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  • To a defiant Biden, the 2024 race is up to the voters

    To a defiant Biden, the 2024 race is up to the voters

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    WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — To a defiant President Joe Biden, the 2024 election is up to the public — not the Democrats on Capitol Hill. But the chorus of Democratic voices calling for him to step aside is growing, from donors, strategists, lawmakers and their constituents who say he should bow out.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Democratic Party has not fallen in line behind President Joe Biden even after the events that were set up as part of a blitz to reset his imperiled campaign and show everyone he wasn’t too old to stay in the job or to do it another four years

    • With no public schedule on Saturday, the president and his aides were taking a step back from the fervor over the past few days. But Biden will head out campaigning again on Sunday in Philadelphia

    • Most Democrats have stayed quieter in recent days, allowing the president’s team the space to show them — and Americans — he is up for the job with the rallies, interview and flurry of public events

    • But Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, without breaking with Biden at this point, are pulling together meetings with members in the next few days to discuss options

    The party has not fallen in line behind him even after the events that were set up as part of a blitz to reset his imperiled campaign and show everyone he wasn’t too old to stay in the job or to do it another four years.

    On Saturday, a fifth Democratic lawmaker said openly that Biden should not run again. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota said that after what she saw and heard in the debate with Republican rival Donald Trump, and Biden’s “lack of a forceful response” afterward, he should step aside “and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward.”

    Craig posted one of the Democrats’ key suburban wins in the 2018 midterms and could be a barometer for districts that were vital for Biden in 2020.

    With no public schedule on Saturday, the president and his aides were taking a step back from  the fervor over the past few days. But Biden will head out campaigning again on Sunday in Philadelphia. And this coming week, the U.S. is hosting the NATO summit and the president is to hold a news conference.

    Vice President Kamala Harris planned to campaign Saturday in New Orleans.

    The president’s ABC interview on Friday night stirred carefully worded expressions of disappointment from the party’s ranks, and worse from those who spoke anonymously. Ten days into the crisis moment of the Biden-Trump debate, Biden is dug in.

    With the Democratic convention approaching and just four months to Election Day, neither camp in the party can much afford this internecine drama much longer. But it is bound to drag on until Biden steps aside or Democrats realize he won’t and learn to contain their concerns about the president’s chances against Trump.

    Even within the White House there were concerns the ABC interview wasn’t enough to turn the page.

    Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez has been texting lawmakers and administration officials are encouraging them not to go public with their concerns about the race and the president’s electability, according to a Democrat granted anonymity to discuss the situation.

    Most Democrats have stayed quieter in recent days, allowing the president’s team the space to show them — and Americans — he is up for the job with the rallies, interview and flurry of public events.

    But Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, without breaking with Biden at this point, are pulling together meetings with members in the next few days to discuss options. It was clear that discontent among Democrats on Capitol Hill has not subsided, and privately many would prefer to see the president not run.

    Many lawmakers are hearing from constituents at home and fielding questions. One senator was working to get others together to ask him to step aside.

    Yet some senior lawmakers were now trying to bring the party behind their presumptive nominee. “Biden is who our country needs,” Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, who had raised questions about Biden in the aftermath of the debate, said after the interview.

    Following the interview, a Democratic donor reported that many of the fellow donors he spoke with were furious, particularly because the president declined to acknowledge the effects his aging. Many of those donors are seeking a change in leadership at the top of the ticket, said the person, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

    Biden roundly swatted away calls Friday to step away from the race, telling voters at a Wisconsin rally, reporters outside Air Force One and ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he was not going anywhere.

    “Completely ruling that out,” he told reporters the rally.

    Biden dismissed those who were calling for his ouster, instead saying he’d spoken with 20 lawmakers and they had all encouraged him to stay in the race.

    Concern about Biden’s fitness for another four years has been persistent. In an August 2023 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, fully 77% of U.S. adults said Biden was too old to be effective for four more years. Not only did 89% of Republicans say that, but so did 69% of Democrats. His approval rating stands at 38%.

    Biden has dismissed the polling, citing as evidence his 2020 surge to the nomination and win over Trump, after initially faltering, and the 2022 midterm elections, when polls suggested Republicans would sweep but didn’t, largely in part over the issue of abortion rights.

    “I don’t buy that,” when he was reminded that he was behind in the polls. “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me.”

    At times, Biden rambled during the interview, which ABC said aired in full and without edits. Asked how he might turn the race around, Biden argued that one key would be large and energetic rallies like the one he held Friday in Wisconsin. When reminded that Trump routinely draws larger crowds, the president laid into his opponent.

    “Trump is a pathological liar,” Biden said, accusing Trump of bungling the federal response to the COVID pandemic and failing to create jobs. “You ever see something that Trump did that benefited someone else and not him?”

    Republicans, though, are squarely behind their candidate, and support for Trump, who at 78 is three years younger than Biden, has been growing.

    And that’s despite Trump’s 34 felony convictions in a hush money trial, that he was found liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, and that his businesses were found to have engaged in fraud.

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    Associated Press

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  • To a defiant Biden, the 2024 race is up to the voters

    To a defiant Biden, the 2024 race is up to the voters

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    WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — To a defiant President Joe Biden, the 2024 election is up to the public — not the Democrats on Capitol Hill. But the chorus of Democratic voices calling for him to step aside is growing, from donors, strategists, lawmakers and their constituents who say he should bow out.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Democratic Party has not fallen in line behind President Joe Biden even after the events that were set up as part of a blitz to reset his imperiled campaign and show everyone he wasn’t too old to stay in the job or to do it another four years

    • With no public schedule on Saturday, the president and his aides were taking a step back from the fervor over the past few days. But Biden will head out campaigning again on Sunday in Philadelphia

    • Most Democrats have stayed quieter in recent days, allowing the president’s team the space to show them — and Americans — he is up for the job with the rallies, interview and flurry of public events

    • But Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, without breaking with Biden at this point, are pulling together meetings with members in the next few days to discuss options

    The party has not fallen in line behind him even after the events that were set up as part of a blitz to reset his imperiled campaign and show everyone he wasn’t too old to stay in the job or to do it another four years.

    On Saturday, a fifth Democratic lawmaker said openly that Biden should not run again. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota said that after what she saw and heard in the debate with Republican rival Donald Trump, and Biden’s “lack of a forceful response” afterward, he should step aside “and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward.”

    Craig posted one of the Democrats’ key suburban wins in the 2018 midterms and could be a barometer for districts that were vital for Biden in 2020.

    With no public schedule on Saturday, the president and his aides were taking a step back from  the fervor over the past few days. But Biden will head out campaigning again on Sunday in Philadelphia. And this coming week, the U.S. is hosting the NATO summit and the president is to hold a news conference.

    Vice President Kamala Harris planned to campaign Saturday in New Orleans.

    The president’s ABC interview on Friday night stirred carefully worded expressions of disappointment from the party’s ranks, and worse from those who spoke anonymously. Ten days into the crisis moment of the Biden-Trump debate, Biden is dug in.

    With the Democratic convention approaching and just four months to Election Day, neither camp in the party can much afford this internecine drama much longer. But it is bound to drag on until Biden steps aside or Democrats realize he won’t and learn to contain their concerns about the president’s chances against Trump.

    Even within the White House there were concerns the ABC interview wasn’t enough to turn the page.

    Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez has been texting lawmakers and administration officials are encouraging them not to go public with their concerns about the race and the president’s electability, according to a Democrat granted anonymity to discuss the situation.

    Most Democrats have stayed quieter in recent days, allowing the president’s team the space to show them — and Americans — he is up for the job with the rallies, interview and flurry of public events.

    But Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, without breaking with Biden at this point, are pulling together meetings with members in the next few days to discuss options. It was clear that discontent among Democrats on Capitol Hill has not subsided, and privately many would prefer to see the president not run.

    Many lawmakers are hearing from constituents at home and fielding questions. One senator was working to get others together to ask him to step aside.

    Yet some senior lawmakers were now trying to bring the party behind their presumptive nominee. “Biden is who our country needs,” Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, who had raised questions about Biden in the aftermath of the debate, said after the interview.

    Following the interview, a Democratic donor reported that many of the fellow donors he spoke with were furious, particularly because the president declined to acknowledge the effects his aging. Many of those donors are seeking a change in leadership at the top of the ticket, said the person, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

    Biden roundly swatted away calls Friday to step away from the race, telling voters at a Wisconsin rally, reporters outside Air Force One and ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he was not going anywhere.

    “Completely ruling that out,” he told reporters the rally.

    Biden dismissed those who were calling for his ouster, instead saying he’d spoken with 20 lawmakers and they had all encouraged him to stay in the race.

    Concern about Biden’s fitness for another four years has been persistent. In an August 2023 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, fully 77% of U.S. adults said Biden was too old to be effective for four more years. Not only did 89% of Republicans say that, but so did 69% of Democrats. His approval rating stands at 38%.

    Biden has dismissed the polling, citing as evidence his 2020 surge to the nomination and win over Trump, after initially faltering, and the 2022 midterm elections, when polls suggested Republicans would sweep but didn’t, largely in part over the issue of abortion rights.

    “I don’t buy that,” when he was reminded that he was behind in the polls. “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me.”

    At times, Biden rambled during the interview, which ABC said aired in full and without edits. Asked how he might turn the race around, Biden argued that one key would be large and energetic rallies like the one he held Friday in Wisconsin. When reminded that Trump routinely draws larger crowds, the president laid into his opponent.

    “Trump is a pathological liar,” Biden said, accusing Trump of bungling the federal response to the COVID pandemic and failing to create jobs. “You ever see something that Trump did that benefited someone else and not him?”

    Republicans, though, are squarely behind their candidate, and support for Trump, who at 78 is three years younger than Biden, has been growing.

    And that’s despite Trump’s 34 felony convictions in a hush money trial, that he was found liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, and that his businesses were found to have engaged in fraud.

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    Associated Press

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  • Biden team deploys ‘aggressive’ July plan after debate

    Biden team deploys ‘aggressive’ July plan after debate

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    President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is laying out an “aggressive” strategy for July, including launching a new media blitz and battleground state swing, after the president’s disappointing debate performance last week rocked the political world. 

    What You Need To Know

    • President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is laying out an “aggressive” strategy for July, including launching a new media blitz and battleground state swing, after the president’s disappointing debate performance shook the political world 
    • As part of its strategy for the month, Biden’s team will spend $50 million on a fresh ad blitz focused on reproductive health, the economy and democracy
    • During the Republican National Convention later this month, he will speak at the NAACP and UnidosUS conferences in Las Vegas in swing state Nevada
    • The campaign also specifically notes that Biden will “engage in frequent off-the-cuff moments,” appearing to address calls for the president to do more unscripted events without a teleprompter 


    As part of its strategy for the month, Biden’s team will spend $50 million on a fresh ad blitz focused on reproductive health, the economy and democracy, the campaign noted in a new memo. The ads will run in battleground states around high viewership events, particularly the season premiere of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” the Olympics Games and the Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Milwaukee later this month.

    The campaign is also looking to take on concerns raised by some Democrats following Biden’s performance against former President Donald Trump last week in Atlanta, including that he needs to get out in front of voters on the campaign trail to show stamina and participate in more unscripted events. 

    After hitting Wisconsin on Friday and Pennsylvania over the weekend – two stops added to his schedule in the wake of the debate – in July, the president will also set off on a swing through the southwest battlegrounds. During the Republican National Convention later this month, he will speak at the NAACP and UnidosUS conferences in Las Vegas in swing state Nevada. The four White House principals, a group that also includes the vice president, second gentleman and first lady, will travel to every battleground state this month. 

    The campaign also specifically notes that Biden will “engage in frequent off-the-cuff moments,” pointing to the president’s stop at a Waffle House to pick up food after last week’s debate as an example.  

    The incumbent president’s performance in the first general election debate of the 2024 cycle, in which he appeared to be low energy and at times stumble and lose his train of thought sparked a chorus of calls from some in the Democratic party for Biden to engage more with the press and rely less on the teleprompter – a tool he uses in nearly all speeches at the White House and on the campaign trail – to show voters last Thursday was just one “bad night,” as his team as consistently framed it. 

    The president’s reelection campaign will also spend $17 million on its efforts to reach voters on the ground in battleground states, setting a goal of knocking on more than 3 million doors over July and August. 

    It all comes as the fallout from the debate for the Biden camp escalated this week, with three House Democrats now officially calling on the president to pull out of the race while other Democratic lawmakers stepped up their willingness to question Biden’s place as the party’s nominee this November. 

    The Biden team has been in clean up mode, with the White House announcing new public events on the president’s schedule, including a sit-down interview with ABC on Friday and a solo press conference next week, and Biden calling key congressional allies and convening Democratic governors for a meeting earlier this week. 

    At the White House’s Fourth of July celebration on Thursday, the president declared that he wasn’t going anywhere in terms of the race in response to something shouted by a supporter in attendance.

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    Maddie Gannon

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  • Biden team deploys ‘aggressive’ July plan after debate

    Biden team deploys ‘aggressive’ July plan after debate

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    President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is laying out an “aggressive” strategy for July, including launching a new media blitz and battleground state swing, after the president’s disappointing debate performance last week rocked the political world. 

    What You Need To Know

    • President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is laying out an “aggressive” strategy for July, including launching a new media blitz and battleground state swing, after the president’s disappointing debate performance shook the political world 
    • As part of its strategy for the month, Biden’s team will spend $50 million on a fresh ad blitz focused on reproductive health, the economy and democracy
    • During the Republican National Convention later this month, he will speak at the NAACP and UnidosUS conferences in Las Vegas in swing state Nevada
    • The campaign also specifically notes that Biden will “engage in frequent off-the-cuff moments,” appearing to address calls for the president to do more unscripted events without a teleprompter 


    As part of its strategy for the month, Biden’s team will spend $50 million on a fresh ad blitz focused on reproductive health, the economy and democracy, the campaign noted in a new memo. The ads will run in battleground states around high viewership events, particularly the season premiere of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” the Olympics Games and the Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Milwaukee later this month.

    The campaign is also looking to take on concerns raised by some Democrats following Biden’s performance against former President Donald Trump last week in Atlanta, including that he needs to get out in front of voters on the campaign trail to show stamina and participate in more unscripted events. 

    After hitting Wisconsin on Friday and Pennsylvania over the weekend – two stops added to his schedule in the wake of the debate – in July, the president will also set off on a swing through the southwest battlegrounds. During the Republican National Convention later this month, he will speak at the NAACP and UnidosUS conferences in Las Vegas in swing state Nevada. The four White House principals, a group that also includes the vice president, second gentleman and first lady, will travel to every battleground state this month. 

    The campaign also specifically notes that Biden will “engage in frequent off-the-cuff moments,” pointing to the president’s stop at a Waffle House to pick up food after last week’s debate as an example.  

    The incumbent president’s performance in the first general election debate of the 2024 cycle, in which he appeared to be low energy and at times stumble and lose his train of thought sparked a chorus of calls from some in the Democratic party for Biden to engage more with the press and rely less on the teleprompter – a tool he uses in nearly all speeches at the White House and on the campaign trail – to show voters last Thursday was just one “bad night,” as his team as consistently framed it. 

    The president’s reelection campaign will also spend $17 million on its efforts to reach voters on the ground in battleground states, setting a goal of knocking on more than 3 million doors over July and August. 

    It all comes as the fallout from the debate for the Biden camp escalated this week, with three House Democrats now officially calling on the president to pull out of the race while other Democratic lawmakers stepped up their willingness to question Biden’s place as the party’s nominee this November. 

    The Biden team has been in clean up mode, with the White House announcing new public events on the president’s schedule, including a sit-down interview with ABC on Friday and a solo press conference next week, and Biden calling key congressional allies and convening Democratic governors for a meeting earlier this week. 

    At the White House’s Fourth of July celebration on Thursday, the president declared that he wasn’t going anywhere in terms of the race in response to something shouted by a supporter in attendance.

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    Maddie Gannon

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  • Officers who defended the Capitol fight Jan. 6 falsehoods

    Officers who defended the Capitol fight Jan. 6 falsehoods

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    Former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell is mostly recovered from the brutal assaults he endured from Donald Trump’s supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. But not completely. His shoulder still has limited endurance and there are screws and a metal plate holding his right foot together after bone fusion surgery.

    Emotional recovery has been more difficult. Gonell struggled when he heard that former Trump visited Capitol Hill last month and received what he called a “hero’s welcome” from the Republican lawmakers Gonell had protected that day, and when Trump falsely told millions of viewers in last week’s debate that many of the violent rioters, his supporters, “were ushered in by the police.”

    Trump’s Capitol Hill visit was a “triggering mechanism for my PTSD,” says Gonell, who retired from the force in 2022 due to his injuries and has recently participated in several campaign events for President Joe Biden. “We did what we had to do to keep those elected officials safe, and instead of siding with us, the officers, they have sided with a person who put their lives at risk.”

     

    What You Need To Know

    • Three and a half years after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump still falsely claims the 2020 election was stolen and has promised that if he wins the presidency again he will pardon his supporters who violently beat police and broke into the building to try and overturn the legitimate results

    • To counter lies about the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, officers who were there that day are working with President Joe Biden’s campaign, attending events in swing states to try and make sure that voters don’t forget

    • The role is an unusual transition for officers who once protected members of Congress and are used to keeping their political views to themselves

    • The officers were widely praised after Jan. 6, but their criticism of Trump in recent years has made them less popular with some Republicans; when former Capitol Police Officers Aquilino Gonell and Harry Dunn visited the Pennsylvania legislature this spring, some Republicans booed them



     

    Three and a half years after the Capitol attack, Trump still falsely claims the 2020 election was stolen. He has promised that if he wins the presidency again he will pardon his supporters who violently beat police and broke into the Capitol to try and overturn the legitimate results. To counter the misinformation, Gonell and two of his fellow officers who were there that day are working with Biden’s campaign, attending events in swing states to try and make sure that voters don’t forget.

    “I’m a living primary source about an important day in American history,” says Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges, who became a recognizable face shortly after the attack when a video of him being crushed between two doors went viral. “So I try to make that count, and make it so that people hear the truth from someone who was there.”

    Along with former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, Hodges and Gonell are telling audiences about what they went through that day and trying to lay out the contrast between Biden and Trump. It’s an unusual transition for law enforcement officers who once protected members of Congress and are used to keeping their political views to themselves.

    “I’m really an introvert, and I’m not someone to seek a microphone or an audience,” says Hodges, who testified along with Gonell and Dunn at the House Jan. 6 panel’s first hearing in 2021. “But I’m in this unique position where people will listen to what I say about an important issue. So I feel a moral obligation to do so.”

    At recent events in Wisconsin, Nevada and Arizona, they stood with local officials and said that Trump is a danger to the country after trying to overturn Biden’s legitimate election.

    “Three and a half years later, the fight for democracy still continues,” Dunn recently told a group of voters in Arizona, flanked by a handful of politically active Democratic veterans in Phoenix. “It still goes on. Donald Trump is still that threat. His deranged, self-centered, obsessive quest for power is the reason violent insurrectionists assaulted my coworkers and I.”

    The officers have also aggressively pushed back on Trump’s comments at the debate, where he falsely said that there were a “relatively small” group of protesters and that the police let them enter the Capitol. More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot, and police were bloodied and injured — some seriously — as they struggled to prevent more from getting in.

    Dunn, who recently lost his own bid for a congressional seat in Maryland, said after the debate that Trump’s comments were “a slap in the face, but it’s what we have come to expect from Donald Trump.”

    And the officers said they are still supporting Biden, even after he failed to push back on many of Trump’s false claims about Jan. 6 and received widespread criticism for his weak showing at the debate.

    “He could have been a little more forceful, but I’ll take the person who doesn’t send a mob to kill me and my colleagues over the other person,” said Gonell, who published a book last year about his experience. “Every single day I’m reminded of that horrible day. Every time I put my shoes on, I see my scar.”

    Gonell was caught in the worst of the fighting on the Capitol’s west front as Trump’s supporters protesting his defeat violently tried to push past him and his fellow officers. At one point he was pulled under the crowd and lost oxygen to the point that he thought he would die.

    Hodges was nearby, trapped in the heavy golden doors in the center of the Capitol’s west front as rioters beat him bloody. A video of his guttural scream as he tried to escape went viral and was played at Democrats’ impeachment trial in the weeks after the attack.

    Dunn, who has said he was targeted with racial slurs by Trump’s supporters during the fighting, says it has been good to travel out of the Washington area, his hometown, and talk to people who may not be watching cable news every day as he campaigns for Biden. There’s a lot they don’t know about what happened on Jan. 6, he says.

    “Being able to have somebody who was there bring firsthand experience and facts retelling the story, it’s very beneficial,” Dunn said,

    The officers were widely praised after Jan. 6, but their criticism of Trump in recent years has made them less popular with some Republicans. When Gonell and Dunn visited the Pennsylvania legislature this spring, some Republicans booed them.

    But they are unbowed by the criticism, and have continued to try and bring more attention to their stories. Gonell was outside the Supreme Court on Monday as the justices ruled on whether Trump has immunity for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election and criticized the justices for sending the federal case back to a lower court. The decision effectively ends any prospects that Trump could be tried before the November election.

    On Friday, the court limited a federal obstruction law that has been used to charge some Capitol riot defendants.

    “Every single time that the Supreme Court or any other court says that some of these people shouldn’t be held accountable, it’s a disgrace,” Gonell said.

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    Associated Press

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  • Recap: Biden, Trump face off in first debate of 2024 election

    Recap: Biden, Trump face off in first debate of 2024 election

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    By

    Spectrum News Staff

    Atlanta

    UPDATED 11:30 PM ET Jun. 27, 2024
    PUBLISHED 11:22 AM ET Jun. 27, 2024
    PUBLISHED 11:22 AM EDT Jun. 27, 2024

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    Spectrum News Staff

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  • Supreme Court sides with Biden admin. in social media case

    Supreme Court sides with Biden admin. in social media case

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    The Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration on Wednesday against Republican-led states over combatting misinformation about controversial topics, including COVID-19 and election security, on social media.

    In a 6-3 decision, the high court rejected the effort to limit contact between White House officials and other federal employees and social media companies, arguing that the states lacked standing to challenge the administration. Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, along with five social media users, claimed in their suit that the Biden administration pressured social media companies to quash conservative viewpoints.

    Lower courts had sided with the plaintiffs, but in the opinion of the court, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett said that a federal appeals court “was wrong to do so.”

    “To establish standing, the plaintiffs must demonstrate a substantial risk that, in the near future, they will suffer an injury that is traceable to a Government defendant and redressable by the injunction they seek,” Barrett wrote. “Because no plaintiff has carried that burden, none has standing to seek a preliminary injunction.”

    She went on to say that social media companies “have taken a range of actions to suppress certain categories of speech” under their “longstanding” policies about moderating content, including about health- and election-related topics, particularly noting the removal of falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Over the past few years, various federal officials regularly spoke with the platforms about COVID–19 and election-related misinformation,” Barrett detailed. “Officials at the White House, the Office of the Surgeon General, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) focused on COVID–19 content, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) concentrated on elections.”

    Barrett also wrote that the court rejects the “overly broad assertion” that the government took part in a lengthy pressure campaign to target certain political viewpoints, adding: “the platforms moderated similar content long before any of the Government defendants engaged in the challenged conduct.”

    “In fact, the platforms, acting independently, had strengthened their pre-existing contentmoderation policies before the Government defendants got involved,” she wrote. “For instance, Facebook announced an expansion of its COVID–19 misinformation policies in early February 2021, before White House officials began communicating with the platform. And the platforms continued to exercise their independent judgment even after communications with the defendants began. For example, on several occasions, various platforms explained that White House officials had flagged content that did not violate company policy. Moreover, the platforms did not speak only with the defendants about content moderation; they also regularly consulted with outside experts.”

    Barrett joined Chief Justice John Roberts, conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh and liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson in siding with the Biden administration.

    Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented. 

    The case is among several before the court this term that affect social media companies in the context of free speech. In February, the court heard arguments over Republican-passed laws in Florida and Texas that prohibit large social media companies from taking down posts because of the views they express. In March, the court laid out standards for when public officials can block their social media followers.

    This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • Trump says he’s ‘OK’ with possible imprisonment

    Trump says he’s ‘OK’ with possible imprisonment

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    Days after he became the first former president convicted of a crime in U.S. history, Donald Trump said he would be “OK” with house arrest or jail.

    But the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee warned that “it’d be tough for the public to take,” adding: “At a certain point there’s a breaking point.”

    What You Need To Know

    • Days after he became the first former president convicted of a crime in U.S. history, Donald Trump said he would be “OK” with house arrest or jail
    • But the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee warned “it’d be tough for the public to take” and “at a certain point there’s a breaking point”
    • Trump’s warning comes as multiple media outlets have reported about threats of violence towards the judge, the district attorney and the 12 jurors who voted to convict him on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his criminal hush-money trial in New York City last week
    • The judge scheduled sentencing for July 11, with both the prosecution and defense expected to make their case in court filings in the interim
    • Each count of falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years behind bars, but it’s possible that Trump will get only fines or probation. Trump’s attorneys say they will appeal regardless


    “I’m OK with it,” Trump said at his Bedminister, N.J., golf club when asked by a host of Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” about facing possible imprisonment. “I don’t know that the public would stand it.”

    “I think it’d be tough for the public to take,” the former president said in the interview which aired Sunday. “You know, at a certain point there’s a breaking point.”

    Trump’s warning comes as multiple media outlets have reported about threats of violence — including on Trump’s social media network Truth Social — towards the judge, the district attorney and the 12 jurors who voted to convict him on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his criminal hush-money trial in New York City last week. Trump himself frequently attacked Judge Juan Merchan, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, witnesses and the judge’s daughter in public remarks and social media posts.

    Merchan scheduled sentencing for July 11, with both the prosecution and defense expected to make their case in court filings in the interim. Each count of falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years behind bars, but it’s possible that Trump will get only fines or probation. Beyond the unprecedented complications of imprisoning a former president and current candidate for president months before November’s election, Trump’s attorneys have said they will appeal and will fight the state case all the way to the Supreme Court if they can.

    “We’re going to be vigorously challenging this verdict on appeal. We think we have ample grounds,” said Will Scharf, a Republican candidate for Missouri secretary of state and an attorney for Trump in other cases, on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday. “I think Judge Merchan should have clearly recused, I think he was irretrievably biased and I think that came through in decisions throughout the conduct of this trial.”

    “I don’t think President Trump is going to end up being subjected to any sentence whatsoever,” he later added.

    But Trump’s lead trial attorney in the Manhattan case, former federal prosecutor Todd Blanche, acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press this weekend that Trump may face jail time.

    “On the one hand, it would be extraordinary to send a 77-year-old to prison for a case like this. A first-time offender who was also president of the United States, I mean, I think almost unheard of,” Blanche said, while noting the “highly publicized” nature of the case and Trump’s three other yet-to-be-resolved prosecutions may weigh against his favor. “It’s going to be a very, I think, contentious sentencing where we’re going to obviously argue strenuously for a non-incarceratory sentence.”

    Trump faces a federal prosecution centered on his attempts to stay in power after his 2020 election loss and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, as well as a racketeering prosecution in Georgia for his attempts to overturn his 2020 loss there and another federal prosecution in Florida for his handling of classified documents after leaving office. Those cases are in limbo as Trump’s legal team makes appeals and, for the federal cases, awaits word from the Supreme Court on their argument that presidents have total immunity for official acts conducted while in office. 

    In an interview of his own with “Fox News Sunday,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said congressional Republicans would continue investigations into Bragg and special prosecutor Jack Smith, who is overseeing Trump’s federal cases. Johnson said he believes Smith was “abusing his authority” and noted Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is trying to get Bragg and another Manhattan prosecutor to testify at Congress later this month.

    “We have to fight back and we will with everything in our arsenal, but we’ll do that within the confines of the rule of law,” Johnson said. “We’re not going to tolerate this you had and at the end of the day, people are losing their faith in our system of justice itself. And that’s a serious threat.”

    After Trump was arrested and arraigned last April, Bragg’s offices received racist emails, death threats and two packages containing white powder. Last August, the FBI killed a Utah man during an attempted arrest for violent threats to President Joe Biden, Bragg and others. The Long Island home of another New York judge overseeing Trump’s civil fraud trial received a bomb threat in January. 

    During the Manhattan criminal trial, Merchan hit Trump with a gag order preventing him from publicly addressing witnesses, jurors, court staff, Bragg’s staff and Merchan’s daughter, a Democratic operative who came under attack by Trump and his allies. Bragg and Merchan themselves were not protected by the order. Trump was held in contempt of court, fined $10,000 and threatened with jail time for violating the gag order ten times.

    Adapting to the gag order, Trump invited campaign surrogates, vice presidential hopefuls and members of Congress — including Johnson — to do his criticizing and insulting for him in remarks to the press outside the courthouse.

    Scharf argued on Sunday that Trump’s attacks on Merchan, often from a rally stage, and witnesses like his former attorney Michael Cohen shouldn’t factor into the sentencing.

    “I think it’s really important to note that President Trump is running for president of the United States of America and he has an absolute constitutional right to comment on matters of public importance,” Scharf said. “I think the fact that he labored under a gag order for as long as he did, was manifestly unjust… and I don’t see how anyone can really poke holes at that.”

    In his Fox News interview, Trump said the guilty verdicts were “tougher” on his family than him.

    “They’ve good people, all of them, everyone. I have a wonderful wife who has to listen to this stuff all the time. They do that for this reason. They do that, all these salacious names that they put in of these people. And I’m not even allowed to defend myself because of a gag order,” Trump said. “She’s fine, but I think it’s very hard for her. I mean, she’s fine. But it’s, you know, she has to read all this crap.”

    Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to cover up payments made during the 2016 campaign to adult film actress Stormy Daniels who testified she had an affair with the newly married businessman in 2006. Former First Lady Melania Trump did not attend the six-week trial.

    The former president blames much of his legal woes on President Joe Biden, who has no role in local New York City prosecutions and who refrained from commenting on the case publicly until after the verdict. On Saturday, he said “revenge will be success, and I mean that,” but did not rule out wielding the Department of Justice in the way he claims without evidence that Biden does.

    “It’s awfully hard when you see what they’ve done,” Trump said. “These people are so evil.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    Joseph Konig

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  • Trump joins TikTok, the video-sharing app he once tried to ban as president

    Trump joins TikTok, the video-sharing app he once tried to ban as president

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    Donald Trump has joined the popular video-sharing app TikTok, a platform he once tried to ban while in the White House, and posted from a UFC fight two days after he became the first former president and presumptive major party nominee in U.S. history to be found guilty on felony charges.

    What You Need To Know

    • Donald Trump has joined TikTok, the video-sharing app he once tried to ban as president
    • He posted his first video from a UFC fight in New Jersey on Saturday night
    • That was two days after he had become the first former president in U.S. history to be found guilty on felony charges
    • In the video, Trump says “it’s an honor” and there is footage of him waving to fans and posing for selfies at the UFC fight
    • By Sunday morning, Trump had amassed more than 1.1 million followers on the platform and the post had garnered more than 1 million likes and 24 million views


    “It’s an honor,” Trump said in the TikTok video, which features footage of him waving to fans and posing for selfies at the Ultimate Fighting Championship fight in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night. The video ends with Trump telling the camera: “That was a good walk-on, right?”

    By Sunday morning, Trump had amassed more than 1.1 million followers on the platform and the post had garnered more than 1 million likes and 24 million views.

    “We will leave no front undefended and this represents the continued outreach to a younger audience consuming pro-Trump and anti-Biden content,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement about the campaign’s decision to join the platform.

    “There’s no place better than a UFC event to launch President Trump’s Tik Tok, where he received a hero’s welcome and thousands of fans cheered him on,” he added.

    Democratic President Joe Biden signed legislation in April that could ban TikTok in the U.S., even as his campaign joined in February and has tried to work with influencers.

    Trump received an enthusiastic welcome at the fight at Newark’s Prudential Center, where the crowd broke into chants of “We love Trump!” and another insulting Biden with an expletive.

    It was Trump’s first public outing since a jury in New York found him guilty Thursday on 34 charges of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by covering up hush money payments made to a porn actor who claimed she and Trump had sex. Trump has maintained he did nothing wrong and plans to appeal the verdict. He will be sentenced on July 11.

    Throughout his campaign, Trump has used appearances at UFC fights to project an image of strength and to try to appeal to potential voters who may not closely follow politics or engage with traditional news sources. It’s also part of a broader effort to connect with young people and minority voters, particularly Latino and Black men.

    TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is another opportunity to reach those potential voters. The platform has about 170 million users in the U.S., most of whom skew younger — a demographic that is especially hard for campaigns to reach because they shun television.

    As president, Trump tried to ban TikTok through an executive order that said “the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned” by Chinese companies was a national security threat. The courts blocked the action after TikTok sued.

    Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that ByteDance could share user data such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers with China’s government. TikTok said it has never done that and would not, if asked.

    The platform was a hot topic of debate during the 2024 GOP primary campaign, with most candidates shunning its use. Many, including former Vice President Mike Pence, called for TikTok to be banned in the U.S. due to its connections with China

    Trump said earlier this year that he still believes TikTok posed a national security risk, but was opposed to banning it because that would help its rival, Facebook, which he continues to criticize over his 2020 election loss to Biden.

    “Frankly, there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it,” Trump told CNBC.

    The legislation signed by Biden gives ByteDance nine months to sell the company, with a possible additional three months if a sale is in progress. If it doesn’t, TikTok will be banned. Biden barred the app on most government devices in December 2022.

    His reelection campaign nonetheless uses the app, which it joined the night of the Super Bowl in February. Aides argue that in an increasingly fragmented modern media environment, the campaign must get its message out to voters via as many platforms as possible, including TikTok as well as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

    Biden’s “bidenhq” account currently has more than 330,000 followers and 4.5 million likes.

    Trump’s appearance at Saturday’s fight came after he had sat down for an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” that aired Sunday.

    In that appearance, Trump said he was “OK” with the prospect of potential jail time or house arrest, saying it was “the way it is.’’’

    But he again suggested the public might not accept such a punishment for a former president now running to return to the White House.

    “I don’t know that the public would stand it, you know. I’m not sure the public would stand for it,” he said. “I think it would be tough for the public to take. You know, at a certain point there’s a breaking point.”

    Trump, as he has throughout the trial, maintained his innocence, saying he “did absolutely nothing wrong.”

    He was asked how his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, has taken the news.

    “She’s fine. But I think it’s very hard for her. I mean, she’s fine. But, you know, she has to read all this crap,” he said.

    She did not appear with Trump in court at any point during his seven-week trial.

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  • Trump joins TikTok, the video-sharing app he once tried to ban as president

    Trump joins TikTok, the video-sharing app he once tried to ban as president

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    Donald Trump has joined the popular video-sharing app TikTok, a platform he once tried to ban while in the White House, and posted from a UFC fight two days after he became the first former president and presumptive major party nominee in U.S. history to be found guilty on felony charges.

    What You Need To Know

    • Donald Trump has joined TikTok, the video-sharing app he once tried to ban as president
    • He posted his first video from a UFC fight in New Jersey on Saturday night
    • That was two days after he had become the first former president in U.S. history to be found guilty on felony charges
    • In the video, Trump says “it’s an honor” and there is footage of him waving to fans and posing for selfies at the UFC fight
    • By Sunday morning, Trump had amassed more than 1.1 million followers on the platform and the post had garnered more than 1 million likes and 24 million views


    “It’s an honor,” Trump said in the TikTok video, which features footage of him waving to fans and posing for selfies at the Ultimate Fighting Championship fight in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday night. The video ends with Trump telling the camera: “That was a good walk-on, right?”

    By Sunday morning, Trump had amassed more than 1.1 million followers on the platform and the post had garnered more than 1 million likes and 24 million views.

    “We will leave no front undefended and this represents the continued outreach to a younger audience consuming pro-Trump and anti-Biden content,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement about the campaign’s decision to join the platform.

    “There’s no place better than a UFC event to launch President Trump’s Tik Tok, where he received a hero’s welcome and thousands of fans cheered him on,” he added.

    Democratic President Joe Biden signed legislation in April that could ban TikTok in the U.S., even as his campaign joined in February and has tried to work with influencers.

    Trump received an enthusiastic welcome at the fight at Newark’s Prudential Center, where the crowd broke into chants of “We love Trump!” and another insulting Biden with an expletive.

    It was Trump’s first public outing since a jury in New York found him guilty Thursday on 34 charges of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election by covering up hush money payments made to a porn actor who claimed she and Trump had sex. Trump has maintained he did nothing wrong and plans to appeal the verdict. He will be sentenced on July 11.

    Throughout his campaign, Trump has used appearances at UFC fights to project an image of strength and to try to appeal to potential voters who may not closely follow politics or engage with traditional news sources. It’s also part of a broader effort to connect with young people and minority voters, particularly Latino and Black men.

    TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is another opportunity to reach those potential voters. The platform has about 170 million users in the U.S., most of whom skew younger — a demographic that is especially hard for campaigns to reach because they shun television.

    As president, Trump tried to ban TikTok through an executive order that said “the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned” by Chinese companies was a national security threat. The courts blocked the action after TikTok sued.

    Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that ByteDance could share user data such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers with China’s government. TikTok said it has never done that and would not, if asked.

    The platform was a hot topic of debate during the 2024 GOP primary campaign, with most candidates shunning its use. Many, including former Vice President Mike Pence, called for TikTok to be banned in the U.S. due to its connections with China

    Trump said earlier this year that he still believes TikTok posed a national security risk, but was opposed to banning it because that would help its rival, Facebook, which he continues to criticize over his 2020 election loss to Biden.

    “Frankly, there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it,” Trump told CNBC.

    The legislation signed by Biden gives ByteDance nine months to sell the company, with a possible additional three months if a sale is in progress. If it doesn’t, TikTok will be banned. Biden barred the app on most government devices in December 2022.

    His reelection campaign nonetheless uses the app, which it joined the night of the Super Bowl in February. Aides argue that in an increasingly fragmented modern media environment, the campaign must get its message out to voters via as many platforms as possible, including TikTok as well as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

    Biden’s “bidenhq” account currently has more than 330,000 followers and 4.5 million likes.

    Trump’s appearance at Saturday’s fight came after he had sat down for an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” that aired Sunday.

    In that appearance, Trump said he was “OK” with the prospect of potential jail time or house arrest, saying it was “the way it is.’’’

    But he again suggested the public might not accept such a punishment for a former president now running to return to the White House.

    “I don’t know that the public would stand it, you know. I’m not sure the public would stand for it,” he said. “I think it would be tough for the public to take. You know, at a certain point there’s a breaking point.”

    Trump, as he has throughout the trial, maintained his innocence, saying he “did absolutely nothing wrong.”

    He was asked how his wife, former first lady Melania Trump, has taken the news.

    “She’s fine. But I think it’s very hard for her. I mean, she’s fine. But, you know, she has to read all this crap,” he said.

    She did not appear with Trump in court at any point during his seven-week trial.

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    Associated Press

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  • Largest Latino advocacy group endorses Biden

    Largest Latino advocacy group endorses Biden

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    The political arm of the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy group threw its weight behind President Joe Biden for a second term in the White House as polls show support for the incumbent president among Hispanic voters could be slipping. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The political arm of the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy group threw its weight behind President Joe Biden for a second term in the White House
    • President of the UnidosUS Action Fund Janet Murguía officially announced the endorsement of Biden as well as Arizona Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Ruben Gallego at a press conference in Phoenix on Tuesday
    • The group will also work to turn out voters in Arizona’s urban areas and in communities along the U.S.-Mexico border with canvassing, signature collection and media buys, according to the organization
    • A poll from The New York Times, Siena College and The Philadelphia Inquirer released this week showed Biden and his likely 2024 Republican rival, former President Donald Trump essentially tied among Hispanic voters

    President of the UnidosUS Action Fund Janet Murguía officially announced the endorsement at a press conference in Phoenix on Tuesday, the organization said in a press release. The group will also work to turn out voters in Arizona’s urban areas and in communities along the U.S.-Mexico border with canvassing, signature collection and media buys, according to the organization.  

    “We’ve already seen what the Biden-Harris Administration has accomplished for the Latino community and all Americans, helping to successfully navigate a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, creating millions of new jobs, and promoting access to health care and quality education for all,” Murguía said. “We know our country will continue to be on this path to progress if we choose Biden/Harris in November,”

    The organization also gave its official nod to Arizona Democratic Senate candidate Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is likely to face Kari Lake, former Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, as well as former Democratic State Senators Raquel Teran and Kirsten Engel for Congress. 

    The location of the endorsement announcement in Phoenix and general focus on Arizona, the group noted, speaks to the state’s “critical swing-state status.” Arizona, according to Pew Research Center, has the largest share of eligible Latino voters of the main battleground states. 

    Nearly a quarter of voters who cast a ballot in Arizona this November are expected to be Latino, according to the nonprofit NALEO Educational Fund. The nonprofit noted that figure mirrored the percentage who voted in the state in 2020. 

    Earlier this year, Biden used a stop at a Mexican restaurant in a predominantly Latino area of Phoenix to launch his reelection campaign’s national strategy to reach Hispanic voters, dubbed Latinos con Biden-Harris. 

    But it comes as signs from recent polls and data from recent election cycles showing Hispanic voters, who have historically backed Democratic candidates, may be increasingly more open to the GOP’s message. 

    A poll from The New York Times, Siena College and The Philadelphia Inquirer released this week showed Biden and his likely 2024 Republican rival, former President Donald Trump essentially tied among Hispanic voters. 

    While statistics from the most recent elections show Democrats still have a firm grip when it comes to the support of Latino voters, the margin by which Democrats have won among such communities has shrunk. 

    In 2020, former President Donald Trump – who, along with Biden already received enough delegates to earn his party’s nomination for president – got the support of 38% of Latino voters to Biden’s 59%, according to the Pew Research Center. By contrast, Hillary Clinton won Latino voters 66% over Trump (28%) in 2016. 

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    Maddie Gannon

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  • Trump says it’s up to states if they want to prosecute women for abortions

    Trump says it’s up to states if they want to prosecute women for abortions

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    Former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP presumptive presidential nominee, said in an interview with TIME magazine he would defer to individual states if they want to enforce abortion laws by monitoring women’s pregnancies and prosecuting them if they get abortions.

    What You Need To Know

    • Former President Donald Trump told Time magazine he would defer to individual states if they want to enforce abortion laws by monitoring women’s pregnancies and prosecuting them if they get abortions

    • When asked if states “should monitor women’s pregnancies so they can know if they’ve gotten an abortion after the ban,” Trump said. “I think they might do that”

    • He wouldn’t say if he believed the federal government should ban the shipping of abortion drugs across state lines

    • On a House GOP proposal to grant full legal rights to embryos, Trump said “I’m leaving everything up to the states. The states are going to be different. Some will say yes. Some will say no”

    “It’s irrelevant whether I’m comfortable or not. It’s totally irrelevant, because the states are going to make those decisions,” Trump said when asked if he would be comfortable with states criminally charging women for getting abortions. “And by the way, Texas is going to be different than Ohio. And Ohio is going to be different than Michigan.”

    Trump has proudly taken credit for appointing three of the six judges who authored the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which undid the 50-year precedent of Roe v. Wade and allowed states to implement abortion bans, but has tempered his enthusiasm for the most severe state laws and proposals, arguing they can be political liabilities as he seeks to return to the White House. 

    But in the TIME interview published Tuesday and conducted over the course of two conversations this month, Trump said his personal level of comfort did not matter and he would leave those decisions up to the states if he were elected president again.

    On a proposal by the Republican Study Committee — which includes around 80% of House Republican lawmakers, including Speaker Mike Jorhnson, R-La. — to grant full legal rights to embryos, Trump said “I’m leaving everything up to the states. The states are going to be different. Some will say yes. Some will say no.” He did not say he would veto federal legislation if it reached his desk, arguing again it would be left up to state governments.

    When asked if states “should monitor women’s pregnancies so they can know if they’ve gotten an abortion after the ban,” Trump said. “I think they might do that” before launching into an aside where he falsely claimed “every legal scholar, Democrat, Republican and other” wanted the question of abortion’s legality sent back to statehouses and state courts.

    Trump described his adopted home state of Florida’s six-week ban, which is set to take effect on Wednesday, as “too severe,” but wouldn’t say how he would vote on a state referendum in November that would undo the ban by codifying abortion rights in the state constitution. He also wouldn’t say if he believed the federal government should ban the shipping of abortion drugs across state lines, telling TIME he would have an announcement on his views within two weeks (and then delaying it another week or two as of Saturday). And he refused to entertain a hypothetical national abortion ban, pushed by many Washington Republicans, by arguing his party would “never” have the 60 votes in the Senate required to pass that kind of legislation.

    “It’s all about the states, it’s about state rights. States’ rights. States are going to make their own determination,” Trump insisted. “And you know what? That’s taken tremendous pressure off everybody… it was ill-defined. And to be honest, the Republicans, a lot of Republicans, didn’t know how to talk about the issue. That issue never affected me.”

    Despite his unwillingness to publicly offer his own distinct opinions on a national abortion ban or  the prosecutions of women who have abortions, Democrats were not willing to let him off the hook on Tuesday morning.

    “All of this cruelty and chaos can be traced back to Donald Trump,” Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said on a pre-scheduled Democratic National Committee press call. “He repeatedly refused to rule out a national abortion, ban endorsed the prosecution of women and doctors and left the door open to legislation that could rip away access to” in-vitro fertilization.”

    Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Jacksonville, Fla., on Wednesday for a rally focused on the fight for abortion rights. The Biden campaign said she will be there to “continue to make the case that Donald Trump did this.”

    Biden, Harris and Democrats across the country are campaigning against abortion restrictions in the hopes of repeating their electoral successes since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. A stronger-than-expected showing congressional Democrats that fall and in federal and local special elections since, as well as a successful series of statewide referendums protecting abortion rights in states like Ohio and Kansas, has encouraged them that the issue can be a winner for them this year.

    Biden, a devout Catholic who has long held personal objections to abortion, has said he would work to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.

    “Donald Trump’s latest comments leave little doubt: if elected he’ll sign a national abortion ban, allow women who have an abortion to be prosecuted and punished, allow the government to invade women’s privacy to monitor their pregnancies, and put IVF and contraception in jeopardy nationwide,” Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. “The horrific and devastating stories in states like Florida, Texas and Arizona with extreme abortion bans unleashed by Trump overturning Roe are just the beginning if he wins.”

    “Simply put: November’s election will determine whether women in the United States have reproductive freedom, or whether Trump’s new government will continue its assault to control women’s health care decisions,” she added.

    Polling suggests most Americans agree with Biden and Democrats on the issues, even as the president runs about even with Trump in national polls and lags behind him in key swing states. 

    Two-thirds of Americans, including 67% of independents, would support a federal law codifying the right to an abortion, according to a February poll from the health policy nonprofit KFF. Nearly 60% of respondents said they oppose a 16-week abortion ban. And 41% of women said they trusted Biden more to “move abortion policy in the right direction,” compared to 25% for Trump and 22% who said neither. 

    Last month, Fox News’ polling outfit found a record high number of voters — 59% —  believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Compared to April 2022, the poll found double-digit increases in support for the legal right to an abortion among voters 65 and older, conservatives, Republicans and white evangelical Christians. Majorities opposed six-week and 15-week abortion bans.

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    Joseph Konig

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  • Biden tries humor on the campaign trail

    Biden tries humor on the campaign trail

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    President Joe Biden is out to win votes by scoring some laughs at the expense of Donald Trump, unleashing mockery with the goal of getting under the former president’s thin skin and reminding the country of his blunders.

    What You Need To Know

    • In recent campaign stops, President Joe Biden has used mockery with the goal of getting under the skin of former President Donald Trump, his prospective opponent in November’s election

    • Biden has been testing and expanding his jokes over the past few weeks; it started with jabs about his Republican opponent’s financial problems, now Biden regularly jeers Trump’s coiffed hair, his pampered upbringing and much more

    • The jokes are the latest attempt to crack the code on how to clap back at Trump, whose own schtick has redrawn the boundaries of what’s acceptable in modern politics

    • The Republican’s campaign said the insults will only intensify as Biden tries to give them a taste of their own medicine


    Like a comic honing his routine, the Democratic president has been testing and expanding his jokes over the past few weeks. It started with jabs about his Republican opponent’s financial problems, and now Biden regularly pokes fun at Trump’s coiffed hair, his pampered upbringing and his attempt to make a few extra bucks by selling a special edition of the Bible.

    The jokes are the latest attempt to crack the code on how to clap back at Trump, whose own insult comedy schtick has redrawn the boundaries of what is acceptable in modern politics. Few have had much luck, whether they try to take the high road or get down and dirty with Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president.

    “This is a constant challenge,” said Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama. Trump is “not someone who plays by the rules. So it’s up to Biden to figure out how to adapt and play by new rules of engagement.”

    So far, Biden has been trying to thread a delicate needle to boost his chances of a second term. He uses humor to paint Trump as a buffoon unworthy of the Oval Office, but the president stops short of turning the election into a laughing matter.

    Sometimes he finds that a few jokes can energize an audience even more than a major policy victory and draw precious attention away from an opponent who otherwise commands the spotlight even while stuck in a New York courtroom for his first criminal trial.

    The latest example came at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday night. After years of Trump constantly needling Biden as “sleepy” and mocking his age (Biden is 81, Trump is 77), Biden lobbed the insult back after Trump appeared to doze off in court. Trump’s campaign disputed that he was asleep, and with no video camera in place and trained on him there’s no way of knowing for sure.

    Still, Biden nicknamed his rival “Sleepy Don,” adding, “I kind of like that. I may use it again.”

    “Of course the 2024 election’s in full swing and, yes, age is an issue,” he said. “I’m a grown man running against a 6-year-old.”

    Trump didn’t seem to appreciate the ribbing, posting on his social media platform that the dinner was “really bad” and Biden was “an absolute disaster.”

    But jokes at the annual black-tie affair, which also features a professional comedian (this year it was Colin Jost of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”), are nothing new. The real meat of Biden’s routine comes during campaign speeches in which he devotes a few moments to taking digs at Trump in between recitations of policy proposals and legislative accomplishments.

    “Remember when he was trying to deal with COVID? He suggested: Inject a little bleach in your vein,” Biden said Wednesday to a labor union, describing Trump’s guidance from the White House during the pandemic. “He missed. It all went to his hair.”

    In Tampa, Florida, the day before, he assailed Trump for the Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned abortion protections — with three justices nominated by Trump voting in the majority of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — and then pivoted to the former president’s hawking of a $60 “God Bless the USA” Bible.

    “He described the Dobbs decision as a ‘miracle,’” Biden said of Trump. “Maybe it’s coming from that Bible he’s trying to sell. Whoa. I almost wanted to buy one just to see what the hell is in it.”

    Biden rarely references Trump’s court cases, but jokes about financial problems that began soon after the former president was ordered to pay $454 million in a civil case in New York.

    “Just the other day,” Biden said at a fundraiser in Dallas last month, “a defeated-looking guy came up to me and said, ‘Mr. President, I need your help. I’m being crushed with debt. I’m completely wiped out.’ I had to say, ‘Donald, I can’t help you.’”

    Even when Biden tries his hand at humor, he rarely strays far from talking about policies. He likes to note that he signed a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law — after his opponent failed to do so despite repeatedly holding White House events to drum up support for an idea that never materialized.

    “He promised ‘Infrastructure Week’ every week for four years and never built a damn thing,” Biden said this month to a group of laughing union members.

    The dilemma is that Trump, who tells voters the whole American political system is hopelessly corrupt, can get away with name-calling that would backfire on other candidates. During his rallies, Trump imitates Biden as a feeble old man who cannot find the stairs after giving a brief speech, and he calls the president “crooked” and “a demented tyrant.”

    The Republican’s campaign said the insults will only intensify as Biden tries to give them a taste of their own medicine.

    Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said Biden is “shuffling his feet like a short-circuited Roomba,” referring to the robot vacuum, while failing to address the “out-of-control border” and “runaway inflation.”

    Rick Tyler, who worked on the presidential campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2016, said voters have a double standard because expectations are different for Trump, who first became famous as a real estate developer and the star of the reality TV show “The Apprentice.”

    “Celebrities don’t really have standards, and Trump is in that lane,” Tyler said. For a politician going up against Trump, “it’s like trying to play a sport with the wrong equipment.”

    Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., found that out the hard way in the Republican primary in 2016. After Rubio joked about Trump having “small hands” — suggesting that another part of him was small, too — Trump swung back by saying, “I guarantee you there’s no problem.”

    “Nobody has ever beaten Trump by getting in the ring with him,” said Alex Conant, communications director for Rubio’s campaign.

    Karen Finney, who advised Democrat Hillary Clinton in her 2016 White House run, said Trump can bait opponents into “communicating on his terms, not your terms.”

    “It’s the kind of thing where you have to have a balance,” she said. “You could spend all day just responding.”

    But if Trump’s humor is blunt, Biden sometimes tries to get the most mileage by staying subtle. During a Pittsburgh stop earlier this month, Biden spoke elliptically about Trump’s trial, betting his audience was already in on the joke.

    Trump, he said, is “a little busy right now.”

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  • Trump is demanding a new judge days before hush-money criminal trial

    Trump is demanding a new judge days before hush-money criminal trial

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    Former President Donald Trump is demanding a new judge just days before his hush-money criminal trial is set to begin, rehashing longstanding grievances with the current judge in a long-shot, eleventh-hour bid to disrupt and delay the case.

    What You Need To Know

    • Former President Donald Trump is demanding a new judge just days before his hush-money criminal case is set to go to trial, rehashing longstanding grievances with the current judge in a long-shot, eleventh-hour bid to disrupt and delay the case
    • Trump’s lawyers urged Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan to step aside from the case, alleging a conflict of interest and bias because his daughter is a Democratic political consultant
    • The judge rejected a similar request last August
    • In court papers made public Friday, Trump’s lawyers said it is improper for Merchan “to preside over these proceedings while Ms. Merchan benefits, financially and reputationally, from the manner in which this case is interfering” with Trump’s presidential campaign


    Trump’s lawyers — echoing his recent social media complaints — urged Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan to step aside from the case, alleging bias and a conflict of interest because his daughter is a Democratic political consultant. The judge rejected a similar request last August.

    In court papers made public Friday, Trump’s lawyers said it is improper for Merchan “to preside over these proceedings while Ms. Merchan benefits, financially and reputationally, from the manner in which this case is interfering” with Trump’s campaign as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

    The trial is scheduled to begin April 15. It is the first of Trump’s four criminal cases scheduled to go to trial and would be the first-ever criminal trial of a former president.

    Merchan didn’t immediately rule. The decision is entirely up to him. If he were to exit, it would throw the trial schedule into disarray, giving Trump a long-sought postponement while a new judge gets up to speed.

    Messages seeking comment were left for a court spokesperson and for Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said it sees no reason for Merchan to step aside.

    The defense’s claims that Loren Merchan is profiting from her father’s decisions require “multiple attenuated factual leaps here that undercut any direct connection” between her firm and this case, prosecutor Matthew Colangelo wrote in a letter to the judge.

    “This daisy chain of innuendos is a far cry from evidence” that Judge Merchan has a direct, personal or financial interest in reaching a particular conclusion, Colangelo wrote.

    Loren Merchan is president of Authentic Campaigns, which has collected at least $70 million in payments from Democratic candidates and causes since she helped found the company in 2018, records show.

    The firm’s past clients include President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Senate Majority PAC, a big-spending political committee affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Senate Majority PAC has paid Authentic Campaigns $15.2 million, according to campaign finance disclosures.

    In a separate development Friday, Merchan blocked Trump’s lawyers from forcing NBC to provide them with materials related to its recent documentary about porn actor Stormy Daniels, a key prosecution witness. He ruled that the defense’s subpoena was “the very definition of a fishing expedition” and didn’t meet a legal burden for requiring a news organization to provide access to its notes and documents.

    On Wednesday, Merchan rejected the presumptive Republican nominee’s request to delay the trial until the Supreme Court rules on presidential immunity claims he raised in another of his criminal cases. The judge has yet to rule on another defense delay request — this one alleging he won’t get a fair trial because of “prejudicial media coverage.”

    The hush money case centers on allegations that Trump falsified his company’s records to hide the nature of payments to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who helped Trump bury negative stories during his 2016 campaign. Among other things, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to suppress her claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.

    Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels. His lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.

    Trump foreshadowed his lawyers’ renewed push to have Merchan exit the case with posts assailing the judge and his daughter last week on his Truth Social platform.

    Trump suggested, without evidence, that Merchan’s rulings — including his decision to impose a gag order on Trump — were swayed by his daughter’s consulting interests. He wrongly claimed that she had posted a social media photo showing him behind bars. Trump’s attacks on Loren Merchan led the judge to expand the gag order to prohibit him from making public statements about his family.

    “The Judge has to recuse himself immediately, and right the wrong committed by not doing so last year,” Trump wrote on March 27. “If the Biased and Conflicted Judge is allowed to stay on this Sham ‘Case,’ it will be another sad example of our Country becoming a Banana Republic, not the America we used to know and love.”

    Trump similarly pressed the judge in his Washington, D.C., election interference case to recuse herself, claiming her past comments about him called into question her ability to be fair. But U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said there was no reason for her to step aside.

    Merchan’s daughter featured prominently in the defense’s calls for his recusal last year. They also seized on several small donations the judge made totaling to Democratic causes during the 2020 campaign. They totaled $35, including $15 to Biden.

    Merchan rejected that request, writing last August that a state court ethics panel had found that Loren Merchan’s work had no bearing on his impartiality. The judge said he was certain of his “ability to be fair and impartial” and said Trump’s lawyers had “failed to demonstrate that there exists concrete, or even realistic reasons for recusal to be appropriate, much less required on these grounds.”

    Trump’s lawyers contend circumstances have now changed, with Trump locked in a rematch against President Joe Biden, and Democrats — including clients of Loren Merchan’s firm — seeking to capitalize on Trump’s legal troubles with fundraising emails framed around developments in the hush-money case.

    “It would be completely unacceptable to most New Yorkers if the judge presiding over these proceedings had an adult child who worked at WinRed or MAGA Inc.,” Blanche and Necheles wrote, referring to a Republican fundraising platform and a pro-Trump fundraising committee.

    In seeking Merchan’s recusal, Trump’s lawyers also took issue with his decision to give an interview to The Associated Press last month, suggesting he may have violated judicial conduct rules, and they questioned his use of a court spokesperson last week to deny Trump’s claims that she had posted the image of Trump in jail.

    In the interview, Merchan told the AP that he and his staff were working diligently to prepare for the historic first trial of a former president, saying: “There’s no agenda here. We want to follow the law. We want justice to be done.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Planned Parenthood endorses five Senate candidates

    Planned Parenthood endorses five Senate candidates

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    The political arm of the reproductive rights group Planned Parenthood on Wednesday announced its endorsement of five House Democrats looking to secure seats in the upper chamber of Congress in November’s election. 

    In a press release, Planned Parenthood Action Fund announced it is backing 2024 U.S. Senate candidates Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Colin Allred, D-Texas, Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.,  Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The political arm of the reproductive rights group Planned Parenthood on Wednesday announced its endorsement of five House Democrats looking to secure seats in the upper chamber in November’s election 
    • Planned Parenthood Action Fund is backing 2024 Senate candidates Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Colin Allred, D-Texas, Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.,  Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. 
    • The group has already endorsed Democratic incumbents Sens. Jon Tester, Jacky Rosen, Sherrod Brown and Tammy Baldwin in the battleground states of Montana, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin as well as President Joe Biden for another four years in the White House
    • Democratic candidates across the country have sought to hone in on the issue of abortion access and reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022

    In deep-blue California, Schiff is looking to defeat a challenge from former Los Angeles Dodgers player Republican Steve Garvey to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat. He beat out two other House Democrats in the primary contest earlier this month to advance to November’s general race. 

    In Texas, Allred, a civil rights lawyer and former NFL player, is seeking to oust Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. 

    In Delaware and battleground Michigan, Blunt Rochester and Slotkin are hoping to fill the seats of retiring Democratic Sens. Tom Carper and Debbie Stabenow, respectively.

    Meanwhile, in one of the west’s biggest swing states, Gallego is aiming to defeat Republican Kari Lake to take over for Democratic-turned-Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Sinema announced earlier this month that she would not seek reelection after leaving the Democratic party to become an independent following the 2022 midterms. Lake narrowly lost her race for governor of Arizona to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2022. 

    “We don’t have time to waste while our freedom to control our own bodies hangs in the balance,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund said in a statement. “We know that if anti-abortion rights politicians gain control of the Senate, they will exploit their power to push through a national abortion ban.”

    “That is why this slate of unflappable reproductive rights champions must be elected to the Senate,” McGill continued. 

    The group has already endorsed Democratic incumbents Sens. Jon Tester, Jacky Rosen, Sherrod Brown and Tammy Baldwin in the battleground states of Montana, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. It has also thrown its support behind Democratic incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a staunch supporter of reproductive rights, in New York. 

    Democratic candidates across the country have sought to hone in on the issue of abortion access and reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The ruling sparked tight restrictions or bans on abortion in states around the country. 

    The issue has proved electorally fruitful for Democrats, who credit it for helping the party pull off a better-than-expected showing in the 2022 midterms and notch key victories in the 2023 off-year elections. 

    When the issue has appeared directly on the ballot, voters – even in red states like Kansas and Ohio – choose to keep abortion more widely accessible. 

    And Democrats are signaling they have no plans to take a step back on the issue in the first presidential election since Roe was overturned.

    “When reproductive freedom was on the ballot, the American people spoke in 2022,” President Joe Biden said at a reception at the White House on Monday in which he signed an executive order seeking to boost research on women’s health. He then pointed to Vice President Kamala Harris and declared that “with the leadership of this woman to my left here, they are going to speak out again in 2024.” 

    The Biden campaign’s first rally of the election year that featured both the president and vice president together was focused on restoring Roe v. Wade. 

    Last week, Harris became the first vice president or president to visit a facility that performs abortions when she toured a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota. 

    Planned Parenthood Action Fund, along with two other major reproductive rights groups NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily’s List, endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket for another four years in the White House back in June.

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    Maddie Gannon

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  • Planned Parenthood endorses five Senate candidates

    Planned Parenthood endorses five Senate candidates

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    The political arm of the reproductive rights group Planned Parenthood on Wednesday announced its endorsement of five House Democrats looking to secure seats in the upper chamber of Congress in November’s election. 

    In a press release, Planned Parenthood Action Fund announced it is backing 2024 U.S. Senate candidates Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Colin Allred, D-Texas, Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.,  Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. 

    What You Need To Know

    • The political arm of the reproductive rights group Planned Parenthood on Wednesday announced its endorsement of five House Democrats looking to secure seats in the upper chamber in November’s election 
    • Planned Parenthood Action Fund is backing 2024 Senate candidates Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Colin Allred, D-Texas, Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.,  Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. 
    • The group has already endorsed Democratic incumbents Sens. Jon Tester, Jacky Rosen, Sherrod Brown and Tammy Baldwin in the battleground states of Montana, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin as well as President Joe Biden for another four years in the White House
    • Democratic candidates across the country have sought to hone in on the issue of abortion access and reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022

    In deep-blue California, Schiff is looking to defeat a challenge from former Los Angeles Dodgers player Republican Steve Garvey to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat. He beat out two other House Democrats in the primary contest earlier this month to advance to November’s general race. 

    In Texas, Allred, a civil rights lawyer and former NFL player, is seeking to oust Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. 

    In Delaware and battleground Michigan, Blunt Rochester and Slotkin are hoping to fill the seats of retiring Democratic Sens. Tom Carper and Debbie Stabenow, respectively.

    Meanwhile, in one of the west’s biggest swing states, Gallego is aiming to defeat Republican Kari Lake to take over for Democratic-turned-Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Sinema announced earlier this month that she would not seek reelection after leaving the Democratic party to become an independent following the 2022 midterms. Lake narrowly lost her race for governor of Arizona to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2022. 

    “We don’t have time to waste while our freedom to control our own bodies hangs in the balance,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund said in a statement. “We know that if anti-abortion rights politicians gain control of the Senate, they will exploit their power to push through a national abortion ban.”

    “That is why this slate of unflappable reproductive rights champions must be elected to the Senate,” McGill continued. 

    The group has already endorsed Democratic incumbents Sens. Jon Tester, Jacky Rosen, Sherrod Brown and Tammy Baldwin in the battleground states of Montana, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. It has also thrown its support behind Democratic incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a staunch supporter of reproductive rights, in New York. 

    Democratic candidates across the country have sought to hone in on the issue of abortion access and reproductive rights following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. The ruling sparked tight restrictions or bans on abortion in states around the country. 

    The issue has proved electorally fruitful for Democrats, who credit it for helping the party pull off a better-than-expected showing in the 2022 midterms and notch key victories in the 2023 off-year elections. 

    When the issue has appeared directly on the ballot, voters – even in red states like Kansas and Ohio – choose to keep abortion more widely accessible. 

    And Democrats are signaling they have no plans to take a step back on the issue in the first presidential election since Roe was overturned.

    “When reproductive freedom was on the ballot, the American people spoke in 2022,” President Joe Biden said at a reception at the White House on Monday in which he signed an executive order seeking to boost research on women’s health. He then pointed to Vice President Kamala Harris and declared that “with the leadership of this woman to my left here, they are going to speak out again in 2024.” 

    The Biden campaign’s first rally of the election year that featured both the president and vice president together was focused on restoring Roe v. Wade. 

    Last week, Harris became the first vice president or president to visit a facility that performs abortions when she toured a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota. 

    Planned Parenthood Action Fund, along with two other major reproductive rights groups NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily’s List, endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket for another four years in the White House back in June.

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    Maddie Gannon

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  • Biden meets with Teamsters Union weeks after Trump

    Biden meets with Teamsters Union weeks after Trump

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    President Joe Biden made his way to the Teamsters headquarters in Washington on Tuesday to make the case as to why he should win members’ support in November as both he and former President Donald Trump vie for the powerful union’s endorsement. 

    What You Need To Know

    • President Joe Biden made his way to the Teamsters headquarters in Washington on Tuesday to make the case as to why he should win the union’s support
    • Biden was expected to meet with Teamsters’ president Sean M. O’Brien, general secretary-treasurer Fred Zuckerman and the Teamsters General Executive Board as well as union members, behind closed doors according to the group
    • The Teamsters also met with former President Donald Trump in Washington and January and the union’s president sat down with Trump at Mar-a-Lago this year
    • Biden secured the endorsement of the United Auto Workers union in January

    Biden – who often touts himself as the most pro-union president in U.S. history – traveled less than two miles from the White House for the “rank-and-file Presidential roundtable,” as the union billed it. There, he is expected to meet with Teamsters’ president Sean M. O’Brien, general secretary-treasurer Fred Zuckerman and the Teamsters General Executive Board as well as union members, all behind closed doors, according to the group. 

    “We realize that President Biden’s time is limited and we appreciate that he is making it a priority to meet with Teamsters,” O’Brien said in a statement. “Our rank-and-file members and leadership are eager to have this conversation about the future of our country and the commitments that working people need from our next President.” 

    Tuesday’s discussion is expected to include conversations on workers’ wages and wealth inequality, antitrust enforcement in the warehouse and package delivery industries, and the freedom to form and join a union more quickly among other topics. 

    The 1.3 million-member union representing workers in a diverse range of industries endorsed Biden in 2020 and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. But the group has held off throwing its support behind Biden’s reelection bid early, meeting with Trump in Washington in January as well as other current or past candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Asa Hutchinson, Marianne Williamson, Dr. Cornel West, and Dean Phillips. 

    “Stranger things have happened,” Trump told reporters following his meeting with the group in Washington in January regarding a possible endorsement in the face of the union passing him up in 2020 and 2016. 

    O’Brien also made the trip to Florida in January to sit-down with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, an event that featured the two posing for a picture together. The potent force in the labor world also drew headlines when its PAC donated $45,000 to a fund for the Republican National Committee in January. The Teamsters’ PAC also donated thousands to the Democratic National Committee’s fund in December. 

    Through these roundtable conversations, the Teamsters want to make sure that all our members’ voices are heard and our elected officials do not take for granted the power of the Teamsters vote,” O’Brien said in a statement ahead of his meeting with Biden. 

    Biden and Trump, both of whom have yet to officially lock up enough delegates to win their parties’ nominations but look all but certain to be headed for a 2020 rematch in November, are looking to shore up support from organized labor – something that could be crucial to winning the blue-collar workers in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin. 

    Biden secured the endorsement of the United Auto Workers union in January, months after making history when he joined striking UAW members on the picket line in Michigan as they pursued better pay and benefits from the Big Three Detroit automakers.

    The president called out UAW Shawn Fain as a “great friend and a great labor leader” during his State of the Union address on Thursday. The White House invited Fain to the address to watch with the first lady from her viewing box. 

    The UAW leader has feuded with Trump, calling the former president a “scab” while endorsing Biden this year. 

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    Maddie Gannon

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  • Biden meets with Teamsters Union weeks after Trump

    Biden meets with Teamsters Union weeks after Trump

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    President Joe Biden made his way to the Teamsters headquarters in Washington on Tuesday to make the case as to why he should win members’ support in November as both he and former President Donald Trump vie for the powerful union’s endorsement. 

    What You Need To Know

    • President Joe Biden made his way to the Teamsters headquarters in Washington on Tuesday to make the case as to why he should win the union’s support
    • Biden was expected to meet with Teamsters’ president Sean M. O’Brien, general secretary-treasurer Fred Zuckerman and the Teamsters General Executive Board as well as union members, behind closed doors according to the group
    • The Teamsters also met with former President Donald Trump in Washington and January and the union’s president sat down with Trump at Mar-a-Lago this year
    • Biden secured the endorsement of the United Auto Workers union in January

    Biden – who often touts himself as the most pro-union president in U.S. history – traveled less than two miles from the White House for the “rank-and-file Presidential roundtable,” as the union billed it. There, he is expected to meet with Teamsters’ president Sean M. O’Brien, general secretary-treasurer Fred Zuckerman and the Teamsters General Executive Board as well as union members, all behind closed doors, according to the group. 

    “We realize that President Biden’s time is limited and we appreciate that he is making it a priority to meet with Teamsters,” O’Brien said in a statement. “Our rank-and-file members and leadership are eager to have this conversation about the future of our country and the commitments that working people need from our next President.” 

    Tuesday’s discussion is expected to include conversations on workers’ wages and wealth inequality, antitrust enforcement in the warehouse and package delivery industries, and the freedom to form and join a union more quickly among other topics. 

    The 1.3 million-member union representing workers in a diverse range of industries endorsed Biden in 2020 and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016. But the group has held off throwing its support behind Biden’s reelection bid early, meeting with Trump in Washington in January as well as other current or past candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Asa Hutchinson, Marianne Williamson, Dr. Cornel West, and Dean Phillips. 

    “Stranger things have happened,” Trump told reporters following his meeting with the group in Washington in January regarding a possible endorsement in the face of the union passing him up in 2020 and 2016. 

    O’Brien also made the trip to Florida in January to sit-down with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, an event that featured the two posing for a picture together. The potent force in the labor world also drew headlines when its PAC donated $45,000 to a fund for the Republican National Committee in January. The Teamsters’ PAC also donated thousands to the Democratic National Committee’s fund in December. 

    Through these roundtable conversations, the Teamsters want to make sure that all our members’ voices are heard and our elected officials do not take for granted the power of the Teamsters vote,” O’Brien said in a statement ahead of his meeting with Biden. 

    Biden and Trump, both of whom have yet to officially lock up enough delegates to win their parties’ nominations but look all but certain to be headed for a 2020 rematch in November, are looking to shore up support from organized labor – something that could be crucial to winning the blue-collar workers in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin. 

    Biden secured the endorsement of the United Auto Workers union in January, months after making history when he joined striking UAW members on the picket line in Michigan as they pursued better pay and benefits from the Big Three Detroit automakers.

    The president called out UAW Shawn Fain as a “great friend and a great labor leader” during his State of the Union address on Thursday. The White House invited Fain to the address to watch with the first lady from her viewing box. 

    The UAW leader has feuded with Trump, calling the former president a “scab” while endorsing Biden this year. 

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    Maddie Gannon

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  • Biden-Harris campaign launches program to mobilize student voters

    Biden-Harris campaign launches program to mobilize student voters

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    As voters express concern about President Joe Biden’s age, according to polling, the organizers of his reelection campaign are courting young people with a new Students for Biden-Harris initiative.

    Designed to mobilize student voters throughout the country, the program launched Monday to reach young people on campus and online by touting the Biden administration’s achievements on the issues they care about most.

    What You Need To Know

    • Biden-Harris 2024 launched Students for Biden-Harris on Monday

    • The program is designed to mobilize student voters throughout the country on campus and online

    • In the 2020 election, 65% of Gen Z voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted for Biden

    • Inflation, jobs that pay a living wage, gun violence and climate chnage are key isseus for voters 18 to 34 years old

    “Whether it’s tackling the climate crisis, fighting gun violence or being the most pro-union administration, we are making progress on the vision of a more equitable world,” Biden-Harris 2024 National Advisory Board Member and first-term U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said in a statement. 

    “Young voters were crucial in delivering the election for President Biden and Vice President Harris in 2020, and they will be just as consequential in 2024,” said Frost, who was 25 years old when he was elected in 2020 and is the first member of Generation Z to serve in Congress.

    In the 2020 election, 65% of Gen Z voters between the ages of 18 and 24 voted for Biden — or about 11% more than all other age groups, according to an NBC poll.

    In the 2024 rematch between Biden and former president Donald Trump, students will be just as critical of a voting bloc. Referring to young Americans as “a key constituency,” Students for Biden-Harris sees the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 as a driving force for young women in particular.

    “We’re ready to get to work,” Vice President Kamala Harris said at an event Monday to help launch the new initiative. “We’re ready to mobilize young voters across the country in the fight for our fundamental rights and freedoms.”

    Biden-Harris 2024 announced on Monday a joint endorsement from a coalition of 15 youth vote groups, including College Democrats of America, High School Democrats of America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Voices of Gen-Z.

    “The President and Vice President are proud to earn the support of these groups that represent young Americans nationwide,” Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement Monday. “The President and Vice President have spent their first term working with young people and fighting for the issues that matter most to them — taking historic action to cancel student debt, combat climate change and address gun violence.”

    Since 2021, the Biden administration has canceled $138 billion in student loan debt for about 3.9 billion borrowers. It also enacted the Inflation Reduction Act — the largest initiative in U.S. history to address climate change — and signed the first major gun safety law passed by Congress in almost three decades.

    Inflation/cost of living, jobs that pay a living wage, gun violence and climate change are the key issues for voters between the ages of 18 and 34 in the 2024 election, according to the Tufts Tisch College Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

    Young voters who say climate is their top issue are 20 points more likely to vote than other young people and 37 points more likely to prefer a Democrat for president. The Tufts poll found Democrats have an overall advantage among young people in the upcoming election, with 51% backing the Democratic candidate, 30% supporting the Republican and 16% undecided.

    The poll found that 57% of youth are extremely like to vote in 2024; another 15% say they are fairly likely to cast a ballot. Yet only 19% of young people have heard so far from political parties, campaigns or community organizations.

    The Students for Biden-Harris organizing program said it is working with youth vote groups to mobilize on more than 1,000 campuses where they are active, using over 500,000 volunteers that can reach 26+ million people on social media and make more than 155 million direct contacts with voters.

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • Biden set to deliver high-stakes State of the Union address

    Biden set to deliver high-stakes State of the Union address

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    On Thursday night, President Joe Biden will leave the White House grounds to make the trip to the other end of Pennsylvania Ave. to deliver the annual State of the Union address – with plenty on his plate, and even more at stake.

    What You Need To Know

    • On Thursday night, President Joe Biden will deliver the annual State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol 
    • It comes as Biden in the thick of a reelection campaign that looks increasingly likely to be a rematch between him and former President Donald Trump
    • Reproductive rights, the economy, immigration and foreign policy could be key topics for his address
    • Biden will outline an ambitious budget proposal to reduce the federal deficit $3 trillion over 10 years, the White House said Thursday, fueled in large part by raising taxes on wealthy corporations and billionaires
    • Spectrum News will open to viewers President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address and the Republican rebuttal; here’s how to watch live

    The president — in the thick of a reelection campaign that looks increasingly likely to be a rematch between him and former President Donald Trump — is attempting to broker a peace deal in Gaza, while convincing a thus far seemingly unmoved GOP House Speaker to put billions in aid to Ukraine up for a vote, fending off persistent questions about age and struggling to persuade the American public the economy is thriving and he deserves credit. 

    In short, as Todd Belt, Professor and Director of Political Management at George Washington, puts it, Thursday night for the president is “pretty high-stakes.” 

    “I wouldn’t call it make-or-break, but I would put the emphasis on ‘break’ more than ‘make,’” Belt said, adding: “There’s going to be a ton of scrutiny on the president.”

    Biden – as he did before last year’s speech, according to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre – spent the weekend huddled with top advisors tucked away at Camp David, the historic presidential retreat in Maryland, preparing for Thursday’s address. 

    “This is something that he is personally involved in,” Jean-Pierre said of the president’s role in the preparation at Wednesday’s White House press briefing. “This is something that comes straight from having conversations with the American people.” 

    The president, she added, will continue to “fine-tune” the speech Wednesday and Thursday before he hits TVs in prime time. Biden had no public events on Wednesday. 

    Belt noted State of the Union addresses during election years in which the president is seeking another four years in the White House take on a different tone.

    While there may be no campaign banners or walk-up songs and the reason for the speech may stem from a constitutional requirement for the president to from “time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union,” Belt said such addresses offer incumbent president’s the chance to “take a victory lap” and make a direct appeal to voters. 

    “The State of the Union during an election year is a chance for the President to remind the public of the successes from the prior three years,” he said. “But it’s also a way for the president to say, ‘the job isn’t done, you need to send me back to complete the job.’” 

    And the White House has made clear Biden is preparing to do just that. 

    Jean-Pierre on Wednesday laid out the key goals Biden plans to focus on Thursday night: lowering costs for Americans and “giving people more breathing room;” preserving democracy; protecting reproductive health; and progress on the “unity agenda” he laid out in his first State of the Union, such as addressing cancer, delivering for veterans and beating the opioid epidemic. 

    “Fundamentally, the president will outline an agenda that is about continuing to build on the progress that we’ve made over the last three years,” she said. 

    Here are some key topics expected to play center roles in Biden’s Thursday address:

    Reproductive rights

    Demonstrators march and gather near the state capitol following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Friday, June 24, 2022, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

    Since the Supreme Court overturned of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Democrats have sought to put the issue of abortion front and center. As Belt notes, the issue has proven to be electorally fruitful for Democrats, who have credited the topic for helping blue candidates secure victories since the high court’s decision.

    “Democrats know that this is their kryptonite for Republicans,” Belt said. ”This is what they can use against Republicans that has helped them in the last two elections in 2022, as well as in the off-years in 2023.” 

    Biden – whose first campaign rally alongside Vice President Kamala Harris of the election year centered on “Restoring Roe” – is making clear he will continue to a spotlight on the issue by inviting Kate Cox as a guest to Thursday’s address. Cox’s story of having to leave her home state of Texas to get an abortion when her health was in danger due to the state’s restrictive abortion laws garnered national attention. 

    Recently, Democrats received fresh material to work with on the topic when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos could be considered children, leading experts to warn of potential major implications for in vitro fertilization. 

    Immigration — and the dead Senate border deal

    President Joe Biden talks with the U.S. Border Patrol, as he looks over the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, along the Rio Grande. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

    After Republicans in Congress killed a sweeping border policy deal that a bipartisan group of senators and the White House spent weeks negotiating, Biden has been hounding lawmakers to revisit the legislation. 

    The GOP had originally requested border changes be included in a package to provide Biden’s request for aid to Ukraine, Israel, allies in the Indo-Pacific and more. The president has blamed his predecessor former President Donald Trump – who vocally came out against the deal – for its downfall. 

    And just last week, as Jean-Pierre noted on a call with reporters on Wednesday – the president made a closely watched visit to the border in Brownsville, Texas, where he highlighted what was at stake without action from Congress. 

    “He’s tried to take that issue away from Republicans and to some degree, there’s been some success in that,” Belt said. “We’ll see more of that tomorrow.”

    “It’s a lie, everybody knows it’s a lie,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Spectrum News on Wednesday when asked about his response to the likelihood the president will criticize Republicans for killing the Senate border deal in his address Thursday. 

    “Anybody with a brain who looks at the Senate bill knows it was a purposeful effort to give them an excuse for why they could blame Republicans when it is they who have left the borders wide open,” he continued. 

    The economy

    A generator and its blades are prepared to head to the open ocean for the South Fork Wind farm from State Pier in New London, Conn., Dec. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

    Despite consumer sentiment rising and numerous signs people are feeling better about the economy, polls show Biden has struggled to convince the American public he and his policies deserve the credit. 

    A poll conducted in January by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research put his economic approval rating at just 35%, despite his administration having now embarked on four “Investing in America” tours in which top officials hit the road to sell his economic agenda.

    “Biden has tried to message on jobs … and other aspects of the economy, but inflation remains the big sticking one,” Belt said. “And it’s difficult for Democrats, because when you ask people which party is better in handling inflation, they usually say Republicans. So this is not a good issue for him.” 

    To that end, Biden will outline an ambitious budget proposal to reduce the federal deficit $3 trillion over 10 years, the White House said Thursday, fueled in large part by raising taxes on wealthy corporations and billionaires. Biden’s proposal would call for billionaires to pay a minimum of 25% on their income, raise the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, and bar corporations from being able to deduct employee pay if they pay over $1 million to any employee. 

    He will also outline proposals to cut taxes for the middle class and use revenues from his proposals to pay for expansions of programs that aid lower-income families, like the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Biden is also set to outline a plan to implement higher Medicare taxes on Americans making more than $400,000 annually to help the program remain financially solvent.

    Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, said that Biden will contrast his proposals to Republicans’ plans of extending the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts while slashing corporate tax rates.

    In a briefing with reporters on Tuesday, White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden said Biden will seek to highlight his work to lower costs for American families while making sure they know the administration is aware some are feeling a “middle-class squeeze.” 

    “Americans want more breathing room,” Tanden said said, “and as the president has been focused on throughout his term, we will see the State of the Union as an opportunity to drive a robust policy agenda to address a range of costs.” 

    Tanden noted Biden will highlight his work to lower health care costs, such as securing the ability for Medicare to negotiate drug prices and capping insulin at $35 a month for seniors and other Medicare enrollees. 

    “The president will build on that agenda in the State of the Union with more action to take on big Pharma to reduce drug costs for more and more Americans,” Tanden said. 

    She also said Biden will address housing. She noted the administration recognizes “that housing is a real challenge in the country both in terms of affording a first home or being able to pay rent.” 

    “The president will speak to these issues and he has specific proposals that he will speak to in terms of housing affordability and ensuring we are addressing rent,” she said. 

    National Economic Council on Lowering Costs Deputy Director Jon Donenberg and Rohit Chopra, Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of the United States on Junk Fees, also noted Biden will call out companies over his belief that some are continuing to keep prices high despite declining costs as well as his self-proclaimed war on hidden or surprise fees at the end of purchases.  

    “Unfortunately it is going to be a lot of a spin on how Bidenomics has actually been a success,” Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., told Spectrum News on Wednesday when asked what he expects to hear from the president on Thursday.

    “You have people who can’t afford the American dream anymore, to own their own homes,” he added. 

    Foreign policy

    Palestinians visit their destroyed homes after Israeli forces left Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

    Thursday’s high-profile address also comes as Biden is navigating two wars overseas as his request to Congress for additional foreign aid still hangs in the balance.

    Biden has implored House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. to put the Senate-passed $95 package providing aid to Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, Israel as it battles Hamas, the Indo-Pacific as China grows its influence in the region and more up for a vote – thus far to no avail. 

    Jean-Pierre on Wednesday confirmed that Biden invited Ukraine’s first lady as well as the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died last month in a Russian prison, to Thursday’s address. Both are not able to make it, she said. 

    Meanwhile, when it comes to the war in Gaza, Belt said, Biden may have to walk a finer line. 

    “This is something where he has to walk a delicate dance,” he said. 

    “There’s a big faction of the party that is not happy with support for Israel, given what’s going on in Gaza,” Belt added. “So that’s going to have to be something he’s going to have to diplomatically address.” 

    Biden has faced criticism from some in his party over his support for Israel amid the war in Gaza as the Palestinian death toll has risen and the humanitarian crisis has worsened. 

    Questions about Biden’s age

    While not a policy issue per se, Belt notes the 81-year-old president’s age could be a focus Thursday night. 

    Biden has faced mounting questions on the topic that were only heightened when a special counsel report recommending against charging Biden for his handling of classified information referred to him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” 

    “People are waiting for him to have that ‘oops’ moment in terms of his memory, or his physical, stamina, posture what have you,” Belt said. “And so there’s gonna be a lot of people waiting to play the gotcha game with him if he does something wrong.”

    Belt, however, also noted Thursday is an opportunity for Biden to “reenergize those voters who have become a little bit disaffected.”

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    Maddie Gannon

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