US Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin told a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a prank call that “maybe in eight years” she will be president.
The Alaska governor unwittingly discussed politics, the perils of hunting with US Vice President Dick Cheney and Sarkozy’s “beautiful wife,” during a telephone call with comedian Marc-Antoine Audette released on Saturday and set to air today on a Quebec radio station.
FUTURE PLANS
When the caller tells Palin in a strong French accent that he can see her as president, she laughs and says: “Maybe in eight years.”
Palin campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt confirmed she received the prank call.
“Governor Palin was mildly amused,” she said.
The comedian, one half of Canada’s popular Masked Avengers duo, drops several clues that the call is a trick. He refers to French singer Johnny Hallyday as his special adviser to the US and to Canadian singer Steph Carse as Canada’s prime minister.
At one point in the conversation, Audette tells Palin that he enjoys hunting and loves “killing those animals.”
“We should go hunting together,” she replies.
Audette then responds that they should not Cheney along, referring to a 2006 incident in which Cheney accidentally shot a friend with buckshot while quail hunting.
‘REVERSE MAVERICK’
Meanwhile, Palin’s running mate Senator John McCain poked fun at his campaign’s financial shortcomings and his reputation as a political maverick in an appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
The presidential hopeful made a cameo appearance at the beginning of the show, with Tina Fey reprising her memorable impersonation of Palin.
McCain appeared during the show’s “Weekend Update” newscast to announce he would pursue a new campaign strategy in the closing days of the campaign.
“I thought I might try a strategy called the reverse maverick ... That’s where I’d do whatever anybody tells me,” McCain said.
And if that didn’t work, “I’d go to the double maverick. I’d just go totally berserk and freak everybody out,” the Arizona senator quipped.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the