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Post by Webster on Jan 25, 2024 16:33:09 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Seeing Trump as presumptive nominee, Republicans reportedly turning against deal to help Ukraine and IsraelThe fallout from Donald Trump’s win in the New Hampshire primary has reached the US Capitol, where reports have emerged that the top Senate Republican is ready to walk away from a deal to send military assistance to Ukraine and Israel. The reason? Republicans now believe Trump has a lock on the party’s presidential nomination, and, on the campaign trail, the former president wants to be able to accuse Joe Biden of failing to stop a surge of migrants crossing the southern border. The agreement under discussion in Congress would have changed immigration policy to discourage migrants, while also unlocking GOP support for military assistance to Israel and Ukraine, a country whose cause the party’s far right has turned against. It was a delicate bargain with global implications that senators had been hammering out for months, and it all now appears to be falling apart because of Trump. “We don’t want to do anything to undermine him,” top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell said of the former president in a behind-closed-doors meeting with his colleagues, which Punchbowl News first reported. The deal isn’t quite dead yet, but if it indeed unravels, it’s unclear what it will mean for Ukraine’s beleaguered defense against Russia, or Joe Biden’s controversial effort to arm Israel.
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Post by Webster on Jan 25, 2024 16:59:08 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Speaking of the US recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, government data released this morning shows economic growth at the end of last year was better than expected, defying some economists’s predictions of a slowdown, or even a recession. Here’s more on what the numbers mean, from the Guardian’s Dominic Rushe: The pace of US economic growth slowed in the last three months of 2023, but far less than had been expected, underlining the continued resilience of the economy.
The commerce department reported on Thursday that US gross domestic product (GDP) – a broad measure of economic health – grew at an annualized rate of 3.3% in the final quarter of the year, down from 4.9% in the previous quarter but in line with pre-pandemic growth, and well ahead of the 2% economists had expected.
Robust consumer spending and government outlays contributed to the growth.
The Federal Reserve has been attempting to cool economic activity in order to bring down inflation. Since March 2022 the Fed has increased rates to a 22-year high and held them there. Inflation has fallen from a high of 9% in June 2022 to 3.4%.
The rate rises have increased the cost of borrowing and many – including the Fed – had expected a subsequent slowdown in economic activity to lead to layoffs. But so far the Fed appears to be on course for what it has termed a “soft landing”.
Hiring has remained robust – unemployment hovers at close to a 50-year low – and while growth has slowed, consumers have continued to spend, the US economy has weathered the rate rises and stock markets have hit record highs.
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Post by Webster on Jan 26, 2024 17:05:55 GMT -5
(The Guardian) One thing you can expect to hear a lot about from the White House in the months to come is abortion. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have put restoring nationwide access to the procedure at the center of their re-election campaign, but as the Guardian’s Carter Sherman reports, activists say they could be doing more to make that goal a reality: Joe Biden’s re-election campaign has made a big bet that outrage over abortion will keep the president in the White House come November.
Over the last several days, the Biden administration has unleashed a blitz of ads and events to spotlight the devastation wrought by the overturning of Roe v Wade. Biden met with a reproductive health task force, while his vice-president, Kamala Harris – who he has entrusted to lead this effort – embarked on a national tour to talk about abortion. They even devoted their first joint campaign stop of 2024 to the issue.
From the podium, Biden promised to sign any bill that would codify Roe’s protections into law and to fight back efforts by Congress to diminish abortion access. “Donald Trump and Maga Republicans, including the speaker of the House, are hellbent on going even further,” Biden said, a reference to the hard-right Republican speaker, Mike Johnson. “As long as I have power of the presidency, if Congress were to pass a national abortion ban, I would veto it.”
Congress is unlikely to ban or protect abortion anytime soon. Not only is Congress largely frozen – it passed just 27 bills last year – but both political parties seem wary of tackling national legislation around a third-rail topic like abortion.
Now that Roe is gone, the question of if and how to regulate abortion access is largely up to state governments to answer. But the executive branch of the US government still maintains several powers to protect abortion access – and undermine it.
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Post by Webster on Jan 29, 2024 15:10:28 GMT -5
(The Guardian) In response to Republican attacks on the Senate immigration negotiations, particularly by House speaker Mike Johnson and Donald Trump, the White House has been circulating examples they say shows hypocrisy by both men. “America is the most compassionate nation in the world, but our immigration system is broken. Reforming that system is a job for Congress, and any balanced legislative approach must include measures to strengthen border security,” Johnson said last year. The White House shared the quote, arguing it contradicts his recent comments that Joe Biden already has the authority to crack down on migrant crossings. They also pointed to a 2019 statement from Johnson, when he introduced a bill intended to close loopholes in immigration policy: “As the evidence shows, lapses in our immigration laws have been abused by many, hampering the resources reserved for refugees and undermining the effectiveness of asylum and border security programs. We must correct the longstanding loopholes that have encouraged illegal immigration and led to the crisis we face today.” As for Trump, he asserted repeatedly during his presidency that he needed Congress’s help to implement the hardline immigration policies he promised voters. “Democrats must change our immigration laws right now. Right now. We can do it in – I used to say 45 minutes. We can do it in 15 minutes,” he said in 2019. Needless to say, Democrats, who at the time controlled the House, did not take him up on his offer.
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Post by Webster on Jan 29, 2024 15:11:47 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Speaking of Donald Trump, he’s within striking distance of winning the Republican presidential nomination again, after victories in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primaries. But who might he run alongside? The Guardian’s David Smith looks for the answer: The last person who occupied the job of US vice-president ended up the target of a violent mob calling for him to be hanged. Even so, as Donald Trump closes in on the Republican nomination for 2024, there is no shortage of contenders eager to be his deputy.
It is safe to assume that Mike Pence, who was Trump’s running mate in 2016 and 2020, will not get the job this time. His refusal to comply with his boss’s demand to overturn the last election caused a permanent rift and made Pence a perceived traitor and target of the January 6 insurrectionists.
Undeterred, Trump’s campaign surrogates in the recent Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, both of which he won handily, have been trying to outdo each other with extravagant displays of fealty. “It’s very clear he’s holding these open auditions like it’s The Apprentice,” said Kurt Bardella, a Democratic strategist. “He will flirt with everyone. He will make them dance. They will all debase themselves and humiliate themselves and jockey for that spot.”
Trump is close to winning the Republican presidential nomination … but isn’t quite there yet. Nikki Haley remains in the race, much to the former president’s chagrin, the Guardian’s David Smith reports: It was a moment for Donald Trump to be gracious, magnanimous, perhaps even presidential. Instead he lashed out at his opponent’s clothes. “When I watched her in the fancy dress that probably wasn’t so fancy, I said, ‘What’s she doing? We won,’” he said of rival Nikki Haley in New Hampshire on Tuesday night.
Trump had just won the first primary election of 2024 and all but clinched the Republican nomination for US president. Party leaders and campaign surrogates are now eager to banish Haley to irrelevance, move on from the primary and unify against Democrats. They want Trump to pivot to an almost inevitable rematch with Democrat Joe Biden in November.
Yet the 77-year-old remains consumed with rage over Haley’s unwillingness to quit the race. His petulance offers a reminder of the unhinged behaviour that turned off independent voters in New Hampshire and could prove to be a liability in a head-to-head contest with Biden. It is also at odds with what is an unusually professional and disciplined campaign operation.
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Post by Webster on Feb 1, 2024 13:06:27 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Biden is now speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill, where it should go without saying the former senator and avowed Catholic feels especially at home. In the spirit of bipartisanship, he nodded to Speaker Mike Johnson, who he was squished next to in the pew. He also praised the earlier performance by Andrea Bocelli, comparing the Italian tenor’s voice to a “choir of heralded angels.” Biden appeared to wipe a tear away with a tissue when Bocelli sang Amazing Grace. “I am an unadulterated fan of Bocelli,” Biden said whimsically. “God. He’s incredible.”
Biden started his remarks my honoring the three US servicemembers killed at a US base in Jordan in what the Biden administration has said was a drone attack from an Iran-backed militia. Biden said he spoke with each of their families and would receive the dignified transfer of their bodies at Dover air force base on Friday. “They risked it all,” Biden said. He also praised the “sacrifice and service to our country” of the dozens of servicemen and women who were injured in the attack. Under pressure to respond, Biden is weighing the perilous decision as he seeks to avoid dragging the US into a wider regional war.
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Post by Webster on Feb 1, 2024 13:13:24 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Biden urges Congress to pass Ukraine aid: 'We must continue to help them'Woven into the president’s prayer breakfast remarks was an appeal to Congress to continue aiding Ukraine. As the second anniversary of the grinding war nears, Biden praised the Ukrainians people’s “incredible resolve and resilience against Putin’s aggression” and demanded of the members of Congress seated in the pews before him: “We must continue to help them.” The White House’s request to send nearly $110bn in additional security assistance and aid to Ukraine has met sharp resistance from conservatives in Congress amid polls showing American support for the war effort waning. Efforts to replenish Ukraine’s war chest have been tied up with talks over a border security plan that appears to be on the brink of collapse.
Biden also denounced the rise of antisemitism and Islamaphobia, which have spiked in the months since the 7 October attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. “The challenge of our times reminds us of our responsibility as a nation to help each other, just and lasting peace delivered abroad and here at home,” Biden continued. “That’s why we’re fighting against the rise of anti-semitism and Islamophobia here in the United States all forms of hate, including those against Arab-Americans and South Asian Americans. This is a calling to stand against hate.” The Biden administration has launched several investigations into hate incidents at academic institutions across the country as accusations of anti-semitism and Islamaphobia roil college campuses amid youth-led protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the Israeli hostages. Many Arab Americans have voiced their fury with the president’s response to Israel-Gaza war. They have accused Biden of doing far too little to address Islamaphobia in America and to stop Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza that many critics argue amounts to a “genocide” against the Palestinian people.
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Post by Webster on Feb 1, 2024 13:15:02 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Turning to the campaign trail, new polling shows Trump trouncing Haley in her “sweet state of South Carolina” where voters twice elected her governor. The state holds its primary on 24 February. According to a brand new Washington Post/Monmouth University poll released this morning, Haley trails Trump 32% to 58% among potential Republican primary voters. The survey showed that both candidates have grown their support since the field narrowed to a head-to-head contest between the former South Carolina governor and the former president. In its September poll, nearly a third of likely primary voters planned to vote for a candidate other than Haley or Trump. Perhaps more worrying for Haley, more South Carolina Republicans are confident that Trump would beat Biden in November than they are about Haley. Electability is a key theme of Haley’s campaign, and she often points to polling that shows she would beat Biden by a wider margin than Trump would in a hypothetical general election match up. -- Trump’s electability is a concern for some primary voters. It’s just that this group is nowhere near large enough to put Haley in striking distance of the front-runner,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.Haley has been barnstorming the state, where her team argues she can reactive the coalition that elected her governor and if not beat Trump outright, at least significantly diminish his lead. But the party has undergone an enormous transition since she was first elected the “Tea Party governor” in 2010. Much of that change was driven by Trump, who now commands unwavering loyalty from the party’s base, including in South Carolina.
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Post by Webster on Feb 1, 2024 20:32:38 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Biden approval ratings languishing, new poll findsAmericans’ views of the economy are improving, but their views of Biden are not. That’s according to a new AP-Norc poll that found a notable increase in the percentage of US adults who called the US economy “good”. Last year, just 24% of Americans rated the national economy as good, compared with 35% who do so now. It’s also an improvement from late last year when just 30% said so. The rosier outlook tracks with positive economic indicators: inflation has begun to recede and growth is strong. While nearly two-thirds of Americans still call the economy poor, it’s an improvement from a year ago, when 76% described it that way, the survey found. Still, that is not translating into support for the president, whose approval ratings are languishing at 38%, where it has stood mostly unchanged for the past two years. Just 35% of Americans approve of Biden’s handling of the economy. The evidence of a stronger economy has yet to spill over into greater support for Biden: the new poll puts his approval rating at 38%, which is roughly where that number has stood for most of the past two years. Biden’s approval rating on handling the economy is similar, at 35%. Voters’ perceptions of the economy often shape elections, which is why Biden and his team are working to emphasize any sign of economic strength. But if Americans aren’t feeling it personally, the message is unlikely to resonant.
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Post by Webster on Feb 3, 2024 23:55:35 GMT -5
(The Epoch Times) Biden Wins South Carolina Primary-President Joe Biden secured a decisive victory on Saturday in the first Democratic primary in South Carolina, solidifying his position as the leading candidate to represent his party in the upcoming presidential race. The Associated Press projected President Biden as the winner at 7:26 p.m. ET. The other major Democratic candidates on the ballot were Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and author Marianne Williamson. While the primary outcome was not surprising, it’s expected to send a clear message to President Biden’s Democrat challengers and those who have raised concerns about his age and performance. Some observers said that turnout appeared lower than usual. During the primary election weekend, President Biden did not make a visit to the Palmetto State. However, the president made a visit to his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., near his family residence. The president addressed a group of several hundred individuals, comprising both supporters and campaign staff. During his speech, he framed the upcoming election as a fundamental test for democracy. He took aim at the behavior of his predecessor, Donald Trump. President Biden remarked, “The guy we’re running against, he’s not for anything. He’s against everything.” Biden pointed out that as Americans increasingly turned their attention to the upcoming election, the sharp contrast between him and the former president would help his campaign. -Read more: www.theepochtimes.com/us/biden-wins-south-carolina-primary-5579789
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Post by Webster on Feb 5, 2024 16:16:53 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Democratic presidential challenger Dean Phillips defended continuing his longshot campaign despite a disappointing third-place finish in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, saying it was “a mission of principle”. The Minnesota congressman’s remarks about remaining in the race for the Oval Office came Sunday during an appearance on MSNBC’s The Weekend. Another guest on the show asked Phillips “what the hell are you doing” and “what’s being served here” with his presidential run, especially after Biden captured 96% of the votes cast in the previous day’s South Carolina primary. Phillips collected less than 2% of the vote and finished behind Williamson, a self-help author. “So what does your path look like at this point and why?” former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said to Phillips. Steele said Phillips, 55, was also prolonging narratives about the 81-year-old Biden’s age. “I know tradition dictates that you always protect the incumbent,” Phillips replied. But Phillips said challenging Biden was “a mission of principle”. He added: Someone’s got to do it.Phillips said he was also concerned that Biden’s unpopularity with the electorate could cost the Democrats the White House if he is nominated for another term in the fall. “We’re dumbfounded,” Phillips said. - Yes, he’s got a commanding lead in the primaries – I get it. But look at the numbers. He is in a terrible position.
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Post by Webster on Feb 6, 2024 17:43:29 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Will Donald Trump, should he win the Republican presidential nomination, debate Joe Biden? The Guardian’s Jessica Glenza reports that the chances are not looking great: Joe Biden has dismissed calls from his White House predecessor Donald Trump to “immediately” schedule a presidential debate.
Trump skipped every debate this primary season. He continues to refuse to debate his former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, a long-shot contender for the GOP’s nomination. “Well, if I were him, I’d want to debate me, too,” Biden told reporters when asked about Trump’s challenge while the president was at a small Las Vegas boba tea shop during a campaign stop. With a bubble tea in hand, Biden added: “He’s got nothing else to do.”
Although the primary season is not yet over, both Biden and Trump are considered their parties’ presumptive nominees and have a clear desire to turn their attention to the general election.
Biden, who is technically also still in the primary season, has also refused to debate several distant rivals for the Democratic nomination.
Trump made his debate challenge on The Dan Bongino Show, NBC reported. Bongino is a conservative talkshow host who for years has boosted Trump as well as Republican conspiracy theories – all widely discredited – that the 2020 election was “rigged”.
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Post by Webster on Feb 12, 2024 20:45:57 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Nikki Haley among Republicans to criticize Trump's attack on NatoDonald Trump continues to attract widespread outrage in response to his disparaging comments about Nato over the weekend. Speaking at a rally in South Carolina, Trump complained that some Nato members were not contributing enough money to the alliance and suggested he would allow Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to those nations. The comments shocked and alarmed leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Trump’s outburst “undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk”. A White House spokesperson attacked the comments as “appalling and unhinged”. But perhaps the most surprising reaction came from fellow Republicans, a number of whom echoed the criticism of Trump’s comments. Speaking to CBS News, Nikki Haley, Trump’s rival in the Republican presidential primary, accused the former president of embracing “a thug who kills his opponents”, referring to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Former Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie told NBC News that the comments proved Trump is “unfit to be president of the United States”. Even some of Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill refused to defend him. According to Politico, Senator Rand Paul, a Republican of Kentucky, said Trump’s comments were a “stupid thing to say”. Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican of Alaska, argued the criticism of Nato members was “uncalled for”. But even as some Republicans sharply criticized Trump’s comments, other members of the party tried to downplay the remarks. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican of South Carolina, told the New York Times, “Give me a break — I mean, it’s Trump … All I can say is while Trump was president nobody invaded anybody.” Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican of Florida, similarly told CNN that he had “zero concern” about Trump’s comments. With the Senate continuing work on its foreign aid package and the House returning to session tomorrow, more Republicans will likely soon be asked to Trump’s comments, forcing them to choose between criticizing the leader of their party and defending US allies abroad.
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Post by Webster on Feb 14, 2024 1:36:18 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Of the question of Joe Biden’s age and fitness for office and Republican attacks and plans to weaponise the issue since the release of Robert Hur’s report last week … Jonathan Martin of Politico (I’ve never met him so I won’t call him J-Mart like everyone else in DC seems to do) has an interesting column this morning, entitled: “Get Used to It: Biden Isn’t Going Anywhere”. A taste: The Republican refrain goes something like this: Democrats know Joe Biden can’t win in November and they – it’s always ‘they’ – are going to replace him on top of the ticket.
Anyone around politics has heard it – and the assured predictions have reached a crescendo following the release of the special counsel [Hur]’s report …
… In the spirit of helping the GOP understand their Democratic counterparts … I’ve put together a primer for Republicans on why Biden will be his party’s standard bearer once more. I’ve also tried to get my arms around why one of the country’s two major parties continues deluding themselves even as Biden runs and Democrats stand with him.
First, two neon-lit caveats … There are two obvious ways in which Biden does not seek reelection: He changes his mind about running or suffers a health crisis. Only a higher power can speak to the latter, but Biden, his family and his inner circle have been clear about the president’s plans to run.
Put directly: Democrats had their chance to speak out against Biden running for reelection at nearly 82, they failed to do it and there is no “they” now poised to intervene.
The short answer as to why Biden is almost certain to be the Democratic nominee again is Donald Trump. The former president effectively controls both parties.
Trump is the Democrats’ best fundraiser, organizer, mobilizer and, importantly, force for unity. He is the adhesive that binds a coalition that ranges from the DSA to Bush Republicans, who are about to go over a decade since having voted for the nominee of their (old) party.
This centrality of Trump – and Democrats’ determination to block his return – is what insulates Biden within his own party. The proverbial moat around the Biden White House is stocked with very classy, Trump-branded alligators. No major Democrat dares question the president because that risks weakening him and helping Trump.
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Post by Webster on Feb 16, 2024 1:28:49 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Trump leaves court, slams legal and political foesDonald Trump spoke outside the court room in New York moments ago, after the 100-minute hearing in his hush money criminal case took place, and as well as blasting this case he accused Joe Biden’s administration, New York district attorney Letitia James and Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg of coordinating legal attacks on him. Tomorrow we expect a decision from Judge Arthur Engoron in the civil fraud case brought against Trump, his two older sons Don Jr and Eric and others running the family business empire, the Trump Organization. Bragg is bringing the prosecution in the hush money case, where jury selection will begin on March 25, the first of the four criminal cases Trump is facing. As for Washington, Trump has been indicted in two federal criminal cases, one involving election interference culminating in the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the other related to, essentially, illegally retaining classified documents after leaving the White House and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. The hearing in the Georgia case is now resuming after the lunch break.
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