Trump warns there ‘could be’ US troops on ground in Nigeria, or air strikes

• Says Christians are being killed in record numbers in Nigeria.
• Vows the US will intervene to bring the violence to an end.
• Threatens military action against North African country.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US military could deploy troops to Nigeria or carry out air strikes to stop what he called the killing of large numbers of Christians in the West African country.

Asked if he envisioned troops on the ground or air strikes in Nigeria, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One: “Could be. I mean, other things. I envisage a lot of things. 

“They’re killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria … They’re killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers. We’re not going to allow that to happen.”

Trump made the comment on Sunday evening as he headed back to Washington after a weekend at his vacation home in Florida.

Trump threatened on Saturday to take military action against Nigeria if Africa’s most populous country failed to crack down on the killing of Christians.

The US president’s threat of military action came a day after his administration added Nigeria back to a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations that the US says have violated religious freedoms. Other nations on the list include China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan.

No Tomahawks for Ukraine

On Ukraine, Trump said he was not really considering giving Ukraine long-range Tomahawk missiles. Asked by a reporter aboard Air Force One if he was not considering providing the weapons to Ukraine, Trump responded: “No, not really.”

On October 12, Trump had said he may offer long-range Tomahawk missiles that could be used by Kyiv if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not end the war in Ukraine. 

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he flew to Israel that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed Zelenskiy’s request for weaponry, including Tomahawks. 

Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), long enough to strike deep inside Russia, including Moscow.

The Kremlin has warned against any provision of Tomahawks to Ukraine, and Trump said they would be “a new step of aggression” if introduced into the war.

Trump avoids SC tariff arguments

He also said he will not attend the Supreme Court’s upcoming oral arguments concerning the legality of his global tariffs.

Justices have a Wednesday hearing scheduled for arguments on the tariffs case. Trump told reporters on Air Force One that despite his desire to be there, he does not want to create a distraction during the hearing.

“I wanted to go so badly,” Trump said as he flew back to Washington after a weekend in Florida. “I just don’t want to do anything to deflect the importance of that decision. … I don’t want to call a lot of attention to me. It’s not about me, it’s about our country.”

Arguments before the highest US court on Wednesday will centre on the legality of Trump’s sweeping global tariffs in a major test of one of his boldest assertions of executive power, regarding an issue that has been central to his economic and trade agenda.

The Supreme Court took up the Justice Department’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing most of his tariffs under a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 

The tariffs were challenged by various businesses and 12 US states.

Trump defended his use of tariffs to balance global trade flows, citing years of high duties charged by other countries on US imports. He said his tariffs had increased US revenues and driven the stock markets to a series of record highs.

“If we don’t have tariffs, we don’t have national security, and the rest of the world would laugh at us because they’ve used tariffs against us for years and took advantage of us,” he said.

“We were subject to being abused by a lot of other countries, including China. For years, not anymore. Tariffs have brought us tremendous national security,” he said.