Former US President Donald Trump has vowed to launch a Space National Guard if he is re-elected, inspired by his creation of the Space Force during his first term. During the National Guard Association General Conference held in Detroit, Michigan, Trump noted that the establishment of the Space Force was one of his most notable achievements in his first term, describing it as “the first new branch of the armed forces in over 70 years.” Trump added: “It is now time to establish the Space National Guard as a reserve force for the United States Space Force.”
Trump explained that he will sign “historic legislation” to establish the Space Guard, and confirmed that the idea received support from Senator Marco Rubio, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who expressed his support for it. The former US President added that the Space Force was “very important to the defense of the country. We were being destroyed in space, and Russia and China were killing us because we were not really focused on it, and now we are the leader in space in all the armed forces.”
“We will make a historic investment in building a 21st century American military, investing heavily in drones, robotics, artificial intelligence and hypersonic aircraft,” he added.
Trump changes stance on debate rules with Kamala Harris: Former US President Donald Trump appears to have reversed his previous strategy on the rules for his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, scheduled for next month. According to sources familiar with the matter, Trump’s team wanted to mute microphones during the debate, so that only the candidate whose turn it was to speak would have their microphones on, just as was the case in the first debate with President Joe Biden..
Trump reverses stance on debate rules with Kamala Harris
Former US President Donald Trump has signaled a possible change in his position on the rules for his scheduled debate with Vice President Kamala Harris next month. In his recent remarks, Trump said he no longer favors keeping microphones on, as was the case during the first debate with President Joe Biden. When asked if he would prefer microphones to be muted during the debate, Trump replied:
“We agreed on the same rules, but it doesn’t matter to me. I would prefer the microphones to be on, probably, but the agreement was that it would be the same as the last time.” Trump, who also expressed doubts about his participation in the debate, added: “When I looked at the disagreement on that, I said, ‘Why would I do that? Let’s do it with another network. I want to do that.’” In contrast, the Kamala Harris campaign has asked ABC and other potential networks seeking to host the October debate to keep microphones on at all times.
That request marks a change from the Biden campaign’s previous position in June, when it had asked for microphones to be muted except when speaking. Mark Zuckerberg Affirms Meta’s Commitment to Free Speech in Letter to Jim Jordan On Monday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, outlining his company’s commitment to protecting free speech and not responding to government pressure to censor content.
Zuckerberg’s letter asserted that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, came under significant pressure from senior officials in President Joe Biden’s administration throughout 2021. Zuckerberg explained that this pressure included requests from the White House to censor specific content related to COVID-19, including inaccurate information about treatment and safety.
Mark Zuckerberg Affirms Meta’s Commitment to Free Speech, Criticizes Government Pressure
Meta seeks to emphasize that it adheres to free speech principles and does not respond to external pressures regarding content moderation on its platforms.
Mark Zuckerberg affirms Meta’s commitment to free speech and criticizes government pressures: In a letter sent by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, to Jim Jordan, Chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee, on Monday, Zuckerberg affirmed his company’s commitment to protecting free speech and not responding to government pressures regarding content moderation.
In his letter, Zuckerberg explained that Meta, which owns Facebook, faced significant pressure from high-ranking officials in President Joe Biden’s administration during 2021. He noted that this pressure included demands from the White House to censor specific content related to the COVID-19 virus, including inaccurate information about treatment and safety.
Zuckerberg stressed: “Ultimately, it was our decision whether or not to remove content, and we take responsibility for our decisions, including the COVID-19-related changes we made to our app as a result of this pressure.” “I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we weren’t more forthcoming at the time,” he added.
Zuckerberg noted that “with new understanding and new information, he and his team will not make the choices they did in the past, nor will they compromise our standards around content as a result of pressure from any administration in any direction.” He added that they “are prepared to defend ourselves if something similar happens again.”
Zuckerberg also touched on the fact that “Meta received warnings from the FBI about a potential Russian operation involving the Biden family in the run-up to the 2020 US election.” He said: “When we saw a report from the New York Post about corruption allegations involving Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his family.
