Karoline Leavitt prays before press briefing and reveals Trump 'optimistic' on China tariff deal: Live updates

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt prays with her staff before every press briefing.

Margo Martin, a top aide in the West Wing, posted a video on X of Leavitt praying before Friday’s session with the media.

Leavitt stood with her staff in the White House at the closed doors that led into the briefing room.

‘Lord Jesus, give us the strength, the knowledge, the ability to articulate our words, have fun and to be confident. In Jesus’ name. Amen,’ Leavitt said.

She then went out to start her briefing.

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Chinese President Xi Jinping accused Donald Trump of bullying the world with his tariff threat.

Speaking with Spain's prime minister, Xi urged China and the European Union to join together to defend against Trump's 'unilateral acts of bullying.'

Trump imposed a flat 10 percent tariff during his 90-day pause, but warned Beijing will face the highest sanctions at an additional 125 percent.

A CCP Commerce Ministry spokesperson said the U.S. bears 'full responsibility' for any recipricol tariffs and claimed Trump's threats 'will become a joke'.

And the Chinese finance ministry said tariffs can't go higher because it would make imports of any kind almost entirely impossible.

The White House believes China is preparing to strike a tariff deal with the U.S. amid a brewing trade war.

'If China continues to retaliate, it’s not good for China,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Friday.

She also confirmed that President Donald Trump is 'optimistic' Beijing will want to reach a mutually beneifical compromise on tariffs.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump arrived at Walter Reed National Medical Center a little before 1 p.m. on Friday for his first annual physical of his second term.

It will give the American people an official glimpse at the 78-year-old's health for the first time in nearly five years.

His physical is expected to be administered by Trump's new personal physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, who has extensive combat trauma experience, from serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Trump enters office older than Joe Biden was four years ago - and will set the record for the country's oldest president before he finishes his term in January 2029.

That means, like Biden, there will be added scrutiny about his health.

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent at the White House

President Donald Trump appeared on Friday to renew his call to make daylight saving time permanent.

'The House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day. Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!! DJT' the president wrote on Truth Social.

Trump has expressed that he's against the biannual time change, though a month before taking office suggested that the U.S. 'eliminate Daylight Saving Time.'

That message was confusing because by eliminating daylight saving time, the sun would set earlier, not 'the end of the day,' as the president said Friday.

Two of Trump's top allies, then Sen. Marco Rubio - now his secretary of State - and Sen. Rick Scott, both of Florida, have pushed for passage of the 'Sunshine Protection Act,' which would keep daylight saving time permanent.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

Former counsel to the president Alina Habba took to Sean Hannity’s show to issue a warning and announce an investigation into New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

Habba, who Trump named acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said she wants it to be ‘a warning for everybody that I have instructed my office today to open an investigation into Governor Murphy’ as well as state AG Matthew Platkin.’

She said it was for the state’s failure to cooperate with ICE immigration authorities under a state’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits cooperation.

She said Platkin ‘also instructed the state police not to assist any of our federal… agencies under that are under my direction…’ in her Thursday evening Fox News interview.

'Pam Bondi has made it clear and so has our president that we are to take all criminals, violent criminals, and criminals [sic] out of this country and to completely enforce federal law,' she said, invoking the U.S. attorney general.

Habba previously served as Trump’s personal attorney and helped represent him in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.

President Donald Trump has a new demand for Russia as his envoy met with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.

'Russia has to get moving. Too many people ere DYING, thousands a week, in a terrible and senseless war - A war that should have never happened, and wouldn't have happened, if I were President!!!,' he wrote on Truth Social on Friday morning.

Footage from Russian news agency Tass showed Trump envoy Steve Witkoff shaking hands with Putin. Also on hand for the talks is Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's investment envoy, who Witkoff met with ahead of his sit down with the Russian president.

It's Witkoff and Putin's third meeting as Trump pushes for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

The head of the European Commission is warning she is ready to ramp up a trade war with the U.S. should talks fail during a 90-day ‘pause’ in Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs.

‘We are developing retalitatory measures,’ European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times.

She referenced a ‘wide range’ of countermeasures, and teased a potential tax on digital ad revenues which would hammer Google and Facebook’s parent Meta.

She also pushed back against Trump’s attacks on a European Value Added Tax as a discriminatory trade barrier. She called the VAT and the EU’s regulations on digital content ‘sovereign decisions’ that weren’t in the negotiating package.

The EU on Thursday delayed retaliatory tariffs after Trump’s pause after a market meltdown. Trump had imposed and then suspended a 20 percent tariff on imports from the EU. It would still face a 10 percent floor on imports across the board.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

President Donald Trump said his tariff policy is ‘doing really well.’

His post on Truth Social came as China announced it was raising its own tariffs on American goods to 125 percent after Trump slapped Beijing with the same amount.

‘We are doing really well on our TARIFF POLICY. Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly. DJT,’ the president wrote.

Trump on Wednesday put a 90-day pause on his reciprocal tariffs for all nations except China.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Fox News’ Peter Doocy had an unexpected visitor during his live shot in front of the White House on Friday morning.

A bird landed on his head, causing him to react in shock.

‘I didn’t like that at all,’ he said live on Fox and Friends. Doocy had quickly brushed the wayward bird away, sending it back off into the sky.

‘That is probably so dirty!,’ he added.

He then asked for some help.

‘President Trump, if you’re watching upstairs, we gotta do something about these birds.’

Birds have made nests in the tents along the South Drive of the White House. Television networks use the tents to protect their gear from the weather and give their correspondents cover from the elements as they do their stand-ups.

It’s not the first animal incident on the White House grounds, which are overseen by the National Park Service. CNN reporter Joe Johns had to fight off racoons during a live shot in 2020. And C-SPAN cameras have caught foxes running across the property.

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

The Trump administration has changed the Kennedy Center’s outdoor lighting from a rainbow of colors to red, white and blue.

‘We’ve updated the outside lights of the Kennedy Center - America’s premier Arts Institution,’ Ric Grenell wrote on X, including a photo and video of the new arrangement. The White House retweeted his announcement.

President Donald Trump put Grenell in charge of the Kennedy Center after he fired the chairman, president and several board members.

The center had been illuminated by rainbow lights to symbolize the ‘spectrum of many skills within the performing arts.’

By Emily Goodin, senior White House correspondent

Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Russia on Friday and for talks with Vladimir Putin.

Footage from Russian news agency Tass showed Witkoff is in St Petersburg, accompanied by Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's investment envoy. Putin is in the city for meetings on the Russian Navy.

Talks would likely be on ending the war with Ukraine, Russia’s rare earth minerals and the Artic.

Witkoff is due in Oman on Saturday for talks with Iran over its nuclear program.