International

Biden and Trump face super tuesday with nominations virtually assured

President Joe Biden and his main rival, former President Donald Trump, are poised for an unusual Super Tuesday, the key day for presidential primaries ahead of the November elections, where both their nominations are nearly guaranteed.

Biden faces no significant opposition within the Democratic ranks as the incumbent president, while Trump enjoys an unusual advantage in the Republican primaries, with only former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley attempting to challenge him with limited success.

Super Tuesday is the day when the most states vote to determine presidential candidates: this year, 15 out of the 50 states, including California and Texas, the largest in the United States.

Democratic and Republican voters also participate in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia.

Additionally, Alaska holds Republican primaries, while Democrats vote abroad and in the territories of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

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More than 35% of the delegates who will convene at the Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Democratic convention in Chicago, Illinois, to choose their presidential candidate will be at stake.

Traditionally, Super Tuesday has served as a turning point in the opposition’s candidate selection due to the large number of delegates at stake.

However, Trump enters this day with an air of invincibility, having swept nearly all contests since the Republican primaries began with the Iowa caucuses on January 15.

All his rivals have already dropped out of the race except for Haley, who only managed to defeat the New York magnate in the District of Columbia primaries this past weekend, a victory with little political weight.

Indeed, the big question is whether Haley’s candidacy will survive Super Tuesday or if she will succumb to mounting pressure from her party and donors to throw in the towel.

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Realities of Trump and Biden

Furthermore, Trump (2017-2021) faces the polls emboldened after his legal victory on Monday, when the Supreme Court ordered the lifting of his disqualification from the Colorado primaries, a state also voting on Tuesday.

The unanimous ruling also put an end to the attempts of Illinois and Maine to remove the former Republican president from the process.

Meanwhile, Biden prevailed on Super Tuesday in 2020 over his then-Democratic rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, and four years later, he enters this contest with little internal competition.

Since the Democratic primaries began on February 3 in South Carolina, he has only lost two delegates in the internal elections in Michigan, where a protest vote was organized over the Gaza war.

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Despite their indisputable advantage, neither Biden nor Trump will mathematically clinch the nomination on Super Tuesday and will have to wait a few more days.

Even in the hypothetical scenario where they secured all the delegates at stake, Biden would still not reach the magical figure of 1,968 needed to secure the Democratic nomination, nor would Trump reach the 1,215 needed.

International

US panel backs Trump-themed coin amid controversy

The United States Department of the Treasury confirmed to AFP that the Commission of Fine Arts approved the design of a new collectible coin featuring Donald Trump, with members of the commission appointed by the current administration.

According to the proposal, the coin will feature an image of Trump standing with clenched fists over a desk on the obverse, while the reverse will display an eagle, a traditional symbol of the United States.

The sale price of the collectible has not yet been disclosed, although the United States Mint typically offers similar items for more than $1,000.

“There is no more iconic portrait for the front of these coins than that of our president Donald Trump,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement sent to AFP. He added that two additional coins — a $1 piece and a one-ounce gold coin — are also under consideration.

However, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), another body responsible for reviewing new coin proposals, declined to discuss the Trump design in late February.

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“Only nations governed by kings or dictators place the image of a sitting leader on their currency,” said Donald Scarinciat the time. “No country in the world has minted coins featuring a democratically elected leader during their term in office,” he added.

When contacted by AFP, the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.

International

Fed’s Waller warns of rising inflation risks amid Middle East conflict

Christopher Waller, a governor at the Federal Reserve, said Friday that he is increasingly concerned about the inflationary impact of the ongoing conflict involving United States and Israel against Iran, particularly due to the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Waller, who had supported interest rate cuts over the past year amid concerns about the labor market, said he has shifted his stance in recent weeks due to rising inflation risks.

“Since the Strait of Hormuz was closed, it suggests this conflict could be much more prolonged and that oil prices will remain elevated for longer,” Waller said in an interview with CNBC.

“Therefore, this indicates that inflation is a greater concern than I had previously assessed,” he added.

Waller also backed the Federal Reserve’s decision earlier this week to keep interest rates unchanged, signaling a more cautious approach as global geopolitical tensions continue to affect economic outlooks.

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International

Brazil offers to mediate Colombia-Ecuador tensions, calls for restraint

The government of Brazil has offered to mediate in the ongoing tensions between Colombia and Ecuador, while calling on both nations to exercise restraint.

In a statement released Wednesday, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the parties involved to act with moderation and seek a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

“Brazil encourages all sides to act with moderation in order to find a peaceful solution to the controversy. It stands ready to support dialogue efforts aimed at preserving peace and security in the region,” the statement said.

Brazil also expressed “serious concern” over reports of deaths in the border area between Colombia and Ecuador, noting that the circumstances surrounding the incidents have not yet been clarified.

The diplomatic move comes amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries, increasing regional concern over stability and security along their shared border.