Trump team looking to Joe Rogan for help amid lingering Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell fallout, report says

Good morning and welcome to our ongoing coverage of the latest news from the Trump White House and beyond.

President Donald Trump started his day with a phone interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, where he stated he would like to run for president again, highlighting his “record” numbers in the 2024 Texas election, and dismissing polling showing his approval rating in the 30s as “fake.”

Focused mainly on the economy and trade, Trump threatened to increase tariffs on India, considered taking additional action against the European Union if promised investments did not materialize, and floated a 200% tariff on imported pharmaceuticals to boost domestic manufacturing.

Trump also hinted at potential candidates for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and defended mid-decade redistricting plans in Texas that would give the Republican Party five more seats in Congress.

We’ll be covering these topics and more throughout the day.

President Donald Trump is considering four individuals to replace Jerome Powell as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Leading contenders include his current economics director, Kevin Hassett, and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh.

Speaking on CNBC on Tuesday morning, Trump stated: “I think Kevin and Kevin, both Kevins are very good.”

Two other candidates are also under review. Current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is not among them, as he wishes to remain in his current role.

The president confirmed a decision would be made “soon”, adding: “It’ll be one of four people.”

Phoning in to Squawk Box, Trump spoke at length about his economic record nearly seven months into his second term – maintaining that several members of his administration, whom Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with, were “highly political.”

President Donald Trump is set to crack down on Wall Street banks accused of dropping customers over their conservative beliefs and shutting out cryptocurrency companies, a new report states.

Trump, the self-professed first “crypto-president,” is expected to sign an executive order as soon as this week that threatens financial penalties in response to so-called politically motivated “debanking,” sources told the Wall Street Journal.

President Donald Trump has issued new tariff threats against the European Union, India, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Trump outlined aggressive tariff reprisals, threatening the European Union with a 35 percent levy and indicating a substantial increase in duties on Indian goods, citing their purchase of Russian oil.

Speaking on CNBC, Trump stated that 35 per cent tariffs would apply to the European Union if they failed to deliver on promised investments in U.S. goods. He claimed the EU was paying $600 billion, adding “We’re a rich country again,” and that the investment could go in “anything I want.”

He also indicated imported pharmaceutical drugs could eventually face tariffs as high as 200 percent, stating: “We want pharmaceuticals made in our country.”

He explained that these would be increased to 150 or 200 percent over 18 months. Tariffs on semiconductors and computer chips are also expected.

Higher tariffs could also be imposed on India, Trump revealed. Last week, the US announced a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods, along with an additional import tax due to India’s purchase of Russian oil.

“I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours because they’re buying Russian oil, they’re fueling the war machine,” Trump said on Tuesday. “And if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy.”

These tariff threats are part of a broader recent surge in trade activity, including actions on Brazil, copper, low-value goods, and reduced taxes on South Korean imports.

With reporting from the AP

During his CNBC interview, President Donald Trump hailed prices falling for “everything” except stocks.

“We were in such bad shape when I took over, eggs had tripled in price. More than that, everything was up, and prices are down,” he said.

However, as Erin Keller reports, more than half of Americans are experiencing financial strain due to the rising cost of groceries.

President Donald Trump praised CNN’s data analyst Harry Enten for calling him the “most influential president this century,” telling viewers of CNBC during an interview this morning to “watch Harry Emten [sic] on CNN.”

Here’s Rachel Dobkin’s report on what Enten said:

India’s ruling party and main opposition have united in condemnation of President Donald Trump’s threat to escalate tariffs on Indian goods, a move linked to the nation’s continued purchases of Russian oil. The political consensus appears to be emerging as a trade rift with Washington deepens.

The latest warning follows Trump’s July announcement of a 25 percent tariff on Indian imports, with U.S. officials citing a range of geopolitical issues that hinder a trade accord between the two nations.

Manish Tewari, a Member of Parliament and leader of the opposition Congress, asserted that Trump’s “disparaging remarks hurt the dignity and self-respect of Indians,” adding: “The time has come to call out this constant bullying and hectoring.” Echoing this sentiment, BJP Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda quoted Henry Kissinger on X, stating: “To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal.”

India’s Foreign Ministry has hit back, accusing Washington of unfairly singling out the country over its Russian oil imports, while highlighting ongoing trade between Moscow and both the United States and the European Union despite the conflict in Ukraine. In a statement issued late on Monday, the ministry declared: “It is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia,” adding, “It is unjustified to single out India.”

The ministry cited that the EU conducted 67.5 billion euros ($78.02 billion) in trade with Russia in 2024, including record imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reaching 16.5 million metric tons. The statement also noted that the U.S. continues to import Russian uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear power industry, alongside palladium, fertilisers, and chemicals, though it did not specify the source for this export information.

The U.S. embassy and the EU’s delegation in New Delhi did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Both the U.S. and the EU have significantly scaled back their trade ties with Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In 2021, Russia was the EU’s fifth-largest trading partner, with a goods exchange value of 258 billion euros, according to the European Commission.

With reporting from Reuters

President Donald Trump has, predictably, said that recent polling showing his approval rating at near all-time lows is “fake.”

Here’s Rachel Dobkin’s report on recent Gallup polling that shows him with a 37 percent approval rating:

And here’s Graig Graziosi with the latest Reuters/Ipsos numbers putting his approval rating at 40 percent: