Donald Trump talks so much that even his White House stenographers are struggling to keep up

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
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Updated 31 January 2025
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Donald Trump talks so much that even his White House stenographers are struggling to keep up

  • He’s been speaking nearly nonstop since starting his second term, drowning out dissenting voices and leaving his opponents struggling to be heard
  • Trump’s commentary remains laden with falsehoods, but now that he is back in the presidency, it’s hard to ignore him
  • Kate Berner, who worked on Biden’s communications staff, said Trump’s constant talking helps keep his adversaries off balance

WASHINGTON: The White House stenographers have a problem. Donald Trump is talking so much, the people responsible for transcribing his public remarks are struggling to keep up with all the words.
There were more than 22,000 on Inauguration Day, then another 17,000 when Trump visited disaster sites in North Carolina and California. It’s enough to strain the ears and fingers of even the most dedicated stenographer, especially after four years of Joe Biden’s relative quiet.
Now there are discussions about hiring additional staff to keep up with the workload, according to people with knowledge of the conversations who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal matters.
The flood of words is one of the most visible — or audible — shifts from Biden to Trump, who craves the spotlight and understands better than most politicians that attention is a form of power. He’s been speaking nearly nonstop since starting his second term, drowning out dissenting voices and leaving his opponents struggling to be heard.
Take Wednesday, for example. During a signing ceremony for legislation to accelerate deportations, Trump, a Republican, talked up his accomplishments, claimed Hamas was using US-funded condoms to make bombs in Gaza, defended his administration’s efforts to freeze federal spending and reduce the government workforce, veered through descriptions of migrant violence and made the surprise announcement that Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, would be used as a detention center for people who are in the US illegally.
Trump’s commentary remains laden with falsehoods, including baseless allegations about voter fraud and assertions that California water policies worsened the recent wildfires. Sometimes he speaks off the cuff about consequential geopolitical matters, such as a recent suggestion that Palestinians should be displaced from Gaza while the enclave is rebuilt. It can be hard to know when to take him seriously, like when he muses about serving a third term, which the US Constitution does not allow.
But now that Trump is back in the presidency, it’s hard to ignore him.
“He’s dictating the news on his terms,” said Michael LaRosa, who worked as a television producer before serving as a spokesperson for former first lady Jill Biden. “He’s become America’s assignment editor.”

INNUMBERS

24,259 words used by Joe Biden when he spent 2 hours and 36 minutes talking on camera in his first week in office in 2020

81,235 words spewed by Donald Trump as he spoke for nearly 7 hours and 44 minutes last week. That’s longer than watching the original “Star Wars” trilogy back-to-back-to-back, and more words than “Macbeth,” “Hamlet” and “Richard III” combined

(Source: Factba.se.)

Most presidents try to start their terms with a bang, seizing the moment when their influence could be at its peak. However, Trump is in a different league.
Biden, a Democrat, spent 2 hours and 36 minutes talking on camera and used 24,259 words in his first week in office four years ago, according to numbers generated by Factba.se.
Trump’s comparable stats: nearly 7 hours and 44 minutes and 81,235 words last week. That’s longer than watching the original “Star Wars” trilogy back-to-back-to-back, and more words than “Macbeth,” “Hamlet” and “Richard III” combined.
It’s also much more than when Trump took office for his first term eight years ago. Back then, he was only on camera talking for 3 hours and 41 minutes and spoke 33,571 words.
Trump has spent decades practicing the best ways to get people to pay attention to him. As a New York businessman, he fed stories to gossip columnists, added gold plating to buildings and slapped his name on every product that he sold. His efforts reached an apex with “The Apprentice,” the reality television show that beamed him into American living rooms.
“One of the things that has given him the advantage is that he thinks like an executive producer,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican communications strategist. “He’s constantly programming the next hour and trying to keep his audience engaged.”
A sign of what was to come arrived shortly after Trump was sworn in. He delivered an inaugural address and then promptly gave more remarks to supporters that were even longer than his speech. And then he spoke at a downtown arena, where people had gathered for a rally, and later he parried questions from reporters for nearly an hour in the Oval Office while signing executive orders.
At one point, he turned to Fox News Channel’s Peter Doocy.
“Does Biden ever do news conferences like this?” Trump said. “How many news conferences, Peter, has he done like this?”
“Like this?” Doocy responded.
“None,” Trump said, answering his own question.
On Friday, Trump presented a tour de force of talking, demonstrating that he’s far more willing to put himself in unscripted situations than Biden was.
He spoke with reporters while leaving the White House in the morning. He talked to them again after landing in North Carolina, then again at a briefing on the recovery from Hurricane Helene, and then again while meeting with victims of the storm.
Trump flew that afternoon to Los Angeles, where he conversed with local officials about the recent wildfires. Before boarding Air Force One to leave the city in the evening, he answered more questions from reporters on the tarmac.
As his travels continued over the weekend, Trump spoke to reporters twice at the back of Air Force One — as often as Biden did for his entire term.
“Transparency is back!” wrote longtime aide Margo Martin on social media.
That’s not the word that Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, would use.
“Being accessible and being transparent are two different things,” she said.
Sometimes more talking doesn’t produce more clarity. One afternoon, Trump told reporters that there were “no surprises” when Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski decided to oppose Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon. The next morning, Trump said he was “very surprised” by their votes.
Jamieson worries that the frenzied pace will exhaust people.
“More people will simply check out,” she said. “And that’s a problem. An informed citizenry is an engaged citizenry.”
Kate Berner, who worked on Biden’s communications staff, said Trump’s constant talking helps keep his adversaries off balance.
“By doing so much and saying so much, it is hard for people who oppose him to organize,” she said. “And it is hard for any one thing to take hold.”
But there’s also a risk for Trump, Berner said. If he’s not careful, she said, he could once again start “wearing out his welcome with the American people.”


Anger as German conservatives question NGO funding

Updated 56 min 27 sec ago
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Anger as German conservatives question NGO funding

  • The hundreds of questions demanded more clarity on the funding of campaign groups such as “Grannies Against the Right,” Greenpeace and other organizations
  • The questions were grouped under the heading “political neutrality of state-funded organizations“

BERLIN: Left-wing parties in the German parliament reacted with consternation on Wednesday after the conservatives, fresh from their election win, demanded more scrutiny of a list of government-funded projects.
The CDU/CSU alliance of Friedrich Merz, which won Sunday’s election with 28.5 percent of the vote, submitted a set of written questions to the outgoing government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday.
The hundreds of questions demanded more clarity on the funding of campaign groups such as Omas Gegen Rechts (“Grannies Against the Right“), Greenpeace and other environmental organizations, and a wide range of other NGOs.
The questions were grouped under the heading “political neutrality of state-funded organizations.”
The party said it had tabled them in response to recent “protests against the CDU in Germany, some of which were organized or supported by non-profit or state-funded organizations.”
Thousands of people took part in demonstrations after the CDU in January controversially accepted the support of the far-right AfD to push through a parliamentary vote on migration.
Lars Klingbeil of Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) on Wednesday accused the CDU/CSU of targeting “precisely those organizations that protect our democracy, which it is denigrating and calling into question.”
Following the election on Sunday, Merz has reached out to the center-left SPD with hopes of forming a coalition.
But Klingbeil, newly elected as head of the SPD parliamentary group, accused the conservatives of “foul play” and urged them to “quickly reflect” on whether they wanted to pursue the questions.
Other parties have also reacted angrily to the move, with the far-left Die Linke calling it “an unprecedented attack on democratic civil society.”
“This is reminiscent of authoritarian states and, given that the CDU/CSU will in all likelihood lead the next federal government, is extremely worrying,” Die Linke’s Clara Buenger said.
Sergey Lagodinsky, a member of the European Parliament for the Greens, said it was a “very bad omen for the next four years” and “almost Trump-like.”
US President Donald Trump has enlisted tech billionaire Elon Musk to lead federal cost-cutting efforts under the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Musk has spearheaded program and personnel cuts across a wide range of federal agencies and departments, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Matthias Middelberg, a spokesman for the CDU, said public funding “must not be used for party political purposes.”
No organization should be “eligible for support if it is used to influence political decision-making and public opinion in line with the organization’s own views,” he said.


Romania prosecutors question far-right politician after annulled vote

Updated 26 February 2025
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Romania prosecutors question far-right politician after annulled vote

  • The country’s constitutional court in December annulled the elections following allegations of Russian interference
  • Georgescu has denied any wrongdoing and called the annulment a “formalized coup d’etat“

BUCHAREST: Romanian prosecutors were questioning Wednesday far-right politician Calin Georgescu, who topped the first round of last year’s presidential elections but later saw the results annulled in a shock move that has shaken the country.
The country’s constitutional court in December annulled the elections following allegations of Russian interference and claims of “massive” social media promotion of Georgescu, who shot to prominence virtually overnight.
Georgescu has denied any wrongdoing and called the annulment a “formalized coup d’etat.”
Television footage showed Georgescu entering the general prosecutor’s office flanked by police.
A judicial source told AFP he would be questioned, but declined to comment further.
Earlier Wednesday, authorities searched dozens of premises around the country, according to a statement by the prosecutor’s office.
Prosecutors said the raids were part of a probe into alleged offenses including “establishing an organization with a fascist, racist or xenophobic character” and “false statements regarding the sources of financing of the electoral campaign,” they said.
The statement did not mention Georgescu by name.
“I, on behalf of my voters, but also of those who, although they have other political options, want a democratic and free Romania — am fighting this security system that wants us in slavery,” Georgescu posted on Facebook.
His team said Georgescu was stopped by police in traffic and told to come in for questioning.
Outside the prosecutor’s office, supporters of Georgescu gathered, some with flags and chanting “traitors” and “liberty.”
The decision by the EU and NATO member to annul the vote — rare in the European Union — plunged the eastern European country into crisis, with tens of thousands protesting it.
A new first round of presidential elections will take place on May 4, with a second on May 18 if no first-round candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote.


Ukraine’s Zelensky says framework economic deal with US is ready but security guarantees undecided

Updated 26 February 2025
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Ukraine’s Zelensky says framework economic deal with US is ready but security guarantees undecided

  • The framework deal is a first step toward a comprehensive agreement that will be subject to ratification by Ukraine’s parliament, Zelensky said
  • Ukraine needs to know where the United States stands on its continued military support

KYIV: A framework economic deal with the United States is ready, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday, but security guarantees that Kyiv views as vital remain to be decided and a full agreement could hinge on talks in Washington as early as Friday.
The framework deal is a first step toward a comprehensive agreement that will be subject to ratification by Ukraine’s parliament, Zelensky said during a news conference in Kyiv.
Ukraine needs to know where the United States stands on its continued military support, Zelensky said.
He said expects to have a wide-ranging substantive conversation with US President Donald Trump during a visit to Washington.
“I want to coordinate with the US,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said that the main topics that he wants to discuss with Trump are whether the US plans to halt military aid and, if so, whether Ukraine would be able to purchase weapons directly from the US
He also wants to know whether Ukraine can use frozen Russian assets for weapons investments and whether Washington plans to lift sanctions on Russia.
Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed that Ukraine and the United States have reached preliminary agreement on a broad economic deal that includes US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals amid its war with Russia.
After days of negotiations, Ukraine and the US will sign the preliminary agreement, but with further details of a full agreement — including US security guarantees that Kyiv officials view as vital — still to be worked out, Shmyhal said on Ukrainian public television.
Since returning to office last month, Trump let Ukraine know that he wanted something in return for tens of billions of dollars in US help to fend off the full-scale invasion that Russia launched just over three years ago on Feb. 24, 2022.
Trump has abruptly ditched some previous Washington policies. He scrapped efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and cast doubt on US support for its European allies. That has brought momentous geopolitical shifts that could reset the war’s path this year.
The preliminary agreement sets out the terms and conditions of an investment fund for the rebuilding of Ukraine, Shmyhal said.


A court in Bosnia sentences separatist Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik to 1 year in prison

Updated 26 February 2025
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A court in Bosnia sentences separatist Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik to 1 year in prison

  • The landmark ruling by the court in Sarajevo came after a yearlong trial against Dodik
  • The leader and his lawyers weren’t at the court during the sentencing

SARAJEVO: A court in Bosnia on Wednesday sentenced Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russia Bosnian Serb president, to one year in prison and banned him from engaging in politics for six years over his separatist actions.
The landmark ruling by the court in Sarajevo came after a yearlong trial against Dodik on charges that he disobeyed the top international envoy overseeing peace in the Balkan country.
The leader and his lawyers weren’t at the court during the sentencing. Dodik has said that he would disobey any conviction and threatened “radical measures” in response, including eventual secession of the Serb-run entity in Bosnia called Republika Srpska from the rest of the country.
Dodik has repeatedly called for the separation of the Serb-run half of Bosnia to join it with neighboring Serbia, which prompted the United States and the United Kingdom to impose sanctions against him and his close allies. Dodik is also accused of corruption and pro-Russia policies.
Dodik’s separatist threats stoked fears in Bosnia, where a 1992-95 war left 100,000 people killed and displaced millions. The US-sponsored Dayton Accords ended the war nearly three decades ago and created two regions, Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation.
The two regions were given wide autonomy, but kept some joint institutions, including the army, top judiciary and tax administration. Bosnia also has a rotating three-member presidency made up of Bosniak, Serb and Croat members.
Dodik was in the Bosnian Serb administrative capital Banja Luka, where thousands gathered Wednesday in his support.
“They say I am guilty, but now people here will say why I am not guilty,” Dodik told the crowd shortly after the verdict was announced. “There is no reason to worry. I have learned to deal with tougher situations. It is important that you are here.”
In neighboring Serbia, pro-government media reported that populist President Aleksandar Vucic called an urgent session of the national security council there.
Dodik is unlikely to be sent to prison, because he enjoys the full support of Vucic, who can provide shelter to him in Belgrade. Dodik is also expected to appeal the conviction.
Dodik has repeatedly clashed with top international envoy Christian Schmidt and declared his decisions illegal in Republika Srpska. The Dayton peace agreement envisages that the high representative can impose decisions and change laws in the country.
The war in Bosnia erupted when the country’s Serbs rebelled against the country’s independence from the former Yugoslavia and moved to form a mini-state of their own with the aim of uniting it with neighboring Serbia.


Indonesia launches campaign to raise $200 million aid for Palestine

Updated 26 February 2025
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Indonesia launches campaign to raise $200 million aid for Palestine

  • Indonesian people, government see Palestinian statehood as mandated by their own constitution
  • Fundraising campaign organized by NGOs with the support of Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry

JAKARTA: Indonesia on Wednesday launched a campaign to raise $200 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinians, as Jakarta moves to support the rebuilding of Gaza. 

A staunch supporter of Palestine, the Indonesian government and people see Palestinian statehood as being mandated by their own constitution, which calls for the abolition of colonialism. 

The campaign, “Indonesia for Palestine: Solidarity, Real Action and New Hope,” is being organized by the Indonesian Ulema Council, Indonesia’s National Alms Agency and other NGOs with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

“We are starting this campaign with the initial target of $200 million,” Deputy Foreign Minister Anis Matta said at the campaign launch in Jakarta. 

“This is not just a mandate from our constitution and a religious obligation, but also a humanitarian emergency … We want to turn this campaign into a movement of humanitarian diplomacy.” 

The campaign comprises various programs, he said. 

“There’s an ongoing emergency program during the ceasefire period, but there will also be a program dedicated to the reconstruction of Gaza; we want to offer our assistance in the rebuilding of Gaza.” 

Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, its military has killed more than 48,300 people and injured more than 111,000. The real death toll is feared to be much higher, with estimates published by the medical journal The Lancet indicating that as of July, it could be more than 186,000.

The Indonesian government has sent several consignments of humanitarian assistance for Gaza since 2023, while various NGOs in the country have also raised funds and coordinated support — including sending medical volunteers — for Gaza. 

Last year, Jakarta doubled its annual contribution to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees to $1.2 million, with the government pledging to contribute more. 

“This joint campaign is real evidence of Indonesia’s solidarity for Palestine,” said Abdul Kadir Jailani, director general for Asian, Pacific and African Affairs at the foreign affairs ministry. 

“We all have a responsibility to support our brothers and sisters in Palestine.”