US elections - The African Mirror

Nov

2020

Africans amused but alarmed by U.S. election’s aftermath

LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY and SALIOU SAMB FOR plenty of Africans, President Donald Trump’s actions in the aftermath of the U.S. election have been a cause for dark humour, but others have reacted with dismay or disbelief. In countries whose own recent elections were marred by accusations of cheating and violence, some expressed alarm about the signal that Trump’s premature declaration of victory, allegations of fraud and flurry of lawsuits might send to their own leaders. “Trump is setting a bad example for Africa and a country like ours. You cannot proclaim yourself in an election where you are a candidate when…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Police arrest 10 in Portland, 50 in New York on night after U.S. vote

WORLD

KANISHKA SINGH POLICE in the city of Portland made arrests and seized fireworks, hammers and a rifle after late night demonstrations, as Oregon Governor Kate Brown activated the state's National Guard in response to "widespread violence" on the night after voting in the U.S. presidential election. Portland Police said it arrested ten people in the demonstrations after declaring riots in the city's downtown area while the New York Police Department (NYPD) said it made about 50 arrests in protests that spread in the city late on Wednesday. "All of the gatherings that were declared riots were downtown. We have made…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

AMERICA DECIDES…

WORLD

TREVOR HUNNICUTT, DIONA CHIAU and JOSEPH AX AFTER a rancorous presidential campaign that exposed the depth of the political divisions in the United States, Americans have streamed to the polls to choose either incumbent Donald Trump or challenger Joe Biden to lead a pandemic-battered nation for the next four years. Voters lined up around the country to cast ballots, with no signs yet of disruptions at polling places that some had feared after a protracted campaign marked by provocative rhetoric in a deeply divided America. Ahead of Election Day, just over 100 million voters cast early ballots either by mail…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

U.S. TV news networks aim for credibility, not speed, on election night

WORLD

HELEN COSTER IN preparing for election night, some top U.S. television news executives see a cautionary tale in a notorious November evening two decades ago. After major networks projected Vice President Al Gore the winner in the crucial state of Florida, they pivoted in the wee hours to calling his Republican rival George W. Bush the next president. The margin was so slim, Gore conceded, then took it back an hour later. The election wouldn't be decided for more than a month. The only loss that night was the networks' credibility. "I think 2000 still sort of lingers over everyone,"…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ten moments that defined the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign

WORLD

JAMES OLIPHANT WITH Donald Trump running for re-election, the 2020 U.S. presidential election was always expected to be a dramatic and eventful ride. But nobody predicted a global pandemic that would upend every facet of the campaign. Here are 10 pivotal moments from a dizzying election year: 1. TRUMP ACQUITTED, February 5, 2020 At the beginning of the year, things were looking up for the Republican president. Trump's Senate impeachment trial ended with him cleared on two charges brought by Democrats. The fallout from the Mueller Report was no longer hanging over his head. The economy was roaring – and…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Insults and interruptions mar first Trump-Biden debate

WORLD

JARRETT RENSHAW and STEVE HOLLAND US PRESIDENT Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden battled fiercely over Trump's record on the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare and the economy in a chaotic and bad-tempered first debate marked by personal insults and Trump's repeated interruptions. Trump bulldozed his way through the 90-minute debate, trying to goad Biden nearly every time he spoke, claiming that Democrats were trying to steal the November presidential election with mail-in ballots and declining to condemn white supremacist groups when asked to do so. Moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News never established control of the debate, with Trump repeatedly…