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Donald Trump has launched “powerful and deadly” strikes on Christmas Day against Islamic State militants in Nigeria, weeks after the US president warned against any systemic assault on Christians in the country.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday that he had “previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was”.
The president also said in the post: “May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
The attacks – confirmed by Nigeria’s foreign ministry – mark the first in Nigeria by US forces under Trump.
Here are the day’s top Trump administration stories at a glance.
US launches Christmas Day strikes on IS targets in Nigeria
The US military’s Africa Command said the attack on Islamic State militants was carried out in Sokoto state in north-western Nigeria in coordination with the Nigerian authorities.
The attacks come after Trump unexpectedly berated the west African nation in October and November, saying Christians there faced an “existential threat”, in a move welcomed by some but interpreted by others as inflaming religious tensions in Africa’s most populous country.
Nigeria’s government and independent analysts reject framing the country’s violence in terms of religious persecution – a narrative long used by the Christian right in the US and Europe.
US labor unions gear up to fight against Trump’s ‘Billionaire First’ agenda
Donald Trump has staged a year of “unrelenting attacks on working people”, according to the head of the largest federation of the labor unions in the US.
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said her group was gearing up to challenge the US president’s “Billionaire First” agenda in 2026 – and drive candidates in key elections to stand up for “struggling” Americans.
In an interview with the Guardian, she described how the federation has pushed to restore collective bargaining rights for federal workers, and filed lawsuits against the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken unions and worker protections.
British campaigner challenges Trump administration’s deportation threat
A British anti-disinformation campaigner close to prime minister Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has launched a legal challenge against the Trump administration after being told he could face deportation from the US in a row over freedom of speech.
Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, has filed a complaint against senior Trump allies including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the attorney general, Pam Bondi, in an attempt to prevent what he says would be an unconstitutional arrest and removal.
What else we read today:
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When Donald Trump addressed supporters in Pennsylvania early this month, he asked: “Susie Trump – do you know Susie Trump? Sometimes referred to as Susie Wiles” – suggesting she was now one of the family. The US president was referring to his chief of staff – but a week later, Wiles appeared at risk of becoming the family outcast, after a Vanity Fair magazine profile she claimed had been selectively quoted. The bombshell article raised questions over Wiles’s motivations, her ideological alignment with Trump and her future as the linchpin of his administration
Catching up? Here’s what happened Wendesday 24 December.
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