Trump takes another step towards arrest

Trump takes another step towards arrest after he repeated his assault on witnesses and jurors in the criminal trial

The judge presiding over the criminal trial in which Donald Trump is accused of paying a porn star to hide an intimate relationship he allegedly had with her threatened the former Republican president with jail time again on Monday after he ignored the prohibition to verbally attack witnesses and jurors in Trump trial, reports AFP.

Donald Trump, who aspires to a new presidential term this year, was sentenced last Tuesday to pay a fine of 9,000 dollars for violating the imposed ban. The court then found nine violations of this kind, thus imposing a fine of one thousand dollars for each of them and warned him that in case of recurrence, he risks the arrest.

But now the same judge, Juan Merchan, fined Trump another thousand dollars, after "violating his order by publicly commenting on the panel of judges and the way it was selected". At the same time, the judge once again warned the former president that any future violation of that provision makes him liable to "imprisonment".

In the lawsuit, launched on April 15, Trump is accused of falsifying accounting records of the Trump Organization to cover up a $130,000 payment he allegedly made before the 2016 presidential election to former porn star Stormy Daniels for for her to keep silent about a relationship they allegedly had in 2006.

Before the opening of the Trump trial, the judge forbade the former president to publicly attack witnesses and jurors. In messages on his social network Truth Social, Trump specifically attacks his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who has now become one of his bitter enemies and a key witness for the prosecution in this Trump trial. Also, the former president suggests that the members of the Trump trial panel are not impartial related to arrest.

Trump is indicted in four cases and has already been sentenced to heavy fines in two civil suits, all of which he considers politically orchestrated against him by the Democrats of incumbent Joe Biden, whom he would face again in the presidential election in November .

Trump trial: Madeleine Westerhout was questioned

The old White House helps get emotional on the stand

Madeleine Westerhout, former director of Oval Office operations at the White House, became emotional on the stand, making her the second former White House aide to break down in tears during the trial after Hope Hicks did the same last week.

“I very much regret my youthful indiscretion,” she said, explaining that she left the White House after sharing information with reporters at an off-the-record dinner.

Fighting back tears, Westerhout said she had “grown up a lot since then.”

Before joining the Trump administration, Westerhout worked at the Republican National Committee, where she recalled the release of the "Access Hollywood" tape that "rocked" Republican leaders - saying "there were discussions about how it would be possible to replace [Trump] as a candidate if it came to that.

 Westerhout's cross-examination continues Friday morning.

2 witnesses briefly take turns on the stand

After Stormy Daniels finished her testimony and left the stand, prosecutors called two additional witnesses in succession.

Rebecca Manochio, an accountant at the Trump Organization, testified about her role in sending checks for Michael Cohen and others to Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., for his signature. She testified that she first sent them to the home of Trump's bodyguard, Keith Schiller, but then sent them to John McEntee, a Trump White House aide.

Then Tracy Menzies, head of publishing at HarperCollins, read excerpts from Trump's 2007 book, "Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life," including: "My motto is : “Always take revenge”. When someone screws you over, screw them over in spades” and “I value loyalty above all else”.

Trial proceeding on time, says Merchan

Judge Merchan told jurors the trial was set to end in six weeks.

Prosecutors had previously suggested they could wrap up their case as early as the end of next week, but said it would most likely wrap up early the following week. The defense will then present its arguments, followed by the state's rebuttal.

The trial schedule could depend on how long lawyers seek to question Michael Cohen, the case's star witness, when he takes the stand.

Trump Trial: Stormy Daniels Crude Testimony

presidential election

A third week of debates concludes Friday at the trial of Donald Trump in New York, marked by the marathon testimony of former pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, beneficiary of the hidden payments which are worth these unprecedented criminal proceedings against a former American president.

The week opened on Monday with a new warning shot from judge Juan Merchan, who after having imposed a series of fines on him for verbally attacking witnesses and jurors, threatened him with prison in the event of recidivism.

The other star witness in this trial, Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who paid the actress $130,000 in the last days of the campaign for the 2016 presidential election, won narrowly by the Republican candidate, could be called to the stand as early as next week. Michael Cohen, who says he acted at his request, turned against his former boss.

In the midst of campaigning against outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden, the Republican candidate is being tried for 34 counts of accounting falsification for concealing the reimbursement of sums to the lawyer in the accounts of his holding company, the Trump Organization. He risks conviction and potentially a prison sentence, with still incalculable consequences on the electorate.

Although the facts are less serious than those with which he is accused in the three other criminal proceedings against him, this trial is all the more important as it could be the only one to be held before the November 5 election.

Only Donald Trump's federal trial in Washington for illicit attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election could still begin before this deadline, provided that the Supreme Court quickly rejects the immunity he claims as a former -president.

- Accountant, editor, assistant -

Like every day, upon his arrival at the Mahattan court on Friday, he denounced a "horrible" trial intended, according to him, to prevent him from campaigning.

Since its opening on April 15, the trial has alternated moments of legal drama and dry, highly technical sequences.

Thus, after the extensive testimony Tuesday and Thursday of Stormy Daniels who recounted in great detail the fleeting sexual relationship she claims to have had with him in 2006, and fought step by step the defense's attempts to discredit her story.

An affair that Donald Trump, then already married to his current wife Melania, categorically denies.

After Stormy Daniels, an employee of the accounting department of the Trump Organization took the stand on Thursday, an editor questioned about the publication of one of the real estate mogul's books, then one of his direct assistants at the House Blanche, Madeleine Westerhout.

Will testify again Friday morning.

One of the challenges of the debates is to determine what Donald Trump knew about these behind-the-scenes negotiations to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels.

If he were elected again, once inaugurated in January 2025, he could order the abandonment of the two federal proceedings against him, in Washington but also in Florida (southeast), where he is being prosecuted for withholding documents. classified after his departure from the White House.

Potentially dangerous situation : Bottom slaps and satin pajamas

dangerous situation

Stormy Daniels testimony,  former porn star, in the Donald Trump trial revealed a potentially dangerous situation

Former US President Donald Trump attends his trial in the Stormy Daniels case at the Criminal Court in Manhattan, New York on May 7, 2024.

Former adult film actress Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday that Donald Trump met her in her pajamas in his hotel room in 2006 and that she "slapped" him there at his request, telling jurors about their alleged sexual encounter, in the first criminal trial targeting a former American president, writes Reuters.

Dressed in a black outfit and wearing dark glasses, Stormy Daniels, now 45, described the potentially dangerous situation related to donald Trump. So, she said she became irritated by Trump's frequent interruptions and asked him: "Are you always so arrogant and cocky?"

The former starlet said Trump "challenged" her to slap him, and she accepted.

"This is bullshit," Trump appeared to say as he watched from the dock.

As of mid-morning, Daniels still had not testified about the sexual act she said took place at that meeting. Her testimony is expected to resume after a break.

Trump, 77, and the Republican presidential nominee in November's election, is accused of falsifying accounting records in order to hide a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels to buy her silence during the election in 2016. He pleaded not guilty and denies having sex with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

"You've got to be the smart one," Trump allegedly told Stormy Daniels

She said she met Trump at a golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, where Trump was competing. Stormy Daniels also claimed that Trump singled her out when an associate mentioned that she directed movies.

"He said, 'Oh, you're directing, so you have to be the smart one,'" Daniels testified.

Acoeding to Stormy Daniels testimony, jurors have found that later that day, Trump's bodyguard approached her and told her the mogul would like her to have dinner with him.

"Hell no," Daniels said when asked about her initial response.

She said she changed her mind after a publicist convinced her the dinner would make a great story.

When she arrived at his hotel suite, Trump greeted her wearing only satin pajamas.

"I said, 'Does Hugh Hefner know you stole his pajamas?'" Daniels recalled telling her, referring to the famous Playboy impresario Hugh Hefner.

Daniels told Trump to change his clothes, and he politely complied, she said.

Trump's reaction in the courtroom

sexual trial

The alleged meeting took place while Trump was married to his current wife, Melania. Trump vehemently denies any sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels.

As Trump reaction related to sexual trial, was "passed" a note to his lawyer on Tuesday and appeared to close his eyes at times as he listened to the former porn star's testimony.

After a short break, Judge Juan Merchan told prosecutors to drop details of the alleged encounter. "The level of detail we go into is simply unnecessary," reasoned the high magistrate.

Merchan had previously ruled that Stormy Daniels was allowed to tell jurors that she had sex with Trump, despite the objections of Trump's legal team.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger said the testimony was necessary to complete the story and establish Daniels' credibility during testimony in sexual trial.

What the prosecutors say

Trump reaction, who is running for another term in the White House in the Nov. 5 presidential election, has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying accounting documents.

Prosecutors have shown that the former president's signature was on the payments at the heart of the case. They say Trump falsely labeled payments to his lawyer Michael Cohen in 2017 as legal expenses when they were actually reimbursements for a $130,000 payment made to buy Stormy Daniels' silence that Cohen had transferred to her the actress.

Prosecutors say this amounts to an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 election by buying the silence of people with potentially damaging information.

Trump's lawyers suggested that Stormy Daniels was aiming to land a role on Trump's reality show, "The Apprentice." Trump reaction faces jail time if he continues to ignore the judge's restraining order

Daniels testimony has been the target of some of Trump's scathing attacks on social media.

Judge Merchan, who is hearing the case, said some of those posts violated a gag order that bars Trump from talking about witnesses, jurors and others involved in the case if those statements are intended to influence proceedings.

Trump has so far been fined $10,000 for violating the restraining order that prevents him from speaking about witnesses. Merchan warned that Trump could be jailed if he continued his attacks durind sexual trial.

Trump has called the ban a violation of his free speech rights and says the lawsuit is an attempt to hinder his bid to win back the White House.

The former president faces three other criminal charges, but the Stormy Daniels case is the only one that is certain to go to sexual trial before the November election. In the other cases, in which he has also pleaded not guilty, Trump is accused of trying to overturn his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and of improperly handling classified documents after he left office.

Trump's Classified Documents Trial - Dangerous Situation Postponed Indefinitely

dangerous situation

According to a Decision Made by Judge Appointed by Former President,  Dangerous Situation Related to Trump's Classified Documents Trial Was Indefinitely Postponed.

A federal court in Florida postponed on Tuesday for an indefinite period the start of the criminal trial of the former US president Donald Trump in the event that he is accused of negligently using classified documents, informs AFP.

In this criminal trial case, one of the four dangerous situation in which he is concerned, a trial was to be opened on May 20. But the federal judge considered this date to be unsustainable due to the number of preliminary deal requests presented to the court.

Aileen Cannon, magistrate appointed by the former president, did not set a new date. This decision is a setback for Special Prosecutor Jack Smith and makes it highly unlikely that a trial will take place in the case before the November presidential election.

The Republican presidential candidate is currently on criminal trial in New York in another case involving suspicious payments before the 2016 presidential election.

In the Florida case, Donald Trump is being prosecuted along with two of his personal assistants for keeping classified documents at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House in January 2021. He is accused of compromising national security by keeping these classified documents, which included military plans or information and dangerous situation on nuclear weapons, instead of handing them over to the National Archives, as required by law.

Donald Trump is also accused of trying to destroy evidence in this case. The most serious deal charges are punishable by up to ten years in prison.

His lawyers have multiplied their appeals to postpone a trial in this case.

Targeted by four separate criminal proceedings, including the one for which he is appearing at the trial on April 15 in New York, Donald Trump repeatedly denounces a "witch hunt"deal organized by the Democratic administration to remove him from the presidential election race.

If he had been elected again, Donald Trump could, after the inauguration ceremony in January 2025, order the abandonment of the two federal proceedings against him: the case investigated in Florida, as well as the one dirty deal carried out in the capital Washington for accusations of illegal attempts to alter the results of the presidential election won by Joe Biden in 2020.

Clashes between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators at UCLA University

 pro-Palestinian demonstrators

A Jewish student was notably injured in the head by a pro-Palestinian protester

Clashes broke out on Sunday between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), reports CNN. Protesters broke through a security barrier intended to separate the two groups, coming face to face, shouting and shoving each other. The incident involved pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in support of an encampment protesting Israel's military campaign in Gaza, and a group of counter-protesters draped in Israeli flags who had set up a video screen and speakers. A Jewish student was notably injured in the head by a pro-Palestinian demonstrator.

Both rallies were authorized by the university, which hired a private security company to separate the two camps. Police in riot gear stood at a distance from the crowd, according to CNN, but university officials said police would only intervene if they believed students were in danger. Mary Osako, vice-chancellor of strategic communications at the university, confirmed in a statement that the demonstrators had "forced" a barrier between the groups and that there had been "physical altercations" between the protesters. “UCLA has a long history of peaceful protests, and we are saddened by the violence that has erupted,” the statement said.

The UCLA campus has become an epicenter of the wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations sweeping American universities. Los Angeles police arrested 93 protesters who refused to dismantle an encampment set up on campus. Students are demanding that the university completely divest from Israel and the companies supporting its operations in Gaza, something UCLA denies.

The incident is the latest in a series of anti-Israel protests that have swept college campuses across the United States. Last week, at least 45 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at Yale University after riot police stormed the campus during a demonstration. Two days earlier, a Jewish student journalist at Yale was stabbed in the eye with a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag.

Earlier, more than 100 people were arrested by the New York Police Department for unlawful trespassing as law enforcement entered Columbia University to disperse a pro-Palestinian protest that had begun the day before.

Trump Attacks: He Compares Current Administration to Gestapo

Biden Gestapo Administation

Donald Trump has accused the White House leader of being incompetent and corrupt and has compared President Joe Biden's administration to the secret police of Nazi Germany - Gestapo, NBC News reports.

The former president made these comments while discussing his legal troubles, attacking the prosecutors in these cases and lamenting the recent indictments in Arizona of several of his top advisers, along with 11 so-called fake electors from the 2020 election.

"These people are running a Gestapo administration," Trump said, according to the audio recording of the event. "And that's all they have. And that's the only way they think they're going to win, in their opinion."

"Once I was indicted, I said, 'Well, now we have to take the gloves off,'" added Trump, saying Biden is "the worst president in the country's history." "He's extremely incompetent. He's corrupt as hell. He's the Manchurian candidate."

The former president added that he is not too bothered by his legal issues.

"If you care too much, you tend to suffocate. And, in a way, I don't care. It's just that, you know, that's life," he said.

However, he admitted that he was surprised when he was indicted. "Once I was indicted, I said, 'I've just been indicted.' Me. I've been indicted," Trump said.

He also called Jack Smith, the special counsel handling two federal cases against him, a "scumbag" and "nutcase."

Trump made the remarks at his Mar-a-Lago club during a private event attended by hundreds of donors.

Campus protest: Tensions and Violence against pro-Palestinian students protesting ai UCLA(II)

campus protest

(Continuation of the post from here)

This Thursday morning, the police began to dismantle the barricades of pro-Palestinian students on campus protest, according to images broadcast by the American channel CNN. Before daybreak, the police, in riot gear, positioned themselves in front of the students carrying umbrellas or white helmets and forming a line, clinging to each other's arms. The demonstrators, one by one, were then arrested and handcuffed. The police also methodically dismantled the wooden pallets and plywood panels from a barricade surrounding the campus protest and dismantled the tents.

Officers warned protesters that they would be subject to arrest and possible harm if they remained in the encampment, but many of them refused to leave, CNN reported. “Hold the line, hold the line!” “, some shouted from inside the camp. Several people also gathered on the Janss steps, emblematic of UCLA, appearing to try to prevent the police from advancing.

Around fifty UCLA professors denounced the management's responsibility on Wednesday. “The university has created a dangerous situation which reached a crescendo last night,” said Graeme Blair, a political science professor. “They allow counter-protesters to be within 20 feet (6 meters) of this encampment,” he lamented, estimating that counter-demonstrations could be authorized elsewhere on campus.

Are the anti-protesters pro-Israeli?

According to several witnesses, some of the counter-protesters carried Israeli flags, but did not appear to be students. They add that many of them have visited campus several times.

“From the first evening, (those present at the camp) were harassed by increasingly large groups of counter-protesters,” Dylan Winward, a journalist with the Daily Bruin, the campus newspaper, told the BBC.

The hooded and masked attackers appeared to be “between 20 and 35 years old and did not look like students or people with the slightest connection to the university,” Daniel Harris, a 23-year-old jazz student, told AFP. , adding that he did not recognize any of the “Jewish students who support Israel” that he knows.

According to Professor Elizabeth O’Brien, “provocateurs from outside” chanting slogans such as “USA!” USA! » or “Fake News” are at the origin of the violence. The clashes appear to have lasted several hours. According to paramedics, a man in his twenties was taken to hospital with head trauma.

The day after a restless night, relative calm reigned on campus on Wednesday, with a strong police presence. Inside the camp, around a hundred tents, pro-Palestinian students are still gathered. Classes were canceled and management issued a statement saying it had opened “a thorough investigation that could lead to arrests, expulsions and dismissals.” »

Famous Figures: The tears of Hope Hicks, the faithful communicator in Trump trial in New York

trial testimony

The youngest communications director at the White House, who was also the former president's confidante, gave trial  testimony that was sometimes damning, sometimes useful for her ex-boss.

The young woman stops, leans over, grabs a handkerchief, bursts into tears while dabbing her eyes. "Miss Hicks, do you want to take a break?" » asks Judge Merchan. “Yes,” she whispers, and the jury is escorted out of the courtroom while she regains her senses.

Hope Hicks was a key witness in Donald Trump's trial over cover-ups to hide payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels. She said she had a sexual relationship with him in 2006 and, ten years later, when Trump was running for presidential election, she threatened to write about it in the newspapers.

At the Trump trial, account of a political “crisis” linked to his vulgar comments about women

The first ex-member of his bodyguard to testify at Donald Trump's criminal trial, his former adviser Hope Hicks recounted on Friday how the revelations about his vulgar and outrageous remarks towards women had plunged his presidential campaign into "crisis " in 2016.

“Very nervous” in her own words, even bursting into tears during her trial testimony, Hope Hicks, who was White House communications director from 2017 to 2018, described a candidate “very involved” in all aspects of his presidential election campaign , to whom she reported directly.

In this trial with enormous political stakes, the former President of the United States, who dreams of returning to the White House, is being prosecuted for 34 falsifications of accounting documents linked to a payment to avoid a sex scandal a few days before the won election on the wire against Hillary Clinton, in November 2016.

“It was going to hurt.”

Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo questions him especially about an episode which precedes the payment to Stormy Daniels. A month before the election in 2016, the Washington Post broadcast a video where we hear Donald Trump bragging in crude terms about having offensive behavior with women, such as "grabbing them by the pussy".

“I was worried, very worried,” she remembers, when the prosecution produces the email sent to her, on October 7, 2016, by the Washington Post journalist. And when she heard the extracts for the first time, "I was a little stunned (...) there was a consensus on the fact that it was going to hurt and that we were facing a crisis", adds -She.

For the prosecution, this episode encouraged Donald Trump to do everything to avoid a new scandal before the November 2016 election, even if it meant buying the silence of Stormy Daniels.

On October 28, 2016, a confidentiality contract was signed with the former pornographic film star.

The $130,000 was paid by Michael Cohen, via a shell company. He was reimbursed in 2017 by the billionaire's holding company, the Trump Organization, for expenses disguised as "legal fees", hence the prosecution for falsification of accounting documents.

“Break to repair”

Former US President Donald Trump (c) attends his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 3, 2024 in New York

Hope Hicks trial testimony painted an unflattering portrait of Michael Cohen, the prosecution's key witness, who has yet to take the stand to say that he acted at the candidate's request.

“He liked to call himself a ‘repairer’”, but first “he broke things in order to be able to repair”, she says. “I didn't know Michael to be a charitable or selfless person,” she adds, of the idea that he could have made the payment to Stormy Daniels out of his own pocket.

As for Donald Trump, she describes him as worrying about the reaction of his wife, Melania, when the Wall Street Journal reported a first payment to buy the silence of a Playboy model, Karen McDougal.

In this case, the whole issue will be to determine what Donald Trump knew about the behind-the-scenes dealings with Stormy Daniels and the concealment of the payment.

Three years after leaving the White House in chaos, the Republican enters the presidential election campaign being indicted in four cases, including that before federal justice in Washington for accusations of illegal attempts to reverse the results of the presidential election won by Joe Biden in 2020.

But due to appeals and procedural questions, the trial in New York, of a smaller scale, could be the only one tried before the November 5 presidential election.

If he were elected again, Donald Trump could, once inaugurated in January 2025, order the abandonment of the two federal proceedings against him, in Washington but also in Florida (southeast), where he is being prosecuted for allegedly managing casual access to classified documents after leaving the White House.

The debates in New York will resume on Monday.

Campus protest: Tensions and Violence against pro-Palestinian students protesting ai UCLA(I)

 Police officers in riot gear intervened during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday to separate the two camps at UCLA University and repel the counter-protesters who had come to the university campus to fight. The police began dismantling barricades this Thursday.

campus protest

Clashes broke out overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday at UCLA University, after counter-protesters attacked pro-Palestinian activists who had occupied parts of the campus for several days. On Thursday, the police removed grilles and boards and several demonstrators were arrested.

What happened ?

A largely peaceful pro-Palestinian encampment set up at UCLA last week was attacked by counter-protesters shortly before midnight local time. Videos show the camp besieged by dozens of masked and hooded people appearing to want to break the barricades.

Several of them brandished long sticks: at least one person in the camp was hit in the head before falling to the ground.

“Pepper spray, tear gas, boards, bricks, fireworks - not firecrackers - were fired directly at the students,” Vincent Doehr, a doctoral student in political science at UCLA, told CNN and responsible for media relations for the demonstrators.

“They threw paving stones, pipes at us, they tore up wooden slabs to throw them at us,” Kaia Shah, another spokesperson, told AFP. “Every time those who tried to hold them had their heads exposed, they slapped us, hit us. » According to her, 25 students were hospitalized.

Did the police intervene?

UCLA security forces arrived about two hours after the clashes began, but did not initially intervene, an AFP journalist noted. Police in riot gear separated the two camps around 3 a.m. local time, pushing back counter-protesters.

“The limited and delayed response from campus law enforcement at UCLA last night is unacceptable and demands answers,” California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom responded on Wednesday. A California State Police unit had to be deployed due to the incapacity of officers on campus, he added.

(to be continued here)

Donald Trump accused opponent Biden of inaction in the face of the pro-Palestinian college protests

trump accused opponent

Joe Biden said Thursday that “order must prevail” in the face of a wave of demonstrations in American universities in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, which puts him in a politically delicate position six months before the presidential election. “Anti-Semitism and threats against Jewish students have no place on campus or in America,” the American president said.

“We are not an authoritarian country that silences people,” Joe Biden nevertheless assured during a short speech. “As president, I will always defend freedom of expression and I will defend the law just as forcefully,” he said.

“Vandalism, forceful intrusion, breaking windows, blocking campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes or graduation ceremonies, none of this falls within the scope of peaceful demonstration,” however listed the Democrat 81 years old. “It’s against the law.”

Accused of inaction

In the morning, his opponent and Republican predecessor Donald Trump accused him of inaction in the face of the pro-Palestinian college protests. “They are radical left-wing weirdos and we must stop them now because it will last and get worse,” he said upon his arrival at the New York court where he is being tried in an unprecedented trial for a former American president.

Joe Biden also said that he was not in favor of sending the National Guard, an army corps that depends on the states on the front line, to campuses.

A delicate political position vs presidential election

The American president, who will seek a second term against Republican Donald Trump in November, has until now remained silent in the face of the wave of mobilization and the police interventions to dislodge demonstrators, at Columbia University in New York or at the University of California (UCLA) for example.

Six months before the presidential election, in a polarized United States, the Democratic president finally committed to this issue likely to undermine his campaign.

This mobilization places the democrat in an extremely delicate political position. His policy of support for Israel has earned him strong criticism from young, progressive voters of Arab-American origin, while Republicans accuse him of allowing anti-Semitism to flourish on campuses. Joe Biden also assured that “no”, this protest movement would not change his strategy in the Middle East.

United States Presidential Election: in the middle of campaign, pro-Gaza campus protests divide universities and the country

campus protests - presidential election

Started more than two weeks ago, campus protests in favor of Palestine are now violently repressed by the American police. 

Joe Biden was forced to step in and toughen his stance for fear of appearing as the President of domestic chaos. Presidential election seems to be a second target.

The grass suffered a lot, but it will soon green again, protected by the dozens of New York police officers who, on Broadway, block the entrances to Columbia University, closed until the graduation ceremony scheduled for May 17. Some agents still wear the helmets and ninja outfits of the NYPD shock battalions, the same ones who stormed Tuesday, April 30 in the evening on the campus of the prestigious university to dislodge the tent camp of 300 pro-Palestinian demonstrators installed for two weeks on the central lawn of the university.

Close to presidential election, American universities in turmoil,noted the press this morning related to campus protests. Student anger in support of the Palestinians has been spreading in the United States for two weeks now. And with them, the images of clashes between barricaded demonstrators dislodged by riot police.

The newspapers' editorials speak this morning of “the healthy rebellion of American students”. They draw a parallel between this student mobilization and those against the Vietnam War and apartheid in South Africa. 

It doesn't matter, "if the students leave the auditoriums, if they abandon their classes, it is a last resort, desperate by the inaction and the powerlessness of politicians to put an end to the horror in Gaza ."

Joe Biden as a tightrope walker

 What impact this mobilization will have on the American election?. Should Joe Biden fear student anger? General opinion is Joe Biden is in a bad situation and this mobilization could cost him his re-election, noting that he has completely lost the youth vote.

Opposite, the Republicans are unleashing themselves against what they describe as “campus chaos”. Under the pretext of denouncing anti-Semitism, Republican elected officials are in reality attacking Democrats and the Biden administration. “It’s all Joe Biden’s fault,” they explain, accusing the American president of “blowing on the embers of anti-Semitism.”

While Joe Biden seeks a position of balance, defending freedom of expression while denouncing hateful acts and remarks, the Republicans do not bother with nuances. According to them, campuses have simply fallen into “tyranny and anarchy”.

Biden says 'order must prevail' on campuses

Joe Biden said Thursday that “order must prevail” in the face of a wave of demonstrations in American universities in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.

“Violent demonstrations are not protected, peaceful demonstrations are,” said the American president, who will seek a second term against Republican Donald Trump in November.

“Vandalism, forceful intrusion, breaking windows, blocking campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes or graduation ceremonies, none of this falls within the scope of peaceful demonstration,” listed the Democrat from 81 years old. “It’s against the law.”

“As president, I will always defend freedom of expression and I will defend the law just as forcefully,” he said. “But anti-Semitism and threats against Jewish students have no place

Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan - Major Aid Package Adopted in the American Congress

aid package

Ukraine: $61 billion in aid approved

The House of Representatives adopted this Saturday a vast aid plan for the allies of the United States, from Ukraine to Taiwan via Israel. The Senate could validate it as early as next week.

The American House of Representatives approved on Saturday April 20 a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as a possible ban on the social network TikTok.

This $95 billion envelope could be adopted by senators as early as next week. The Senate, unlike the House of Representatives where negotiations have been intense, is dominated by Democrats.

· Long-awaited aid to Ukraine

Nearly $61 billion, the majority of approved funds, is dedicated to the war in Ukraine. This money has been requested for months by Volodymyr Zelensky. American aid “will save thousands and thousands of lives,” the Ukrainian president said after the vote.

The United States is kyiv's main military backer, but Congress has not passed a large package for its ally since December 2022, mainly due to partisan squabbling. This aid was distributed during 2023, but the taps are now dry.

The text presented Wednesday provides nearly 14 billion dollars to train, equip and pay the Ukrainian army. Around $10 billion in economic assistance dedicated to the energy and infrastructure sectors will be sent in the form of a loan. The idea was suggested by Donald Trump, who believes that the United States should “stop giving money without expecting to be reimbursed”. This debt may, however, be erased.

A large part of the envelope will also be used to replenish the stocks of the American army and will return to arms factories in the United States.

The aid plan also authorizes President Biden to confiscate and sell Russian assets, so that they can be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine - an idea that is also gaining ground with other G7 countries.

· Funds for Israel and Gaza

The plan debated in Congress provides for $13 billion in military assistance to Israel, a historic ally of the United States, at war with Hamas. These funds will be used in particular to strengthen the Israeli anti-missile shield, the “Iron Dome”.

More than $9 billion is also planned to “respond to the urgent need for humanitarian aid in Gaza and other vulnerable populations around the world,” according to a summary of the text.

The project, however, prohibits any direct funding from the United States to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. Israel accuses some of its employees of involvement in the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas.

As Joe Biden had demanded, this text devotes more than 8 billion dollars to stand up to China on the military level by investing in submarines, and on the economic level by competing with major Chinese projects in developing countries. development. Several billion dollars are allocated to Taiwan, an island of 23 million inhabitants that China considers one of its provinces.

The bill also provides for the ban on TikTok in the United States if the social network does not cut ties with its parent company ByteDance, and more broadly with China.

TikTok has been in the crosshairs of American authorities for several months, with many officials believing that the short and entertaining video platform allows Beijing to spy on and manipulate its 170 million users in the United States