Trump, the Suez Canal, and the end of Eisenhower’s World Order
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – AFP reports that Trump has said, “American ships, both military and commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez canals!” He went on to allege that “both routes” would not exist in the first place without the United States.
News organizations have probably lost track of the tens of thousands of lies Trump has told while in office. As far as I can tell, most of the things that come out of the addled old lunatic’s mouth are either lies or falsehoods.
As a historian, I particularly mind the lies and falsehoods about history. And as a historian of Egypt, I particularly mind lies and falsehoods about Egyptian history.
As his approval rating sinks, Trump wants investigations into pollsters
Making matters worse for Trump, there’s no reason to believe a comeback is imminent. The data suggests much of the public has not yet felt the direct impact of the White House’s tariffs, for example. And once the consequences of the administration’s trade policies start affecting Americans’ lives and wallets, it’s easy to imagine Trump’s floor sinking further.
For his part, Trump has seen the shift in public attitudes, and he’s ready to reassess the direction of his failing presidency.
No, I’m just kidding. He’s actually lashing out at pollsters in new and ridiculous ways.
Massive Power Outage Is Causing Havoc in Portugal and Spain
The outage, which began Monday morning, is mostly concentrated in Portugal and Spain. Data from Spain shows that around 12:15 p.m. local time, electricity demands shot down from 27,500 megawatts to 15,000 megawatts. Affected areas include both countries’ respective capitals, Lisbon and Madrid, along with other major cities like Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, and their surrounding areas. In France, electricity only went out in some areas of the south-west but was reportedly quickly restored.
Portugal and Spain, which have a combined population of over 50 million, have a highly connected power grid operated by Redes Energéticas Nacionais and Red Electrica, respectively. Although the exact cause of the outage hasn’t been confirmed, Politico reported that Eduardo Prieto, director of Red Eléctrica, blamed a “very strong oscillation in the electrical network”. Per Sky News, REN stated that “rare atmospheric phenomena” caused the issues.
Canada Votes
CBC News projects a Liberal government
Too soon to say whether it will be a minority or majority.