PRESS REVIEW – Thursday, April 2: Donald Trump hails what he calls the successes of the war in Iran in a televised address. Earlier, he once again threatened to pull the United States out of NATO – a move the Wall Street Journal has described as the “dumbest” in history. Also, Gizmodo celebrates “humanity’s epic return” to the Moon, as NASA’s Artemis II mission successfully lifts off from Cape Canaveral. And finally, an elderly dog fights off a hungry bear to save her family’s farm.
Reactions are pouring in over Donald Trump’s threats to pull the United States out of the NATO alliance. The British daily Metro delivered a memorable headline: Trump throws a “star-spangled spanner” in the works!
Trump made these threats ahead of his televised address to the American people on Wednesday night, in which he hailed the successes of his war in Iran. The Independent highlighted the belligerence of his statements: “I will bomb Iran into the Stone Age – and I may quit NATO.” Much of the focus in the press has been on Europe’s response. The website EU Observer notes European leaders’ reaction as “fear but not panic.”
Politico takes us behind the scenes of meetings between EU leaders, reporting that they are not waiting for Trump to act on his threats. As one official put it, NATO is already under strain, and leaders will not wait for the alliance to crumble completely. They are instead seeking inward solutions, such as boosting national defence budgets. Remarkably, Politico adds, the EU has remained united in refusing to help the US with the war in Iran.
Even if Trump wanted to leave NATO, it would not be as simple as he suggests. According to Politico, he has made similar threats in the past without following through. Withdrawing from NATO would require discussion with US lawmakers and a well-thought-out plan – something that has not yet happened. The wsj’s editors are blunt: “This would be the dumbest alliance breakup in modern history.” Could the Iran war achieve what even Vladimir Putin could not – the breakup of NATO? The editorial asks. Doing so, it warns, would be “the height of folly and only serve to help Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing.”
Moving on, joy and awe dominate coverage after NASA’s Artemis II mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral, marking the first Moon mission in over half a century. Gizmodo hailed humanity’s “epic return” to the Moon, 53 years after the last mission. Four astronauts have embarked on a ten-day NASA voyage, designed as a test run for a Moon landing planned before the end of the decade. The website tracks each moment of the mission since Wednesday’s launch.
“It’s about time!” declares the Wall Street Journal in its editorial. With China planning to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030, the editorial adds, this is a chance to recapture the spirit of the old space race: “Are Americans really going to let Beijing beat them to the first lunar base or Mars landing?”
And finally, a heartwarming story of courage. Honey, a half-blind and elderly dog in New Mexico, fought off a hungry bear attempting to break into her family’s chicken coop. According to the New York Post, Honey sustained life-threatening injuries in the battle but successfully defended the farm. She has been nicknamed “the Bear Slayer”.
To end on a lighter note, two giant pandas at Washington’s National Zoo were caught last month flirting through their enclosure doors. Watch the adorable video on Smithsonian Magazine’s website.
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