13 h. ago Does Trump truly care about Nigerian Christians? Of course not – he just knows faith sells | Simon Tisdall

In a bid to exercise absolute power, today’s crop of authoritarian leaders is recruiting – and exploiting – believersDonald Trump’s crusading threat to invade Nigeria and save Christians from Islamist terrorists is typical attention-seeking. Surely even he must realise that unilateral US military intervention would invite disaster. And he’s got his facts wrong. The threat of Islamist terrorism is real, but it affects Nigerian Muslims as much, if not more, than Christians. There’s no evidence of genocide, contrary to the alarmist claims of US far-right internet warriors. Trump’s intervention was about politics, not faith.In speaking out, he was massaging a key domestic constituency, not acting from genuine, God-fearing concern for “our cherished Christians” in a land he’s never visited. Christian nationalist votes helped clinch Trump’s two presidential victories despite the obvious insincerity of his professed beliefs. His support among white evangelical Protestants is much higher th...

Politics

7 d. ago President JD Vance or Marco Rubio? We’re seeing the first signs of the battle over Trump's succession | Simon Tisdall

It’s currently a two-horse race – and the next US leader is guaranteed to be a careerist who knows nothing of statesmanshipMillions of Americans yearn for 7 November 2028, the scheduled date of the next presidential election. That’s the day the Trump era effectively ends. Probably. That’s the day the Democrats will atone for Kamala Harris’s calamitous 2024 failure. Possibly. That’s the day US democracy is reborn. Hopefully. Succession talk is tantalising Washington. Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, has given the clearest sign yet that he’ll run and glossing over past blunders, Harris reckons she deserves a second chance.Yet most attention is focused on the Republicans, after Trump, 79, again threatened to defy the constitution and seek a third term. “I would love to do it,” he said this week. He rowed back later, albeit unconvincingly. “We’ll see what happens,” he teased. This undignified narcissist’s electoral fan dance will drag on interminably. Of greater practical interest a...

Politics

1 week ago The Guardian view on Argentina’s election: one step closer to becoming a Trumpian client state | Ediorial

A $40bn rescue may have helped Javier Milei scrape through midterms, but it leaves Argentina’s democracy and economy more dependent than ever on WashingtonArgentina’s rightwing president, Javier Milei, his party and its allies claimed victory this week in key congressional elections. But it was Donald Trump who emerged the biggest winner. A $40bn lifeline from the US president gave Mr Milei’s beleaguered government just enough credibility – and apparent firepower – to halt the Argentinian peso’s slide. Crucially, this helped to stabilise consumer prices in the final weeks of the campaign. The US rescue engendered a short-lived aura of competence that allowed Mr Milei to shift the blame for rising prices back to the opposition, despite his own role in accelerating inflation by devaluing the currency when he took office.Mr Milei’s wasn’t a decisive triumph. His rightwing coalition got 40% of the midterms vote thanks largely to a low turnout and a fragmented opposition. His “chainsaw” ...

Politics

1 week ago Donald Trump claims credit for foreign election winner who called him 'your excellency'

Orange Manbaby couldn’t help taking some of the credit after Javier Milei secured a “big win” in a landslide victory and says he was a 'Trump Endorsed Candidate'

Politics

2 w. ago The war in Gaza is supposed to be over. But be warned: without truth and justice, it will never truly end | Simon Tisdall

A fragile ceasefire is in place, but what’s needed is an international tribunal for resolution and reparation. That’s the only route to lasting peaceDonald Trump insists the war in Gaza is over. No, it isn’t. The violence is much reduced. Yet Israeli forces have reportedly killed about 100 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more since the 10 October ceasefire began. Food aid supplies are still heavily restricted. The occupation continues, in Gaza and the West Bank. US officials fear prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his accomplices may renege on the deal, as in the past.Likewise, Hamas elements and rival gangs have kept fighting. The terrorist group is not disarming; Israeli forces have not fully withdrawn to the agreed lines. US-framed security, governance and reconstruction proposals remain vague, hypothetical and contentious. The war’s root causes, principally the denial of Palestinian sovereignty and statehood, are not addressed. Unless that changes, it will all kick off agai...

Events

3 w. ago Xi Jinping is preparing to go toe to toe with Donald Trump – and there will only be one winner | Simon Tisdall

Beijing has realised that reckless America First policies are alienating old and new friends alike, creating a vacuum it can fillHolding court for the cameras in Sharm el-Sheikh last week, a manically self-congratulatory Donald Trump, Gaza’s make-believe saviour, hailed his fellow “tough guys” – tame tyrants, such as Egypt’s Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, who helped fabricate his flimsy Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.Yet later this month, the American pharaoh-president is due to face a far less biddable tough guy: China’s leader, Xi Jinping. Bookmakers may withhold odds on the outcome. In the US-China race for 21st-century primacy, Xi is sprinting ahead, assisted by spur-heeled Trump’s many missteps.Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago France is not alone in its political crisis – belief in a democratic world is vanishing | Simon Tisdall

The populist right offers a solution in the form of turning back the clock. Macron and his counterparts need to find a different answer fastEmmanuel Macron sounded like a man in grief. Not angry, not defiant, just a little triste. Europe, he lamented, was suffering a “degeneration of democracy”. Many threats emanated from outside, from Russia, from China, from powerful US tech companies and social-media entrepreneurs, France’s president said. “But we should not be naive. On the inside we are turning on ourselves. We doubt our own democracy We see everywhere that something is happening to our democratic fabric. Democratic debate is turning into a debate of hatred.”Squeezed between vituperative extremes of right and left, Macron knows of what he speaks. But “ungovernable” France is not alone in its bitter, intractable divisions. Across Europe, in the UK and the US, distrust and grievance daily deepen political dysfunction and social discord. Macron’s words apply, in fact, to almost an...

Politics

4 w. ago Shock Nobel Prize winner heaps praise on Trump as she explains why she dedicated award to him

Maria Corina Machado praised Donald Trump insisted that he deserved the award in an interview about her win which aired on Saturday morning.

Events

last month Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize winner dedicates her award to Donald Trump and says her country is counting on him to bring freedom

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Machado 'for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela'.

Politics

last month Why Trump didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize – but still has one big chance

US leader has insisted he should have won the prestigious award ‘four or five times’ by now

Politics

last month Nobel peace prize winner announced following calls for Donald Trump to receive prize

People had been calling for the US President to win the prize following his involvement in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza

Politics

last month Maria Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize — as Donald Trump misses out

Maria Corina Machado received coveted award for her ‘tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela’

Politics

last month Nobel Peace Prize winner to be announced today – here's who could beat Donald Trump

The Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce Friday who has won the Nobel Peace Prize, a highly coveted but notoriously unpredictable award. Here's who's in the running

Politics