Trump: Obama is Involved in Protests Against Republicans and Information Leaks

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, accused former President Barack Obama on Tuesday, March 1, of having a role in "some protests against Republicans across America." In a television interview just hours before a speech to Congress, Trump responded to a question about protests in various parts of the country against Republican lawmakers, stating, "In his opinion, President Obama is involved in these protests because his affiliates are certainly involved in these protests." In the interview with Fox News, he added that he believes "there is no major leak happening at the White House." Earlier reports indicated that some staff members in Sean Spicer's office, the White House spokesperson, had been reprimanded for leaking content from private meetings. The President also stated that "Obama's supporters are leaking White House secrets" and acknowledged that "this is politics and such issues will continue." He remarked, "We do not forget that we have people from another campaign. People who are from previous administrations." Barack Obama has not yet responded to Trump's statements. In a January interview with ABC, he said, "He is trying to make the President-elect of the United States understand that governing is different from running a campaign, and from now on, capitals and people around the world and financial markets will take his words seriously." Obama added, "Donald Trump must respect U.S. institutions." This is not the first time the U.S. President has criticized Barack Obama. Trump had previously criticized Tehran's policies, especially after Iran's missile test on January 30, stating that Iran "should not play with fire" and that Iran "does not realize how kind President Obama has been to them; but I am not like that." In the Fox News interview, the President also expressed hope that a $54 billion increase in the U.S. military budget could be achieved with a stronger economy and cuts in other areas. He stated that much more money would be spent in the military sector. On March 1, the White House announced that Donald Trump is proposing a $54 billion increase in the future U.S. defense budget, which will be funded by savings from domestic programs and foreign aid. According to this report, the defense budget for the U.S. and the amount of domestic spending is set to be presented next month. Proposals related to taxes and other programs will be presented later. The 10% increase in the U.S. Department of Defense budget, the Pentagon, was among Donald Trump's commitments during his election campaign to strengthen the U.S. military. On Friday, March 1, he also emphasized that he would request a massive budget from Congress for the largest military empowerment in U.S. history to make the country's defense capabilities better and stronger. According to this report, the proposed military budget for next year is $603 billion, a figure that the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee has deemed "very low."