Greetings from this strange post-election reality. I am a journalist by trade, so I will refrain from expressing personal opinions about the election outcome. While that type of self-restraint can sometimes be frustrating, I believe it has value. I’m here to present facts and put other people’s opinions in context, not to pontificate. The people who know me have no doubts about my preferred policies, but it’s not my job to tell you about them.
All that said, I will direct you to a couple of opinion-y pieces that capture the moment, like this one from New Lines Magazine or this article in TIME, in which the author writes that Trump “will enter his second term committed to creating a governing environment with few restraints on his power….It was what the American people decided they wanted.” I think that assessment is the correct one.
I’ve had many conversations with people who want to analyze what went wrong with the Harris campaign. I believe they are asking the wrong questions. I’d rather understand what went right for Trump, why people voted for him, and how Republicans swept to victory. I don’t buy the argument that this is just a backlash against the incumbent. Millions still looked at Donald Trump and decided he was the man for the job.
What does Trump’s win tell us about the society we’re living in, and what will its impact be in the broader world? Those are the questions I will be here asking in the weeks, months, and years to come.
I’m opening the comments for everyone this week, even free subscribers, in case you want to tell me why you think Trump won or vent about global issues.
In addition to the U.S. presidential elections, I’m tracking the demise of Germany’s ruling coalition, a government shakeup in Israel, and protests in Serbia after the roof of a railway station collapsed, killing 14 people in the city of Novi Sad.
Lazo Magazine is on social media. You can follow along on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. You can also donate to Lazo Magazine or become a paid subscriber.
What I’m writing:
• I wrote about the view from Europe now that Donald Trump has won the election. European leaders and diplomats are desperately seeking silver linings and pondering how to bolster Europe’s defenses when a man who has never prioritized the continent’s security occupies the White House. This article is unlocked and free to read.
My weekly news blurbs:
What I’m reading:
• European security officials believe Russian operatives were behind a plot to smuggle incendiary devices onto a cargo plane in Germany in what may have been a trial run for future attacks targeting U.S.-bound planes, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• The Biden administration will expedite the transfer of the remaining $6 billion in Ukraine security assistance in a bid to prevent Trump from halting the shipments, Politico reports.
• South Korea’s foreign minister said “all possible scenarios” are under consideration for aiding Ukraine, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, North Korea and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to a June strategic partnership. Reuters has that story.
• Ukrainian troops engaged for the first time with North Korean soldiers in “small-scale” fighting in Russia’s Kursk border region, the Associated Press reports.
• Armenian organizations say that Azerbaijan is pushing a “greenwashing” agenda at COP29 climate summit, EurasiaNet reports.
• Moldova’s pro-European president claimed a second term in a tense election seen as a choice between Europe and Russia, the BBC reports.
• Balkan Insight details how strongmen from the Western Balkans see new opportunities under a second Trump administration.
• Lithuania's Social Democrats, who won last month's parliamentary election, decided to include in a new coalition government a populist party called Nemunas Dawn whose leader is standing trial for alleged antisemitic statements, Reuters reports.
• Germany’s three-way governing coalition collapsed after Chancellor Olaf Scholz unexpectedly fired his finance minister after months of budget disputes, the Guardian reports.
• Germany will provide most of its $4.3 billion pledge to Ukraine even if the 2025 budget fails to be approved on time due to the collapse of Berlin’s governing coalition, Reuters reports.
• The Kyiv Independent, citing the German media outlet Berliner Zeitung, claimed that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired former Finance Minister Christian Lindner after he proposed sending Ukraine Taurus missiles instead of financial aid.
• Germany’s far-right AfD party will initiate proceedings to expel party members arrested in a police sting against the Saxonian Separatists, a far-right group driven by racist ideology, Reuters reports.
• The United States and Saudi Arabia are discussing a possible bilateral security agreement that would not involve a broader deal with Israel, Axios reports.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over an “increasingly wide crisis of confidence,” announcing Foreign Minister Israel Katz will replace him, the Washington Post reports.
• Israel’s ousted defense minister Yoav Gallant reportedly told hostages’ families that Netanyahu rejected a hostages-for-peace deal against the advice of security officials and that the IDF has achieved all its objectives in Gaza, the Guardian reports.
• An Associated Press investigation into Israel’s allegations of Hamas presence in hospitals raided by Israeli troops found little evidence supporting the claims.
• Palestinians will not be allowed to return to northern Gaza following the conclusion of the “complete evacuation” of the area by Israeli ground forces, the Guardian reports. The Israeli army later distanced itself from an IDF general’s suggestion that north Gaza evacuees will not be allowed to return.
• Israel is falling far short of meeting the Biden administration’s ultimatum to surge the level of aid to Gaza or face restrictions on U.S. military funding, an Associated Press review of United Nations and Israeli data shows.
• Palestinian officials, witnesses, and journalists are accusing Israel of stepping up a campaign of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, where civilians under constant bombardment are being denied the right to their homes, food, water, and medical support, Al Jazeera reports.
• The Israeli military said its troops seized a Syrian citizen involved in Iranian networks during a ground raid in Syria, the first announcement of Israeli operations on Syrian territory in the current war, the Associated Press reports.
• The United States and Somalia signed an agreement to cancel a $1.14 billion debt Mogadishu owed, the Guardian reports.
• A series of “intense, violent” Rapid Support Forces raids on villages in Sudan’s eastern El Gezira state displaced some 135,000 people over the past two weeks, Reuters reports.
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is re-establishing a Cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations to address concerns about the upcoming Trump presidency, the Associated Press reports.
Interesting statements:
You can write to me for any reason: c.maza@protonamail.com