Joe Biden’s disastrous debate blamed on bad preparation, exhaustion

President Biden and former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN's studios in Atlanta, Ga., on June 27, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 01 July 2024
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Joe Biden’s disastrous debate blamed on bad preparation, exhaustion

  • As Biden and his aides settled in at Camp David six days before the debate, aides figured he had a lot to accomplish, more than his opponent

President Joe Biden’s train-wreck debate with Republican opponent Donald Trump followed a series of decisions by his most senior advisers that critics now point to as wrong-headed, interviews with Democratic allies, donors and former and current aides show.
Trump, 78, repeated a series of well-worn, glaring falsehoods during the 90-minute debate on Thursday, including claims that he actually won the 2020 election.
Biden, 81, failed to refute them and his fumbling, halting performance has sparked calls from Democrats for him to end his quest for a second term and for “soul-searching” or resignations among top aides.
“My only request was make sure he’s rested before the debate, but he was exhausted. He was unwell,” said one person who said they appealed to Biden’s top aides in the days before, to no avail. “What a bad decision to send him out looking sick and exhausted.”
Others were even more pointed.
“It is my belief that he was over-coached, over-practiced. And I believe [senior aide] Anita Dunn... put him in a venue that was conducive for Trump and not for him,” said John Morgan, a Florida-based attorney and major Biden fundraiser.
Morgan suggested Dunn and other aides “be fired forever and never let back anywhere near the campaign.”
Biden’s debate strategy was signed off on by campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, who helped him win in 2020 and was appointed in January to boost an uneven reelection campaign. Dunn, a longtime Biden aide and former Barack Obama campaign strategist, backed that strategy.
Confidence going into the event was high. Trump was convicted of falsifying documents by a jury in New York on May 31, while Biden held back-to-back visits in Europe.
To the surprise of some Biden aides, his stubbornly low poll numbers began to inch up nationally in the weeks that followed.
Advisers set up a rigorous debate prep calendar, with Biden sequestered at Camp David for six days.
An inner circle, some close to Biden for decades, were involved: Ron Klain, his first White House chief of staff, Dunn, former White House counsel and Dunn’s husband Bob Bauer and long-time adviser Mike Donilon, as well as about a dozen other policy and political experts.
Biden’s campaign said on Friday that no staff shake-up was under consideration. A spokesman for Dunn said multiple aides were involved in the preparation, and noted that Morgan was not there.
In an email to supporters Saturday, O’Malley Dillon said internal polls and focus groups showed no change in voters’ opinions in battleground states after the debate. She warned “overblown media narratives” may drive “temporary dips in the polls,” but said she was confident Biden would win in November.

FACTS AND ZINGERS

Biden’s trips abroad, especially to France earlier this month, generated Republican social media clips poking fun at his age but, his team believed, it also showed him as a strong leader on an international stage.
White House aides who traveled with the president were in a good mood as he headed to Camp David on June 21. They believed Biden was going into the debate with the most precious political asset: momentum, the wind at his back.
Biden had flown to France, back to the United States, to Italy, and to the West Coast, among other travels, over a 14-day period before taking just a few days to rest at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
He was dragging, according to several people who observed him during this period.
As Biden and his aides settled in at Camp David six days before the debate, aides figured he had a lot to accomplish, more than his opponent. Trump could just complain about the present administration — and Biden would need the facts and some zingers at his fingertips.
They expected Trump would be far more disciplined and prepared than he had been in 2020 and believed that they would need to counter a string of rapid-fire lies.
In lengthy prep sessions, they peppered Biden with details, then followed them up with mock debates.
Critics say now that the preparation should have focused on the bigger vision he needs to sell to the country, and that Biden had insufficient rest headed into the debate.
Run down, Biden would also catch a small cold, White House aides said, as he has regularly during his term after long stretches of time zone-bending work.
The result, critics say, was candidate Biden at his worst: He appeared on stage with his face wan, his hair straggly at his collar and his voice hoarse. He was frequently incoherent.
“I’ve never seen him perform that way before,” said Michael LaRosa, former special assistant to President Biden and press secretary for first lady Jill Biden.
“He can run circles around most people on matters of complex policy,” LaRosa said. “This was always going to be a matter of presentation and cosmetics, and superficial judgments that were going to be made about his performance. And he wasn’t able to clear the bar.”

NEW DEBATE FORUM
Earlier this year, some Biden aides discussed whether he should debate Trump at all, arguing that it could give Trump a broad public platform that would disadvantage Biden.
Then Biden himself, in an April interview with shock jock Howard Stern, delivered a decision on debating Trump that was a surprise to some advisers. “I am, somewhere,” he said.
The triumphant memory of his State of the Union address in March fresh in their minds, Biden’s team geared up to debate but took radical steps to control the terms.
They decided to reject three long-scheduled presidential debates in September and October organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, still smarting over the group’s handling of the 2020 debates.
Trump repeatedly violated the rules of what would be a chaotic first debate in 2020, showing up despite having tested positive for COVID-19, and talking over Biden relentlessly.
His team tried to set the contest on their own terms, with what they saw as a more pliant host in CNN. No audience cheering Trump’s invective. Networks and moderators inclined to challenge Trump. No Robert F. Kennedy Jr. A mute button.
The day after the debate, Biden bounced back with a forceful speech in North Carolina, and a pledge to keep going. Many donors and Democrats are rallying around him.
But the damage has been done.
Asked on Sunday whether the Democratic Party was discussing a new 2024 candidate, Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin told MSNBC: “There are very honest and serious and rigorous conversations taking place at every level of our party, because it is a political party and we have differences in point of view.”
Raskin added: “Whether he’s the candidate or someone else is the candidate, he’s going to be the keynote speaker at our convention.”


Trial operation to remove radioactive debris from Fukushima nuclear plant successful

Updated 8 sec ago
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Trial operation to remove radioactive debris from Fukushima nuclear plant successful

  • Extracting the estimated 880 tonnes of highly radioactive fuel and debris from Fukushima remains the most challenging part of the decades-long decommissioning process
TOKYO: A difficult operation to remove a small piece of radioactive debris from Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant using a robotic device was completed successfully, the plant operator said Thursday, after technical issues halted earlier attempts.
Extracting the estimated 880 tonnes of highly radioactive fuel and debris from Fukushima remains the most challenging part of the decades-long decommissioning process.
But radioactivity levels inside the former power station, which went into meltdown in 2011 after being hit by a catastrophic tsunami, are too high for humans to enter.
So engineers used a specially developed extendible robotic device to remove a sample with a diameter of five millimeters (0.2 inches), aiming to study it for clues about conditions inside the stricken reactors.
The trial debris removal began in September, after an initial attempt in August was suspended at an early stage over a problem with the equipment’s installation.
Another technical snag related to cameras on the apparatus caused a pause of over a month before the procedure resumed in late October.
On Thursday, plant operator TEPCO said it had “completed the trial removal of fuel debris,” declaring the operation a success after several complex steps.
Over the weekend, the robot managed to remove a piece of debris from a containment vessel surrounding a damaged reactor for the first time.
Technicians then tested the radiation level of the sample on Tuesday and put it in a special container.
It will be sent to research institutes in Ibaraki north of Tokyo for analysis, a TEPCO spokeswoman said, adding that the company is still studying when it will be able to start the full-fledged removal of the radioactive debris.
Three of Fukushima’s six reactors were operating when the tsunami hit on March 11, 2011, triggering the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
Japan last year began releasing into the Pacific Ocean some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of treated reactor cooling water amassed since the disaster.
The step sparked a diplomatic row with China and Russia, both of which banned seafood imports, although Japan insists the discharge is safe, a view backed by the UN atomic agency.
Beijing, however, said in September it would “gradually resume” importing seafood from Japan after imposing the blanket ban.

EU leaders call on Georgia to probe vote ‘irregularities’

Updated 27 min 58 sec ago
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EU leaders call on Georgia to probe vote ‘irregularities’

  • They added they would not be able to support the ex-Soviet republic’s ambitions to join the European Union

BUDAPEST: The leaders of France, Germany and Poland called on Georgia Thursday to quickly probe “numerous irregularities” during a recent parliamentary poll won by the Russia-leaning ruling party but contested by the pro-Western opposition.
In a joint statement, the EU countries’ leaders said they were “deeply concerned by the numerous irregularities and voter intimidation” reported during the vote.
They added they would not be able to support the ex-Soviet republic’s ambitions to join the European Union unless it showed it was serious about carrying out necessary reforms.
“If Georgia does not change course by demonstrating concrete efforts in terms of reform... we will not be able to support the opening of accession negotiations with this country to the European Union,” French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in a joint statement.
The pro-Western opposition in Georgia, a small country tucked in the Caucasus, has refused to recognize the ruling Georgian Dream party’s win in the October 26 election or to enter the newly elected parliament, which it calls “illegitimate.”
The European Union and the United States blasted “irregularities” in the vote, while Georgian Dream’s opponents have accused it of putting the Caucasus country on a pro-Kremlin track.


Philippines evacuates thousands ahead of Typhoon Yinxing

Updated 57 min 21 sec ago
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Philippines evacuates thousands ahead of Typhoon Yinxing

  • Packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour, Typhoon Yinxing could make landfall in the northern Philippines later in the day or early Friday, the state weather agency

MANILA: The Philippines has evacuated thousands of people from coastal communities ahead of a major typhoon, officials said Thursday, just weeks after a tropical cyclone left at least 150 people dead.
Packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour, Typhoon Yinxing could make landfall in the northern Philippines later in the day or early Friday, the state weather agency said.
Yinxing is the third storm in less than a month to threaten the Philippines after Severe Tropical Storm Trami and Super Typhoon Kong-rey together left 158 people dead, the national disaster agency said, with most of that tally attributed to Trami.
At least 17,000 people from coastal areas of Cagayan province, in the country’s far north, moved into temporary shelters on Wednesday to avoid potential flooding from heavy rains now pounding the region, provincial rescue official Rueli Rapsing told AFP.
“I’m expecting more evacuees to arrive since there is an ongoing evacuation in the municipalities,” Rapsing said.
The national weather agency said Cagayan, home to about 1.3 million people, might bear the brunt of Yinxing based on its current trajectory.
“We have already depleted the quick response fund of the province and we’re actually asking the national disaster council for the replenishment of the quick response fund so we can provide assistance,” Rapsing said.
In Ilocos Norte province near Cagayan, rescuers were on standby to help local police, fire officers and soldiers in emergency response, provincial rescue official Randy Nicolas told AFP.
Nicolas said they are closely monitoring possible landslides, floods and swelling of rivers in the province, with storm surges — huge waves along the coast, also a concern in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan.
Disaster officials in the mountainous province of Apayao said almost 500 people have been evacuated.
“We really prioritized preemptive evacuations because we want to have zero deaths here in Apayao,” provincial disaster official Aldrin Agmata told AFP.
School has been suspended in many areas of the north and President Ferdinand Marcos put all government agencies on high alert so they can swiftly respond.
“Remember, every life is important so we should always be prepared,” Marcos said in a statement on Wednesday.


Japan PM to boost defense alliance with ‘very friendly’ Trump

Updated 07 November 2024
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Japan PM to boost defense alliance with ‘very friendly’ Trump

  • Key allies Japan and the United States are each other’s top foreign investors

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday he had agreed with US president-elect Donald Trump in a phone call to strengthen the nations’ alliance, after the tycoon’s victory sent defense-related shares surging.
Trump’s “America First” approach could mean less cash from Washington for security in the Asia-Pacific region, analysts say — with investors betting on Japan upgrading its own military capacities.
Key allies Japan and the United States are each other’s top foreign investors, and 54,000 US military personnel are stationed in Japan, mostly in Okinawa east of Taiwan.
Ishiba, who took office just over a month ago, said he and Trump hoped to organize a face-to-face meeting “as soon as possible,” describing the president-elect as “very friendly.”
“He is the kind of person I will be able to talk to candidly,” Ishiba told reporters.
“I would like to hold active discussions on the strengthening of the Japan-US alliance from various standpoints including specific equipment, operations and integration, not just money,” he added.
Shares in Japanese defense contractor IHI ended up nearly 20 percent Wednesday, as Trump’s victory began to look secure, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries gained almost 10 percent.
The expectation is “that Trump will demand that allies do more and spend more to defend themselves,” said Claudia Junghyun Kim, an assistant professor of international affairs at City University of Hong Kong.
Japan is already in the process of doubling its military spending to the NATO standard of two percent of GDP.
“This pressure from Trump doesn’t exactly clash with Ishiba’s hope to increase defense spending,” Kim told AFP, and it “should be good news for Japan’s defense industry.”
US elections
When Trump last won a US election in 2016, then-prime minister Shinzo Abe was the first foreign leader to meet the president-elect at his Manhattan skyscraper.
Japanese media said Ishiba could arrange a trip to the United States around the time he attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru this month.
“On a personal level, Ishiba might be in a challenging position” when he meets Trump, Daisuke Kawai, deputy director of the University of Tokyo’s economic security research program, told AFP.
“Ishiba is a railway enthusiast who doesn’t enjoy golf or social dinners, and unlike Abe, he’s not particularly adept at engaging in social or entertaining conversations. This could mean their personal chemistry may not align well.”
Both Ishiba and Trump perceive the US-Japan alliance as unequal — but in opposite directions — so “initiating productive discussions could be difficult,” Kawai added.
Ishiba led his ruling coalition to a disastrous loss of its majority in snap elections last month.
He is expected to lead a minority government or widen the coalition to include other parties.
Japan and the EU announced a sweeping new security and defense pact on Friday.
Kawai said it was important for Tokyo to build a defense ecosystem “that generates profits through joint production with other countries.”
Japan, which for decades has relied on the United States for military hardware, is also developing a new fighter jet with EU member Italy and Britain set to be airborne by 2035.


Indonesia volcano belches colossal ash tower

Updated 07 November 2024
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Indonesia volcano belches colossal ash tower

  • Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted on Monday and Tuesday, killing nine people and forcing the relocation of residents
  • Laki-Laki, which means ‘man’ in Indonesian, is twinned with a calmer volcano named after the Indonesian word for ‘woman’

EAST FLORES, Indonesia: A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted more than half a dozen times on Thursday, catapulting a colossal ash tower five miles into the sky against a backdrop of lightning as nearby residents fled in panic.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted on Monday and Tuesday, killing nine people and forcing the relocation of residents from a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) exclusion zone.
The country’s volcanology agency reported seven eruptions on Thursday, the biggest of which belched an ash tower five miles (eight kilometers) high, according to an observation post.
Some said it was the biggest eruption they had ever seen from Lewotobi Laki-Laki.
“This is the first time I saw this big eruption since I’ve been living in Lewolaga village,” said Anastasia Adriyani, 41, who lives outside the exclusion zone.
“I was cooking at the community kitchen (for evacuees) and when it happened, I ran back home. I was very scared.”
Officials have raised the alert level for the 1,703-meter (5,587-foot) twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores to the highest level.
There were no immediate reports of damage to nearby villages from Thursday’s fresh eruptions.
But residents and schoolchildren were seen running from their homes, according to an AFP journalist, who added volcanic lightning was also seen.
Locals at a temporary shelter were anxious as the latest eruptions rumbled on Thursday morning.
“It is sad to think of our village, and we are also panicked seeing the continuous eruptions. Since last night and this morning, we’re still worried,” said evacuee Antonius Puka, 56.
Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, is twinned with a calmer volcano named after the Indonesian word for “woman.”
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”