Trump news today: Trump could be banned from White House over Jan 6 as ex-president rants about DeSantis ad

Stephen Colbert trolled Donald and Melania Trump on his late-night show on Monday.

OnThe Late Show with Stephen ColbertMelania – played by Laura Benanti – made an appearance, seeking to put to bed the rumors about why she has fallen quiet after her husband’s indictment.

The spoof Melania boasted she had been enjoying her life “spending time with my family, enjoying roped-off brunches at my live-in golf prison, and disposing of top secret documents”.

She was also spending time eating classified documents. “You can really taste the national security,” she said.

Donald Trump could be banned from ever entering the White House again due to his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Two nonprofit groups argue that a Civil War-era rule disqualifies any “officer of the United States” from entering office in the future after they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the US.

They claim Mr Trump’s role before and during the riots proves he was engaged in an insurrection and so, under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, cannot run for president in 2024.

The groups have sent letters to state election officials asking them to block Mr Trump from going on the ballot, it was reported The Washington Post.

Monday lunchtime on Truth Social, and former President Donald Trump has hit out at his favorite foe, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

This time the topic was the Second Amendment, with the former president disputing Mr DeSantis’s claim in an ad that he was aligned with Democrats over the issue of gun rights.

”Wow, that’s like Democrat Disinformation!” he wrote, also claiming that “Ron DeSanctus” didn’t attend the NRA Convention over the weekend in person because he was concerned about being booed.

And here’s what got him wound up:

It’s happening, GOP Rep. George Santos is officially running for re-election in New York’s 3rd District.

The controversial congressman made the announcement on Twitter on Monday afternoon. He is the subject of ongoing investigations at the local, state, and federal levels, and there have been numerous calls for him to resign.

Donald Trump’s rape trial will begin next week as scheduled after a federal judge on Monday rejecting his lawyer’s request for a one-month delay, saying the former president cannot make public statements to promote pretrial publicity and then claim it’s prejudicial to him and reason to delay a trial.

Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan said the civil trial on claims against Trump by a longtime columnist, E Jean Carroll, will begin as scheduled on April 25. Trump denies the rape that happened or that he ever knew Carroll.

This week, a judge in Delaware, where Fox is incorporated, is expected to president over a six-week jury trial stemming from Dominion’s $1.6bn lawsuit against the network, which will defend itself against Dominion’s argument that false statements about the company in the wake of the election were defamatory, costing the Dominion significant business and reputational harm.

On Sunday evening Judge Eric Davis announced that the trial had been suddenly delayed – they were hours before opening statements were scheduled to begin on Monday morning.

No explanation was given for the sudden delay but multiple reports have revealed that Fox News is now pushing to settle the case before the trial gets under way.

Alex Woodwards reports from Delaware.

A federal judge in New York City has rejected former president Donald Trump’s 11th-hour attempt to once again postpone his long-delayed civil defamation and rape trial on the grounds that publicity surrounding his recent indictment required a “cooling-off” period to ensure an impartial jury.

Judge Lewis Kaplan on Monday ordered the trial, which stems from two civil lawsuits brought against the ex-president by writer E Jean Carroll, to commence on 25 April as previously scheduled.

Fox could also present “evidence of ‘other defamers’ for purposes of contesting causation,” according to a filing in Delaware Superior Court.

Alex Woodwards reports from Wilmington.

The White House may be on track for a political victory over the debt limit as the GOP Speaker of the House looks at least somewhat unwilling to threaten America’s credit by blocking an increase to the debt limit.

But that didn’t stop Kevin McCarthy from hammering President Joe Biden on the issue of not negotiating with Republicans over spending decreases at all, as the White House has maintained that the president wants to see the GOP’s budget proposal in full before any such talks begin .

John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.

Former president Donald Trump said that if he returns to the White House in 2025, he will mandate that federal employees take a civil service test and workers who do not pass will be fired.

The former president made the remarks in a video released on Friday.

Eric Garcia has the story.