U.S. president - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

By ARSHAD MOHAMMED, MATT SPETALNICK and STEVE HOLLAND

Biden ultimatum to Netanyahu: protect Gaza civilians, or else

U.S. President Joe Biden effectively gave Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an ultimatum: protect Palestinian civilians and foreign aid workers in Gaza or Washington could rein in support for Israel in its war against Hamas militants. The message, after months of U.S. calls for Israel to change its military tactics that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, followed an Israeli attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers and triggered global outrage. Israel admits the strike was a mistake. The White House did not say exactly what steps it wanted Netanyahu to take, nor what it would do if…

Dec

2023

By ANDREW GOUDSWARD and JACK QUEEN

Trump barred from Colorado primary ballot for role in US Capitol attack

WORLD

FORMER President Donald Trump is disqualified from serving as U.S. president and cannot appear on the primary ballot in Colorado because of his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, the state's top court ruled Tuesday. The historic 4-3 ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court, likely to be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, makes Trump the first presidential candidate deemed ineligible for the White House under a rarely used constitutional provision that bars officials who have engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding office. The ruling applies only to Colorado's March 5 Republican…

Dec

2023

By TIM REID

Trump: I won’t be a dictator if I become U.S. president again

WORLD

DONALD Trump said that he will not become a dictator if he becomes U.S. president again except "on day one", after warnings from Democrats and some Republicans that America was in danger of becoming an autocracy if he wins the 2024 election. Republican presidential candidate Trump had to be asked twice during a televised town hall event in Iowa to deny that he would abuse power to seek revenge on political opponents if re-elected to the White House. "No. No. Other than day one," Trump said when asked to deny he would become a "dictator" if he wins the November…

Dec

2023

By TREVOR HUNNICUTT

Biden plots trip to Angola as promise of Africa trip lingers

NEWS

U.S. President Joe Biden said that he will visit Angola in a trip that could mark renewed engagement with Africa at a time of international turmoil. "I have been there and I will be back," Biden said when asked about visiting the country during an Oval Office meeting with his Angolan counterpart, Joao Lourenco. Biden did not specify when the meeting would take place. The White House did not respond to a request for additional details. The U.S. president, seeking re-election next year and facing a range of foreign policy challenges from Ukraine to Israel, has drawn attention for the…

Nov

2023

By NATHAN LAYNE

Trump vows to kill Asia trade deal being pursued by Biden if elected

WORLD

DONALD Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, said that he would kill off a Pacific trade pact being advanced by U.S. President Joe Biden if he were to win the 2024 election and return to the White House. Speaking to supporters in Iowa, Trump said he was against the regional trade deal being negotiated by the Biden administration with 13 other countries, arguing that it would hollow out U.S. manufacturing and trigger job losses. Talks on the trade sections of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which is aimed at offering the region an alternative to China's growing trade…

Nov

2023

By TREVOR HUNNICUTT and JEFF MASON

Biden calls Xi a dictator after carefully planned summit

WORLD

U.S. President Joe Biden said that he had not changed his view that Chinese President Xi Jinping was effectively a dictator, a comment likely to land with a thud in Beijing after the two leaders held straightforward summit talks. Biden held a solo news conference after four hours of talks with Xi on the outskirts of San Francisco. At the end of the news conference, he was asked whether he still held the view that Xi was a dictator, something he said in June. "Look, he is. He's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

US to evict Gabon, Niger, Uganda and Central African Republic from trade program

NEWS

U.S. President Joe Biden said that he intends to end the participation of Gabon, Niger, Uganda and the Central African Republic in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program. Biden said he was taking the step because of "gross violations" of internationally recognized human rights by the Central African Republic and Uganda. He also cited Niger and Gabon's failure to establish or make continual progress toward the protection of political pluralism and the rule of law. "Despite intensive engagement between the United States and the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda, these countries have failed to address…

Oct

2023

By STEVE HOLLAND, MATT SPETALNICK and HUMEYRA PAMUK

Behind Biden’s shift on Israel-Hamas war: Gaza deaths, international pressure

WORLD

U.S. President Joe Biden and his team have markedly shifted their tone on the Israel-Hamas crisis in recent days, moving from unfettered support of Israel to emphasizing the need to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza ahead of a looming Israeli ground invasion. Biden has not changed his fundamental belief that Israel has the right and responsibility to defend itself in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack from Hamas militants that killed 1,400 people in southern Israel, aides say. But a rapidly rising Palestinian death toll, the difficulty of freeing hostages held by Hamas and an increasingly vocal outcry from Arab…

Jun

2023

By TREVOR HUNNICUTT and RYAN WOO

China lashes back as Biden labels Xi a ‘dictator’

WORLD

CHINA hit back after U.S. President Joe Biden referred to President Xi Jinping as a "dictator", saying the remarks were absurd and a provocation, in an unexpected spat immediately following efforts by both sides to lower tensions. Biden's comments came just a day after top U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing to stabilize bilateral relations that China says are at their lowest point since formal ties were established. Attending a fundraiser in California, Biden said Xi was very embarrassed when a suspected Chinese spy balloon was blown off course over U.S. airspace early this year, making a personal comment on…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Reaction: Biden, McCarthy debt ceiling deal

WORLD

U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy have reached a tentative deal to raise the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, ending a months-long stalemate. Here are some quotes from the announcement and reactions to the news: DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN "Earlier this evening, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement in principle. "It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone. And, the agreement protects my and Congressional Democrats' key priorities and legislative accomplishments. "The agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets…