No images? Click here 8 JULYA West West Wing?With each month of 2020 seemingly introducing new foils for the US presidential election, Kanye West’s 4th of July presidential run announcement is the latest unpredictable development. USSC Senior Lecturer in American Politics and Foreign Policy Dr David Smith discussed the potential spoiler effect of a Kanye candidacy and the evolving world of celebrities in politics in a discussion with ABC’s Zoe Daniel yesterday. Daniel will also be facilitating next week’s Vice-Presidential Sweepstakes webinar on Tuesday, July 14. Election fever is heating up and you can get your US politics fix from USSC’s Election Watch hub, where new content and all USSC Election Watch events will be posted. If you missed our discussion with former US Congresswoman Mia Love, make sure to catch the webinar replay. VIDEOElection Watch: US Politics Web Series with special guest Mia LoveWere you unable to make it to the latest instalment in our US Politics Web Series with USSC CEO Professor Simon Jackman, Perth USAsia Centre CEO Professor Gordon Flake and special guest Mia Love? You can now watch the full webinar on our YouTube channel! NEWS WRAPBreaking convention
I think we've stabilised at where we're at. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ANALYSISForeign policy may still yet matter in the presidential raceBruce Wolpe A fourth horseman of the American apocalypse - foreign policy - has rudely barged into US politics, joining the pandemic, economic collapse, and racial justice as fissures scarring America's political landscape. Last week, two bullets tore across the presidential campaign. The first, Russia and the accounts of bounties being paid to the Taliban to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, hit and staggered Trump. The second, the question of whether Israel's Prime Minister would take formal action to annex lands in the West Bank, misfired but pierced the decades-long bipartisan support in Washington for Israel. Bullet number one The White House has angrily rejected the story first broken by The New York Times that Russia provided funds to the Taliban to kill Americans, that President Trump was briefed about this in February, and that no action was taken to reprimand Russia and demand such murderous conduct be ended. Trump now faces a firestorm over how he deals with Russia. It has been reported he never wants to hear any bad news about Russia and Putin, which may have led to him failing to protect the troops from Russian-financed Taliban attacks. Some parents of American forces killed in Afghanistan fear their sons were victims of this failure. And Trump still wants to invite Russia to join the G7. As Senator Howard Baker asked of President Nixon in the 1973 Watergate hearings: "What did the president know, and when did he know it?" In this case, what did National Security Advisors Bolton and Robert O'Brien know, and how did they act on it? In his White House memoir, John Bolton recounts a November 2018 meeting that reflected Trump's insistence to exit Afghanistan at almost any cost: "'ISIS is still in Afghanistan,' said [Defence Secretary] Mattis. Trump said, 'Let Russia take care of them. We're 7000 miles away but we're still a target ... It's a horror show. At some point, we've got to get out.' And days later, Trump to Mattis: 'I gave you what you asked for. Unlimited authority, no holds barred. You're losing. You're getting your ass kicked. You failed.'" This article is an excerpt from an article originally published in the Canberra Times. COVID-19: BY THE NUMBERSDaily per cent increase of cases: |