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  • Biden makes historic apology to Native peoples over boarding schools

    Biden makes historic apology to Native peoples over boarding schools

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    President Joe Biden did something Friday that no other sitting U.S. president has: He apologized for the systemic abuse of generations of Indigenous children endured in boarding schools at the hands of the federal government.See tribal leaders react to the apology in the video aboveFor 150 years, the U.S. removed Indigenous children from their homes and sent them away to the schools, where they were stripped of their cultures, histories and religions and beaten for speaking their languages.”We should be ashamed,” Biden said to a crowd of Indigenous people gathered at the Gila River Indian Community outside of Phoenix, including tribal leaders, survivors and their families. Biden called the government-mandated system that began in 1819 “one of the most horrific chapters in American history,” while acknowledging the decades of abuse inflicted upon children and the widespread devastation left behind.For many Native Americans, the long-awaited apology was a welcome acknowledgment of the government’s longstanding culpability. Now, they say, words must be followed up by action.Bill Hall, 71, of Seattle, was 9 when he was taken from his Tlingit community in Alaska and forced to attend a boarding school, where he endured years of physical and sexual abuse that led to many more years of shame. When he first heard that Biden was going to apologize, he wasn’t sure he would be able to accept it.”But, as I was watching, tears began to flow from my eyes,” Hall said. “Yes, I accept his apology. Now, what can we do next?”Rosalie Whirlwind Soldier, a 79-year-old citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said she felt “a tingle in my heart” and was glad the historical wrong was being acknowledged. Still, she remains saddened by the irreversible harm done to her people.Whirlwind Soldier suffered severe mistreatment at a school in South Dakota that left her with a lifelong, painful limp. The Catholic-run, government-subsidized facility took away her faith and tried to stamp out her Lakota identity by cutting off her long braids, she said.”Sorry is not enough. Nothing is enough when you damage a human being,” she said. “A whole generation of people and our future was destroyed for us.”The schools were designed both to assimilate Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children and to dispossess tribal nations of their land, according to an Interior Department investigation launched by Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to lead the agency.Introducing Biden on Friday, Haaland said that while the formal apology is an acknowledgment of a dark chapter, it is also a celebration of Indigenous resilience: “Despite everything that happened, we are still here.”Haaland, a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, commissioned the investigation in 2021. It documented the cases of more than 18,000 Indigenous children, of whom 973 were killed. Both the report and independent researchers say the overall number was much higher.The report came with several recommendations taken from the testimony of school survivors, including resources for mental health treatment and language revitalization programs.Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis noted that Biden has pledged to make good on those recommendations.”This lays the framework to address the boarding school policies of the past,” he said.Benjamin Mallott, the president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, who is Lingít, said in a statement that the apology must be accompanied by meaningful actions: “This includes revitalizing our languages and cultures and bringing home our Native children who have not yet been returned, so they can be laid to rest with their families and in their communities.”That view is shared by Victoria Kitcheyan, the chairwoman of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, which sued the U.S. Army in January seeking the return of the remains of two children who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.”That healing doesn’t start until tribes have a pathway to bring their children home to be laid to rest,” Kitcheyan said.In an interview Thursday, Haaland said the Interior is still working with several tribal nations to repatriate the remains of several children who were killed and buried at a boarding school.Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, who introduced a bill last year to establish a truth and healing commission to address the harms caused by the boarding school system, called the apology “a historic step toward long-overdue accountability for the harms done to Native children and their communities.”Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who is vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, also commended Biden while saying it reinforces the need for a truth and healing commission.”This acknowledgment of the pain and injustices inflicted upon Indigenous communities — while long overdue — is an extremely important step toward healing,” Murkowski said in a statement.As Biden spoke Friday, tribal members rose to their feet, with many recording the moment on their phones. Some wore traditional garments, and others had shirts supporting Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.There was a moment of silence, the formal apology and then an eruption of applause.At the end of Biden’s remarks, the crowd stood again. There were shouts of, “Thank you, Joe.”Hall, the boarding school survivor in Seattle, and others have long been advocating for resources to redress the harm. He worries that tribal nations will continue to struggle with healing unless the government steps up, and he sees a long road yet ahead.”It took a lifetime to get here. It’s going to take a lifetime to get to the other side,” he said. “And that’s the very sad part of it. I won’t see it in my generation.”___Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.

    LAVEEN VILLAGE, Ariz. (AP) —

    President Joe Biden did something Friday that no other sitting U.S. president has: He apologized for the systemic abuse of generations of Indigenous children endured in boarding schools at the hands of the federal government.

    See tribal leaders react to the apology in the video above

    For 150 years, the U.S. removed Indigenous children from their homes and sent them away to the schools, where they were stripped of their cultures, histories and religions and beaten for speaking their languages.

    “We should be ashamed,” Biden said to a crowd of Indigenous people gathered at the Gila River Indian Community outside of Phoenix, including tribal leaders, survivors and their families. Biden called the government-mandated system that began in 1819 “one of the most horrific chapters in American history,” while acknowledging the decades of abuse inflicted upon children and the widespread devastation left behind.

    For many Native Americans, the long-awaited apology was a welcome acknowledgment of the government’s longstanding culpability. Now, they say, words must be followed up by action.

    Bill Hall, 71, of Seattle, was 9 when he was taken from his Tlingit community in Alaska and forced to attend a boarding school, where he endured years of physical and sexual abuse that led to many more years of shame. When he first heard that Biden was going to apologize, he wasn’t sure he would be able to accept it.

    “But, as I was watching, tears began to flow from my eyes,” Hall said. “Yes, I accept his apology. Now, what can we do next?”

    Rosalie Whirlwind Soldier, a 79-year-old citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said she felt “a tingle in my heart” and was glad the historical wrong was being acknowledged. Still, she remains saddened by the irreversible harm done to her people.

    Whirlwind Soldier suffered severe mistreatment at a school in South Dakota that left her with a lifelong, painful limp. The Catholic-run, government-subsidized facility took away her faith and tried to stamp out her Lakota identity by cutting off her long braids, she said.

    “Sorry is not enough. Nothing is enough when you damage a human being,” she said. “A whole generation of people and our future was destroyed for us.”

    Manuel Balce Ceneta

    Attendees listen as Interior Secretary Deb Haaland speaks before President Joe Biden at the Gila Crossing Community School in the Gila River Indian Community reservation in Laveen, Ariz., Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.

    The schools were designed both to assimilate Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian children and to dispossess tribal nations of their land, according to an Interior Department investigation launched by Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to lead the agency.

    Introducing Biden on Friday, Haaland said that while the formal apology is an acknowledgment of a dark chapter, it is also a celebration of Indigenous resilience: “Despite everything that happened, we are still here.”

    Haaland, a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, commissioned the investigation in 2021. It documented the cases of more than 18,000 Indigenous children, of whom 973 were killed. Both the report and independent researchers say the overall number was much higher.

    The report came with several recommendations taken from the testimony of school survivors, including resources for mental health treatment and language revitalization programs.

    Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis noted that Biden has pledged to make good on those recommendations.

    “This lays the framework to address the boarding school policies of the past,” he said.

    Benjamin Mallott, the president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, who is Lingít, said in a statement that the apology must be accompanied by meaningful actions: “This includes revitalizing our languages and cultures and bringing home our Native children who have not yet been returned, so they can be laid to rest with their families and in their communities.”

    That view is shared by Victoria Kitcheyan, the chairwoman of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, which sued the U.S. Army in January seeking the return of the remains of two children who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.

    “That healing doesn’t start until tribes have a pathway to bring their children home to be laid to rest,” Kitcheyan said.

    In an interview Thursday, Haaland said the Interior is still working with several tribal nations to repatriate the remains of several children who were killed and buried at a boarding school.

    Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, who introduced a bill last year to establish a truth and healing commission to address the harms caused by the boarding school system, called the apology “a historic step toward long-overdue accountability for the harms done to Native children and their communities.”

    Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who is vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, also commended Biden while saying it reinforces the need for a truth and healing commission.

    “This acknowledgment of the pain and injustices inflicted upon Indigenous communities — while long overdue — is an extremely important step toward healing,” Murkowski said in a statement.

    As Biden spoke Friday, tribal members rose to their feet, with many recording the moment on their phones. Some wore traditional garments, and others had shirts supporting Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

    There was a moment of silence, the formal apology and then an eruption of applause.

    At the end of Biden’s remarks, the crowd stood again. There were shouts of, “Thank you, Joe.”

    Hall, the boarding school survivor in Seattle, and others have long been advocating for resources to redress the harm. He worries that tribal nations will continue to struggle with healing unless the government steps up, and he sees a long road yet ahead.

    “It took a lifetime to get here. It’s going to take a lifetime to get to the other side,” he said. “And that’s the very sad part of it. I won’t see it in my generation.”

    ___

    Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.


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  • Newsom heads to New York to raise money for Harris — then to Pennsylvania, where she’ll debate Trump

    Newsom heads to New York to raise money for Harris — then to Pennsylvania, where she’ll debate Trump

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    Gov. Gavin Newsom is heading east to headline a splashy big-dollar fundraiser for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in New York before the vice president’s first debate with former President Trump on Tuesday in Philadelphia, which he’ll likely attend.

    The governor will promote Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, from Sunday through Wednesday, according to a member of Newsom’s political team, making media appearances and attending fundraisers in New York and stumping for the Democratic ticket in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

    Newsom is jumping back into campaigning for the Democratic nominee after largely lying low in the weeks since Harris replaced President Biden at the top of the ticket. Newsom was a prominent surrogate for Biden, stumping for him around the country and defending him after his poor debate performance in June that ultimately led the incumbent to bow out of his reelection campaign.

    But his role in Harris’ campaign had been unclear. Harris campaign officials said Saturday that Newsom is a leader of Harris’ national campaign committee, the same role he held with Biden’s campaign.

    Harris and Newsom have a long history, having run in the same political circles in San Francisco before being sworn in together on the same day in 2004, Newsom as mayor and Harris as district attorney.

    The vice president reminisced about their friendship at her first Bay Area fundraiser after becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in August.

    “I have known Gavin as a friend and colleague for so, so many years,” she said. “I want to thank you in front of all of our friends who are here for being an extraordinary leader of California and the nation.”

    Still, a vein of competition has marked their relationship for many years, as both were viewed as rising stars in the Democratic Party. It was particularly notable during the Democratic National Convention last month: Newsom attended, but without a prominent official role.

    The governor, who normally seeks the spotlight, had only a brief moment on camera during the official programming when he announced California delegates’ votes for Harris. He said he turned down an opportunity to speak on the opening night of the convention because he was attending a school orientation for his children and couldn’t get to Chicago in time.

    Newsom told The Times in an interview during the convention that he was awaiting an assignment from the Harris campaign and was mindful of how the rest of the nation views San Francisco and California.

    “I’m deeply situationally aware of that, and that’s why I’m not asserting anything,” he said. “I’m happy. I don’t need anything or want anything. I just want to be helpful and not hurtful.”

    One way Newsom is helping is by raising money. An invitation to Sunday’s fundraiser in New York City asks donors to contribute up to $100,000 to attend the event headlined by Newsom, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Hosts include producer Shonda Rhimes and actors Tony Goldwyn, Robert De Niro, Leslie Lloyd Odom Jr. and Amber Tamblyn.

    The fundraiser is taking place as campaign disclosures show Harris with a gaping financial lead over Trump. The Democratic nominee’s campaign announced Friday that she and Walz and their allied committees had raised $361 million in August, the most in the current electoral cycle, and had $404 million in cash on hand.

    Trump, running mate JD Vance and their allied committees raised $130 million in August and had $295 million in the bank, according to Republicans. The former GOP president is scheduled to return to California this week for a pair of high-dollar fundraisers, one notably hosted by relatives of Newsom’s wife, according to invitations obtained by The Times.

    After New York, Newsom is scheduled to visit Pennsylvania. On Tuesday, Harris is debating Trump at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. His aides referred questions about his attendance at the debate to the Harris campaign, which did not respond to The Times’ question.

    A source familiar with the plans, though not authorized to speak about them publicly, said that Newsom is widely “expected” to attend the faceoff as a surrogate who’s vocally promoting Harris in her historic run against Trump.

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    Seema Mehta

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  • Kamala Harris raises $12 million in San Francisco, touts California roots

    Kamala Harris raises $12 million in San Francisco, touts California roots

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    SAN FRANCISCO  — 

    In a boisterous homecoming after becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris returned to California on Sunday and reveled in being surrounded by supporters she has known for decades, while also warning of a bleak future for the nation if Democrats do not win in November.

    “It’s good to be home,” Harris told about 700 people who roared and leaped to their feet as she walked on stage in a hotel ballroom in San Francisco. “This is a room full of dear, dear friends and longstanding supporters — folks I have known for my entire career. … We’ve been through a lot together. I want to thank everyone in here for your love and longstanding support and friendship and for your dedication to this country.”

    The mood at the fundraiser was warm and optimistic — one woman in the front row waved a sign that said “Make America Joyful Again.” But Harris turned serious when she argued that fundamental rights such as healthcare, same-sex marriage and abortion are at stake in the race against former President Trump.

    “We know what we need to do — we need to knock on doors, we need to register folks to vote, we need to get people to the polls. And every day matters,” she said. “That’s why we’re going to win, but let’s not take anything for granted.”

    The event, which drew House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Rep. Barbara Lee, San Francisco Giants Chief Executive Larry Baer and a slew of other elected officials and donors, raised more than $12 million in the city that laid the foundation for Harris’ political career. Tickets cost between $3,300 and $500,000.

    Harris worked as a prosecutor and a City Hall attorney in San Francisco before being elected district attorney in 2002, which served as a springboard to her later roles as state attorney general and then U.S. senator.

    “This is a good day when we welcome Kamala Harris back home to California,” said Pelosi, who introduced the vice president. “She makes us all so proud, she brings us so much joy, she gives us so much hope.”

    The event had the feel of a family reunion. Harris’ niece’s young children posed for pictures in front of a large Harris/Walz campaign sign on the stage. She called out several attendees from the stage, showering the most attention on Newsom. She reminisced about the day in 2004 when they took their oath of office in San Francisco, she as district attorney and he as mayor, and also their work marrying gay couples that year.

    “I have known Gavin as a friend and colleague for so, so many years,” she said. “I want to thank you in front of all of our friends who are here for being an extraordinary leader of California and the nation.”

    The event capped a whirlwind three weeks in the presidential campaign, with President Biden announcing he would not seek reelection, Democrats quickly coalescing around the vice president as their nominee and Harris selecting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

    In Biden’s first interview since he announced he would not seek another term, he said his decision was driven by the importance of beating Trump, the concerns among some members of the House and the Senate that he could harm their chances and that his candidacy could “be a real distraction.”

    “The critical issue for me still, it’s not a joke, maintaining this democracy,” he said on an interview that aired on CBS on Sunday. While “it’s a great honor being president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I — the most important thing you can do — and that is, we must — we must — we must defeat Trump.”

    Harris and Walz spent last week barnstorming battleground states — events that have drawn large crowds.

    “Folks are coming to these events and they’re bringing with them so much joy. People are singing and they’re dancing in the aisles long before we get there,” Harris said. “They’re showing up not only because we must beat Donald Trump, they’re showing up because they believe in our country and our freedom.”

    On Saturday, the Democrats collected the endorsement of the powerful Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas, and Harris announced she supported not taxing tips — an immensely popular proposal among service industry workers and one Trump backed in June.

    “Copy Cat Kamala directly plagiarized President Trump’s No Tax on Tips policy proposal to let hard-working service workers keep more of their own hard-earned money,” the Republican’s campaign said in a statement.

    Sunday’s fundraiser also took place four years from the day Biden selected her to be his running mate, months after Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign sputtered out.

    “It’s been the best decision I’ve made,” Biden wrote in a fundraising appeal. “Kamala’s sharp. She’s tough. She’s going to make one hell of a president.”

    California Republicans chose the location of Sunday’s fundraiser to cast doubt on Democratic leadership and point out dysfunction in San Francisco.

    “For anyone unsure of what a Harris presidency would look like, take some time to tour her hometown where crime is running rampant, homelessness is visible on seemingly every street corner, and storefronts and office spaces sit empty as businesses close and people move away with no plans to return,” said state GOP chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson in a statement.

    Given California’s deep blue tilt, it will not be contested in November. But it is home to so many wealthy donors that it provides the most campaign cash to candidates on both sides of the aisle. The GOP’s vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, recently headlined two fundraisers in the state. On Tuesday, Walz is expected to attend a fundraiser in Newport Beach, the same day Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff raises money at an event in Los Angeles.

    Attendee Susie Tompkins Buell, the co-founder of Esprit and The North Face who has known Harris since the 1990s, said she could not recall the last time she had seen this much energy among Democrats, which she attributed to Harris’ candidacy as well as the “danger to our country from within” posed by the prospect of Trump winning another term.

    “Kamala’s youth and positive energy is like a fresh gust of a cool breeze on a sweltering, humid day. So refreshing and hopeful,” said Tompkins Buell, whose husband served as Harris’ finance chair during her district attorney and attorney general campaigns.

    “She has been an important part of our community for years,” added. “I am so impressed by her consistency. She is very confident in who she is and her style has always been the same, just improved. It’s all impressive.”

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    Seema Mehta

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  • Republican National Convention Night 2: Senate or Bust

    Republican National Convention Night 2: Senate or Bust

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    MILWAUKEE – The United States Senate was on the mind of the Republican National Committee on night two of the Republican National Convention Tuesday night. Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate and current senatorial candidate Kari Lake joined a host of other Republican senatorial candidates in denouncing the job the Biden-Harris administration has done the past three and a half years. Lake and the others were looking to reinforce the need for Republican voters to help the GOP get a majority in the Senate, something that can go a long way to reaching goals like Project 2025, for example. 

    “Americans are much more united than you may believe,” said Lake during her speech, which also included pot shots at the “fake news” media. “You guys up there in the fake news have worn out your welcome,” she said.

    The speeches that were supposed to unify Americans of both parties, at least on this night, included takedowns from senatorial candidates galore. Wisconsin’s Eric Horde, who is running against Senator Tammy Baldwin, who has held her seat for over a decade, said, “Where Biden and Baldwin have failed, President Trump and I will succeed.” 

    Bernie Moreno of Ohio followed Horde on stage and commenced to denounce illegal immigrants despite his parents getting him and his siblings to the United States from their native Colombia when they were children. “Many years ago my parents brought me and my siblings to this country legally,” Moreno said with an emphasis on the word “legally.” 

    He spent the bulk of his five minutes on stage blaming the Biden-Harris administration for illegal immigrants entering this country. Moreno is running against Senator Sherrod Brown, a very popular and longtime member of the Senate. “A vote for Trump/Moreno is a vote to put America first,” Moreno said before leaving the stage and making way for Mike Rogers and David McCormick.

    Rogers, is a senatorial candidate in Michigan and McCormick, whose wife Dina Powell was the Deputy National Security Advisor during the Trump administration, is running against longtime Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey. The same talking points would be repeated by Republican senatorial candidates Jim Banks (Indiana), Sam Brown (Nevada), Tim Sheehy (Montana) and Hung Cao (Virginia).

    After making a pronoun joke, Sheehy, who is running against Jon Tester, said, “Jon Tester is the deciding vote for Biden’s America last agenda.” 

    Cao, a retired U.S. Navy veteran of 25 years, moved to the U.S. with his parents as a child and referred to the United States of America as having “saved my life.” His military experience is something he wears on his sleeve and is often mentioned during his public speaking appearances. “We will vote for love of God, love of family, and love for the greatest country on Earth,” he said. “I’m not done fighting for us.”

    Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Florida Senator Rick Scott, and Lara Trump, the Republican National Committee, also spoke on Tuesday night.

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    Donnell Suggs

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  • Attempted assassination of former President Trump sparks bipartisan condemnation, calls for investigation

    Attempted assassination of former President Trump sparks bipartisan condemnation, calls for investigation

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    In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, President Biden cut short his weekend trip to Delaware and returned to Washington, D.C., preparing for a private law enforcement briefing. The White House confirmed Biden spoke with Trump by phone hours after the attack.”There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country,” Biden said in an emergency briefing following the attack. “We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot condone this.”Meanwhile, a new video overnight showed Trump flanked by security as he landed in New Jersey to spend the night at his private golf club. Hours earlier, Trump had been speaking at a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania when shots rang out. One bullet, according to the former president, pierced the upper part of his right ear. A bloodied Trump was surrounded by Secret Service and rushed to his SUV as he pumped his fist in the air. Law enforcement says at least one bystander was killed and another two were injured. The shooter was also killed.Condemnation for the attack crossed party lines in the immediate aftermath. The messages of concern also came with a mix of finger-pointing and accusations from some lawmakers blaming Biden for the attack, with at least one Republican calling for the criminal cases against Trump to be dropped.In all, lawmakers, including Democratic leadership, expressed a mix of shock and relief. “I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “Political violence has no place in our country.”My thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump…I am thankful for the decisive law enforcement response,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote. “America is a democracy. Political violence of any kind is never acceptable.”Republicans also joined in.”All Americans are grateful that President Trump appears to be fine after a despicable attack on a peaceful rally,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote. “Violence has no place in our politics. We appreciate the swift work of the Secret Service and other law enforcement.”And from House Speaker Mike Johnson:”The House will conduct a full investigation of the tragic events today. The American people deserve to know the truth,” he said. “We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP.”Republicans are vowing swift action in the aftermath of the attack. Overnight, Republican Rep. James Comer invited Director Cheatle to testify before the House Oversight Committee, claiming that “Americans demand answers.”Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee Senator Josh Hawley also suggested the Senate hold similar hearings.

    WASHINGTON —

    In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump,

    President Biden cut short his weekend trip to Delaware and returned to Washington, D.C., preparing for a private law enforcement briefing. The White House confirmed Biden spoke with Trump by phone hours after the attack.

    “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country,” Biden said in an emergency briefing following the attack. “We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot condone this.”

    Meanwhile, a new video overnight showed Trump flanked by security as he landed in New Jersey to spend the night at his private golf club.

    Hours earlier, Trump had been speaking at a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania when shots rang out. One bullet, according to the former president, pierced the upper part of his right ear. A bloodied Trump was surrounded by Secret Service and rushed to his SUV as he pumped his fist in the air. Law enforcement says at least one bystander was killed and another two were injured. The shooter was also killed.

    Condemnation for the attack crossed party lines in the immediate aftermath.

    The messages of concern also came with a mix of finger-pointing and accusations from some lawmakers blaming Biden for the attack, with at least one Republican calling for the criminal cases against Trump to be dropped.

    In all, lawmakers, including Democratic leadership, expressed a mix of shock and relief.

    “I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “Political violence has no place in our country.

    “My thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump…I am thankful for the decisive law enforcement response,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote. “America is a democracy. Political violence of any kind is never acceptable.”

    Republicans also joined in.

    “All Americans are grateful that President Trump appears to be fine after a despicable attack on a peaceful rally,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote. “Violence has no place in our politics. We appreciate the swift work of the Secret Service and other law enforcement.”

    And from House Speaker Mike Johnson:

    “The House will conduct a full investigation of the tragic events today. The American people deserve to know the truth,” he said. “We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP.”

    Republicans are vowing swift action in the aftermath of the attack. Overnight, Republican Rep. James Comer invited Director Cheatle to testify before the House Oversight Committee, claiming that “Americans demand answers.”

    Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee Senator Josh Hawley also suggested the Senate hold similar hearings.

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  • Project 2025, GOP platform blast California, teeing up critiques of Biden stand-ins

    Project 2025, GOP platform blast California, teeing up critiques of Biden stand-ins

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    At the start of Project 2025’s conservative playbook for a second Trump presidency, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts took aim at leaders who he said wield power to “serve themselves first and everyone else a distant second.”

    He mentioned North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un comfortably ruling over an impoverished nation, “billionaire climate activists” flying on private jets while criticizing carbon-emitting cars, and two “COVID-19 shutdown politicians” in California who were seen out and about — at a hair salon and a fancy restaurant — while calling on their constituents to stay home.

    Name-dropping U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom in the conservative right’s blueprint for the White House was a way for Roberts to tie them, and California, to the idea that out-of-touch coastal elites are ruining the country.

    That notion — well worn in American politics — appears throughout the Project 2025 plan, a wonky, 900-plus-page manifesto released last year by conservative thought leaders and Trump acolytes.

    The idea is also evoked more subtly in the much snappier, 16-page Republican Party platform spearheaded by Trump and adopted by party officials last week, which criticizes American politicians who “insulated themselves from criticism and the consequences of their own bad actions” while average Americans suffered.

    Roberts and other Heritage Foundation officials were not available for comment. A Heritage Foundation spokesperson said Project 2025 is a product of more than 100 conservative organizations and “does not speak for any candidate or campaign.”

    According to political experts, the conservative strategy of criticizing “woke” liberal ideas, many of which got traction in California, has become particularly useful in the current election cycle, as Trump’s base has proved especially receptive to conservative virtue signaling on issues such as abortion, climate change, guns, immigration and LGBTQ+ rights.

    That strategy will only grow, the experts said, if President Biden comes off the Democratic ticket and is replaced with a California politician such as Newsom or Vice President Kamala Harris, a former senator.

    “This is a vital angle to be hitting,” said Jon Michaels, a constitutional law professor at UCLA with a forthcoming book on right-wing authoritarianism. “California becomes a convenient foil, and the excesses of California are what Republicans can run against.”

    Issues at play

    Conservatives have long cast California — sometimes fairly, other times not — as a failing state crumbling under the weight of out-of-control regulation, crime and homelessness, and the 2024 race has intensified those lines of attack.

    “Instances of California really going in a different direction from what the Republican Party wants is all over the [Project 2025] report — everything from diversity, equity and inclusion, to connections to China, to high tech [companies] to homelessness,” said Bruce Cain, a political science professor at Stanford University. The aim is to portray a state in disorder, an “undemocratic, patronizing state controlled by the high-tech elites completely out of touch with where the rest of America is.”

    Both Project 2025 and the GOP platform envision a second Trump presidency where federal bureaucrats use the powers of the executive branch to beat back an array of California policies — including protections for undocumented immigrants, the environment, unionized workers, those seeking abortions and transgender youth.

    In its phrasing, the GOP platform is at times bombastic — just like Trump, who helped draft it — and lays out a relatively clear framework for how he intends to govern in sharp contrast to California leaders.

    “California becomes a convenient foil, and the excesses of California are what Republicans can run against.”

    — Jon Michaels, constitutional law professor at UCLA

    For example, Los Angeles and other major California cities decline to use their police forces or city personnel to enforce immigration laws. Trump’s platform promises to “cut federal funding” to such jurisdictions.

    California is in the process of reining in oil drilling in the state, with leaders raising concerns about the environmental and health impacts. The platform calls on the nation to “DRILL, BABY, DRILL.”

    California requires LGBTQ+-inclusive curricula in schools and the Democrat-controlled state Legislature just passed a law barring school officials from informing parents of kids who identify as transgender at school if the kids don’t want that information shared. The platform says Republicans support “parental rights” and will “defund schools that engage in inappropriate political indoctrination of our children” or push “radical gender ideology.”

    The Project 2025 plan is even more ardent in its rebuke of California policies.

    Roberts, in his foreword of Project 2025, speaks much of American liberty, but defines it squarely within a Christian nationalist framework, saying the Constitution gives each American the liberty to “live as his Creator ordained” — to “do not what we want, but what we ought.”

    The plan calls on Trump, if elected, to “make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors” — a process that it says should start with deleting all references to queer identities, “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” abortion or “reproductive health” from federal legislation and rules.

    Calling California and other liberal states “sanctuaries for abortion tourism,” the plan says the Trump administration should “push as hard as possible to protect the unborn in every jurisdiction in America,” work with Congress to enact antiabortion laws, and mandate state reporting of abortion data to the federal government — including patients’ state of residence and “reason” for receiving a procedure.

    Critics say such actions would empower conservative states that ban abortions to identify and punish women who go to liberal states such as California to have those procedures.

    The party platform does not call for a national abortion ban, which rankled some on the right, but does back state policies restricting it and says Republicans “proudly stand for families and Life.”

    Both plans criticize the nation’s shift to electric vehicles, and Project 2025 says the federal government should rescind a waiver allowing California to set its own clean air standards around fuel economy, which underpins the state’s goal of shifting exclusively to zero-emissions vehicles by 2035.

    The fight ahead

    Although Project 2025 is authored in large part by prominent advisors and former appointees of Trump, he has recently sought to distance himself from the plan.

    In an online post July 5, Trump wrote that he knew “nothing about it,” but also that “some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” Even so, he wished those behind the plan “luck.”

    “This isn’t Alabama or Mississippi. You are taking on a very powerful state with a lot of resources — and a will to resist.”

    — Bruce Cain, political science professor at Stanford University

    Trump’s campaign referred questions about Project 2025 and the GOP platform, and their relation to California policies, to the Republican National Committee.

    Anna Kelly, a committee spokesperson, said the party platform “contains commonsense policies like cutting taxes, securing the border, ending absurd [electric vehicle] mandates, securing our elections, defending our constitutional rights, and keeping men out of women’s sports” — with the last being an apparent reference to transgender women.

    “If reporters find those principles contradictory to values pushed by California leaders,” Kelly wrote, “maybe it’s time for Democrats to evaluate how their state is run.”

    Democrats, including Biden, have repeatedly tied Trump to Project 2025, saying his claims of distance from it are absurd given how many people in his orbit are leading it. On Tuesday, Harris called out Project 2025 at a campaign event in Las Vegas, noting that it calls for the dissolution of the U.S. Department of Education, cuts to Social Security and a nationwide abortion ban.

    “If implemented, this plan would be the latest attack in Donald Trump’s full-on assault on reproductive freedom,” she said.

    Experts said that if Biden is replaced by Harris or Newsom — who are considered leading candidates amid a swirl of doubt about Biden’s age and ability to defeat Trump — conservative derision about California and its liberal policies will increase, and find a receptive audience in many parts of the country.

    A Times survey earlier this year found that 50% of U.S. adults believe California is in decline, with 48% of Republicans saying it is “not really American.”

    If Trump wins, California is expected to lead the liberal resistance to Trump’s agenda, just as it did during his first term, experts said. Such efforts will be hampered by California’s budget woes and the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, they said, but not undone completely.

    “California will fight back, and it has the means to fight back,” Cain said. “This isn’t Alabama or Mississippi. You are taking on a very powerful state with a lot of resources — and a will to resist.”

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    Kevin Rector

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  • WATCH: President Joe Biden Calls Out Donald Trump At Detroit Rally & Outlines His Strategy For 2024 Election

    WATCH: President Joe Biden Calls Out Donald Trump At Detroit Rally & Outlines His Strategy For 2024 Election

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    President Joe Biden is standing on business when it comes to Donald Trump. He recently stated that he doesn’t deserve “no more free passes.”

    RELATED: Wayment! President Joe Biden Goes Viral For Referring To VP Kamala Harris As Donald Trump At NATO Summit (WATCH)

    President Joe Biden Calls Out Donald Trump

    On Friday, July 12, President Biden held a rally in a Detroit high school gymnasium.

    The politician promptly addressed his recent name mix-ups at the NATO Summit earlier this week. Biden didn’t hesitate to criticize Donald Trump and call him out for making similar mistakes.

    “People would rather talk about how I mix up names. I guess they don’t remember that Trump called Nikki Haley, Nancy Pelosi. No more! Donald, no more free passes,” Biden said during the rally.

    He even went as far as labeling Trump as a “convicted criminal” and discussed the businessman’s guilty verdict in the hush money trial.

    “Today we’re going to shine the spotlight on Donald Trump. We’re gonna do what the press so far hasn’t, but I think they’re gonna soon. Folks Donald Trump is a convicted criminal. He was convicted by a jury of his peers of 34 felonies for paying hush money,” Biden continued.

    According to The Detroit News, when President Biden mentioned Trump, the crowd erupted in chants of “Lock him up!” 

    The outlet also reported that Biden remained firm in his decision to continue in the election and expressed confidence in his ability to succeed against Trump.

    “I am running. And we’re going to win,” Biden affirmed.

    Social Media Reacts To President

    The Roomies quickly responded to Biden’s remarks at his Detroit rally. Even Fat Joe joined The Shade Room comment section to give the president props writing, “That’s the Joe i know🔥” 

    Instagram user @aguilo.ju wrote, “They increased his dosage today.” 

    Instagram user @_suckafreesi wrote, “My mans took his meds and had a nap and woke up swinging 😭”

    While Instagram user @nadiamonyea wrote, “I was scared a little bit when he started coughing but he pulled it together real quick. Yeah Joe 😅🦾🦾🎉” 

    Then Instagram user @_honey.bai wrote, “That was damn near a tongue twister and he said it without stuttering. Let me find out they flipped his switch at the debate.” 

    Instagram user @iron_barbii wrote, “Retrumplicans will take anything and twist it when it fits their agenda. He’s speaking just fine to me…..” 

    Lastly, Instagram user @nonsky wrote, “Where was this energy at the debate? lol” 

    Biden Goes Viral For Mistakes At Summit

    Despite his recent mistakes and ongoing speculation about the future of his campaign, Biden appeared to be in good spirits during the rally.

    Earlier this week, President Biden went viral and raised concerns after accidentally confusing Vice President Kamala Harris with Donald Trump at the NATO Summit.

    “Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be Vice President if I think she’s not qualified to be president,” Biden stated while onstage.

    As if that wasn’t enough, he then went on to introduce Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    “And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin. “He’s going to beat President Putin. President Zelensky. I’m so focused on beating Putin. We got to worry about it. Anyway, Mr. President.”

    RELATED: To Be Clear! President Biden Shares Firm Response On His Position In The 2024 Election Bid

    What Do You Think Roomies?

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    Ashley Rushford

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  • Column: Instead of just criticizing Biden, maybe George Clooney should take his place

    Column: Instead of just criticizing Biden, maybe George Clooney should take his place

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    SACRAMENTO — 

    OK, my choice to replace President Biden as the Democratic nominee is George Clooney.

    Yes, I am semi-serious. No, I don’t expect anyone else to take me seriously — let alone the Oscar-winning actor.

    His lifestyle, privacy and pay would suffer immensely — even if a $400,000 salary plus free housing, food and travel would sound very alluring to most people. Even with the hefty workload increase.

    Why Clooney?

    Most importantly, he’d whip the dangerous Donald Trump easily, probably by a landslide. Clooney’s a better actor. That’s all Trump is, besides a compulsive liar. Clooney is much more.

    He has an easy smile that exudes sincerity and is extraordinarily telegenic. Trump pouts and frowns and is a horror show.

    Clooney exhibits conviction and is a humanitarian. Trump displays self-centered opportunism and sows hate.

    Clooney is relatively young for a presidential candidate these days. He’s an upbeat 63. Trump is a whiny, grouchy 78.

    Why else?

    Clooney had the guts, unlike most leading Democratic politicians, to be straight with the public, call it like he saw it and urge Biden to quit running for reelection. This was just weeks after he co-hosted a record $30-million, star-studded Hollywood fundraiser for the president.

    “I love Joe Biden. … In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he faced. But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can,” Clooney wrote in a New York Times op-ed.

    He referred to the 81-year-old president’s disastrous debate performance against Trump.

    The Biden he saw at the fundraiser wasn’t the Biden of four years ago, Clooney wrote, “he was the same man we all witnessed at the debate. …

    “Our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw…. The [ABC] George Stephanopoulous interview only reinforced what we saw the week before. … Is it fair to point these things out? It has to be. … We are not going to win in November with this president. …

    “Top Democrats … need to ask this president to voluntarily step aside. … Would it be messy? Yes. Democracy is messy. But would it enliven our party and wake up voters who, long before the June debate, had already checked out. It sure would.”

    Agreed.

    Biden has been a good president despite a few screwups, most notably on illegal immigration. But that doesn’t mean he’d be effective in a second term.

    And Biden’s candidacy is not sustainable. Support among Democratic members of Congress is cracking.

    Much more importantly, voters have been telling pollsters for months that they desire a younger Democratic standard bearer. But the party didn’t listen. Now, Biden is losing more ground to Trump and there’s even speculation about some blue states turning purple.

    Patrons watch President Biden debate former President Trump at a watch party on June 27 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

    (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

    Biden loyalists, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, may loudly sing the president’s praises, but too many voters have lost confidence in his mental acuity. They doubt his ability to beat Trump and perform adequately in the Oval Office if he does.

    Biden’s hourlong news conference Thursday night went OK.

    Freed from the inane two-minute time limit on answering questions in the TV debate, Biden was able to respond with thoughtful replies. He particularly was impressive when answering a foreign policy question about dealing with China and Russia.

    But he awkwardly flubbed the first question. Biden was asked whether he was concerned about Vice President Kamala Harris’ ability to beat Trump if she were the nominee.

    “Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president did I think she was not qualified to be president. So, let’s start there,” he replied.

    That could be dismissed as a minor slip of the tongue, but the president did a similar name botch an hour earlier. At a Washington ceremony, Biden accidentally introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the Russian tyrant who invaded Zelensky’s country.

    “Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden said, before quickly catching himself.

    Then there was the July 4 radio interview when Biden said: “I’m proud to be … the first vice president, the first Black woman to serve with a Black president.”

    He was scrambling his often-used line about being proud of serving with the first Black president and also choosing the first Black woman as vice president. It was a too-common verbal fumble that accentuates voters’ concern about the president’s decline.

    Clooney’s a world-class communicator.

    He’s a Kentucky native who conceivably could draw support from Southern border states. Remember that wonderful “O Brother, Where Art Thou” flick when he played a lead bluegrass singer? Sure, he was an escaped convict, but that was just pretend. Trump’s a true-life convicted felon.

    Clooney piloted the swordfishing boat Andrea Gail into “The Perfect Storm” and it perished, but I’m confident he wouldn’t sink the ship of state.

    Look how he cleverly and deftly upended the corrupt corporate attorney who tried to kill him in “Michael Clayton.”

    And showed his environmental creds and family values in “The Descendants.”

    Politicians should never underestimate the voters’ desire to be entertained.

    Yes, Clooney is just a movie star who has never served in public office. But neither had actors Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger before they were elected California governor.

    And Trump, a reality TV star, had never held office either before shockingly being elected president. In his case, it showed.

    All right, Clooney is not going to be nominated for president. Democrats haven’t the imagination.

    But they should entertain us at their August convention by engaging in a competitive, wide-open contest for the best candidate to stop Trump. And it’s not Biden.

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    George Skelton

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  • Hochul reafirms support for Biden’s presidential run, declares herself ‘champion’ of MTA | amNewYork

    Hochul reafirms support for Biden’s presidential run, declares herself ‘champion’ of MTA | amNewYork

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    Gov. Kathy Hochul.

    Don Pollard / Office of Governor Kathy Hochul