President Biden and former President Donald Trump debated various topics including immigration, the economy, and their respective records during the first 2024 presidential debate in Atlanta on June 27. Several of theirs claims have been verified for accuracy. Trump claimed the U.S. had its greatest economy during his presidency, but data shows otherwise. GDP growth under him was lower than that under Presidents Clinton and Eisenhower, and his unemployment rate claim was also inaccurate, with rates lower in past years and during Biden’s term. Biden’s assertion that no troops have died during his presidency is false, as at least 16 service members have died overseas, including 13 in an attack at Kabul airport. Trump denied calling deceased soldiers “suckers and losers,” but several credible sources confirmed that he did make disparaging remarks about U.S. military personnel. Biden’s statement about a 40% reduction in illegal border crossings under his administration is partially true. While recent data shows a significant drop following a new asylum ban, there were periods during Trump’s presidency when illegal crossings were also below current levels. Trump stated that migrants are committing crimes at unprecedented levels, which is misleading; data shows that migrants do not commit crimes at higher rates than native-born Americans. On COVID-19, while it is true that more people died under President Joe Biden’s administration than Trump’s, early death counts were likely undercounted. Claims regarding former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam supporting infanticide are false; Northam discussed scenarios involving severely deformed or non-viable fetuses, not killing newborns. Trump’s assertions that Biden targeted him in the New York “hush money” case are false; the Manhattan district attorney operates independently of federal jurisdiction. His claim about reducing insulin prices for seniors is misleading, as the initiative involved a collaborative effort with Medicare and was later expanded by Biden’s administration. The assertion that Biden wants open borders is also false; Biden’s administration has enacted several restrictive immigration policies and continues deportations. Biden’s claim that Trump wants to eliminate Social Security is inaccurate; Trump has vowed to protect it, speaking of “cutting waste and fraud” instead. Lastly, Trump’s statement that Biden has the largest deficit in U.S. history is false; the highest deficit occurred under Trump’s administration in fiscal year 2020. These fact-checks provide context and additional information to clarify the accuracy of the claims. Original Text published in-> CBS

While there is no serious doubt Iran is driving the Middle East crisis, President Biden continues ignoring the strategic implications of this fundamental reality. As in Ukraine, where the administration worries more about Russian “escalation” than Ukrainian victory, Biden worries more about the Middle East conflict “spreading” beyond Israel and Hamas than about defeating the Iran-directed threats. There is no sign the White House is prepared to hold Iran accountable for what has already happened to innocent Israelis and Americans, amid increasingly troubling signs Iran’s future actions will also not trigger accountability. By John Bolton. Full Text -> NewYorkPost

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, afirmó que Nicolás Maduro deberá hacer “mucho” para aliviar las sanciones en su contra, esto tras ser consultado sobre el caso Venezuela, en el marco de las alternativas que Washington escala para satisfacer su demanda energética. Con relación a si Venezuela podría ser uno de sus proveedores, el mandatario estadounidense aseveró que aún existen muchas opciones y su administración no ha tomado una decisión final. Texto Completo -> VPITV

︎For English text, use Google’s translator at the bottom ︎

MAGA Republicans are rather a threat because their leader does not accept the outcome of elections when he loses them; because he does not believe that the rule of law applies to him; because he does not adhere to the culture of restraint, tolerance, and moderation; and because he is now seeking to help elect other politicians who feel the same way. In their drive to change the political system, and to ensure that they can retain power even if they lose, Trump’s followers have verbally and sometimes physically attacked Capitol police officers, election workers, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and civil servants. He and his acolytes use violent language, and they inspire violence in return. As Biden put it last night, they “tried everything last time to nullify the votes of 81 million people. This time, they’re determined to succeed in thwarting the will of the people.” By Anne Applebaum. Full Text -> TheAtlantic

Traducción de cortesía -> Los republicanos del MAGA son más bien una amenaza porque su líder no acepta el resultado de las elecciones cuando las pierde; porque no cree que le sea aplicable el estado de derecho; porque no se adhiere a la cultura de la moderación, la tolerancia y la moderación; y porque ahora busca ayudar a elegir a otros políticos que sienten lo mismo. En su afán por cambiar el sistema político y asegurarse de que puedan retener el poder incluso si pierden, los seguidores de Trump han atacado verbal y, a veces, físicamente a los agentes de policía del Capitolio, a los trabajadores electorales, al FBI, al Departamento de Justicia y a los funcionarios públicos. Él y sus acólitos usan un lenguaje violento, y ellos inspiran violencia a cambio. Como dijo Biden anoche, “intentaron todo la última vez para anular los votos de 81 millones de personas. Esta vez, están decididos a lograr frustrar la voluntad de la gente”.

On his recent trip to Europe, Biden announced that the United States was back and ready to lead the West in the struggle between the world’s democracies and autocracies. Well, here’s his chance. The Cuban regime is one of the world’s most enduring totalitarian dictatorships, but for the first time, it is facing an unprecedented confluence of events that could finally lead to its demise. By Marc A. Thiessen. Full Text -> The Washington Post

“Under your leadership and in coalition with civil society leaders you are preserving those ideals of freedom, democracy and sovereignty,” Biden wrote in the letter addressed to Guaido and sent through the Office of Venezuelan Affairs in neighbouring Colombia Biden said that Guaido is guiding his country “through a peaceful democratic transition of power.” Full Text -> MacroPress

 The President also shared his concern regarding the situation in Venezuela and its regional impact and underscored the importance of expanding international consensus in favor of comprehensive negotiations that lead to free and fair elections. Full Text _-> TheWhiteHouse

Internal PDVSA (Venezuela’s state-owned oil company) documents show clearly that the nation hasn’t received diesel imports since November of last year, leading data analysts to extrapolate that the country will run out of the fuel as soon as March or April. Amazingly, despite this grim prognosis, Maduro’s government continues to export diesel to Cuba, its close ally and sister in sanctions. One the one hand, this could be used as an argument to show that Venezuela doesn’t need a loosening in sanctions to receive more diesel if Maduro already feels that he has enough to give away. However, the real lesson here is that this part of U.S. sanctions is of no concern to Maduro, nor is the suffering of his people. A reinstatement of crude-for-diesel trade therefore can’t hurt the U.S. agenda, only stands to help the Venezuelan people. By Haley Zaremba. Full Text -> OilPrice

Representatives of fuel suppliers to Venezuela, importers of Venezuelan oil and advocacy groups said this month they plan to press the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to reverse a ban on crude-for-diesel swaps. By Luc Cohen. Full Text -> Reuters

Biden’s ascension to the top job marks an end to the hardline policy taken by the Trump White House toward Venezuela and its attempts to oust autocratic socialist leader Nicolás Maduro. By Matthew Smith. Full Text -> OilMarket