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World reaction to US presidential debate: Mockery from China and Russia, concern from allies

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America’s adversaries didn’t just think President Biden got pummeled in Thursday’s debate, they claim the United States was the real loser.

Russia, China, Iran and others weighed in after Biden’s faltering performance left viewers stunned. Media outlets in those countries, many of which are government-run, seized on the debate debacle to criticize the U.S.

«Every outlet, big and small, carries a piece describing what happened,» Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and author of «Putin’s Playbook,» told Fox News Digital. «Some have more than one. Most of them, if not all, are derogatory of both candidates and mocking America.»

«What [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is seeing is that the American Society is deeply fractured and consumed by its own problems,» Koffler said. «Putin likely believes that Russia wins either way, no matter who wins, because he expects the U.S. to plunge into chaos in the aftermath of the elections, because the country is so divided and polarized.»

«Bottom line, Moscow feels confident that the societal crisis that has engulfed the U.S. is good for Russia,» she added. 

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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that Putin «was too bored to wake up and watch the U.S. debate,» but that «we have seen media reports about these debates.» 

Peskov added that the Kremlin has made no attempt to «assess this debate» or make «official conclusions» and insisted that Russia has «never interfered in the election campaigns of the United States.» 

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un visit the Vostochny Сosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, September 13, 2023.  (Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin via Reuters/File Photo)

Outside the Kremlin, Russian media have reportedly touted the debate as a victory for Russia, with Putin positioned to dictate terms in the war in Ukraine – especially if Donald Trump were to win the White House. 

They highlighted Biden’s «half-open mouth, unblinking eyes» and «blank expression on his face.» 

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«This is how Joe Biden appeared before an audience of millions,» Russian state TV New York bureau chief Valentin Bogdanov said on Kremlin-backed RT. 

The news report especially focused on the reaction from CNN, calling the anchors «powerless» and the Democratic Party in the throes of a «deep panic,» according to East2West. 

China Europe Nato

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban jointly meet the press after their talks in Budapest, Hungary, May 9, 2024.  (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via Getty Images)

China also took an unfavorable view of the debate. Official media appeared to generally ignore it, but the state-run Global Times labeled it «the most chaotic presidential debate ever» and «like a reality show» while also highlighting the times Biden and Trump talked about China, according to the BBC. 

The Global Times most specifically took issue with Trump blaming Beijing for «the raging COVID-19 epidemic and U.S. economic woes.» 

BIDEN AIMS TO CHANGE NEGATIVE NARRATIVE AFTER ROUGH DEBATE WITH TRUMP

State-owned Beijing News claimed that the debate exposed both candidates’ shortcomings, with a «habitually confused» Biden and Trump spreading «rumors» instead of answering questions directly. 

The Xinhua news agency framed the debate within the context of an America «weary of another Biden-Trump match-up» and focusing on Biden’s «several verbal slips» and «unclear» speech, while hitting Trump for failing to answer questions directly while providing statements that «contained many exaggerations and falsehoods.»

biden, xi jinping

President Joe Biden (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping walk together after a meeting during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ week in Woodside, California, on November 15, 2023. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese social media personalities were even more pointed. Former state media editor Hu Xijin on social media platform X mocked the U.S. presidential debate for proving «very entertaining for many Chinese people,» according to Newsweek. 

«Objectively speaking, the low-quality performance of these two old men was a negative advertisement for Western democracy,» he wrote. 

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Other social media users described the debate as a «disaster,» «train wreck» and «waste of time, though it should be noted that Chinese media has regularly tried to paint the U.S. as a country in turmoil with an uncertain political future. 

Iran’s Republic News Agency did not appear to focus much on the debate as the country holds its own presidential elections this weekend, which dominated coverage, but Middle East expert and The Foreign Desk editor-in-chief Lisa Daftari warned that the mediocre showing at the debate will interest all of America’s rivals. 

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads mourners in prayer

In this photo released by the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center with black turban, leads a prayer over the flag-draped coffins of the late President Ebrahim Raisi and his companions who were killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday in a mountainous region of the country’s northwest, at the Tehran University campus, during a funeral ceremony for them in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP) (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

«Any American adversary may look at President Biden’s performance as a reminder that the leader of the free world is currently less than competent,» Daftari said. «It’s always been the case that the United States has the ability to defend its interests and bring about stability throughout the world just through deterrence and proper rhetoric and positioning.»

«That has not always been the case with the Biden administration, and [Thursday] night’s performance allows for an even more extreme perception of American weakness,» she added. 

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«We are looking at many precarious global crises right now, including China invading Taiwan, Iran’s regime possessing and/or using nuclear weapons, Iran’s regime continuing its proxy wars against Israel and Western assets in the region [and] Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine,» Daftari said. «Of course, any one of these current crises may find more momentum between now and the election.»

Reaction even in allied nations was less than glowing, starting with Polish Foreign Minister Radslaw Sikorski’s cryptic message on X, which some have taken to be an unfavorable comparison between Biden and the great Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. 

Biden looks off while with G7 leaders

Giorgia Meloni (l-r), Prime Minister of Italy, Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of Great Britain, Charles Michel, EU Council President (hidden), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Emmanuel Macron, President of France, Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President, and U.S. President Joe Biden, watch parachutists at the G7 summit; Biden watches the parachutists on the far right. (Photo by Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)

«Marcus Aurelius was a great emperor, but he screwed up his succession by passing the baton to his feckless son Commodus (He, from the Gladiator) whose disastrous rule started Rome’s decline),» Sikeorski wrote. «It’s important to manage one’s ride into the sunset.» 

French news outlet Le Monde described that debate as a «terrible storm» and bemoaned Biden’s obsession with trying to «push his opponent off his hinges» by mocking Trump’s answers to questions, the BBC reported. 

German outlet Der Spiegel compared the debate to «a car accident» and half-heartedly applauded both candidates for the «theatrical performance» while claiming that supporters on both sides will feel that their candidate did their job. 

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Another outlet, Die Welt, lamented that Biden was not an exciting candidate but one who had «common sense and a stable personality» who would keep «normalcy» in the White House. 


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French election preview: Polls show right-wing party leads runoff as opponents urge tactical voting

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France is set to elect the right-wing National Rally (RN) as the largest party in government, yet no party may emerge with a clear majority in this tightly contested election as the second round of voting kicks off this weekend. 

The first round, which occurred June 30, resulted in just 76 of the 577 constituencies in the French National Assembly determining their representative. Any candidate who did not receive an outright majority in the first round of voting heads on to the second-round runoff, which is set for July 7.

Those few contests that concluded in the first round revealed a lot about voter sentiment and indicated trouble for the current government after RN took one-third of the vote, the most by any party.

The current government is an «ensemble,» a coalition of parties, including French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance (RE), Democratic Movement, Horizons, En Commun and the Progressive federation. Despite the assembly election results, Macron will retain his mandate as president until the 2027 election. 

FRANCE’S RIGHT-WING NATIONAL RALLY LOOKS TO SEIZE ON RECENT ELECTORAL GAINS

Macron called the snap election after RN scored enormous success in the European Parliamentary elections in June. Polling before the first round of voting indicated RN would continue to dominate, but more recent polling ahead of the runoff indicates those returns have diminished and RN will fall short of a clear majority. 

Wednesday’s poll indicates RN will end up taking between 190 and 220 seats, but it would need 289 seats to control the assembly, according to Reuters. Additionally, its closest ally, the Republicans, are projected to win – at most – around 50 seats, ruling out some kind of right-wing coalition to take control of the assembly.

Supporters of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen react after the release of projections based on the actual vote count in select constituencies June 30, 2024, in Hénin-Beaumont, northern France.  (AP/Thibault Camus)

The next largest share would go to the New Popular Front alliance, which could net between 159 and 183 seats, leaving Macron’s ensemble third with around 110 to 135 seats. Macron has already ruled out making a new alliance with the left-wing party France Unbowed (LFI), according to French daily Le Figaro.

Many candidates from Macron’s alliance who reached the runoff have already stood down in an effort to focus voters and support behind the strongest non-RN candidate in any given constituency. Former French Prime Minister Edouard Phillippe told French network TF1 TV he would vote for a Communist candidate to stop RN from winning the seat. 

FRANCE’S GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON IS ATTACKED ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL, DAYS BEFORE DECISIVE ELECTION

Macron insisted, however, that «withdrawing today for left-wing elected officials in the face of National Rally does not mean governing tomorrow with LFI.»

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal last month blasted LFI as equally extreme and just as dangerous to French society as RN, writing on social media platform X that «Insoumise France fuels the National Rally and the National Rally fuels Insoumise France.

Marine Le Pen

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, meets French far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen at Élysée Palace June 21, 2022, in Paris. (Ludovic Marin/Pool/AP)

«They fuel hatred, fears and divisions between the French,» Attal added. «On June 30 and July 7, against the extremes and for the Republic, vote!» 

Opposition to RN stems from its roots as National Front, headed up by Marine Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was repeatedly convicted for racist and antisemitic remarks, including elements of Holocaust denial, such as when he referred to Nazi gas chambers as a «detail» of history.

RIVALS MOVE TO BLOCK FRANCE’S RIGHT-WING NATIONAL PARTY’S ELECTION MOMENTUM

But Marine Le Pen has found support among some of France’s Jewish voters as antisemitism continues to grow in Europe.

Her anti-Islam views and comments, however, have raised concerns among other voters, as well. In 2017, she suggested France expel any foreigners convicted of a crime or suspected of being radicalized and said convicted extremists with dual nationality should be stripped of their French passports, Radio France Internationale reported. 

«The measures that I want to put in place would mean that many of these people (Islamist attackers) would not have been on our territory or living freely,» she said in an interview with BFM TV. 

Macron and Attal at national tribute

French President Emmanuel Macron and French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal during the national tribute ceremony for former French Justice Minister Robert Badinter at Place Vendome Feb. 14, 2024, in Paris.  (Christian Liewig/Corbis/Getty Images)

In the event the votes should fall as the polls predict, the most likely outcome for France will be a hung parliament with some kind of begrudging alliance created to get a leader in place. The Conservative Party in Britain regained power from Labour in 2010 through a hung parliament alliance with the Liberal-Democrats, ultimately establishing an outright majority in the following election.

But, at that time, the Conservatives had 306 of 650 seats, making it far easier to broker such a deal. For France, RN would need support from two other parties or would need to form some kind of alliance with a direct rival. 

The government has urged voters to do what they can to continue diminishing RN’s chances of achieving control of the assembly, with Attal arguing voters had a «responsibility» to block RN from victory. 

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«On Sunday evening, what’s at stake in the second round is to do everything so the extreme right does not have an absolute majority,» Attal said during an appearance on France Inter radio as reported by Voice of America.

«It is not nice for some French to have to block … by using a vote that they did not want to,» he added, clarifying that he «did not speak about a coalition. I do not want to impose on the French a coalition they did not choose.» 


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