Trump-Xi Dinner 'Part of Hell' - Newspaper Roundup
Sunday's newspaper round-up features various articles on the US-China rivalry in The Mirror, the Russian president's invitation to the G20 summit in the Daily Mail, and finally climate concern in The Independent.
We begin our tour with an article in the British newspaper The Mirror entitled “Trump’s banquet for the Chinese president seemed like the tenth circle of hell,” by writer Mickey Smith.
The writer speaks in a sarcastic way about the meeting that brought together US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Washington recently.
He believes that during this meeting, Trump sought to "dazzle" the Chinese President, by having a luxurious dining banquet, by showing off the construction site of the new ballroom hall in the White House, and by a military air show.
"The meeting had a competitive nature that says, 'Anything you can do, I can do better,'" he says, including artificial intelligence, espionage, and the suppression of freedom of expression.
As for “suppression of freedom of expression,” the writer adds sarcastically that it is “a relatively new field for Trump, but he is working on it,” reviewing the irony of allowing Chinese Communist Party journalists to enter the White House complex to cover the Chinese President’s ceremonies, while the American CNN network was denied entry.
The writer believes that "Trump likes the life of authoritarian leaders," and even believes that it is the reason behind him building a huge celebration hall attached to the White House, in addition to building a fortified bunker underneath it.
He recalls Trump's statement a year before he took office, in which he said that "he will not throw a luxurious banquet for Xi Jinping on his next visit to the United States, but rather will sit with him to eat a hamburger," and says that "this was before Trump tasted the luxurious life of dictators."
Smith likens the lavish banquet he hosted for the Chinese president to "the tenth circle of hell." Here, the writer uses a literary metaphor from the “Epic Divine Comedy” by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who classifies hell into only nine circles, while the writer exaggerated the number with the intention of describing how bad the encounter was, according to him.
The writer once again mocks that Trump “did not care about the lack of significant progress on sensitive issues such as trade disputes, human rights, or safeguards related to artificial intelligence,” but instead focused on “superintelligent robots remaining under human control.”
The article concludes by noting that “the entire meeting revolved around Trump’s attempt to impress the world’s most successful living dictator, through a show in which he imitates that dictator’s style.”
“In turbulent times, we need a true statesman.”
We turn to the editorial of the British newspaper The Daily Mail, entitled “In turbulent times, we need a statesman, not a local mayor.”
The newspaper criticizes the invitation extended by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit scheduled to be held in Manchester next year.
Although the newspaper sees the chances of Putin attending the summit as “slim” or even “non-existent,” it discusses the invitation he received from the British Prime Minister, days after the latter’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly in which he emphasized the Russian threat to his country.
It says, “A few days ago, Burnham was telling the United Nations General Assembly that Russia represents a clear and present danger that threatens everything this country stands for. And now he is expressing his willingness to host that old tyrant whose hands are stained with blood,” according to the newspaper.
It also criticizes the invitation being made despite "the possibility that Putin will be subjected to immediate arrest on charges of committing war crimes as soon as he sets foot on British soil."
The newspaper discusses the British Prime Minister's position, and believes that "he should have shown some reluctance, but rather made it clear that Putin has an international arrest warrant and must be treated as an international pariah."
She adds that Burnham's position expresses "painful impotence," stressing that the country, in these circumstances, "needs a wise and steadfast statesman, instead of a local mayor floundering aimlessly," according to her.
She believes that "the lack of will to defend British interests is an approach that began during the era of Keir Starmer, and reached its peak during the era of Burnham."
The newspaper notes that Burnham's position remains "ambiguous or even paralyzed" on several international issues, including ceding the Chagos Islands, sanctions imposed on Israel, and returning Britain to the European Union.
Even regarding local issues, the newspaper does not believe that “the situation is much different,” pointing to controlling immigration, defending women’s rights, fighting anti-Semitism, exploiting oil and gas reserves in the North Sea, reducing government spending, and alleviating the burden of the cost of living.
It insinuates that the Prime Minister's priorities are "dictated by unions, lobby groups concerned with poverty issues, and his party's representatives from the back ranks who are intellectually shallow and of a very modest level," according to him.
In conclusion, the newspaper notes that “a tangible feeling of confusion and disappointment prevails regarding his administration, and that the greatest concern among many is that he is simply not qualified for the position.”
“It is easier to be a climate change denier than to be concerned about the environment.”
We conclude our tour with an environmental article in the British newspaper The Independent, entitled “It is easier to be a climate change denier than to be concerned about the environment” by Charlotte Krebs.
The writer talks about the transitional state she experienced between her denial of climate change and her enjoyment of summer and heat waves, and her feeling of deep environmental anxiety.
The writer says that she "now finds herself burdened by the burden of the coming environmental crisis, to the point that she has become paralyzed with fear and is considering consulting a specialist."
