International
Donald Trump pulls on economics and geopolitics to reverse his negative trend in the polls
Former American President Donald Trump (2017-2021) bet this Thursday for a speech with a slow tone, a “amiable” mood in geopolitical terms and a content deeply focused on the economy at a crucial moment for the future of the November elections.
“Harris is a communist, he destroys everything he touches. If he takes office, his finances will suffer. Inflation will be our priority from day one,” Trump said in the first minute of a press conference from his private golf club in Bedminster (New Jersey).
The latest polls show that, since the Democratic Party named Vice President Kamala Harris as its candidate for the presidential elections, support for the former president has fallen and the notable advantage that distanced him from Joe Biden has almost vanished.
The latest update of the FiveThirtyEight poll average, carried out today, gives Harris approximately 46.4% of the national vote, compared to Trump’s 43.4%.
From the same golf club in which he took refuge after his assassination attempt last month, Trump appeared flanked by four shelves with basic food products and several dozen followers who enthusiastically applauded his proclamations.
“We had mortgages at 2% and now they are at 10%. Every month, inflation costs Americans thousands of dollars. Only in food they are paying 148 dollars each month,” said the Republican candidate between cans of Campbell’s tomatoes, Cheerios cereals and packaged meat.
Trump described as “Kamala’s crash” the black day for the international stock exchanges on August 5 but, once the market was stabilized, he could not recycle the argument and limited himself to qualifying his hypothetical financial management as “a disaster for the United States.”
In addition, immigration was once again the origin of the main evils of the United States in a shrewed argument already for Trump, who said that “while this happens, millions of people cross the border and we don’t even know who they are.”
“Criminals, rapists and people with mental problems,” repeated the former president, claiming that many of them come from Latin America.
Trump referred to this region, and more specifically Venezuela, when he said that if Kamala Harris arrives at the White House he will apply what he called the “Maduro Plan” to impose economic policies “of Venezuela or the Soviet Union” in the United States “with disastrous consequences.”
It was not the only foreign nation to which the tycoon alluded: he said that he will be “amiable” with Iran if he returns to the Oval Office and reiterated that during his mandate there was no open conflict in the Gaza Strip or a war in Ukraine because the international community “respected” it.
“I don’t want to misbehave with Iran. We are going to be friendly (…) I hope we are friendly, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon because once they have it, it’s a totally different world,” he said.
Shortly after, he explained that in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in July he urged him to end the war in Gaza, also corroborating that he has not had any recent conversation with him.
“I encounted him to end this. It has to end quickly. Get your victory and finish it. The massacre has to stop,” he said, about the meeting they held on July 26 in their mansion in Mar-a-Lago (Florida).
Trump tried to convey tranquility and confidence in defeating Harris, something that he said will be “easier than defeating Biden” but that does not agree with the nervousness and the way of proceeding of his campaign in recent days.
The ambiguous label of “weird” about his running mate JD Vance has been one of the slabs that has fallen with the most weight, to which Trump responded today that the Democratic bench is “radical” and is “sick.”
“He is a great Yale student, a self-made man. I don’t know what it’s like to be weird for them,” he said.
Trump lavished himself for an hour and a half and then admitted several questions from the press, on the same day that Harris made his first joint public appearance with Joe Biden since he gave him the witness, celebrating a price control measure for patients in the Medicare health system.
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.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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