International
From Kennedy’s tan to Bush’s watch. Keys to surviving a U.S. presidential debate.
The president of the United States, Democrat Joe Biden, and former Republican president Donald Trump face each other this Thursday in the first televised face-to-face of the November 5 elections and will write a new page in the long history of presidential debates in the North American country.
But they have to learn from successes and mistakes made in the most memorable debates of the American elections. These are some keys to surviving a presidential face to face.
Democrat John F. Kennedy arrived tanned and relaxed at the first televised debate in the country’s history, while Republican Richard Nixon underestimated the power of the small screen, did not want to put on makeup and appeared sweaty and uncomfortable.
Those who listened to the debate on the radio gave Nixon as the winner, but the television audience was seduced by the impeccable image and charisma of Kennedy, who ended up winning the elections by a narrow margin.
Democratic President Jimmy Carter agreed to debate only once with Ronald Reagan, but lost to the Republican, who was much more charismatic and close to viewers, with several phrases that would become slogans.
In a failed attempt to connect with voters, Carter revealed a conversation he had with his 13-year-old daughter Amy, in which she told him that her biggest concern was nuclear disarmament. The president was ridiculed and caricatured for leading national security based on what his minor daughter told him.
At 73, Reagan was then the oldest president in the country’s history, far from Biden’s 81 or Trump’s 78, and many questioned his ability to continue governing the country, but in the second debate with Walter Mondale he turned the criticism around with a joke that catapulted him towards re-election.
When the moderator asked him if he had the necessary resistance to handle a national security crisis, he replied ironically: “I will not make age a central issue in this campaign. I am not going to exploit my opponent’s youth and inexperience for political purposes.”
In 1992, the first debate was held with questions from the public, but that appointment is remembered because the cameras captured President George H. W. Bush looking at his watch to see the time, reflecting that he was uncomfortable about the more loquacious performance of Democrat Bill Clinton, who would become president.
Non-verbal language also played a trick on Democratic Vice President Al Gore in 2000, since in the first debate he sighed several times while George W. Bush spoke and in the third he approached the Republican candidate in an intimidating way, causing the mockery of the public.
Republican Mitt Romney attacked President Barack Obama in 2012 for the reduction of Navy ships compared to 1917 and he responded with a snoas: “We also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our Army has changed. We have things called aircraft carriers, where planes land, and ships that dive, called nuclear submarines.”
The phrase “horses and bayonets” went viral, something that the campaigns will also look for this year, aware of the power of social networks and memes when it comes to amplifying blundrums or verbal slash.
Thursday will not be the first time that Trump and Biden debate in front of the cameras, since they already had two face-to-face in the 2020 elections, in the midst of an unusual campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first of the debates is remembered for Trump’s constant interruptions to Biden, which exhausted the patience of the Democrat, who said to the then president: “Do you want to shut up, man?”
The teams of both have agreed that during the next debate only the microphone of the candidate who has the turn of speaking will be turned on to avoid interruptions.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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