Biden prepares to leave the White House. Will Gaza ceasefire seal his legacy?
The outgoing and incoming presidents have both claimed credit for the historic deal.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, January 17.
In today’s edition: A baby died with whooping cough over the Christmas period, the total number of written submissions on the controversial Treaty principles bill is not yet known, and slain police officer Lyn Fleming farewelled. But first, a big day in global politics.
Biden delivers his final address
We’ve made it to the end of our first week back – how are we all doing? This morning, we’re going to turn our attention internationally. In just a few days time, power will once again shift hands in the United States as the Biden administration comes to a close and the second Trump administration begins. Outgoing president Joe Biden delivered his final White House address yesterday, reported the The Guardian’s Joseph Gedeon, warning Americans that an “oligarchy [of] extreme wealth, power and influence” was taking shape in the United States, a remark likely aimed at billionaires such as Elon Musk. In a direct reference to his successor, Donald Trump, Biden argued that no president should be immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office.
Monday, the day of the inauguration, brings to a close a half century political career for Joe Biden and a presidency that began amid a pandemic, which feels like a lifetime ago. It ends after a single term, with Biden giving up his bid for reelection and moving somewhat into the background during the election campaign.
Who can claim credit for Gaza deal?
But Biden has pledged not to stay silent once he’s out of the White House. His final speech attempted to highlight his administration’s achievements, from job growth to progress on climate legislation. And, in news that broke shortly before Biden’s address, a major breakthrough in addressing conflict in the Middle East with a ceasefire deal in Gaza. The Spinoff’s Catherine McGregor explained the intricacies of this in yesterday’s World Bulletin, available for Spinoff Members, writing that the first stage of agreement will last for 42 days and include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated areas and the exchange of hostages and prisoners.
Whether or not the history books will see the ceasefire as a Biden victory or a Trump success remains to be seen – though it may be too little too late for the outgoing president to be remembered for this success. Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already suggested there are issues with the deal. Both the outgoing and incoming US presidents have claimed they were responsible for brokering the deal, though in reality it appears to have been a bit of both, as The Guardian’s Andrew Roth looks at here. CNN reports a Biden official as saying that cooperation between the two administrations was “almost unprecedented”, though that hasn’t stopped the presidents from bickering. As the BBC reported, while Biden claimed both his team and that of Donald Trump had acted as one during negotiations, he wasn’t going to let his successor take responsibility. "Is that a joke?" Biden said, after a reporter asked who should claim credit. Trump was equally as defiant on his social media platform, Truth Social. “This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November,” he wrote (capitalisations his own).
Cautious optimism in New Zealand
Here in Aotearoa, there is said to be cautious optimism among Israeli and Palestinian communities of what the deal may mean, reported RNZ’s Lauren Crimp. Representatives from both the Justice for Palestine group and the NZ Jewish Council weren’t confident either side would continue to honour the ceasefire. Foreign minister Winston Peters welcomed the news, saying that New Zealand may support humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza. "A serious analysis is required before we can do all that much ourselves, and other agencies better placed and nearer the situation will be of help, so these are things we've got to work on in the next few days,” he said.
Impact of presidency unknown
Regardless of who is remembered for helping to broker the ceasefire, a pause in the conflict will undoubtedly give Trump a political boost at the start of his second round in office. It will allow him to focus his attention instead on domestic issues, of which he has promised to tackle several from day one (possibly including a reversal of the proposed TikTok ban). Here in New Zealand, the impacts of the next Trump administration have already been felt through a drop in our dollar when compared to the US economy. The effect of Trump’s proposed tariffs depends on how hard the incoming president goes on actually implementing them, with reports a more strategic approach may in fact be taken. That speculation has been enough to see our dollar improve slightly, reported The Post.
All eyes are now on what happens in the short term after the January 20 inauguration. In the meantime, enjoy the official portraits released of Trump and his veep JD Vance.
Have thoughts? Join the conversation in the comments.
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First whooping cough death recorded since 2024 epidemic declared
A baby died with whooping cough over the Christmas period, reports Stuff’s Catrin Owen, making the first death since a national epidemic was declared late last year. It provides a timely and unfortunate reminder of the dangers posed by the sickness, which can cause serious illness primarily in very young and old people. “It’s incredibly important that people look out for symptoms of whooping cough and urge any pregnant people and pēpi to get immunised,” Matt Reid, from the National Public Health Service said. It’s been confirmed the baby that died was Māori, with paediatrician Dr Owen Sinclair telling RNZ it highlighted a failure in the healthcare system as the mother was unable to be vaccinated due to living rurally.
More reading:
Whooping cough epidemic will likely last “a long time” (The Press)
What you need to know about the whooping cough epidemic (RNZ)
Number of submissions on treaty bill still not known
The total number of written submissions on the controversial Treaty principles bill is not yet known, reports Stuff’s Glenn McConnell, as MPs met for the first time yesterday to discuss how to tackle the public consultation process. It’s been reported that political parties will each be able to hand-pick around 25 public submissions to be heard by the full justice select committee, which gathered privately yesterday. The whole committee will hear about 150 submissions. Two subcommittees will then meet for up to 30 hours each to hear public submissions. McConnell reported that MPs disagreed over how to split up submissions in order to hear from a range of people, with Act said to have pushed back on introducing a specific requirement to hear from Māori submitters and the opposition arguing to hear from young people.
More reading:
Join us live in 2025
We have four fantastic live events in 2025. Join us in Auckland and Wellington for The Spinoff Live!
Auckland at Q Theatre: Bryn & Ku’s Singles Club Party, February 13 and Gone by Lunchtime Live, April 9.
Wellington at the Hannah Playhouse: The Fold Live, February 20 and The Spinoff Book Club, March 13.
Listen: What austerity actually means
In order to reduce debt, the coalition government wants to cut spending from 34% of GDP down to 30%. In practice, that means cutting spending on people with disabilities, even though those cuts often increase hospital and care costs in the long term. On When the Facts Change this week, Bernard is joined by disability rights lawyer (and distant cousin) Huhana Hickey, for an in-depth look at what austerity actually means.
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Click and Collect
Slain police officer Lyn Fleming farewelled as a life saver and “fearless” station matriarch.
Emails show disagreement among officials on “need, not race” directive.
No curbing brain drain without significant productivity boost.
Food prices edged up 0.1% in December, following a 0.1% drop in November.
What is the Net Zero Banking Alliance that Fed Farmers has the hump with?
This one terrified me, but I guess it’s news you can use…? Meet the specialist removing insects from ears at least once a week.
Moa vital to spore dispersal of ancient fungi, a new study suggests.
An interesting story via Webworm this morning: How racist agitator Tommy Robinson found support with the world’s richest men.
Henry Cooke considers David Seymour's subtle power play. Hera Lindsay Bird shares some exciting news about The Spinoff's beloved feature The Friday Poem. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith writes about extending empathy to Golriz Ghahraman as the former MP is under investigation for another shoplifting incident. Catherine McGregor summarizes the depth of relief experienced after a Gaza ceasefire deal is reached with the need for humanitarian aid still enormous. Joel MacManus lists the bucket (fountains) or big issues on the Wellington agenda in 2025. Gabi Lardies reads bad Google reviews of good New Zealand tramps. Hera Lindsay Bird advises a reader who has already broken most of their new year resolutions.
That’s it for another week. Thanks for reading and see you on Monday.
Want to get in touch? Join the conversation in the Substack comments section below or via email at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz if you have any feedback on today’s top stories (or anything else in the news).
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You could smile for the official portrait, Trump. You look like an angry old man in that photo.
The mere fact that a Convicted Felon could even stand for election as POTUS is an indictment of its own.
Biden was a good CEO in the beginning but has finished on a very mediocre note. Gaza is not a bad point, but I don't think that is over yet by a long shot. Until Hamas's influence and control of Gaza is completely eliminated it will remain an untreated ulcer just waiting to erupt.
Garland's failure to vigorously prosecute the 6th January case against Tyranno Rumpasaurus is going to be a blot on both Biden's and his record that is never going to go away. They are both going to be ultimately remembered as the two people who allowed The Felon to succeed in his second bid to tyrannise the USA.
Biden is going to be remembered now for all the things that he should have done more than he is going to be remembered for his achievements, which is a pity as he has actually achieved much. He inherited a very poorly performing Economy and is leaving one which is doing extremely well. Much as Obama left a thriving recovery, which was destroyed by the incoming idiot whose economic skills could be described by a five-year-old writing on the back of a postage stamp using a blunt crayon.
He had the opportunity to redress the balance of the Supreme Court by increasing the number of Judges and making sure that it was balanced politically. Instead he allowed the blatant politicisation of his predecessor to stand leaving a weaponised Justice System for the incoming Tyrant to use to reinforce his fascist ideals.
The United States of America are rapidly becoming the Dis-United Sates of America and the World will pay the price along with the American People. What will happen over the next four years is anybody's guess, but if Cadet Bone Spurs now forces Ukraine to kneel down to Putrid, the World needs to prepare for a War which would only be averted by the demise of the Russian Dictator.