Trump is pretending to care about Mexican lives. The irony is staggering

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Donald Trump’s White House has identified a clear and present danger to the people of Mexico – a politician apparently willing to put Mexican lives at risk in the pursuit of national advantage, even at the expense of ripping up international rules and norms. And that man, according to one senior official, at least, is outgoing British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

The comments came about in a radio interview with Andrew Giuliani, son of Trump confidant and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is now serving as executive director of the White House Task Force on the World Cup.

Giuliani had been asked by a TalkSPORT host to explain Trump’s wildly controversial decision to interfere in the World Cup by calling Fifa president Gianni Infantino to demand that a red card against Team USA’s star striker Folarin Balogun be overturned ahead of the USA vs Belgium game.

Shorts

MONEY

Americans make £20,000 more than us each year – here’s why

Stats show Americans are much better off than Brits. Even the UK’s best-paid new graduates earn less, on average, than the worst-paid US ones.

US vs UK: what you need to know

Higher income

The median disposable household income in the US is just over £57,000, the UK equivalent is just over £36,000.

Wealthier families

One in 10 UK households has over £70,000 in disposable income. Four in 10 American homes have this level.

Better-off graduates

The starting salary for a US graduate ranges from £44,800 to £58,500. Here it’s £28,000 to £35,000.

Why Americans are richer

Americans put in much longer hours than Britons: 1,805 hours a year against 1,524 hours.

US taxes are generally lower, too – though once you allow for healthcare, the gap is narrower.

Overall GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per head is 30 per cent higher in the US than in the UK.

OPINION

The royals need to show us if they are value for money

2 min read

What the UK does better

The inequality gap is wider in the US than in the UK.

Schools in the UK may be slightly better – our 16-year-olds score a little higher than Americans on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Pisa study.

Crime is higher in the US. Public transport in the UK is better

PROPERTY AND MORTGAGES

I’m an expat working on a yacht – this is the mortgage I used to buy in the UK

4 min read

News – analysis

Why Americans earn so much more than Brits

GDP has been higher in the US than the UK since the 1890s, bar a short period in the 1930s when the depression was more severe for Americans.

POLITICS

Inside the Reform discontent over Farage by-election gamble

Reform UK insiders say succession planning is quietly under way after Nigel Farage’s move to stage a by-election. Despite his wider appeal, some voters in the leader’s Clacton constituency are not happy about his move.

What you need to know

By-election stunt?

Farage has been accused of a “stunt” after triggering a by-election as he faces a probe over his finances.

August 6 vote?

Farage wants a Clacton by-election to take place on August 6 – the earliest date possible.

Parties keep clear

Labour, the Tories, the Lib Dems, the Greens and Restore Britain have all vowed to boycott it.

Reform planning for post-Farage era

Reform are thought to have been planning a “succession” should Farage’s move backfire.

A source with strong links to the party said some were fighting like “rats in a sack” to be seen as the leader-in-waiting.

Despite the reports, Farage has constantly denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations were an “establishment hit job”.

POLITICS

Reform insiders angry at Farage's gamble – and say it's not their only problem

5 min read

Voters’ views in Clacton

Mark Johannsen, 65, said Farage’s decision to accept £5m from Christopher Harborne was “bad judgement”.

Zak, 26, backed the by-election move and defended Farage’s approach to donations: “All politicians take money.”

Stephen Walton, 66, said Farage was creating “chaos, dishonesty, dissatisfaction”.

Big Read

'Stop Farage' alliance dead in the water – and Burnham is being blamed

4 min read

news – dispacth

‘Clacton is the last place you’ll see Nigel’

Some locals speak fondly of sharing a pint with the Reform UK leader – but others say he’s been missing in action as a constituency MP.

HEALTH

Fears of ‘public health threat’ over sexually transmitted gut infection

Cases of a bacterial gut infection contracted through sexual contact are spreading rapidly, a new study has found. University of Cambridge experts have warned of a “distinct public health threat”.

What you need to know

Rapid spread

Sexually-transmitted cases of the shigella gut infection are spreading more rapidly than other strains.

Twice as fast

Shigella bacteria is most commonly found in faeces, and can be contracted through contaminated food.

Antibiotic problem

It is becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, according to the University of Cambridge study.

Shigella on the rise

There were 2,560 cases of sexually-transmitted shigella in England in 2025, figures show. Up from 2,052 in 2023.

Sexually-transmitted cases of the infection spread more than twice as fast in terms of distance compared to other strains.

Around 70 per cent of sexually-transmitted shigella strains were resistant to at least one clinically relevant antibiotic.

LIFESTYLE

Gold top milk is back. But is it really better for your gut health?

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Signs to look out for

Health

Symptoms of shigella

Watery diarrhoea

Feeling sick or being sick

Abdominal pain

High temperature (fever) over 38°C (100.4F)

Feeling down or depressed

Advice to prevent spread

Sexual infection is now a sustained part of shigella transmission.

Prof Kate Baker, author of the Cambridge study, said it was “vital that this message reaches the communities most affected”.

She added: “If you start to feel unwell, or are recently recovering from a scary bout of diarrhoea, do not engage in sexual activity until two weeks after you’re fully recovered, mention your sexual history to your doctor if you seek medical care, and ask about having a full sexual health screen.”

WORLD NEWS

US launches second round of strikes on Iran – what to know

Donald Trump warned the Middle East conflict could “get much worse”, after US forces said they hit about 90 targets across Iran.

What you need to know

US strikes

The US launched a second night of strikes in retaliation for Iran targeting tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian boats hit

Iranian targets hit by the US on Wednesday night include more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard small boats.

Iran strikes back

Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar all sounded sirens on early Thursday amid retaliatory Iranian fire.

What Trump says

This is retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships. If it happens again, it will get much worse

Speaking on Air Force One on his flight from the Nato summit in Turkey, Trump said Iran wanted “to make a deal so badly”, but warned the situation “could get much worse”.

He added: “I don’t know that they’re going to honour the deal. That’s the problem.”

Iran’s response

The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf

What happens next?

Sir Keir Starmer has called for a return to the ceasefire. The PM warned UK household bills would likely be hit unless the situation improved.

Nato’s general secretary Mark Rutte backed Trump’s strikes, arguing Iran has violated the ceasefire deal.

The initial ceasefire was due to last for 60 days, pending a final deal on Iran’s nuclear plans.

OPINION

Trump's Iran gamble has left him with nowhere to go

3 min read

world – analysis

How Trump’s uncomplicated war became very complicated

It was all supposed to be so uncomplicated. Assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader. Decapitate the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Encourage the Iranian people to rise up in rebellion.

news

Why everyone is suddenly talking about testosterone – even in the White House

Being “low T” has become an insult for everything deemed unmasculine, but young men “T-maxxing” risk reduced growth and infertility.

What is testosterone?

Everybody produces testosterone, but in men, healthy levels contribute to libido, muscle mass and sperm count.

The body’s ability to produce the hormone typically peaks between adolescence and early adulthood and naturally declines after 30.

What is ‘testosterone-maxxing’?

“Testosterone-maxxing,” or “T-maxxing”, is a social media trend that encourages men and boys to artificially boost their testosterone levels.

So entwined has the conflation between testosterone and the appearance of ideal masculinity become that young men are turning to illicitly purchasing supplements online.

Newsletter (£)

The report that should be an alarm bell for Brits and their money

5 min read

LIFESTYLE

I was told I was infertile – so I tried 'spermmaxxing'

5 min read

Who is endorsing testosterone?

Clavicular

The controversial influencer told his young fans he has been using synthetic testosterone since 14 to help him “feel how a man should”.

Robert F Kennedy Jr

The US Health Secretary described Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) as an “anti-ageing protocol”.

Joe Rogan

Podcaster Joe Rogan has also spoken publicly about the benefits of using TRT.

The dangers of taking testosterone

1Taking testosterone at a young age causes your bones to seal, stunting your growth.

2It can shut down your sperm production, causing infertility.

3It also increases the risk of developing other health issues like blood clots, worsened sleep apnea and prostate enlargement.

Expert opinion: Dr Jeff Foster, director of men’s health at Voy

As soon as you get a healthy person, you start giving them TRT; it’s not TRT anymore.

Dr Jeff Foster likens the use of testosterone when it’s not medically necessary to doping – taking steroids. “Testosterone has kind of been abused to become an adjective to describe everything that’s masculine,” he added.

politics

What to know as police investigate Jenrick donation

Scotland Yard has opened an investigation into a political donation of £37,500 made to Robert Jenrick’s campaign to become Conservative leader in 2024, The i Paper can reveal.

What you need to know

Police probe

The Metropolitan Police is investigating claims the donation originated from a foreign donor.

Donation rules

It is illegal to accept political donations from foreign sources under UK electoral law.

Jenrick denial

Jenrick, who defected from to Reform UK in January, has repeatedly denied breaching electoral laws.

The allegations

The allegations relate to a £100,000 donation Jenrick received from British entrepreneur Phillip Ullmann, via a company called Spott Fitness, during his 2024 campaign.

However, it has been claimed that £37,500 of the amount came from a US business associate of Ullmann, Gary Klopfenstein, subsequently been convicted of fraud.

Big Read

Reform leaders fighting like 'rats in a sack' over who could replace Farage

6 min read

What Jenrick says

It is no surprise that an establishment determined to stop Reform … would resort to making these demonstrably untrue claims

Jenrick told The i Paper he has had “no contact with the Met Police whatsoever”.

A spokesperson said Jenrick has never had any contact with Klopfenstein, nor was he aware of any connection between him and Ullmann’s donation.

READ THE EXCLUSIVE STORY

Police launch investigation into Jenrick donation

The Scotland Yard probe will increase pressure on Nigel Farage’s party, which is facing increased scrutiny over its finances.

BENEFITS

The four things we found out from the PIP review

The current system of disability benefits is “no longer fit for purpose”, a Government review has found. Sir Stephen Timms’s interim report has promised “bold” reform of personal independence payments (PIP).

What you need to know

The PIP system

PIP, which can be worth up to around £800 a month, helps disabled people pay for the extra costs of daily living.

PIP faces reform

The Timms review was launched when Labour ditched PIP cuts after a backbench rebellion last year.

‘Not working’

The final Timms report is not due until autumn, but the interim report states: “PIP is not working.”

Four things we learned

1PIP faces a complete overhaul. Changes will be “bold in nature”, promised and “radical in our thinking”, the report stated.

2The points-based assessment system could be axed. Sir Stephen Timms said although the review could come up with something “completely different”.

3PIP could be cut back for those with ADHD, autism and anxiety, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has suggested.

4PIP could be linked to work for the first time. PIP can be “a barrier to work and an active community life”, said Timms’s review team.

The figures behind PIP

PIP claims among young people

£6.5bn

Benefits spending on young people

This is the total spending figure on PIP alone by 2031/32.

64%

The combined share of anxiety or depression, autism and ADHD reported as the primary condition.

This figure was 49% among 16-24-year-olds in 2020.

READ THE FULL STORY

PIP points system faces the axe

Disability minister Stephen Timms tells The i Paper the current, points-based assessment system could be replaced entirely, as a landmark review finds it “broken”.

Trump succeeded in getting Balogun’s one-match ban suspended, to huge outcry from European footballing associations and even the EU itself, only for the USA to crash out ignominiously against Belgium anyway, in a 4–1 defeat.

Perhaps deciding that attack was the best form of defence, Giuliani said that Trump’s decision to call Infantino was dwarfed by a “much graver decision” made in relation to the England vs Mexico game.

There had been talks around rescheduling the kick-off of this game to be six hours earlier, apparently owing to concerns around thunderstorms in the area of the stadium. UK officials said they had largely been excluded from these discussions, which would have reduced the time available to England players to acclimatise to the elevation of the Estadio Azteca, about 7,000ft above sea level.

Starmer confirmed he had made representations to Fifa opposing the change – and the game eventually took place without major incident at its original kick-off time. But according to Giuliani, this represented Starmer interfering with the tournament and putting lives at risk in the process.

“In the round of 32 after the match, three Mexicans died in this celebration,” Giuliani said. “And there were discussions about moving that match time from the evening to noon so then that way you would have less risk of life to Mexicans. That’s far graver when you actually think about the consequences, the potential consequences, that anything that happens on the pitch right there.”

Giuliani is right that three people died in the celebrations following Mexico’s victory over Ecuador, reportedly due to asphyxiation – a common cause of death when crowds are too tightly packed, and more than one million people had taken to the streets following the game. But this wasn’t the publicly stated reason for moving the match – instead, it was the weather. Blaming Starmer for Mexican policing failures perhaps seems a little harsh.

Some might note that Giuliani’s comparison between the two interventions doesn’t really hold, either. The discussion around changing the timing of a game is necessarily a political one, involving the affected nations, their football associations, and Fifa. Trump, by contrast, involved himself directly in a decision made on the pitch during the game. The two things aren’t the same, however hard Trump’s White House tries to imply otherwise.

But that double standard is nothing compared to the bitter irony of Trump’s White House suddenly caring about the wellbeing of Mexico or Mexicans. Ever since the start of his first presidential run, Trump has constantly denigrated Mexico, threatened it, and even suggested he might take it over, or send in US special forces.

Trump has accused Mexico of “orchestrating much of the bloodshed and chaos in this hemisphere”, said “the cartels are running Mexico”, and routinely referred to tens of thousands of murders taking place in Mexico as a reason to shut the US border. He said Mexico was “not sending their best” when Mexicans moved to the US to build themselves a better life. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems…,” he said in some of his most infamous remarks. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

The Trump White House has hardly treated the lives of Latin Americans as sacrosanct. It has bombed civilian fishing boats in the name of the “war on drugs”, without even barebones justification under international law. It is blockading Cuba to the point of starvation. It is detaining those it suspects of being “illegal immigrants” in inhumane detention centres across the USA.

Against that backdrop, people might be sceptical of the sudden concern shown by a senior White House official for the wellbeing of the people of Mexico, and the supposed outrage towards Starmer for putting them at risk.

Mexican lives matter to the White House after all – at least, they do when there’s some political mileage to be had out of them.