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U.S. NEWS Thursday 8 June 2017
Trump promises ‘first-class’ infrastructure system for US

Continued from front public-private partnerships
to finance improvements.
It includes detailed de- Many argue such a plan
scriptions of meetings and would result in taxpayer-
phone conversations be- funded profits for corpora-
tween Trump and Comey. tions with the cost loaded
In the speech, the presi- onto consumers.
dent also pressed the Sen- Before the speech, Trump
ate to send him a health met aboard Air Force One
care bill, criticized congres- with a pair of families the
sional Democrats as “ob- White House said were
structionists” and revisited “victims” of the Obama-
his controversial decision era health care law that
to pull the U.S. out of the the president and congres-
Paris climate agreement. sional Republicans want to
Trump said that as he cam- repeal and replace.
paigned across the coun- Trump said the families
try last year, people often — one from Ohio and an-
asked him why the U.S. was other from Kentucky — are
spending money to rebuild going through “turmoil” President Donald Trump smiles as he arrives for rally at the Rivertowne Marina, Wednesday, June
other countries when the along with millions of other 7, 2017, in Cincinnati.
roads and bridges they consumers who are facing (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
travel on needed rebuild- rising premiums and limited Didn’t work out that way.” 2015 was unfair to the Unit- that would theoretically le-
ing, too. choices for health cover- The Republican-controlled ed States. verage $1 trillion worth of
Trump declared the days age under the 2010 law. House has passed a health Trump said as long as he construction.
of spending on other na- “Now it’s time for the Sen- care bill that no Democrats is president “we will never Trump’s speech came the
tions are over: “It’s time to ate to act and save Ameri- supported. Senate Repub- have outside forces tell- day before Comey’s high-
rebuild our country” and to cans from this catastrophic licans are working on their ing us what to do and how ly anticipated testimony
“put America first,” he said. event because Obam- own version. Trump also to do it.” The White House to the Senate Intelligence
While infrastructure ini- acare is dead,” Trump mentioned his announce- has yet to outline specifics Committee on Thursday
tially was seen as an area said. “Obamacare was ment last week that he was of the infrastructure plan, as the White House faced
where Republican and one of the biggest broken pulling the U.S. out of what which it hopes to achieve fresh allegations about
Democrats could work to- promises in the history of he dismissively referred to largely through public- possible efforts by the presi-
gether, Democrats have politics. Remember ‘you as the “so-called” Paris cli- private partnerships. It has dent to influence the in-
balked at Trump’s plan for can keep your doctor, mate accord. Trump has proposed funding improve- vestigation into potential
using tax incentives and you can keep your plan?’ said the pact that nearly ments with $200 billion in ties between his campaign
Trump eases Qatar critique, 200 nations agreed to in public funds over nine years and Russia.q

offers to mediate Gulf spat

By JOSH LEDERMAN by land and sea, Qatar is
Associated Press eager for Trump’s help. Qa-
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- tar’s U.S. ambassador, Me-
dent Donald Trump offered shal bin Hamad Al Thani,
Wednesday to personally told The Associated Press
broker a resolution to the his country is counting on
Persian Gulf’s escalating Washington to persuade
diplomatic crisis, as both Saudi Arabia and others to
he and Qatar looked past back down.
his pointed suggestion only “We have great confi-
a day earlier that the tiny dence in the president’s
gas-rich nation enables ter- ability to calm this crisis and
rorism. to resolve it,” Al Thani said
In a phone call with Qatar’s in an interview.
ruling emir, Sheikh Tamin Trump’s bid to fashion him-
bin Hamad Al Thani, Trump self as a neutral arbiter
said he wanted to help among Arab governments
Qatar and its Arab neigh- departed from his stance
bors resolve the row that only a day earlier, when
has upended any sense he left little doubt about
of Gulf unity, suggesting a where he felt the fault rest-
possible White House sum- ed. In a tweetstorm, Trump
mit among leaders. Though said Mideast leaders he’d
Trump again said countries met with last month had all
must eliminate funding “pointed to Qatar” as the
streams for terror groups, source of terrorist financ-
the White House said he fo- ing, waxing optimistically
cused on the need for the that the isolation of the
region’s various U.S. allies to kingdom might be “the be-
stick together. ginning of the end to the
Blockaded by its neighbors horror of terrorism.”q