'It's the very soul of America'
'The very soul of America' |
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Biden lays a wreath at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. |
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Labor Day usually heralds the frenetic and bitter last stretch towards US presidential elections. But Memorial Day, the public holiday informally ushering in summer, seemed a better marker this year. The late-May Monday when Americans remember fallen soldiers offered a brief respite from what is already looking like one of the most ferocious periods in modern American political history: - On Tuesday, Trump will return to the Manhattan courtroom where he is facing his first criminal trial. Lawyers for both sides will crystalize their cases in closing arguments before the jury retires to decide whether, for the first time, an ex-president will be convicted of a crime.
- Then, as soon as the verdict is announced, attention will switch to the unusually early first presidential debate at the end of June on CNN. President Joe Biden has a strong interest in an earlier-than-usual head-to-head confrontation that could change the momentum in the race. The president also wants Americans to feel the shock of Trump's wild, anti-democratic personality on live TV.
While presidential debates have traditionally been in the fall, the growing prevalence of early and mail-in voting is a reason to shift debates earlier. A second presidential debate has been scheduled for September on ABC. Trump is pushing for more one-on-one showdowns with Biden.
- All of this comes as senior Republicans backing the former president refuse to give solid guarantees that they will accept the result of November's election – saying they'll only do so if it's "fair." This leaves a strong impression that Trump's team is gearing up to argue that only an election that he wins can be considered legitimate.
- And Trump is warning that if he does win a second term, he'll dedicate it to personal and political retribution and using the power of the presidency to target his enemies in the law, politics and the media, all while using extreme language reminiscent of 1930s dictators.
It's no wonder that when Biden gave his annual Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington on Monday, his words echoed in multiple registers: "Decade after decade, tour after tour, these warriors fought for our freedom and the freedom of others, because freedom has never been guaranteed," Biden said surrounded by the graves of thousands of US war dead. "Every generation has to earn it; fight for it; defend it in battle between autocracy and democracy, between the greed of a few and the rights of many. It matters." "Our democracy is more than just a system of government. It's the very soul of America. It's how we've been able to constantly adapt through the centuries. It's why we've always emerged from every challenge stronger than we went in. And it's how we come together as one nation united." No prizes for guessing who Biden was thinking about. |
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday an airstrike that killed dozens of people at a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza, was a "tragic mistake" – a rare admission for the Israeli leader. "Despite our best effort not to harm those not involved, unfortunately a tragic mistake happened last night. We are investigating the case," Netanyahu said in a speech at the Israeli Knesset. The IDF had earlier said that the strike using "precise munitions" was guided by intelligence and aerial surveillance. At least 45 people were killed and more than 200 others injured after a fire broke out at the camp following the strike, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian medics. Footage obtained by CNN showed the camp in flames, with scores of men, women and children frantically trying to find shelter from the nighttime assault. Burned and mutilated bodies, including children as young as toddlers, could be seen being pulled by rescuers from the wreckage. The strike follows repeated warnings from the White House to Israel to avoid a major assault in densely-populated Rafah, and in spite of an International Court of Justice order last week for Israel to "immediately halt" its military operation in Rafah, and any other action in the city, "which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part." "The devastating images following the IDF strike in Rafah last night that killed dozens of innocent Palestinians are heartbreaking," a US National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement. "Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians," the statement went on. "But as we've been clear, Israel must take every precaution possible to protect civilians." |
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Thanks for reading. On Tuesday, US Secretary Antony Blinken departs for Chisinau, Moldova and Prague, Czechia. French President Emmanuel Macron receives the International Peace of Westphalia Prize in Münster, Germany. |
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