No images? Click here 7 September 2022Biden and Trump face off in 2020 reduxThe US midterm sprint usually starts after Labor Day, but both President Biden and former President Trump jumped the gun with major speeches in Pennsylvania on the weekend. The Keystone State is the midterms epicentre with hotly contested races for governor, the Senate and House of Representatives. Biden delivered a prime-time televised address saying Trump and other “MAGA” (Make America Great Again) Republicans posed a threat to US democracy. Trump responded by calling Biden an "enemy of the state" and accused Biden of weaponising the FBI against him in his first rally since the FBI searched his Florida Mar-a-Lago home for sensitive files. Both Trump and Biden agree on making Trump the focus of their midterm campaigns. Biden’s messaging continues to separate 'mainstream' Republicans from 'Trumpies' making it very clear, “Not every Republican is a MAGA Republican.” But Biden's criticism is not scaring off Republicans with 58 per cent of Republican voters saying they would support Trump if the 2024 Republican presidential primary were today - the highest on record since his 2020 loss. Regardless of the outcome, both parties will be closely monitoring how the Trump-factor tests in the midterms as they set their eyes on 2024. NEWS WRAPTrump wins bid to review documents
ANALYSISUnited States must commit to leadership role in regional tradeDr Michael Green This week top trade officials representing the 14 nations participating in the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity will meet for their first face-to-face negotiation in Los Angeles. Delegations from diverse Indo-Pacific economies including Australia, Japan, India, South Korea, Indonesia, and Singapore will look to US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai to determine just how serious the Biden administration is about returning to an economic leadership role in this region after the Trump administration’s unilateral withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2017. The economic and geopolitical stakes are huge. To shed more light on the debate in the US, the US Studies Centre invited an exchange on IPEF between two trade policy veterans in Washington, former assistant US trade representative Wendy Cutler and former international economic adviser and “sherpa” to President George W. Bush, Daniel Price. Cutler acknowledges the importance of trade but sees value in going beyond traditional agreements to address broader issues confronting regional economies. Price sees the lack of market access provisions that characterised previous US negotiations, like the Australia-US free-trade agreement signed in 2005 and the TPP, is a particular impediment to liberalisation, in his view. First published in The Australian I just thank everyone that's here, that's been on my side so many years, decades ... But it all started with my parents and they deserve everything, so I'm really grateful for them ... And I wouldn't be Serena if there wasn't Venus. So, thank you, Venus. She's the only reason Serena Williams ever existed. World Tennis Player Serena Williams | 26 August, 2022 BY THE NUMBERS Per capita election spending surges in both United States and AustraliaBillions of dollars are spent on US election campaigns, significantly higher than Australia. Yet on a per capita basis, the margins had been similar until a significant increase in spending in recent campaigns. During the 2015-16 Australian federal election, political parties spent $US5.6 per person (US$136.4 million in total) while in the 2016 US elections, parties spent $US7.9 per person (US$2.57 billion in total). For the Australian 2018-19 federal election campaign, parties forked out $US11.84 per person (US$295 million in total), while in 2020, US political parties spent $27.41 per person ($US9.02 billion in total) to attract votes. VIDEOBook launch: Line of Advantage: Japan’s Grand Strategy in the Era of Abe Shinzō by Dr Michael GreenUSSC CEO Dr Michael Green discussed his new book Line of Advantage: Japan’s Grand Strategy in the Era of Abe Shinzō with USSC Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr Lavina Lee at a special event in Sydney last week. Published in March this year, the book draws from Dr Green’s long-standing connection with former Prime Minister Abe Shinzō and provides a unique political and historical context for Japan’s new grand strategy and the understanding of the role of US alliances in the Indo-Pacific. Catch more podcast and video analysis on the United States here. PODCASTAsia Chessboard: Xi's rules and risksIn this episode of The Asia Chessboard, USSC CEO Mike Green and Freeman Chair in China Studies at Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) Jude Blanchette sit down with Bates Gill, Head of the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University, to discuss his recent book, Daring to Struggle: China's Global Ambitions Under Xi Jinping. They begin by discussing Gill’s career trajectory and key themes that emerge from the book. They then dive deeper into China’s trajectory under Xi Jinping’s leadership, focusing on Xi’s risk tolerance and China’s near-term ambitions. Finally, they outline near-term actions the United States and its allies could take to bolster strategic deterrence against China. Manage your email preferences | Forward this email to a friend United States Studies Centre |