World Reacts with Surprise to US Presidential Debate
2020-10-01
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1People around the world have been reacting to the debate between the two main candidates for president in the United States.
2President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio, for the first of three planned debates.
3Many people overseas were critical of the language the candidates used during the 90-minute-long event.
4The two men insulted each other with name-calling and personal attacks.
5Speaking to Biden, Trump said," I've done more things in 47 months [as president] than you've done in 47 years" as a U.S. senator and vice president under former President Barack Obama.
6Biden described Trump as "the worst president America has ever had."
7Several times, the former vice president called him "a clown."
8The Associated Press reports that the candidates' comments and actions could have a big effect on America's international image.
9Observers from Asia and Australia to Europe and Africa looked for possible effects on financial markets.
10Michael Hewson is chief market expert at investment service CMC Markets UK.
11"If last night's presidential debate was supposed to inform and educate," he wrote, "all it did was merely confirm the credibility deficit in U.S. politics."
12Hewson accused the candidates of taking part "in what can only be described as a fact-free, name-calling contest."
13A highly divided and possibly legally contested U.S. election is coming, warned Stephen Innes of AxiCorp, a foreign exchange trading services provider based in Sydney, Australia.
14"With mail-in votes likely to be too high (and possibly questioned), there is a chance that we still will not know the result by Inauguration Day," he said.
15By law, the winner of the election is to be sworn in on January 20.
16Innes warned of a possible constitutional crisis if the election results are questioned or delayed.
17In Europe and Africa, people awoke Wednesday to news reports on the debate.
18"The comments I've seen from various European press is basically: 'I'm happy I'm not an American voter this year.' It's just a mess," said Jussi Hanhimaki. He serves as a professor of International History at the Graduate Institute in Geneva in Switzerland.
19On Twitter, Kenyan commentator Patrick Gathara noted: "This debate would be sheer comedy if it wasn't such a pitiful and tragic advertisement for U.S. dysfunction."
20On Facebook, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized all the time spent on arguments at the debate Tuesday night.
21"Fortunately, this is not the case in Denmark. And I never hope it will be like that," she wrote.
22Other leaders followed the debate, but kept their distance from American politics.
23Steffan Seibert is spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
24He said Merkel was "informed about what took place last night." But he refused to comment.
25In Russia, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said he would not comment on the debate because it might be thought of as an attempt to interfere.
26"The Russian Federation has never interfered in the internal affairs of the United States and never will," he said.
27Walter Veltroni writes opinion pieces for Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.
28Veltroni, a former mayor of Rome, says he has seen every U.S. presidential debate since 1960.
29"I have never witnessed a spectacle similar to the one last night," he wrote on Wednesday.
30He said the debate showed how there are two Americas that appear unable to exist together without conflict.
31Hu Xijin, editor of China's Communist Party newspaper Global Times, noted the "personal attacks" and "insults" made by the two candidates.
32He wrote that the debate was a sign of America's "overarching division."
33"I used to...(like) this kind of televised debate in American politics, but I have much more mixed feelings when watch[ing] it again now," Hu wrote.
34The Global Times often criticizes American policies.
35Foreign policy issues were largely missing from the debate.
36However, Trump did blame China for the coronavirus health crisis, which has killed more than 1 million people worldwide.
37He also accused China of paying Biden's son Hunter to provide advice.
38Joe Biden attacked Trump's trade deals with China for failing to help Americans.
39I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1People around the world have been reacting to the debate between the two main candidates for president in the United States. 2President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio, for the first of three planned debates. 3Many people overseas were critical of the language the candidates used during the 90-minute-long event. The two men insulted each other with name-calling and personal attacks. 4Speaking to Biden, Trump said," I've done more things in 47 months [as president] than you've done in 47 years" as a U.S. senator and vice president under former President Barack Obama. 5Biden described Trump as "the worst president America has ever had." Several times, the former vice president called him "a clown." 6The Associated Press reports that the candidates' comments and actions could have a big effect on America's international image. 7Observers from Asia and Australia to Europe and Africa looked for possible effects on financial markets. 8Michael Hewson is chief market expert at investment service CMC Markets UK. 9"If last night's presidential debate was supposed to inform and educate," he wrote, "all it did was merely confirm the credibility deficit in U.S. politics." Hewson accused the candidates of taking part "in what can only be described as a fact-free, name-calling contest." 10A highly divided and possibly legally contested U.S. election is coming, warned Stephen Innes of AxiCorp, a foreign exchange trading services provider based in Sydney, Australia. 11"With mail-in votes likely to be too high (and possibly questioned), there is a chance that we still will not know the result by Inauguration Day," he said. 12By law, the winner of the election is to be sworn in on January 20. Innes warned of a possible constitutional crisis if the election results are questioned or delayed. 13In Europe and Africa, people awoke Wednesday to news reports on the debate. 14"The comments I've seen from various European press is basically: 'I'm happy I'm not an American voter this year.' It's just a mess," said Jussi Hanhimaki. He serves as a professor of International History at the Graduate Institute in Geneva in Switzerland. 15On Twitter, Kenyan commentator Patrick Gathara noted: "This debate would be sheer comedy if it wasn't such a pitiful and tragic advertisement for U.S. dysfunction." 16World leaders react to the debate 17On Facebook, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized all the time spent on arguments at the debate Tuesday night. "Fortunately, this is not the case in Denmark. And I never hope it will be like that," she wrote. 18Other leaders followed the debate, but kept their distance from American politics. Steffan Seibert is spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He said Merkel was "informed about what took place last night." But he refused to comment. 19In Russia, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said he would not comment on the debate because it might be thought of as an attempt to interfere. "The Russian Federation has never interfered in the internal affairs of the United States and never will," he said. 20Walter Veltroni writes opinion pieces for Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper. Veltroni, a former mayor of Rome, says he has seen every U.S. presidential debate since 1960. 21"I have never witnessed a spectacle similar to the one last night," he wrote on Wednesday. He said the debate showed how there are two Americas that appear unable to exist together without conflict. 22Hu Xijin, editor of China's Communist Party newspaper Global Times, noted the "personal attacks" and "insults" made by the two candidates. He wrote that the debate was a sign of America's "overarching division." 23"I used to...(like) this kind of televised debate in American politics, but I have much more mixed feelings when watch[ing] it again now," Hu wrote. The Global Times often criticizes American policies. 24Foreign policy issues were largely missing from the debate. However, Trump did blame China for the coronavirus health crisis, which has killed more than 1 million people worldwide. He also accused China of paying Biden's son Hunter to provide advice. Joe Biden attacked Trump's trade deals with China for failing to help Americans. 25I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 26The Associated Press reported this story. George Grow adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 27_________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29clown - n. a foolish person; a joker 30merely - adj. just or only 31contest - n. a competition; a struggle or conflict 32mess - n. disorder or when things are out of place 33transfer - n. movement from one place to another 34sheer - adj. complete and total 35comedy - n. a show with jokes or funny situations 36dysfunction - n. limited or less than full operation 37spectacle - n. something unusual or notable; a special show 38overarching - adj. something that affects everyone or everything 39advantage - n. a condition that puts you in an improved or better position 40pitiful - adj. causing feelings of dislike or disgust by not being enough or not being good enough 41fortunately - adv. used to say that something good or lucky has happened 42internal affairs- adj. issues existing or taking place within a country 43We want to hear from you. 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