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Attempted assassination of Trump: The long history of violence against U.S. presidents

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/thomas-klassen-1171638">Thomas Klassen</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/york-university-canada-1610">York University, Canada</a></em></p> <p>Political assassinations in the United States have a long and disturbing history.</p> <p>The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5">attempted assassination of Donald Trump</a>, who narrowly escaped death when a bullet grazed his right ear while he was speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, highlights the danger of those seeking votes in a country whose constitution guarantees citizens the right to bear arms.</p> <p>Trump joins a not-so-exclusive club of U.S. presidents, former presidents and presidential candidates who have been the target of bullets. Of the 45 people who have served as president, four have been <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-presidents-assassinated-targeted-presidential-candidates-111920908">assassinated while in office</a>.</p> <p>Given the near mythic status of U.S. presidents, and the nation’s superpower role, political assassinations strike at the very heart of the American psyche.</p> <p><a href="https://www.loc.gov/collections/abraham-lincoln-papers/articles-and-essays/assassination-of-president-abraham-lincoln/">Abraham Lincoln</a>’s killing in 1865 and that of <a href="https://theconversation.com/jfk-assassination-60-years-on-seven-experts-on-what-to-watch-see-and-read-to-understand-the-event-and-its-consequences-216203">John F. Kennedy</a> in 1963 are key moments in the history of the United States. <a href="https://www.history.com/news/the-assassination-of-president-james-a-garfield">James Garfield</a> (1881) and <a href="https://www.history.com/news/the-assassination-of-president-william-mckinley">William McKinley</a> (1901) are less remembered, but their deaths nonetheless rocked the nation at the time.</p> <h2>Secret Service provides protection</h2> <p>It was after McKinley’s assassination that the U.S. Secret Service was given <a href="https://www.secretservice.gov/about/history/150-years#:%7E:text">the job of providing full-time protection to presidents</a>.</p> <p>The last American president to be shot was Ronald Reagan, <a href="https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/permanent-exhibits/assassination-attempt">who was seriously wounded and required emergency surgery in 1981</a>.</p> <p>Reagan was leaving a Washington hotel after giving a speech when gunman John Hinckley Jr. fired shots from a .22-calibre pistol. One of the bullets ricocheted off the president’s limousine and hit him under the left armpit. Reagan spent 12 days in hospital before returning to the White House.</p> <p>Other presidents have been shot at, but luckily, not injured.</p> <p>In 1933, <a href="http://www.fdrlibraryvirtualtour.org/page03-06.asp">a gunman fired five shots at the car of then President-Elect Franklin D. Roosevelt</a>. Roosevelt wasn’t hit but the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, who was speaking to Roosevelt after the newly elected president had made some brief remarks to the public, was injured and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7297642/">died 19 days later</a>.</p> <h2>Two attempts in one month</h2> <p>In September of 1975, President Gerald Ford survived <a href="https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/avproj/assassinations.asp">two separate assassination attempts — both by women</a>. The first came on Sept. 5 when Lynette (Squeaky) Fromme, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson, tried to shoot Ford as he was walking through a park in Sacramento, Calif., but her gun misfired and didn’t go off. On Sept. 22, Sara Jane Moore, a woman with ties to left-wing radical groups, got one shot off at Ford as he left a hotel in San Francisco but it missed the president.</p> <p>Presidential candidates have not been exempt from assassination attempts, including most notably Senator <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/05/1179430014/robert-kennedy-rfk-assassination-anniversary">Robert F. Kennedy</a> killed in 1968 and <a href="https://www.wsfa.com/2024/07/14/son-late-alabama-gov-george-wallace-reacts-trump-rally-shooting/">George Wallace</a> shot and left paralyzed in 1972.</p> <p>In 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt <a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2019/07/the-pocket-items-that-saved-the-life-of-theodore-roosevelt/">was hit in the chest by a .38-calibre bullet</a> as he was campaigning to regain the White House. But most of the impact of the bullet was absorbed by objects in the chest pocket of Roosevelt’s jacket. Even though he had been shot, Roosevelt went on to make a campaign speech with the bullet still in his chest.</p> <h2>The violence of 1968</h2> <p>Other figures with significant — if unelected — political power have also had their lives cut short by gunfire, most notably <a href="https://theconversation.com/mlks-vision-matters-today-for-the-43-million-americans-living-in-poverty-92380">Martin Luther King Jr.</a> in 1968, just a few months before Bobby Kennedy’s death.</p> <p>In a country with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/19/there-are-more-guns-than-people-in-the-united-states-according-to-a-new-study-of-global-firearm-ownership/">more guns than people</a>, and with firearms easily available, it is not surprising that invariably shootings are the preferred means of killing or attempting to kill political office holders.</p> <p>Like Trump, most assassination attempts occur when candidates and politicians are in public spaces with crowds of people nearby. There is a long history of politicians insisting, against the advice of their security advisers, to “press the flesh” in events that jeopardize their safety. Trump was extraordinarily fortunate to escape with only minor injuries.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/234630/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/thomas-klassen-1171638">Thomas Klassen</a>, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/york-university-canada-1610">York University, Canada</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Xinhua News Agency/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/attempted-assassination-of-trump-the-long-history-of-violence-against-u-s-presidents-234630">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Meghan Markle called on to run for president

<p dir="ltr">Meghan Markle would make a “great presidential candidate” according to US President Biden’s sister. </p> <p dir="ltr">Valerie Biden Owens, who works as President Biden’s campaign manager, has called on the Duchess of Sussex to join the Democratic Party saying she would be welcomed with open arms. </p> <p dir="ltr">Speaking to <em>Good Morning Britain</em>, Ms Owens was firm in her statement about Meghan Markle being a US President candidate. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Yes, perhaps. Of course she will," she said on the show.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's wonderful to have women in politics. The more women we have, the better our democratic system will work. A better point of view, a different point of view.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We embrace all women and we welcome her to come in and join the Democratic party."</p> <p dir="ltr">Meghan has previously weighed in on the politics in America after she left her royal duties with husband Prince Harry. </p> <p dir="ltr">She urged Americans to vote in the 2020 Election and also called for more paid parental leave. </p> <p dir="ltr">Author Tom Bower is writing a biography about the Duchess and previously said that it is “possible” and “likely” that she would run for president.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The prospect of Meghan running for president is possible and I'd even say likely. I really believe it's where she sees herself going,” he told Closer Magazine.</p> <p dir="ltr">Fellow author Omid Scobie concurred saying: "Meghan is the embodiment of the American dream. One day we may see Meghan become president."</p> <p dir="ltr">Back in 2020, an anonymous friend told Vanity Fair that Meghan refused to give up her American citizenship in order to have the option to get into politics. </p> <p dir="ltr">As per the British Royal Family, all members are required to remain neutral which Meghan has not - pointing out that she has already met with senators to lobby a bill.</p> <p dir="ltr">A legal expert has called it “controversial” but only time will tell what Meghan decides to do. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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“Come on, come on”: Karl Stefanovic clashes with ALP President

<p dir="ltr">Karl Stefanovic and the President of the Australian Labor Party have butted heads over Anthony Albanese’s treatment by the media and his latest forgetful moment while facing the press.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wayne Swan told <em><a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/today/anthony-albanese-gaffe-labor-mp-wayne-swan-weighs-in-on-controversy/f5d3c937-39fd-41f0-9c28-ad2f71cde2c9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Today</a></em> that Mr Albanese needs to be “given a fair go” instead of being the target of “gotcha journalism” and compared his treatment by the press to that of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard. </p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, Stefanovic claimed the future prime minister should be across all the details after Mr Albanese failed to recall his six-point plan for the NDIS.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I just think Australians are being sold short by this kind of ‘gotcha’ journalism,” Swan said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He was being asked about a press release that was 18 days old. I think the problem we have got here is the Prime Minister is not being subject to the same focus and I also think there is a degree of hostility in the press pack and that’s not helping, it’s not good for democracy and it’s not good for debate.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Karl shot back that if Swan was in the same position he would “definitely remember policy details”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You can only have so many times you can be asked details - if you want to be prime minister of this country - and I’m telling you right now Wayne Swan, you were across detail - you have to be across a level of it and this was his own policy,” Stefanovic said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He is across the detail, there is no question about it - but this ‘gotcha’ journalism with the press pack on the road is disgusting,” Swan replied.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Come on, come on, what (about) asking questions of the person who wants to lead the country is disgusting?” Stefanovic asked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No, demanding dumb answers - that is the problem here. I think the sort of prosecution of Anthony Albanese is now at the level we saw with Julia Gillard and that was a low point in Australian politics,” Swan answered.</p> <p dir="ltr">Swan continued to say that the public “are absolutely fed up with this”, while Stefanovic countered that the public “need to see Albanese perform and be across more of the details”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The debate - and Mr Albanese’s failure to recall - came after he was unable to recall the cash rate or the unemployment rate in the election campaign’s opening days which made him the target of various critics.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2e298932-7fff-fda8-ff3d-4a9a41ac9376"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Today</em></p>

News

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Brazil’s president fires back at Leo DiCaprio

<p dir="ltr">Climate activist Leonardo DiCaprio has been slammed by Brazil’s leader following his series of tweets regarding the burning of the Amazon rainforest.</p> <p dir="ltr">The actor called for Brazilians to enroll in the upcoming election to help protect the Amazon rainforest.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Brazil is home to the Amazon and other ecosystems critical to climate change,” DiCaprio wrote last week. </p> <p dir="ltr">“What happens there matters to us all, and youth voting is key in driving change for a healthy planet.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro did not appreciate DiCaprio’s comments stating that agribusiness was helping put food on the table for millions.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Now, DiCaprio has to know that it was the very president of the World Trade Organisation who said that without Brazilian agribusiness, the world would be hungry,” Bolsonaro said according to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/brazilian-president-swipes-leonardo-dicaprio-after-recent-comments-on-the-amazon-rainforest/news-story/902ddfdbf4c6f31420ee30d85deea07d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So, DiCaprio better keep his mouth shut instead of talking nonsense.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He also accused the actor of tweeting misinformation about the wildfires that occurred in the Amazon rainforest.</p> <p dir="ltr">“By the way, the picture you posted to talk about the wildfires in the Amazon in 2019 is from 2003,” Bolsonaro continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There are people who want to arrest Brazilian citizens who make this kind of mistake here in our country. But I’m against this tyrannical idea. So I forgive you. Hugs from Brazil!”</p> <p dir="ltr">Bolsonaro also thanked DiCaprio for his support in encouraging citizens to vote but reiterated that it's up to the citizens to decide on what they want to do.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Thanks for your support, Leo! It‘s really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Our people will decide if they want to keep our sovereignty on the Amazon or be ruled by crooks who serve special foreign interests. Good job in The Revenant.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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President, actor, dancer - what else can Voldoymyr Zelenskyy do?

<p dir="ltr">He’s a man of many talents and it's no secret Volodymyr Zelenskyy was an actor before becoming Ukraine’s President.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, did you know that he voiced the much loved Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian version of the hit 2014 and 2017 animated film?</p> <p dir="ltr">Yep, neither did we. But also, how cool is that?!</p> <p dir="ltr">The movie’s production studio, StudioCanal, confirmed the news to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-paddington-voice-1235100949/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Actor Hugh Bonneville, who plays Paddington’s foster parent was surprised at the news and thanked the President.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Until today I had no idea who provided the voice of @paddingtonbear in Ukraine,” he tweeted on February 28.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Speaking for myself, thank you, President Zelenskiy. #PaddingtonBear.”</p> <p dir="ltr">A dig into Zelenskyy’s career before becoming president revealed that he was in fact quite a popular and successful comedian in Ukraine. He also starred in several films and TV shows.</p> <p dir="ltr">In an incredible moment of life imitating art, Zelenskyy played a school teacher in the political satire series Servant of the People.</p> <p dir="ltr">Spoiler alert: he becomes Ukraine’s president in the series. </p> <p dir="ltr">And if that wasn’t enough, the talented President also won Ukraine’s version of Dancing With the Stars in 2006.</p> <p dir="ltr">Makes you wonder what other leaders have achieved compared to him…</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: YouTube</em></p>

Movies

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Djokovic addresses visa furore with Serbian president

<p dir="ltr">Two weeks after he was forced to leave the country, Novak Djokovic has shared his story with the public for the first time.</p><p dir="ltr">The tennis champion met with Serbia’s President Aleksander Vučić at a press conference on Thursday night, describing the “unfortunate events in Australia” which “was at least unexpected, as it happened”, he said, smiling.</p><p dir="ltr">Since his deportation, Djokovic has been spending his time in Belgrade and Montenegro.</p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3c5348da-7fff-dd8d-28a0-bebbe56c610c"></span></p><p dir="ltr">“This is the first time I go public,” he <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/novak-djokovic-promises-to-give-his-version-of-events-after-australia-drama/news-story/bd983956812f4f750788974b2b532ca9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Feb 3, 2022 Presidental Palace, Belgrade 🇷🇸<br /><br />Novak Djokovic: "President, I would like to thank you and the state of Serbia both for support during the unfortunate events in Australia and for standing by my side." <a href="https://twitter.com/pavyg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@pavyg</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TennisPuneet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TennisPuneet</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NovakFanClub?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NovakFanClub</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CraigKellyMP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CraigKellyMP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DMDent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DMDent</a> <br />1/2 <a href="https://t.co/tk0ocNeFzF">pic.twitter.com/tk0ocNeFzF</a></p>— Zvezda je život (@FkczBelgrade) <a href="https://twitter.com/FkczBelgrade/status/1489177087898714113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2022</a></blockquote><p dir="ltr">He thanked the President for his support, as well as the Serbian people after “these circumstances that found me in Australia”.</p><p dir="ltr">Djokovic said their support has shown “that this connection will be like that forever”.</p><p dir="ltr">Though he has promised to share his story “in more detail”, he did share part of it was President Vučić.</p><p dir="ltr">“I wanted to see you first of all because as a citizen of Serbia I felt a great need to thank you for the great support you gave me as President of Serbia,” he said.</p><p dir="ltr">“Although I was alone in detention in Australia and faced many problems and challenges, I did not feel lonely.</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-395ae6cf-7fff-0e7e-13fb-55b76bcb51db"></span></p><p dir="ltr">“You stood up and stood behind me and put yourself in a compromised political position, within the framework of international relations, and that is why I am extremely grateful. I will remember that.”</p><p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/djokovic-vucic.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p><p dir="ltr"><em style="margin: 0px;padding: 0px;border: 0px;font-size: 16px;vertical-align: baseline;color: #323338;font-family: Roboto, Arial;background-color: #ffffff">Djokovic appeared alongside the President of Serbia to share his side of the story. Image: Andrej Isakovic/</em><em style="margin: 0px;padding: 0px;border: 0px;font-size: 16px;vertical-align: baseline;color: #323338;font-family: Roboto, Arial;background-color: #ffffff">AFP via Getty Images</em></p><p dir="ltr">President Vučić praised Djokovid for “glorifying our country”, though he admitted he initially urged the tennis star to leave the country when he first received the news of his detention.</p><p dir="ltr">“And then I saw how persistent he is, how much he wanted to play, to fight on the sports field, to show on the sports field how much he is ready to fight not only for himself, but his country and show that he is better than others,” Vučić explained.</p><p dir="ltr">Djokovic’s arrival in Australia sparked intense backlash after it emerged that he was eligible for a medical exemption to enter the country while unvaccinated and was then detained upon arrival in Melbourne.</p><p dir="ltr">After spending time in hotel detention - prompting protests for his freedom - Djokovic was finally deported after the Federal Court upheld Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision to cancel his visa.</p><p dir="ltr">“For media representatives, I would like to add that since I did not advertise in public about the Australian events, this is the first time I go public,” he said on Thursday night.</p><p dir="ltr">He urged people to “please be patient”, and that he would address the situation “in more detail with my version of the story to everything that happened in Australia” within the next seven to ten days.</p><p dir="ltr">President Vučić had nothing but praise for Djokovic, telling the media that “someone special and bigger than all of us is here today”.</p><p dir="ltr">“Thank you for representing our country with honour, courage and in the best way, and for doing so in the future. Thank you for the great fight you fought in Australia,” Vučić said.</p><p dir="ltr">A statement from the President’s office said “that the ladies were specially groomed, and all this shows that someone special and much bigger came”.</p><p dir="ltr">“It had never happened that we have so many people in the building, that all the secretaries, all bookkeepers, all cooks, janitors, came because they wanted to see Novak,” the statement read.</p><p dir="ltr">“He will beat them all, at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. I predict that.”</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c3816aad-7fff-361a-6b01-bb2190cc7832"></span></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images</em></p>

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AMA President says indefinite lockdown of Sydney looks likely

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) Dr Omar Khorshid has said Sydney’s lockdown could extend ‘indefinitely’ if COVID-19 cases don’t start to decline.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Khorshid told </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sunrise</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that locking down Sydney “certainly hasn’t worked yet” and that Sydneysiders could face living with restrictions until they are fully vaccinated.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the introduction of tougher lockdown restrictions on Monday, Dr Khorshid said the next “week or so will be absolutely critical”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These include the temporary shutdown of the construction industry and confining south-west Sydney residents to their homes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’re going to have to see over the next probably five days whether this is enough,” Dr Khorshid said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If it isn’t, then Sydney has either got to do something really dramatic in order to stop the spread or work out what the permanent settings that need to be in place in order to protect people as best as possible whilst accepting that COVID will be in the community until we’re fully vaccinated.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Khorshid suggested harsher measures could include “shutting down most businesses and almost having the police roaming the streets”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think if every Sydneysider does the right thing, there’s a good chance it will work,” he said of the current settings.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But, we also need to be preparing ourselves for the possibility that it doesn’t.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ama.com.au/media/ama-calls-stricter-lockdown-greater-sydney-region" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">press release</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> published by the AMA last week, Dr Khorshid called for the tightening of restrictions in a similar fashion to Victoria’s lockdown last year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Allowing non-essential retail stores to remain open not only sends the wrong message to the public, but it also increases the risk of transmission,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A range of non-essential workplaces also remain open, which we know from the Victorian experience last year needed to be closed or operated under strict limits in order for its outbreak to be brought under control.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">NSW AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen also called for the reduction of the distance residents can travel from 10km to 5km.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">New South Wales Premier Gladys Bereijiklian called for the number of COVID-19 cases who have been infectious in the community to be reduced before restrictions are eased.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the number of infectious cases in the community continues to hover in the 30s, the figures are far too high for authorities to consider opening the state up fully.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Sunrise</span></em></p>

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“I miss her”: Joe Biden reveals effect of presidency on marriage

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a new joint interview, Joe and Jill Biden share just how their 44-year marriage has changed since Joe entered the White House for the second time.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a cover story for </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.vogue.com/article/first-lady-dr-jill-biden-profile" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vogue</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> profiling the first lady, the US president admits the couple have spent more time apart since his presidency began.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I miss her,” Joe said of his wife.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m really proud of her. But it’s not like we can just go off like we used to.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When we were living in Delaware and married, once a month we’d just go up to a local bed-and-breakfast by ourselves, to make sure we had a romantic time to just get away and hang out with each other.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After spending eight years as Vice-President under the Obama administration, Joe said the couple had to adapt now that he’s president, with political duties often taking priority.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’ll find that I’m working on a hell of an important speech and I’m distracted, and then I may not be working on one and I want to go and hang out with her, and she’s working on an important speech!” he told </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vogue</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have to figure out a way - and I mean this sincerely - to be able to steal time for one another. I think that’s the deal.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jill confirmed that the couple’s busy schedules has proved to be a challenge, revealing they’re “both so busy” and have to “try a little harder to make time for one another”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Even the thing about having dinner together: Sometimes we eat on the balcony; last night we ate in the yellow Oval, upstairs,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s just part of the day that we set apart, and we still light candles, still have conversations, still put the phones away.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQtCZKBg65g/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQtCZKBg65g/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jill has previously revealed how the couple has committed to dining together during her first solo interview as first lady on </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Kelly Clarkson Show</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She told Clarkson about how she tries to keep regular “Sunday night dinners” in their schedules, despite being “a little busy lately”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But the kids look forward to [Sunday dinners] and I think traditions really ground kids,” Jill added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the couple’s latest interview with the famed fashion magazine, Jill also opened up about her work as a teacher.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When I became second lady - and there was so much I wanted to do - I always said, ‘I will never waste this platform’,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jill continues to teach English at Northern Virginia Community College, where she said her students refer to her as “Dr. B”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With an even bigger platform now as first lady, Jill said she has no intention of giving up teaching.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There’s so much to do. There is… so. Much. To. Do.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Vogue Magazine / Instagram</span></em></p>

Relationships

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French President slapped in the face during public tour

<p>French President Emmanuel Macron has been hit in the face by a man during a visit to a small town in southeast France.</p> <p>The French president was greeting the public waiting for him behind barriers in the town of Tain-I'Hermitage on Tuesday after he paid a visit to a high school that is training students to work in hotels and restaurants.</p> <p>The man, who was dressed in a khaki T-shirt, shouted "Down with Macronia" ("A Bas La Macronie") and slapped Macron on the left side of his face.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7841726/screen-shot-2021-06-09-at-104013-am.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/eadb9b4a921046b68d1a2f3ab7846532" /></p> <p>He was also heard screaming "Montjoie Saint Denis", the battle cry of the French army when the country was still a monarchy.</p> <p>A bodyguard, who was standing right behind Macron, raised a hand to defend the president, but was a little too late in stopping the slap.</p> <p>Two of Macron's security detail tacked the man to the ground, while another took Macron away.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Macron?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Macron</a> se fait gifler en direct de <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tain</a> <a href="https://t.co/tsXdByo22U">pic.twitter.com/tsXdByo22U</a></p> — ⚜️ (@AlexpLille) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexpLille/status/1402237903376367627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>A video posted on Twitter showed the president returning a few seconds later to continue shaking hands with onlookers.</p> <p>The local mayor, Xavier Angeli, told franceinfo radio that Macron urged his security to "leave him, leave him" as the offender was being held to the ground.</p> <p>French news broadcaster BFMTV said police detained two people - the man suspected of slapping Macron and another man who filmed the video.</p> <p>Macron has not commented on the incident.</p>

News

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What if a US President won’t leave office?

<p class="p1"><strong>Convention and tradition</strong></p> <p class="p1">The peaceful transfer of power is one of the fundamental tenets of American democracy. When George Washington, the first American president, had completed his second term, he voluntarily stepped down and John Adams, who had won the election, took over office.</p> <p class="p1">“That was not a constitutional requirement at the time,” says Jon Michaels, a professor in the UCLA School of Law, author of Constitutional Coup: Privatization’s Threat to the American Republic, and noted authority on constitutional law, presidential powers, government ethics, and conflicts of interest. In fact, it’s still not. The 20th Amendment stipulates that a president’s term – outlined in the nation’s Constitution as a four-year period – ends at noon on January 20 at the end of those four years. But, the Constitution does not spell out how it is to be handled. Rather, it’s a matter of tradition.</p> <p class="p1">When Thomas Jefferson ran a politically heated campaign against John Adams in 1800, the Electoral College was tied and the outcome had to be decided by the House of Representatives. Even so, once the matter was settled, Adams peacefully vacated the office, setting the precedent for the next 220 years.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Challenging the norms</strong></p> <p class="p1">On September 23, 2020, President Donald Trump, when asked during a news conference, wouldn’t commit to following the two-centuries’ old custom. It wasn’t the first time he suggested as much: In March 2018, he praised China’s move to abolish presidential term limits, joking that the US might “have to give that a shot someday.”</p> <p class="p1">Now that we are less than a month away from the election, such rhetoric is being taken more seriously. Dr Russell Riley, professor and co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center, a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specialises in presidential scholarship, notes that questions of what happens if a president should refuse to leave office involves “an extraordinarily arcane area of presidential politics.”</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Presidential protocol</strong></p> <p class="p1">There is a proscribed sequence of events that happens when the incumbent president’s term expires at the dot of noon on January 20. These include:</p> <ul class="ul1"> <li class="li1"><span class="s1"></span>The nuclear codes, which allow the president to order a nuclear attack, expire. The military aide who carries the “nuclear football” containing the codes leaves the departing president’s side and joins the president being inaugurated.</li> <li class="li1"><span class="s1"></span>The US military switches its allegiance from the outgoing president to the incoming president. Any military orders issued by the outgoing president would be refused. Any officers who obeyed such orders could be arrested and tried on charges of mutiny and sedition.</li> <li class="li1"><span class="s1"></span>Likewise, the Secret Service moves to protect the new president and abandons the electoral loser, except for a small unit that will protect him and his family for the remainder of their lives, one of the perks presidents get to keep after leaving office.</li> </ul> <p class="p1">These actions make it highly unlikely that a president could go rogue and refuse to leave office. Even if he tried, the new president’s acting attorney general could draw up arrest warrants for charges ranging from criminal trespassing to insurrection.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Legal challenges</strong></p> <p class="p1">That doesn’t mean a candidate couldn’t try to steer the election outcome, or delay its determination, through other means.</p> <p class="p1">If the popular vote indicates that a candidate has won the election by a narrow margin, the results could be contested with lawsuits and other manoeuvres. Some would say Trump has laid the groundwork for this by challenging the legitimacy of mail-in ballots, which are expected to comprise more than half of this year’s votes. If election night returns show Trump in the lead – a distinct possibility, as surveys show Trump supporters are more likely to vote in person than Biden backers – he may try to claim victory and stop the counting of mail-in ballots.</p> <p class="p1">Meanwhile, Republican and Democratic parties have already launched dozens of lawsuits each, and other groups have filed hundreds more, primarily focused on mail-in ballot technicalities. Many are hopeful attempts to answer questions before the election, but it’s likely many legal questions will remain well into November and beyond. But, you really don’t have to worry about mail-in ballot safety – one mail carrier explains why.</p> <p class="p1">In the event of a slim popular vote margin, a candidate could also try to leverage the Electoral College and its deadlines. Electors must be chosen no later than 41 days after Election Day. On that date, which is December 14 this year, the electors meet to cast their votes – typically for the candidate who won the popular vote in their state. Then, on December 23, each state submits an electoral certificate to Congress, and on January 6 Congress counts the votes.</p> <p class="p1">However, it’s not always so cut-and-dried. If the electors are selected after December 8, the so-called “safe harbor” date, their validity – and their votes – could be challenged.</p> <p class="p1">Another consideration: In 17 states, electors are not required to vote for the winner of the popular vote. Candidates could pressure those state legislatures in several of those states – including the hotly contested Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin – to certify electors who would vote in their favour. If governance of those states is split – say, a Republican legislature with a Democratic governor – states could end up submitting conflicting electoral certificates to Congress and muddying the vote.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>The Electoral Count Act</strong></p> <p class="p1">If that happens, the Electoral Count Act would be triggered. This legislation was created after the 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes-Samuel J. Tilden contest, when three states submitted conflicting electoral certificates, preventing an Electoral College majority. The ECA states that in such circumstances, the two houses of Congress vote on which slate of electors to approve. With the Senate currently under Republican control and the House of Representatives currently under Democratic control (though that could change by the time Congress is seated on January 3), a stalemate is possible. However, the act is quite vague on how different scenarios should be resolved, and challenges to the law are expected. The issue could even be sent to the Supreme Court. But, Riley takes issue with this approach, especially given the hasty appointment and confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett on 27 October – one week before election day. “No justice appointed under these circumstances under any prevailing standard of judgment should agree to issue a ruling on this election. Justices recuse themselves when they are parties to issues coming before the court,” Riley says.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>The Presidential Succession Act</strong></p> <p class="p1">This legislation, crafted in 1947, outlines what happens when the office of the president is vacant. If no president or vice president can be selected before January 20, when the current president’s term expires, the Speaker of the House becomes acting president until the situation can be resolved.</p> <p class="p1">According to Riley, this nearly happened in 2000 when voting irregularities in Florida caused election results to be contested. Dennis Hastert, then Speaker of the House, told Riley in a later interview, “The CIA would come and start to brief me. I was going to be the temporary president if the decision wasn’t made by some date in January.” Nevertheless, the situation was resolved and no one except the vice president has ever succeeded the president since the act was signed into law.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Democracy prevails</strong></p> <p class="p1">Riley remains optimistic that none of this will come to pass this year, thanks to the much-maligned Electoral College. “One of the virtues of the Electoral College is that it has the effect of exaggerating the popular vote and accentuates the authority of the person who wins,” he explains. As an example, he says a 4 or 5 per cent popular vote win can look like an Electoral College rout. “However in instances where there is a question about the outcome of an election, it cabins the contest to a very narrow area.” He predicts that in the vast majority of states, it’s going to be reasonably clear who won in the upcoming election. “The contest is going to come down to two or three ugly situations.”</p> <p class="p1">But, as Riley notes, many Republicans in power, as well as Democrats, are “openly saying there needs to be a calm and reasoned transfer of power…It helps that you’ve got people in both parties who are saying they’re going to pay careful attention to these things and try to broker a peaceful transition.”</p> <p class="p1">The fact that the US doesn’t have explicit rules or tools to enforce the unwritten pact guaranteeing a peaceful transition is, according to Michaels, a testament to the republic’s collective integrity, Michaels says. “If we have to add it now, it will forever mark this moment as the nadir of our republic.”</p> <p class="p1">Expert Sources: Jon Michaels, a professor in the UCLA School of Law; Russell Riley, PhD, professor and co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center; Pew Research Center:”Americans’ expectations about voting in 2020 presidential election are colored by partisan differences”; and Lawrence R. Douglas, a professor in Amerhest College</p> <p class="p1"><em>Source: <a href="https://www.rd.com/article/what-happens-if-a-president-wont-leave-office/"><span class="s2">rd.com</span></a></em></p>

Legal

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What would a Biden presidency mean for Australia?

<p>American presidential elections do not, as a rule, change the calculus much for Australian foreign policy. Elections come and go, American presidents complete their terms and business continues more or less as normal.</p> <p>Even Richard Nixon’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/080974-3.htm">resignation in 1974</a> due to Watergate caused not much more than a ripple in what had been a difficult relationship between Washington and Canberra during the Whitlam era.</p> <p>Gough Whitlam and his ministers had criticised US <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/gough-whitlams-incendiary-letter-to-richard-nixon-on-vietnam/news-story/b59ad3a4e87d8c758c7cd708ca4656f3">bombing campaigns</a> in Hanoi and the North Vietnamese port city of Haiphong.</p> <p>Importantly from Australia’s perspective, Gerald Ford continued Nixon’s engagement with China. This led to the <a href="https://www.cartercenter.org/news/features/p/china/president-carter-on-normalizing-relations-with-china.html">normalisation of relations</a> under Jimmy Carter in 1978.</p> <p>While it would be foolish to predict the outcome of presidential elections whose results have <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/why-2016-election-polls-missed-their-mark/">confounded pollsters in the recent past</a>, odds favour a change of an administration.</p> <p>President Donald Trump’s blunders in the management of a pandemic are <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/">weighing heavily</a> on both his electoral prospects and those of the Republican Party.</p> <p>So, with all the caveats attached, it is reasonable to speculate about implications for Australia of a change of administration.</p> <p>An end to Trump’s “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-foreign-policy-puts-america-first/">America First</a>” era and its replacement by a traditionalist American foreign policy under Joe Biden, which emphasises friendships and alliances, will create new opportunities.</p> <p>Importantly, a less abrasive international environment, in which America seeks to rebuild confidence in its global leadership, should be to Australia’s advantage.</p> <p>Not least of the benefits would be an opportunity for Canberra to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/beijing-changes-tactics-on-australia-looks-to-reset-diplomacy-20201005-p5624f.html">reset its relations with Beijing</a>. This is a long-overdue project whose fulfilment has been complicated by Australia’s identification with Washington’s erratic policies coupled with Sinophobic attitudes in Canberra.</p> <p>None of this is to suggest Australia should drop its legitimate criticisms of China: its human rights abuses; its <a href="https://theconversation.com/morrisons-1-3-billion-for-more-cyber-spies-is-an-incremental-response-to-a-radical-problem-141692">cyber intrusions</a>; its <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-26/china-is-after-intellectual-property-not-always-illegally/10302424">intellectual property theft</a>; its <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-17/australia-needs-foreign-interference-commissioner-china-tensions/12670516">attempts to interfere</a> in Australian domestic politics; its flagrant disregard for <a href="https://theconversation.com/naval-exercises-in-south-china-sea-add-to-growing-fractiousness-between-us-and-china-142168">criticisms of its activities</a> in the South China Sea; its unprincipled reneging on its “<a href="https://theconversation.com/china-is-taking-a-risk-by-getting-tough-on-hong-kong-now-the-us-must-decide-how-to-respond-139294">one country two systems</a>” agreements on Hong Kong, and a host of other issues.</p> <p>Indeed, you could argue Canberra needs to be more forthright in its dealings with China in pursuit of a more distinctive foreign policy.</p> <p>Early in his tenure, Prime Minister Scott Morrison showed glimmers of promise in this regard. But this proved short-lived.</p> <p>In an <a href="https://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/stories/australia-and-the-indo-pacific-an-address-by-prime-minister-scott-morrison">Asialink speech</a> in the lead-up to the 2019 Osaka G20 summit, Morrison sketched out a role for Australia in seeking to defuse tensions in the region and provide some space for itself in its foreign policy. He said:</p> <p><em>We should not just sit back and passively await our fate in the wake of a major power contest.</em></p> <p>The speech was regarded at the time as promising a nuanced Morrison foreign policy. But since then the Australia has not ventured far from America’s coattails.</p> <p>Indeed, it might be said to have cleaved even more closely to the US alliance as China’s rise has unsettled the region.</p> <p>This returns us to implications of a potential <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/us/politics/joe-biden-foreign-policy.html">Biden administration</a> for Australia.</p> <p>It would be naive to assume tensions between Washington and Beijing will dissipate under a Biden presidency. Such is the range of issues bedevilling Sino-US relations that some rancour will persist.</p> <p>Much has changed in the four years since Biden served as vice president under Barack Obama. China is richer, bigger, stronger, more assertive and seemingly more ideological. It is certainly more nationalistic.</p> <p>In Xi Jinping, it has a leader who is more conspicuously and ruthlessly committed to restoring China’s greatness than his predecessors.</p> <p>Gone are the days when discussion about China revolved around hopes it would become a <a href="https://www.ncuscr.org/content/robert-zoellicks-responsible-stakeholder-speech">responsible international stakeholder</a> willing to accommodate itself to an America-dominated global order. Now the issue is whether China’s assertiveness can be hedged to avoid open conflict.</p> <p>If elected, Biden will need to settle on a new formula for dealing with China that provides certainty for an anxious global community. Whether this proves possible remains to be seen.</p> <p>It should also be noted that Biden’s <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/feature/just-how-good-joe-biden%E2%80%99s-foreign-policy-team-170216">foreign policy advisory team</a> includes hawkish elements that will resist yielding ground to China. Biden himself has referred to China’s leader Xi as a “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/23/debate-transcript-trump-biden-final-presidential-debate-nashville/3740152001/">thug</a>”, along with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.</p> <p>On the other hand, Biden’s foreign policy realists are not burdened by an “America First” mindset. His team can be expected to take an expansive view of American foreign policy on issues like climate change, arms control and rebuilding a global trading system battered by years of neglect.</p> <p>A Democrat administration would <a href="https://theconversation.com/president-trump-could-kill-the-paris-agreement-but-climate-action-will-survive-68596">re-enter the Paris Agreement</a> on climate change. It could also be expected to review Trump’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-24/trump-withdraws-from-tpp/8206356">decision to disengage</a> from the Trans Pacific Partnership trading bloc and it might seek to renegotiate a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-another-october-surprise-may-yet-take-place-this-time-in-the-persian-gulf-147354">nuclear deal with Iran</a>.</p> <p>These would be positive developments from an Australian standpoint.</p> <p>Unquestionably, re-ordering China policy will be at the top of Biden’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/politics/joe-biden-foreign-policy.html">foreign policy priorities</a>, and separate from the absolute domestic imperative of bringing a COVID-19 pandemic under control.</p> <p>Australia should take advantage of the opportunity to explore possibilities of a less counterproductive relationship with its principal trading partner.</p> <p><em>Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tony-walker-313396">Tony Walker</a>, La Trobe University. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-would-a-biden-presidency-mean-for-australia-148516">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

Retirement Life

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Queen Elizabeth speaks with US President Donald Trump ahead of Independence Day

<p>Queen Elizabeth has spoken with US President Donald Trump via phone ahead of Independence Day in America.</p> <p>The Queen spoke with Trump on Tuesday by phone from Windsor Castle, where she has remained with Prince Philip since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown in the UK.</p> <p>The call to Trump was “the latest in a series Her Majesty has held with world leaders in recent months, including President [Emmanuel] Macron, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Scott Morrison”, the royal family said on Twitter.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">The telephone call is the latest in a series Her Majesty has held with world leaders in recent months, including President Macron, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.</p> — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1278006235074383872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>The two heads of state discussed the coronavirus pandemic and “reopening global economies”, according to White House spokesman Judd Deere.</p> <p>“The President and the Queen also reaffirmed that the United States and United Kingdom stand together in our Special Relationship and will emerge from this trying time stronger than ever before,” Deere said.</p> <p>Deere said Trump also wished the Queen a belated happy 94th birthday, two months after the monarch’s birthday in April.</p> <p>Trump has met with the Queen three times as president. Their last in-person meeting was at a Buckingham Palace reception marking the 70th anniversary of NATO in December 2019.</p> <p>Since Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne on February 6, 1952, she has met with all elected US presidents <a rel="noopener" href="https://people.com/royals/queen-elizabeth-phone-call-president-donald-trump-july-4/" target="_blank">with the exception of Lyndon B Johnson</a>.</p>

International Travel

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Trump’s presidency is sinking deeper into crisis – but will he still get re-elected?

<p>Violence has <a href="https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2020/05/30/protests-flare-around-the-united-states-over-minneapolis-killing">erupted across several US cities</a> after the death of a black man, George Floyd, who was shown on video gasping for breath as a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck. The unrest poses serious challenges for President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden as each man readies his campaign for the November 3 election.</p> <p>If the coronavirus had not already posed a threat to civil discourse in the US, the latest flashpoint in American racial politics makes this presidential campaign potentially one of the most incendiary in history.</p> <p>COVID-19 and Minneapolis may very well form the nexus within which the 2020 campaign will unfold. Trump’s critics have assailed his handling of both and questioned whether he can effectively lead the country in a moment of crisis.</p> <p>And yet, he may not be any more vulnerable heading into the election.</p> <p><strong>A presidency in crisis?</strong></p> <p>As the incumbent, Trump certainly faces the most immediate challenges. Not since Franklin Roosevelt in the second world war has a US president presided over the deaths of so many Americans from a single cause.</p> <p>The Axis powers and COVID-19 are not analogous, but any presidency is judged by its capacity to respond to enemies like these. With <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/america-at-boiling-point-how-one-death-rocked-a-nation-numbed-by-100-000-20200529-p54xpw.html">pandemic deaths now surpassing 100,000</a>, Trump’s fortunes will be inexorably tied to this staggering (and still rising) figure.</p> <p>Worse, the Minneapolis protests are showing how an already precarious social fabric has been frayed by the COVID-19 lockdowns.</p> <p>Americans have not come together to fight the virus. Rather, they have allowed a public health disaster to deepen divisions along racial, economic, sectional and ideological lines.</p> <p>Trump has, of course, often sought to gain from such divisions. But the magnitude and severity of the twin crises he is now facing will make this very difficult. By numerous measures, his is a presidency in crisis.</p> <p>And yet.</p> <p>Trump, a ferocious campaigner, will try to find ways to use both tragedies to his advantage and, importantly, makes things worse for his challenger.</p> <p>For starters, Trump did not cause coronavirus. And <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-21/trump-accuses-china-of-coronavirus-mass-killing/12270140">he will continue to insist</a> that his great geo-strategic adversary, the Chinese Communist Party, did.</p> <p>And his is not the first presidency to be marked by the conflagration of several US cities.</p> <p>Before Minneapolis, <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/1967-detroit-riots">Detroit</a> (1967), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Los-Angeles-Riots-of-1992">Los Angeles</a> (1992) and <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/08/ferguson-missouri-riots-5-years-since-shooting-race-tensions-worse/1952853001/">Ferguson, Missouri</a> (2014) were all the scenes of angry protests and riots over racial tensions that still haven’t healed.</p> <p>And in the 19th century, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/civil-war-toll-up-by-20-percent-in-new-estimate.html">750,000 Americans were killed in a civil war</a> that was fought over whether the enslavement of African-Americans was <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/how-the-constitution-was-indeed-pro-slavery/406288/">constitutional</a>.</p> <p>Trump may not have healed racial tensions in the US during his presidency. But, like coronavirus, he did not cause them.</p> <p><strong>How Trump can blame Democrats for Minneapolis</strong></p> <p>Not unhappily for Trump, Minneapolis is a largely Democratic city in a reliably blue state. He will campaign now on the failure of Democratic state leaders to answer the needs of black voters.</p> <p>Trump will claim that decades of Democratic policies in Minnesota – including the eight years of the Obama administration – have caused Minneapolis to be one of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/30/minneapolis-racial-inequality/">most racially unequal cities</a> in the nation.</p> <p>Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis will never be mistaken for the late, great General Douglas McArthur or great fighter General George Patton. How come all of these places that defend so poorly are run by Liberal Democrats? Get tough and fight (and arrest the bad ones). STRENGTH!</p> <p>In 2016, Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-jasg-_E5M">famously asked African-Americans</a> whether Democratic leaders have done anything to improve their lives.</p> <p><em>What do you have to lose by trying something new, like Trump?</em></p> <p>He will repeat this mantra in the coming months.</p> <p>It also certainly helps that his support among Republican voters has never wavered, no matter how shocking his behaviour.</p> <p>He has enjoyed a stable <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/coronavirus-polls/">80% approval rating</a> with GOP voters throughout the coronavirus crisis. This has helped keep his approval rating among all voters steady as the pandemic has worsened, <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/coronavirus-polls/">hovering between 40 and 50%</a>.</p> <p>These are not terrible numbers. Yes, Trump’s leadership has contributed to a series of disasters. But if the polls are correct, he has so far avoided the kinds of catastrophe that could imperil his chances of re-election.</p> <p><strong>Why this moment is challenging for Biden</strong></p> <p>Biden should be able to make a good case to the American people at this moment that he is the more effective leader.</p> <p>But this has not yet been reflected in polls, most of which continue to give the Democrat <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/">only a lukewarm advantage</a> over Trump in the election.</p> <p>The other problem is that the Democratic party remains discordant. And Biden has not yet shown a capacity to heal it.</p> <p>Race has also long been a <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/us-politics/democratic-party">source of division</a> within Biden’s party. Southern Democrats, for instance, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/znycnrd/revision/4">were the key agents of slavery</a> in the 19th century and the segregation that followed it into the 20th.</p> <p>After the 1960s, Democrats sought to make themselves the natural home of African-American voters as the <a href="https://www.history.com/news/how-the-party-of-lincoln-won-over-the-once-democratic-south">Republican party courted</a> disaffected white Southern voters. The Democrats largely succeeded on that front – <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/why-are-blacks-democrats">the party routinely gets around 85-90% of black votes</a> in presidential elections.</p> <p>The challenge for Biden now is how to retain African-American loyalty to his party, while evading responsibility for the socio-economic failures of Democratic policies in cities like Minneapolis.</p> <p>He is also a white northerner (from Delaware). Between 1964 and 2008, <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-makes-southern-democrats-unique/">only three Democrats were elected president</a>. All of them were southerners.</p> <p>To compensate, Biden has had to rely on racial politics to separate himself from his primary challenger – <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/03/bernie-sanders-black-voters/607789/">Bernie Sanders struggled to channel black aspirations</a> – and from Republicans. And this has, at times, caused him to court controversy.</p> <p>In 2012, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYtEuuhFRPA">he warned African-Americans</a> that then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would put them “all back in chains”. And just over a week ago, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/28/heres-why-black-americans-were-mad-bidens-comment-even-if-theyd-say-same-thing-themselves/">he angered black voters</a> by suggesting those who would support Trump in the election “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-23/joe-biden-apologises-for-aint-black-comment/12279428">ain’t black</a>”.</p> <p>Biden is far better than Trump on racial issues and should be able to use the current crises to present himself as a more natural “consoler-in-chief”, but instead, he has appeared somewhat flatfooted and derided for being racially patronising.</p> <p>The opportunities COVID-19 and the Minneapolis unrest might afford his campaign remain elusive.</p> <p><strong>There is reason for hope</strong></p> <p>America enters the final months of the 2020 campaign in a state of despair and disrepair. The choice is between an opportunistic incumbent and a tin-eared challenger.</p> <p>But the US has faced serious challenges before – and emerged stronger. Neither the civil war in the 19th century or the Spanish flu pandemic in the early 20th halted the extraordinary growth in power that followed both.</p> <p>Moreover, the US constitution remains intact and federalism has undergone something of <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/05/04/covid-federalism/">a rebirth</a> since the start of the pandemic. And there is a new generation of younger, more diverse, national leaders being forged in the fire of crisis to help lead the recovery.</p> <p><em>Written by Timothy J. Lynch. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-minneapolis-burns-trumps-presidency-is-sinking-deeper-into-crisis-and-yet-he-may-still-be-re-elected-139739">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

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US President Donald Trump says he’s not to blame if people use disinfectant to treat COVID-19

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>US President Donald Trump has explained he’s not taking any responsibility for any spike in people using disinfectants improperly, after suggesting last week that ingesting it could serve as a treatment for coronavirus.</p> <p>When he was asked about the increase during a White House news conference, Trump said “I can’t imagine why.”</p> <p>He was then asked if he takes any responsibility for the spike and said “No, I don’t.”</p> <p>The suggestion was made by Trump last week during a White House coronavirus briefing.</p> <p>A Department of Homeland Security official was discussing experiments where disinfectants like bleach killed the virus on nonporous surfaces, and it was here that Trump considered about whether disinfectants could be used to treat the virus in humans.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Trump asked whether he takes responsibility after reports that more Americans are ingesting disinfectants to fight COVID19. Trump, "No, I don't." <a href="https://t.co/G7jGCqJxCx">pic.twitter.com/G7jGCqJxCx</a></p> — Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1254905419815956480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>He asked whether there is “a way we could do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning”.</p> <p>After cleaning product companies and state health officials rushed to issue warnings about the danger of ingesting chemicals such as bleach, Trump later claimed he was being sarcastic.</p> <p>However, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said that his state received hundreds of calls from people asking whether injecting or ingesting disinfectants was an effective way to combat COVID-19.</p> <p>“I think it is critical that the President of the United States, when people are really scared and in the middle of this worldwide pandemic, that in these press conferences, that we really get the facts out there,” Hogan told Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation.</p> </div> </div> </div>

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Did Prince Charles just snub US Vice President Mike Pence?

<p>Prince Charles appeared to have “snubbed” Mike Pence as a video shows the royal walking past the US vice president without shaking his hand.</p> <p>The Prince of Wales was attending the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem on Thursday when he made his way down the line of dignitaries. The prince reached Pence and his wife Karen but did not shake hands with them, and continued on to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">I’m sure Prince Charles just snubbed Mike Pence. Titter <br /><br /><a href="https://t.co/M9Hur6jXEs">pic.twitter.com/M9Hur6jXEs</a></p> — Darren Lethem (@DarrenLethem) <a href="https://twitter.com/DarrenLethem/status/1220327690563194880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>Some observers believed the Duke of Cornwall had ignored or “shunned” the vice president by not shaking hands with him.</p> <p>However, the representatives of both the Buckingham Palace and the White House have denied the claim, noting that Charles had already greeted Pence and his wife earlier in the event.</p> <p>“Vice President Pence and the Second Lady spoke with Prince Charles for five minutes in the pre-program before they entered the hall. Also, they shook hands at the end of his remarks,” said the vice president’s press secretary Katie Waldman.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Video of <a href="https://twitter.com/Mike_Pence?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mike_Pence</a> and Prince Charles backstage in Jerusalem. <a href="https://t.co/PWOypUaUs3">pic.twitter.com/PWOypUaUs3</a></p> — Katie Waldman (@VPPressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/VPPressSec/status/1220370576293998592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>A royal spokesperson told the <em><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-51227444/palace-denies-prince-charles-snubbed-mike-pence">BBC</a> </em>the prince and the vice president had a “long and warm conversation” before the start of the ceremony.</p> <p>In <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/prince-charles-snub-mike-pence/">the video posted by Israel’s official Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem</a>, the prince could also be heard greeting the vice president, saying “Mr Pence”.</p>

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"We’re living with divorced dad right now”: Michelle Obama’s verdict on Donald Trump's presidency

<p>Michelle Obama has let her frustration be known over the Donald Trump presidency, as the current US president works hard to eradicate all the hard work that was done by her husband, former US President Barack Obama.</p> <p>Michelle was in London promoting her best-selling autobiography <em>Becoming</em>, when the host, US talk show host Stephen Colbert, asked how she felt about the Trump presidency.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7825976/obama.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/26857e195857431187914f81f1e900e0" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Michelle Obama with Stephen Colbert in London</em></p> <p>“We are a teenager, we’re changing all over the place and we come from a broken family,” Michelle explained.</p> <p>“We’re a little unsettled and having good parents is tough. Sometimes you spend the weekends with divorced dad and that feels like it’s fun, but then you get sick.</p> <p>“That’s what America’s going through. We’re kind of living with divorced dad right now.”</p> <p>After making the joke about living with “divorced dad”, the former First Lady took aim at Trump himself.</p> <p>“For anyone who had any problems with Barack Obama, let’s just think about what we were troubled by — there were never any indictments.”</p> <p>Michelle also told a personal anecdote about the Queen, which she broke royal protocol with by putting her arm around her in 2009.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7825975/obama-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ca99d383097c49b1a77e998a52dc2a81" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, Michelle Obama and Prince Philip</em></p> <p>She told the story about how touched she had been by the Queen’s decision to wear a small pin badge that the presidential couple had given her as a gift and couldn’t contain her joy.</p> <p>“I don’t know that I could have done anything differently because it was a natural human reaction.”</p> <p>She’s also very fond of the Queen’s wit.</p> <p>“That was my experience, that has been my experience: that kind of warmth and graciousness and intelligence and wit — I like her.”</p> <p>Michelle’s book tour will take her all around Europe, with stops in Paris and Amsterdam.</p> <p>Have you read Michelle’s autobiography<span> </span><em>Becoming</em>? Let us know in the comments.</p>

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President Donald Trump grilled in 60 Minutes interview: "I'm not a baby"

<p>US President Donald Trump has faced some tough questioning in an interview with the US’s 60 Minutes program, which airs on the CBS network. Journalist Lesley Stahl grilled the President on everything from his close ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Russian interference with the 2016 election, and the cutthroat nature of Capitol Hill.</p> <p>In a sign of his tumultuous presidency, that has been filled with scandal and the resignation of several cabinet members and advisers, the commander-in-chief said he mistrusted some of his staff, and called Washington DC “a vicious, vicious place,” reports <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/current-affairs/donald-trump-grilled-in-extensive-60-minutes-interview/news-story/445a1688bddf5722c68d738be2940df7" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>. “I don’t trust everybody in the White House, I’ll be honest with you,” said Mr Trump.</p> <p>“I’m not a baby. It’s a tough business. This is a vicious place. Washington DC is a vicious, vicious place. The attacks, the badmouthing, the speaking behind your back.</p> <p>“I have some people that I’m not thrilled with. And I have other people that I’m beyond thrilled with.”</p> <p>When questioning turned to President Trump’s close relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, he was unrepentant about his recent comment that the pair “fell in love”.</p> <p>“And then we fell in love, OK? No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters. And they’re great letters. We fell in love,” he said at a recent political rally.</p> <p>Stahl took Mr Trump to task on the statement, reminding him of the Supreme Leader of North Korea’s shocking and cruel acts.</p> <p>“I want to read you his resume,” said the journalist. “He presides over a cruel kingdom of repression. Gulags, starvation, reports that he had his half-brother assassinated, slave labour, executions — this is a guy you love?”</p> <p> </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Lesley Stahl on Kim Jong Un: "He presides over a cruel kingdom of repression, gulags, starvation…slave labor, public executions. This is a guy you love?"<br />President Trump: "I know all these things… I get along with him, okay? … Let it be whatever it is to get the job done.” <a href="https://t.co/J6Gbuns2t6">pic.twitter.com/J6Gbuns2t6</a></p> — 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1051619117789302784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>“I know all these things. I mean, I’m not a baby. I know these things,” said the President. He put his recent remarks down to “a figure of speech”.</p> <p>“Look. Look. I like, I get along with him, OK?” he said.</p> <p>It seems the pair have gotten over the acrimony which involved threats of nuclear attacks and name calling.</p> <p>“I believe he likes me. I like him,” said Mr Trump. “We have a good relationship.”</p> <p>“I do trust him. I trust him. That doesn’t mean I can’t be proven wrong.”</p> <p>On Russian interference in the 2016 election, the President admitted that “they meddled. But I think China meddled too,” he said. “I think, frankly, China is a bigger problem.”</p> <p>He said that he had taken a “tough” stance with Russian President [check] Vladimir Putin over the matter, despite claims he’d avoided the accusations of political tampering.</p> <p>“I think I’m very tough with him (Putin) personally. I had a meeting with him. The two of us. It was a very tough meeting and it was a very good meeting.”</p> <p>Of the investigation into Russian interference in the election and possible collusion with US officials, Mr Trump said it was “very unfair".</p> <p>“There was no collusion of any kind,” he said. “There is no collusion.”</p> <p>In a rare moment of humility, President Trump admitted that he had made some missteps during his tenure so far, saying, “Everybody makes mistakes.”</p> <p>He reiterated his scathing attack on Washington DC and its hard-bitten politicians as another learning curve since winning the top job, comparing the environment to the tough world of Manhattan real estate, a world he knows all too well.</p> <p>“I always used to say the toughest people are Manhattan real estate guys. Now I say they’re babies,” said Mr Trump.</p> <p>“This is the most deceptive, vicious world. It is vicious. It’s full of lies, deceit and deception.”</p> <p>And again President Trump lashed out at media outlets that have questioned and criticised his presidency, calling them “dishonest".</p> <p>“I never knew how dishonest the media was. I really mean it. I’m not saying that as a sound bite,” he said.</p> <p>His antagonistic relationship with the media was apparent when he <span>arrogantly dismissed Stahl’s probing on the issue.</span></p> <p>“Lesley, it’s OK. I’m president and you’re not.”</p> <p>Did you learn anything new about the US President from his latest interview? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

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President Trump committed a royal faux pas during his visit with the Queen

<p>Following President Donald Trump’s visit with Queen Elizabeth II on Friday, royal fans are counting all the times he breached royal etiquette.</p> <p>Trump and First Lady Melania met with the Queen at Windsor for tea and to watch a military parade.</p> <p>A video on Twitter shows Trump walking ahead of Her Majesty as they walk through the grounds of Windsor Castle.</p> <p>The Queen appears to gesture Trump forward and then he paces a few steps forward before pausing, unsure of where she is.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Donald Trump inspects the Queen's Guards as they stand outside Windsor Castle <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpVisitUK?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TrumpVisitUK</a> <a href="https://t.co/bRNrNHaMFM">https://t.co/bRNrNHaMFM</a> <a href="https://t.co/NXfUqKht0m">pic.twitter.com/NXfUqKht0m</a></p> — ITV News (@itvnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/itvnews/status/1017807802398584832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2018</a></blockquote> <p>The interaction was considered a faux pas by the President of the United States as it is considered rude to turn your back to the Queen or walk in front of her, reported the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em style="font-weight: inherit;">BBC</em></strong></span></a>.</p> <p>After footage of his mistake surfaced online, Brits defended the 92-year-old monarch.</p> <p>"Did Donald Trump just WALK IN FRONT OF THE QUEEN?!?!?!" asked one Twitter user.</p> <p>"I detested how Trump dared walk in front of the Queen today," wrote another.</p> <p>For the 70 years Prince Philip and the Queen have been married, the Duke of Edinburgh has always walked a few steps behind her when they appear together in public.</p> <p>Even Prime Ministers are familiar with this protocol – leaving the weekly audience with the monarch by backing out of the room without turning around.</p> <p>Trump was also criticised for not bowing to the Queen upon his arrival.</p> <p>Critics also said the president was late getting to the castle, forcing the Queen to wait in the Quadrangle of the castle.</p> <p>However, others insisted that he was on time.</p> <p>"For all those asking, no, Trump did not keep the Queen waiting. He was due at 5 pm and the motorcade drove into the Quadrangle at 4.59pm," Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter noted.</p> <p>“Not a royalist but didn't like the way Trump was late for the Queen didn't bow &amp; walked in front of her. Shows how disrespectful to women he is if he is like that to the most famous woman in the world!," tweeted a user.</p> <p>Despite the many protests in England about Trump’s visit, the President said he was looking forward to meeting the monarch.</p> <p>"I really look forward to meeting [the Queen]. I think she represents her country so well," Trump said in an interview with <em style="font-weight: inherit;"><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Sun</strong></span></a>. </em></p> <p>“If you think of it, for so many years she has represented her country, she has really never made a mistake. You don’t see, like, anything embarrassing. She is just an incredible woman." </p>

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French President thanks Malcolm Turnbull and his “delicious wife” Lucy

<p>The charming French President Emmanuel Macron raised eyebrows yesterday when he described Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s wife Lucy as “delicious”.</p> <p>Mr Macron, who arrived in Sydney on Tuesday, gave a joint press covered with Mr Turnbull at Kirribilli House on Wednesday afternoon.</p> <p>He easily switched between French and English when answered questions by reported from both countries, but right at the end, something did get lost in translation.</p> <p>“Thank you and your delicious wife for your warm welcome,” Mr Marcon said.</p> <p>"Thanks to you and Lucy, thanks to you very much, Mr Prime Minister."</p> <p>Mr Turnbull remained unperturbed, most likely understanding that the translation of “délicieux” from French to English means “delightful”.</p> <p>Social media, however, quickly picked up on the rare gaffe by the popular French president.</p> <p> </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Macron just said he wanted to thank Malcolm Turnbull and his "delicious wife".<br /><br />You can take the man out of France but...</p> — Alice Workman (@workmanalice) <a href="https://twitter.com/workmanalice/status/991526265151635456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2018</a></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">In French we can use the word "delicious" to describe an elegant person. He didn't mean to eat her</p> — Lonewolf (@MatLalanne) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatLalanne/status/991676895161929735?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2018</a></blockquote>

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