On the 6th, when the budget plan for the security support package, including the border strengthening bill and support for Ukraine, was virtually stranded due to opposition from the Republican Party, the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. President Joe Biden gave an emergency speech and harshly criticized it, saying, “It’s because of Donald Trump (former President).” With the rematch between President Biden and former President Trump in full swing, he went on the offensive by pointing out former President Trump’s political responsibility.
President Biden claimed on this day, “Over the past 24 hours, Trump has contacted Republican senators and representatives and threatened them to oppose the agreement.” Previously, the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties in the U.S. Senate agreed on a budget for a security support package that included strengthening the border. Instead of broadly accommodating Republican demands, such as closing borders and strengthening asylum conditions, they decided to pass a support budget of $60 billion (approximately 80.4 trillion won) for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and $4.8 billion for Taiwan.
However, when former President Trump opposed the border agreement, saying, “The border agreement is a fool’s errand that gives impunity to the Democratic Party,” the U.S. House of Representatives, led by pro-Trump hardliners, agreed. The Republican House of Representatives said, “We will reject the border bill and only handle the Israel support budget separately,” effectively collapsing the agreement.
President Biden pointed out, “The Republican Party insisted on border security, but former President (Trump) is trying to block this bill,” adding, “This is because he wants to make it a political issue rather than solving the problem.” It is claimed that former President Trump encouraged opposition in order to drag the issue of illegal immigration into the November presidential election.
Some say that the failure of the agreement could be a headwind for the Republican Party. The New York Times pointed out that “the Republican Party fell into a ‘trap of its own making’ by linking the border issue with support for Ukraine.” President Biden’s direct targeting of former President Trump can also be seen as an intention to turn the criticism of public opinion towards former President Trump.
However, the emergency speech was also an opportunity to reaffirm President Biden’s ‘old age risk’. He was unable to remember the Palestinian armed group Hamas and made frequent verbal mistakes, such as vaguely saying “the other side (of Israel).”
Meanwhile, on this day, the U.S. Federal Appeals Court rejected former President Trump’s claim of presidential immunity in connection with the prosecution of his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Former President Trump announced his intention to appeal to the Supreme Court, calling it a “ruling that will destroy the nation.” However, as the legal battle has been prolonged, there is a growing possibility that related trials will not be concluded before the presidential election. The BBC commented, “Trump lost in court, but his (hoped for) delay strategy was successful.”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.