US embassies in Europe say they won’t be throwing election night parties because of Trump


United States embassies across Europe were not planning to party on election night. Staffers headed home instead of gathering around the television at work, swapping stories and sharing libations as they have in elections past.

With a victory by former President Donald Trump increasingly likely and predicted the diplomatic establishment is seeing 2016 all over again when Trump soundly defeated Hillary Clinton and promised to drain the swamp and defeat the Deep State in Washington.

“I don’t think there was appetite to watch another Trump victory,” a senior European diplomat told Politico, explaining that Trump’s win in 2016 had “calamitous” effects on the party mood. Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power remembered in her autobiography that she invited all the female UN ambassadors to a private election night party in anticipation of Clinton becoming the first female president and watching it all collapse. It doesn’t look like it’s Vice President Kamala Harris’ year either.

For an American diplomatic world that leaned heavily towards the Democrats in 2016 as it does now, a Trump victory was, and is, seen as a right-wing populist backlash to be feared, not applauded.

The embassy titans are not staying up late Tuesday night to be disappointed by Trump’s reelection or seen sobbing with a Martini. Only the US Embassy in Rome has planned for a party. If the blatant ideological bias of the ambassadors and their staff seems surprising, even outrageous, it’s because of the prevalence of political patronage in the diplomatic corps and due to President Joe Biden having appointed so many to their current jobs, Politico noted.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in London told Politico that it “appreciates the long-standing energy and excitement around U.S. presidential elections which have been carried out over nearly 250 years of democracy,” while it appreciates how “election day does not end on election night. Time may be required to count votes and let the electoral process work.”

Though the process didn’t work well for Trump in 2020, he appears to have captured enough of the hearts and minds of American voters to become only the second person to win the presidency twice in non-consecutive terms, the other being Grover Cleveland. But his Make America Great Again message will not be any more popular to European liberals than it was the first time.

This Story originally came from humanevents.com

 


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What Ceasefire? ‘Heavy Clashes’ In South Lebanon As Beirut Buildings Leveled

What Ceasefire? ‘Heavy Clashes’ In South Lebanon As Beirut Buildings Leveled

Despite all the recent talk of a potential ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel in the works, regional reports say that some of the fiercest ground fighting is currently taking place in southern Lebanon on Friday.

Heavy Israeli aerial bombardments of the southern suburbs of Beirut have also continued with intensity. On Friday an Israeli missile completely leveled a residential multi-story in the neighborhood of Chiyah. Israel’s military reportedly issued a civilian evacuation alert shortly before, and terrifying video from the scene suggests locals knew it was about to be struck.

In the south of Lebanon, near the border, UN peacekeeping forces say they are monitoring “heavy clashes” on Friday, saying most of the fighting is centered in the coastal town of Naqoura as well as the village of Chamaa.

There are also emerging reports which say four Italian soldiers were injured after two rockets hit a UNIFIL base in Chamaa. Italy’s deputy prime minister has said Hezbollah was likely behind the rocket firing: “There were believed to be two missiles, from what it appears, they are believed to have been launched by Hezbollah.”

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a statement of “deep indignation and concern” over “new attacks suffered by the Italian headquarters of UNIFIL in southern Lebanon.”

“These attacks are unacceptable,” she stated, adding that “the parties on the ground to guarantee, at all times, the safety of UNIFIL soldiers and to collaborate to quickly identify those responsible.”

“We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti has said, saying that since the incident all UN troops appear to be safe “for the moment”.

Up until now, the UNIFIL has claimed its command posts came under attack by Israeli forces, including IDF tanks, several times. This appears to be the first time that Hezbollah fired on UN locations.

IDF forces earlier this week reached their deepest point into Lebanon since the ground invasion began, in the countryside vicinity of the port city of Tyre, which has been pummeled by airstrikes.

UNIFIL base (in the background) in Chamaa, Lebanon. Wiki Commons

Israel has repeatedly demanded that the UNIFIL troops withdraw – requests which have been refused. This puts the UNIFIL outposts in the direct line of fire as the war encircles their positions.

“UNIFIL strongly urges combating parties to avoid fighting next to its positions. Inviolability of UN premises and personnel must be respected at all times,” a Friday statement said.

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