Elon Musk, who threatened to fire those who did not comply.
  • A federal judge has declined to grant a temporary restraining order that would allow The Associated Press to return to the White House press pool, after a dispute over its use of the name “Gulf of Mexico”.
Trump listens during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on February 24 [Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP]
24 Feb 2025 - 23:30
 (23:30 GMT)

White House declares ‘victory’ over The Associated Press

The Trump administration has cheered a court decision not to grant The Associated Press an injunction that would allow the news agency back at White House events.

In an emailed message, the Trump team framed the ruling as a victory.

“As we have said from the beginning, asking the President of the United States questions in the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One is a privilege granted to journalists, not a legal right,” the White House said.

“We stand by our decision to hold the Fake News accountable for their lies, and President Trump will continue to grant an unprecedented level of access to the press. This is the most transparent Administration in history.”

The Trump administration has barred the news agency over its choice to retain the name “Gulf of Mexico” instead of switching to “Gulf of America”. It has repeatedly framed that choice as evidence of “lies”.

But The Associated Press has argued that its style choices are made for an international audience. It has also questioned why the US government is leveraging media access on word choice, in what it argues is a violation of free speech rights.

While the temporary injunction was not granted, the case remains ongoing.

TV screens in the White House briefing room display the word ‘victory’ shortly after a judge ruled against the Associated Press’s request for a temporary restraining order [Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters]
24 Feb 2025 - 23:20
 (23:20 GMT)

Federal office tells workers to ignore Musk’s email demand

The Office of Personnel Management has told human resources officials across the federal government that employees are not obliged to respond to an email asking them to summarise what they achieved last week.

The email, which sparked condemnations and a lawsuit, came with a deadline of Monday night.

It had been sent on Saturday, and Trump ally Elon Musk published a social media post saying that noncompliance would result in being fired.

But Monday’s announcement – that answering was optional – indicated a high-profile break between the Trump White House and Musk.

Already, some federal agencies, including the State Department, had advised employees not to respond to the email. Some 2.3 million civil service workers are part of the federal government.

But Musk doubled down on his demand on Monday, writing in a post on X, “Those who do not take this email seriously will soon be furthering their career elsewhere.”

The billionaire has been tasked with overhauling and downsizing the federal government, an effort that has already led to mass resignations and layoffs.

Elon Musk holds a chainsaw onstage as he attends the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 20 [Nathan Howard/Reuters]
24 Feb 2025 - 23:11
 (23:11 GMT)

Postal Service employees protest ‘illegal takeover’ by Trump

The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) says it is protesting alongside the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) against a possible takeover of the US Postal Service by the Trump administration.

News reports emerged last week that Trump planned to fire the Postal Service’s board and place the agency under the control of the Commerce Department, part of the executive branch.

USPS, however, has operated as an independent entity since 1970. The US Constitution also provides Congress with authority over the postal system.

“We’re out on the streets to stand in solidarity with NALC and fight back against the illegal takeover of our postal service!” the union said in a social media post.

24 Feb 2025 - 23:00
 (23:00 GMT)

UN Security Council passes US resolution on Ukraine

With 10 votes in favour and five abstentions, the United Nations Security Council has passed a US resolution marking the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with milder language than previous resolutions.

The United Kingdom and France were among those that abstained.

Earlier in the day, the UN General Assembly weighed another US-backed resolution marking the three-year anniversary of the war — without naming Russia as the aggressor. It failed to pass. A Ukrainian resolution was voted through instead.

US Ambassador Dorothy Camille Shea votes in the UN Security Council on February 24 [Richard Drew/AP Photo]
24 Feb 2025 - 22:45
 (22:45 GMT)

Governor DeSantis breaks with Trump over possible replacement

Though the race to replace Florida’s governor is still more than a year away, top Republican officials are starting to weigh in on their choice to take the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee.

Last week, Trump threw his support behind US Representative Byron Donalds.

But Florida’s current governor, former presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, has decided to back his own wife, Casey DeSantis, instead of Trump’s pick.

“We’ve achieved victories in Florida,” DeSantis said on Monday. “A guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the left over these last years.”

Neither Donalds nor Casey DeSantis have announced formal bids, but the race is likely to be a test of whether Ron DeSantis maintains sway over the Republican Party.

Governor DeSantis was once seen as the heir apparent to Trump. But when he ran against Trump in the 2024 presidential race, his public support quickly dwindled. And DeSantis has since faced resistance from his Republican-stacked state legislature.

While DeSantis won re-election in the last governor’s race by wide margins, he is limited to two terms in office and therefore cannot run again.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis points to his wife, Casey, and their children at a campaign event in January 2024 [Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo]
24 Feb 2025 - 22:30
 (22:30 GMT)

Judge turns down Associated Press bid to restore White House access

A US federal judge has declined a request from The Associated Press (AP) to implement an injunction that would allow the news agency to temporarily regain access to White House events.

Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, refused to issue the temporary restraining order – but he did call on the Trump administration to reconsider its position.

The AP has been barred from attending White House news events or joining the reporters’ gaggle on Air Force One, as a result of its policy to use the term “Gulf of Mexico” to describe the oceanic basin south of the US.

The name Gulf of Mexico is commonly used around the world. But on January 20, Trump declared it would be his government’s policy to call the body of water the “Gulf of America”.

Administration officials including White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the AP of spreading “lies” by continuing to use the name Gulf of Mexico.

The AP, meanwhile, has said the government’s decision to single out a news agency over word choice violates the Constitution’s press freedom protections.

Trump declared February 9 as ‘Gulf of America’ day [Ben Curtis/AP Photo]
24 Feb 2025 - 22:15
 (22:15 GMT)
Analysis

What are the takeaways from Macron’s meeting with Trump?

By Alan Fisher

Reporting from Washington, DC

Emmanuel Macron is essentially saying that the Americans can’t walk away from Ukraine.

Donald Trump has said there will be no American troops on the ground, but certainly, the Europeans are looking to the US to underpin any security guarantees.

Emmanuel Macron said any peace deal would have to be negotiated, checked and verified. And that comes from Emmanuel Macron being the last European leader to speak with Vladimir Putin before the war started three years ago, and saying, “Look we had deals in place, and they have all been overtaken by the events on the ground”.

So, it’s clear the Europeans still want the US to play a significant role.

Donald Trump was very bullish. He believes this war would have never started if he was still in the White House. But what is clear is that now that he’s back in the White House, it’s certainly created an atmosphere where there can be discussions about a possible peace deal.

There may be differences between the Europeans and the US … but that’s the whole point of negotiations.

24 Feb 2025 - 22:00
 (22:00 GMT)

Trump nominee says China is ‘formidable competitor’ on tech and science

The news agency Reuters has reported that Michael Kratsios – Trump’s pick to lead the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy – appears poised to take a hawkish stance on foreign policy.

In written testimony seen by Reuters ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Kratsios singled out China as a top rival in areas such as scientific research.

“China has emerged as both our preeminent geopolitical rival and our most formidable technological and scientific competitor,” Kratsios said in the testimony.

“The shape of the future global order will be defined by whomever leads across AI, quantum, nuclear, and other critical and emerging technologies. Chinese progress in nuclear fusion, quantum technologies, and autonomous systems all press home the urgency of the work ahead.”

Kratsios’s views echo those of other top-ranking Trump officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

During Rubio’s Senate confirmation hearing in January, he called China “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted”.

Michael Kratsios, left, speaks with Klon Kitchen, right, at the Capitol in 2023 [J Scott Applewhite/AP Photo]
24 Feb 2025 - 21:45
 (21:45 GMT)

Photos: Macron visits Trump at the White House

Amid heightened tensions between Europe and the US, France’s Emmanuel Macron made a high-profile visit to the White House, where he sought to rekindle his friendly relationship with Trump.

The two leaders spoke about Russia’s war in Ukraine and the possibility of European peacekeepers entering the war-torn country.

They also fielded questions about Trump’s rapprochement with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, as well as the US push to obtain rights over Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

Trump speaks as he greets Macron outside the White House [Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo]
Trump and Macron take questions in the Oval Office before a private lunch [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
Vice President JD Vance waits for the start of the joint Macron-Trump news conference at the White House [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
Trump shakes Macron’s hand [Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP]
Trump and Macron walk off stage after the news conference [Brian Snyder/Reuters]

24 Feb 2025 - 21:30
 (21:30 GMT)

Trump says US was ‘taken advantage of’ on trade

The US president has hinted that he plans to follow through with tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

At a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump reiterated complaints about what he perceives as unequal trading partnerships.

“We’re on time with the tariffs, and it seems like that’s moving along very rapidly,” he said at the White House. “We’ve been mistreated very badly by many countries, not just Canada and Mexico. We’ve been taken advantage of.”

Trump had planned to impose 25-percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico in early February, but he postponed that tax hike to March, after receiving concessions on border security.

Critics have warned that such tariffs would devastate the economies of all three countries involved and may constitute a violation of a free-trade agreement signed under Trump’s first term.

24 Feb 2025 - 21:10
 (21:10 GMT)

Trump repeals memorandum requiring human rights assurances from allies

The Washington Post has reported that the Trump administration has rescinded a national security memorandum, known as NSM-20, requiring allies to provide written assurances that US-supplied weapons would not be used to violate international law.

Anonymous sources told the Post that Trump’s national security adviser Michael Waltz issued the order to revoke NSM-20 on February 21.

The administration of former President Joe Biden issued NSM-20 amid allegations that continued arms transfers to Israel made the US complicit in war crimes in Gaza.

Critics, however, attacked the memo as a means of skirting existing legal requirements to halt weapons transfers that violate international law, as it did not offer any tools to verify the claims made in the written assurances.

NSM-20 also did not result in any serious scrutiny of Israeli actions in Gaza, where UN experts have said there is evidence of genocide and other grave human rights abuses. More than 48,346 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its military offensive.

Still, Republicans attacked the Biden administration as insufficiently supportive of Israel and pledged to remove any existing restraints on weapons shipments.

24 Feb 2025 - 21:02
 (21:02 GMT)

Macron calls for ‘fair competition’ in US-Europe trade

France’s President Emmanuel Macron called for “fair competition” in economic relations between the US and Europe.

“The American and European economies are extremely intertwined,” the French president said, citing some $1.5 trillion in trade.

“We need to look not only at goods but also digital items and goods, and we want to make a sincere commitment towards fair competition where we have smooth trade and more investments,” he said.

“We want to have more prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. We have a shared agenda in that regard.”

The remarks seemed designed to answer Trump’s repeated allegations that the US has been treated “unfairly” by European trading partners.

24 Feb 2025 - 21:00
 (21:00 GMT)

Putin says Trump using ‘rational approach’ towards Ukraine

The Russian president has praised Trump’s stance towards the war in Ukraine and hinted at future collaboration on issues such as mineral investment and military spending reductions.

He also denied claims that Trump was siding with Russia over Ukraine, as some critics have claimed.

Instead, Putin framed Trump’s position on the war as in “Ukraine’s interest”, arguing that the US president was taking a “rational approach” instead of “acting on emotion”.

Putin added that upcoming interactions with US officials would be focused on building bilateral relations and that joint defence spending cuts would be “a good idea”.

24 Feb 2025 - 20:50
 (20:50 GMT)

Putin holds meeting on rare earth minerals Trump has expressed interest in

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a meeting with officials to discuss rare earth metals production, the Kremlin says.

In the meeting, Putin described the metals as a strategic reserve vital for Russia’s future competitiveness and economic development.

He also highlighted the Russian state’s “New Materials and Chemistry” project, which tackles the complete cycle of the rare earth minerals industry, from extraction to the production of high-tech goods.

The meeting comes as Trump has indicated he is interested in brokering economic deals with Russia involving the rare earth metals industry.

24 Feb 2025 - 20:48
 (20:48 GMT)

Peace in Ukraine must not mean ‘a surrender of Ukraine’: Macron

While European countries are committed to finding a path for lasting peace in Ukraine, a peace agreement “must not mean a surrender of Ukraine”, Macron said during his joint news conference with Trump.

“It must not mean a ceasefire without security guarantees,” he added.

Macron said he spoke with about 30 European leaders and allies in recent days, who share the same vision.

“This peace must allow for Ukrainian sovereignty and allow Ukraine to negotiate with other stakeholders.”

French President Emmanuel Macron listens during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office [Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP]
24 Feb 2025 - 20:40
 (20:40 GMT)

Bernie Sanders slams Republicans over Trump’s stance on Russia

The left-leaning independent US senator from Vermont has condemned Republicans’ refusal to denounce Trump’s criticisms of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Over the last week, Trump has called Zelenskyy a “dictator” and accused Ukraine of sparking Russia’s invasion of its territory.

“Please. No more speeches in the Senate about ‘freedom’ until one Republican has the guts to stand up to Trump’s lies about Ukraine and Putin,” Sanders said in a social media post.

“Ukraine did not start this horrific war. Russia did. Zelensky isn’t a dictator. Putin is. The US must not enter into an alliance with Putin.”

A rescuer rests after working at the site of apartment buildings destroyed in a Russian air strike in Kherson, Ukraine, on February 2 [Ivan Antypenko/Reuters]
24 Feb 2025 - 20:39
 (20:39 GMT)

Ukraine has ‘held the front’ of Europe’s collective security: Macron

Macron has said that, during his meeting with Trump, the two made “very substantive steps forward”.

The French president added that the two held a video conference with all of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders, which was an opportunity “to express our support for President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people” he said, as well as to express their desire for a “lasting peace”.

“We thought that this war was only going to last a few weeks when it started in 2022. We admire greatly the courage of the Ukrainian people,” Macron added.

“Ukraine has been able to hold the front of our collective security.  It’s fought over these past few years for its independence and for its sovereignty, but also for our collective security.

“No one in this room wants to live in a world where it is the law of the strongest and where international borders can be violated from one day to the next by anyone.”

24 Feb 2025 - 20:30
 (20:30 GMT)

AI-generated video of Trump kissing Musk’s feet appears inside government agency

A TV monitor inside the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has displayed an AI-generated video of Trump kissing Musk’s feet, with the caption “Long live the real king”.

Media reports indicate that the screen was eventually unplugged.