International

As midterm count drags on, focus shifts to 2024 White House race

Photo: Gregg Newton / AFP

| By AFP | Chris Lefkow |

Control of the US Congress hung in the balance on Thursday as ballot-counting dragged on and attention shifted to the next big election — the 2024 presidential race — and whether Americans could see a Joe Biden-Donald Trump re-match.

With 209 seats so far, Republicans appear poised to secure a slim majority in the 435-seat House of Representatives, but control of the Senate may come down to an early December runoff in the southern state of Georgia.

Biden celebrated on Thursday what he said was the success of his Democratic Party in fending off a predicted Republican landslide in a stormy economic climate.

“For months and months, all of you heard from the press and the pundits was Democrats are facing to disaster … a giant red wave,” he said. “Folks, that didn’t happen.”

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“The American public have made it clear — they expect Republicans to work with me,” he said.

Speaking a day earlier, Biden who turns 80 this month and is already America’s oldest president, insisted he intends to run for a second term in 2024 despite calls by some members of the party for him to hand the reins over to a new generation of leaders.

He promised a final decision “early next year.”

A drubbing would have surely raised questions about whether Biden should run again. But instead he did better than his two Democratic predecessors, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, who both took a hammering in their first midterms.

The 76-year-old Trump has promised a “very big announcement” in Florida on Tuesday that is expected to be the launch of his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

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Trump’s early entry into the race would appear designed in part to fend off possible criminal charges over taking top secret documents from the White House, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the attack on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6 last year.

It may also be intended to undercut his chief potential rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who emerged as one of the biggest winners from Tuesday’s midterms.

“(Trump’s) intention is to consolidate his support early and crowd out other potential candidates,” said Jon Rogowski, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago.

‘Ron De-Sanctimonious’

The 44-year-old DeSantis, a Harvard- and Yale-educated lawyer, notched up a nearly 20-point victory over his Democratic opponent in the Florida governor’s race and took credit for a host of Republican victories in other races in the Sunshine State.

“We not only won election, we have rewritten the political map,” DeSantis said. “We’ve got so much more to do and I have only begun to fight.”

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While DeSantis has emerged as Trump’s main rival for the nomination, the former president continues to dominate in the polls when Republicans are asked who they want to represent the party in the 2024 White House race.

But Trump may have lost the backing of a major ally — the powerful media empire of conservative billionaire Rupert Murdoch.

Pointing to the party’s disappointing midterms showing, The Wall Street Journal, the flagship of Murdoch’s News Corp, declared in an editorial on Thursday that “Trump Is the Republican Party’s Biggest Loser.”

The cover of the tabloid New York Post depicted Trump on a precarious wall as “Trumpty Dumpty” who “had a great fall” in the vote, blaming him for the failure of Republicans to sweep past Democratic rivals.

It celebrated DeSantis as “DeFUTURE.”

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Trump coined his own derogatory nickname for DeSantis, a one-time ally, referring to him as “Ron De-Sanctimonious” and belittling his election victory.

“Shouldn’t it be said that in 2020, I got 1.1 Million more votes in Florida than Ron D got this year, 5.7 Million to 4.6 Million?” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “Just asking?”

Biden was asked by reporters on Wednesday about a Trump-DeSantis showdown.

“It’ll be fun watching them take on each other,” he said.

In the Senate, Democrat John Fetterman defeated Trump-endorsed candidate Mehmet Oz, seizing the Pennsylvania seat after the most expensive Senate race in US history.

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The final makeup of the Senate now hangs on three seats: Arizona and Nevada, where the counting of votes could take several more days, and Georgia, where there will be a December 6 runoff between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and former American football star Herschel Walker.

Even with a slim majority in the House, Republicans could stymie Biden’s legislative agenda and launch investigations into the president and his allies.

International

New York Announces First 2,000 Seats in Universal 2-K Program

The Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took another step today in their universal early education agenda by announcing the communities that will have access to the first 2,000 seats in the new 2-K program this fall — an initiative backed by a $73 million investment.

The funding is part of the $1.2 billion package previously unveiled by Hochul to strengthen child care and early childhood education across the city, one of the key campaign promises of the now Social Democratic mayor.

At the time of the announcement, the governor also outlined additional funds to reinforce the existing 3-K early education infrastructure, a program launched under former Mayor Bill de Blasio (2014–2021).

When the 2-K initiative was introduced in January, Mayor Mamdani explained that its first phase would offer 2,000 seats, with the goal of eventually expanding into a universal program — a commitment supported by the governor.

State investment in child care and preschool services is expected to increase to $4.5 billion by fiscal year 2027.

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Among the first communities set to benefit from the 2,000 seats are Upper Manhattan and Inwood — areas with large Dominican populations — as well as Fordham and Kingsbridge in the Bronx, a borough with a Latino majority.

In East Brooklyn, Canarsie, Brownsville, and Ocean Hill will also be included. Meanwhile, Ozone Park and the Rockaways are among the neighborhoods that will see the rollout of the 2-K program.

International

Warner Bros. Developing First ‘Game of Thrones’ Movie With ‘Andor’ Writer

Warner Bros. is developing the first feature film based on the hit saga Game of Thrones, with Beau Willimon — screenwriter of Andor — attached to direct, according to a report published Tuesday by Page Six.

The project, currently in early development, will focus on the conquest of King Aegon I Targaryen. A separate television adaptation centered on the same historical storyline within the franchise is also in early stages at HBO.

However, the outlet noted that it remains unclear whether the film will move forward following the recent acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance.

If the merger is finalized, the movie could potentially be shelved, although that scenario appears unlikely given that the Game of Thrones franchise remains one of HBO’s most valuable and beloved properties.

After six seasons adapting the work of George R. R. Martin, the platform expanded the universe with House of the Dragon, a prequel series set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones that explores the history of House Targaryen.

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International

Spain’s Prime Minister to Address Nation Amid Trump’s Trade Threats

The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, will deliver an institutional address this Wednesday at the Moncloa Palace regarding the escalating situation in the Middle East and recent threats directed at Spain by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Spanish government announced that Sánchez will make a statement at 9:00 a.m. local time to outline his position on the latest developments following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Sánchez is expected to reiterate Spain’s reasons for opposing the use of U.S. military bases on Spanish soil in the operation—an action he has already described as being outside international law—while also expressing criticism of the Iranian regime.

Government sources indicated that the address had been planned prior to Trump’s remarks criticizing Spain’s stance. However, following those comments, Sánchez is now also expected to respond directly to the U.S. president’s statements.

Trump has threatened to “cut all trade with Spain” and said he wants “nothing to do” with the country after Madrid refused to authorize the use of the Morón and Rota military bases in southern Spain for operations against Tehran.

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The U.S. president also labeled Spain “a terrible NATO partner” and warned that “no one” would tell him he could not use the facilities.

In response, the Spanish government stated that Spain fulfills its commitments to NATO and European defense. It also warned Trump that any review of bilateral trade relations must respect international law and the agreements in place between the European Union and the United States.