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
China shows at the UN its “condemnation” of Israel for the “violation of Iran’s sovereignty”
The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Fu Cong, showed the “condemnation” of his country against the “violation of the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Iran” after the air attack launched by Israel against multiple targets in that country, the official newspaper Diario del Pueblo reports this Saturday.
That media echoes Fu’s speech to the UN Security Council on Friday, in which he demanded that Israel “immediately stop all its military actions.”
“China (…) opposes the expansion of conflicts, and is deeply concerned about the serious consequences that may arise from Israel’s actions. The intensification of regional tensions does not interest any of the parties involved,” said the Chinese emissary.
Beijing called on Tel Aviv and Tehran to “resolve their disputes through political and diplomatic means, and maintain peace and stability at the regional level jointly.”
In Fu’s view, the Israeli attack will have a “negative impact” on the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program: “China has always been committed to the peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and consultations, and opposes the use of force, illegal unilateral sanctions and armed attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities.”
This Friday, China had already expressed its willingness to “play a constructive role” to curb the escalation of tensions and facilitate conciliation, in line with its traditional position of active neutrality in the region’s conflicts.
The Israeli attack, which according to Tehran caused dozens of deaths, including senior military commanders and at least six nuclear scientists, targeted key facilities such as the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Numerous civilian casualties were also reported.
Israel justified the offensive by claiming that the Iranian regime is secretly developing a program to manufacture nuclear weapons.
For his part, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, promised a “severe response” and assured that the attack would reveal the “evil nature” of Israel.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also expressed concern about the bombing, at a time when Iran and the US The United States is holding talks about the Iranian nuclear program.
International
Donald Trump’s government pauses its program of indiscriminate raides against migrants
The government of US President Donald Trump has decided to pause its campaign of discretionary roundings against migrants in certain areas due to its apparent concern about the growing unpopularity of these methods, according to The New York Times newspaper on Friday.
According to an email to which the newspaper has had access and the confirmation of US officials, the Executive has ordered the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) to pause the beatings that affect the agricultural industry and the hospitality industry.
The spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed in a statement that “the president’s instructions” will be obeyed and the portfolio will also continue to “work to get the worst illegal foreign criminals out of the streets of the United States.”
The decision points out that this campaign of discretionary arrests to try to deport large-scale immigrants is harming industries and electoral constituencies whose support Trump wants to retain for next year’s legislative elections.
The new instructions were transmitted to ICE in an email sent last Thursday asking that “all investigations/law enforcement operations be suspended in work centers in the agricultural sector (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and hotels.”
These new guidelines come in turn after more than a week of intense protests in Los Angeles against this immigration policy and that Trump himself admitted that the raids seem to be affecting the agricultural sector, which in states like California, where beatings have intensified, depend almost exclusively on immigrant labor.
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has implemented an aggressive policy of hard hand against immigration and as a sample of his Cabinet officials recently held a meeting with the ICE leadership to order them to carry out 3,000 arrests a day, a mandate that seems to be behind the intensification of the raids.
International
Trump says he knew “everything” about the attack on Iran and assures that the dialogue remains open
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington “known everything” about the Israeli attack on Iran and that the dialogue on Tehran’s nuclear program “is not dead.”
“We knew everything and I tried to avoid Iran all this humiliation and death. I tried hard to avoid it because I would have loved to see an agreement,” Trump said in an interview with Reuters.
The US president insisted on what he wrote today about the attack on social networks, where he said he gave an ultimatum of 60 days to Tehran to reach an agreement.
“We knew practically everything. We knew enough to give Iran 60 days to reach an agreement and today it is already 61 days,” he explained in the interview, in which he said he did not know what the current situation of the Iranian nuclear program is after the attack launched by Israel, which also ended the lives of key military leaders of the Persian country.
Regarding the dialogue between the US and Iran about the nuclear program of the ayatollahs, Trump assured that “he is not dead”, that “an agreement is still possible” and also recalled that on Sunday a sixth round of dialogue is scheduled in Muscat (Oman) that they consider is now in the air.
“We have a meeting with them on Sunday. Now, I’m not sure if that meeting will take place, but we have a meeting with them on Sunday,” he said.
The United States and Iran have held five rounds of talks on the Iranian nuclear program since April, with Washington demanding that Tehran discard its capabilities both to manufacture an atomic bomb and to enrich uranium, something that the ayatollahs considered unacceptable.
Both Israel and Trump himself had warned of possible preventive attacks on the Persian country due to this refusal by Iran.
First woman elected president in the Americas, Violeta Chamorro, dead at 95
Nicaraguan exile coalition urges Costa Rica to receive U.S. deportees fleeing Ortega regime
China shows at the UN its “condemnation” of Israel for the “violation of Iran’s sovereignty”
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America5 days agoPanama begins reverse migration by sea for 109 stranded migrants
-
International5 days agoDefense Secretary: National Guard deployment aims to preempt unrest nationwide
-
International4 days agoOne survivor confirmed after Air India flight crashes with 242 on board
-
International5 days agoMexico apologizes to Guatemala for police incursion after armed clash
-
International4 days agoShark attacks child in Florida
-
International5 days agoMiguel Uribe remains critical but shows progress following assassination attempt
-
International4 days agoOver 200 dead after London-Bound plane crashes in India
-
International4 days agoUncle Sam used in DHS poster calling for public to report immigrants
-
International5 days agoProposed U.S. tax threatens Mexico’s record remittance inflows
-
International3 days agoICE under fire for detaining undocumented teen from Florida foster care
-
International2 days agoChina shows at the UN its “condemnation” of Israel for the “violation of Iran’s sovereignty”
-
International4 days agoAt least five others involved in attack on Miguel Uribe Turbay
-
International4 days agoHegseth dodges lawmakers’ questions on potential U.S. invasion plans for Greenland, Panama
-
International5 days agoMexico sees 13.5% increase in international tourists in April 2025
-
International4 days agoArgentine government says Cristina Fernández sentence was fair and free of political influence
-
International2 days agoDonald Trump’s government pauses its program of indiscriminate raides against migrants
-
International5 days agoNoboa extends emergency rule—but prisons and mining hub excluded by court
-
International3 days agoIsrael warns of retaliation after iranian missiles hit civilian areas
-
International4 days agoEight Killed in Gaza as Hamas allegedly attacks Israel-Backed aid group
-
International5 days agoCuban and chinese officials agree to expand cooperation amid official visit
-
International2 days agoTrump says he knew “everything” about the attack on Iran and assures that the dialogue remains open
-
International3 days agoCalifornia sues Trump over deployment of military forces in immigration arrests
-
International2 days agoRight and far right leaders aspire to win the next elections in Latin America
-
International2 days agoMore than 2,000 protests in the US will condemn Donald Trump’s “authoritarianism” this Saturday
-
Central America15 hours agoNicaraguan exile coalition urges Costa Rica to receive U.S. deportees fleeing Ortega regime
-
International2 days agoCriticism of ICE in Florida for arresting a minor from Honduras and taking him away from a foster family
-
Central America15 hours agoFirst woman elected president in the Americas, Violeta Chamorro, dead at 95