US President Joe Biden cut the lead of former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) to two percentage points in the face of next November’s presidential elections, at a time when the majority of voters express negative opinions about both opponents.
According to the NBC News poll released this Sunday, Biden cuts Trump’s previous advantage to only two points (44%-46%) in this contest, an improvement over last January’s poll, when the difference was five percentage points (42%-47%) in favor of Trump.
In this close face-to-face fought between Biden and Trump, the proportion of those who say they have a great interest in the presidential race has reached its lowest level in almost 20 years, with only 64% of registered voters with a high interest in the elections.
This is a significantly lower figure than that collected by NBC News at this time in the presidential contests of 2008 (74%), 2012 (67%), 2016 (69%) and 2020 (77%).
The survey was carried out from April 12 to 16, at a very turbulent moment in US politics, coinciding with the beginning of the criminal trial of Trump in New York, as well as new attacks and intensified tensions in the Middle East.
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While Biden, 81, surpasses Trump, 77, in issues related to the right to abortion and the unification of the country, the former Republican president is ahead in terms of competition and inflation management.
This latest nationwide survey by the NBC News channel finds that inflation and immigration top the list of the most important problems facing the country, while only a third of voters give credit to Biden for an improvement in the economy.
Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt, of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the poll together with Republican Bill McInturff, of Public Opinion Strategies, said that “Americans do not agree much these days, but nothing unites the country more than the desire to stop paying attention to these elections.”
The survey shows that the two candidates are essentially tied between independent voters (Biden 36%, Trump 34%) and among those between the ages of 18 and 34 (Biden 44%, Trump 43%).
“One of the great mysteries of the polls of this cycle is whether young voters have defected from Biden,” or whether the Democrats have maintained their advantage among this demographic group, the poll points out.
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In this context, the survey highlights how the low interest of voters and the independent candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “potentially complicate what has been a stable presidential contest more than six months before election day.”
While Trump has a two-percentage-point advantage over Biden in the direct confrontation, the Democratic president leads the former Republican president by two points (39% -37%) in a vote between five candidates that includes Kennedy (13%) and other candidates from third parties.
IICA to strengthen prevention efforts against cattle tick disease with $250K investment
The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) announced on Friday that it will allocate $250,000 to deepen and strengthen actions for the prevention, control, and eradication of the cattle tick in Central America.
IICA’s Director-General, Manuel Otero, explained that the funds will support the strategy to combat the disease in 2025, focusing on two key areas: strengthening communication campaigns, awareness, and health education; and improving case reporting, notification, and the purchase of sampling kits and authorized healing products to ensure a more effective response in the region.
“It is an endemic disease present across the continent and requires more investment, more surveillance, more training, and more institutional support. It is a very strong enemy that affects the quality of life for our cattle producers and threatens our exports,” Otero said during a meeting with Agriculture Ministers from the region.
The initiative is carried out in collaboration with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and aims to enhance the understanding and knowledge of the disease among various stakeholders.
Milei: Social justice promotes hostility, incompatible with progress
President Javier Milei spoke on Friday at the headquarters of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington, D.C., United States. In the first part of his speech, he stated that “social justice is an abomination.” His address, delivered amidst the crypto scandal and titled “The Argentine Economic Model,” came after the libertarian leader visited the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the second time this year, where he met with Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to finalize details of the new program through which the government hopes to accelerate economic recovery and ease currency controls.
Throughout his speech, the president praised his ministers, particularly Economy Minister Luis Caputo and the head of the Ministry of Transformation, Federico Sturzenegger, whom he highlighted for his “Chainsaw 2.0” plan, referring to budget cuts within the state. Additionally, Milei forecasted further deregulation and criticized an economic group that “benefited” from the ban on exporting scrap metal.
As he began his address, the President claimed that “he avoided hyperinflation of 17,000% per year” due to the strong fiscal adjustment he implemented at the start of his administration. He highlighted several key indicators of his government’s performance while continuing to praise his ministers. He then turned his attention to the concept of social justice. “Because if the wealth creator is punished and the complainer is given money, the incentive is to complain and not work, which creates an incentive system incompatible with progress,” he argued.
“It has consequences on the quality of life in society, but not due to its economic damage, but because of the relationship between people. Promoting a society of envy makes society hostile, where there is constant conflict over a supposed class struggle because one person generates wealth and it is stolen. It is as if one is living in a permanent war,” he insisted.
Trump says Zelensky’s presence in peace talks makes it “difficult” to reach agreements
U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Friday that his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, “is not that important” to be present in meetings aimed at ending the conflict, arguing that his participation makes it “very difficult to finalize agreements.”
“I don’t think it’s important for him to be in the meetings,” emphasized the magnate during a radio interview with TV host Brian Kilmeade on the Fox News channel, adding that Zelensky had been present in negotiations “for three years” without any results.
The president called last week’s visit by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Kyiv a “waste of time,” as he tried to secure an agreement on the exploitation of Ukraine’s natural resources. Zelensky rejected the offer presented by Bessent, which would have granted the U.S. access to 50% of Ukraine’s strategic minerals in exchange for American support during the war, as well as future assistance for Kyiv.
In return, Zelensky offered to open the door to U.S. “investments.” In a media interview, Secretary of State Marco Rubio explicitly included this rejection of Bessent’s plan as one of the main reasons for Trump’s frustration with Zelensky.
