International

Donald Trump, the master of provocation who never admits defeat

Always attack, never apologize and never admit defeat. They are the lessons that Donald Trump learned as a young man and a manual that has guided his life until today, when this businessman turned politician caresses his goal of returning to the White House despite his turbulent first term.

This Tuesday’s elections between former Republican president and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris are the third to which Trump is presented, but in none of the previous polls had given him as many options to win as now.

This 78-year-old master of provocation has managed to re-elay a political career that seemed over when in 2021 he left the White House defeated with a country divided by a controversial presidency that had an explosive end with the assault on the Capitol.

For Trump, the duel with Harris is not only an opportunity to rewrite his legacy, but also a matter of almost personal survival since returning to power would allow him to avoid the pending accounts he has with Justice.

A tycoon turned president

Born on June 14, 1946 in Queens (New York) to a family of German descent, Donald John Trump graduated in Finance, at the age of 28 took over from his father’s real estate and built a millionaire empire not exempt from controversies over debts and tax evasion.

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But his political career could not be explained without the fame he acquired thanks to the world of entertainment and television. He even presented his own program, “The Apprentice”, in which he dismissed contestants who intended to work in his company.

When in 2015 he went down the golden escalators of the Trump Tower to announce his first presidential race, the Republican Party took it as a joke, but his ‘outsider’ image catapulted him to the nomination.

He promised to build a border wall and, against all odds, won the 2016 election to Hillary Clinton. The tycoon had managed to connect with the white working class who felt like a victim of globalization and wanted to make the United States “big again.”

Thus was born Trumpism, one of the most important political movements in the history of the United States and that has influenced the populist right around the world.

Donald Trump and an incendiary mandate

Since he came to power, Trump embraced insult and confrontation as a political style and ruled on Twitter. Although he popularized the concept of ‘fake news’ to attack the media, he himself was a great diffuser of lies.

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The questionable management of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial riots dynamited his re-election, which months earlier seemed assured by the good performance of the economy.

He lost in 2020 against Joe Biden although, true to his style, he never admitted defeat and spread the biggest of his lies: that of electoral fraud.

The courts rejected all their demands, but a mob of Trumpist fanatics assaulted the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in a last frustrated attempt to stop the transition of powers.

“We will return somehow,” Trump said as he left Washington repudiated by his allies and when he seemed ostracized.

The resurgence

But the tycoon never disappeared from the front line; he capitalized on the discontent over the high inflation and used his various judicial messes to his advantage, including his accusation for the assault on the Capitol and the conviction for irregular payments to the porn actress Stormy Daniels, the first conviction of a former president and who is still pending sentence.

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He campaigned with a photo of his police file as if he were a politically persecuted and swept this year without rumsing his hair in the Republican Party primaries, which has been molded to his image and likeness.

A cult of the leader that reached its maximum splendor on July 13 when Trump dodged a bullet by the hair in an assassination attempt at an electoral rally, a scene that was immortalized in his iconic photo with his fist raised and his ear bloody.

Donald Trump, doesn’t change his rhetoric

The Republican has not moderated his rhetoric: he has insinuated that he would be “dictator for a day,” he has accused migrants of eating their neighbors’ pets and has refused to apologize after a comedian at one of his rallies called Puerto Rico a “garbage island.”

Although they live apart, her return to the presidency would also be the return as first lady of Slovenian model Melania Trump, her third marriage after Ivana Trump and Marla Maples.

With an unmistakable blond hairstyle and orange tan, Trump does not drink, loves hamburgers and is very superstitious: campaigning at a McDonald’s he spilled the salt and threw himself a little over his shoulder as a spell against bad luck. There is a lot at stake.

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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.

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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.