CNN reports that Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries did not offer Joe Biden his endorsement when they met following the president’s press conference yesterday.
Jeffries “bluntly” shared the views of his caucus in the meeting, though CNN notes it is unclear if Biden asked for his support.
Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries announced that he had met with Joe Biden following his closely watched press conference yesterday, and conveyed “conclusions about the path forward” that he had heard from lawmakers. CNN later reported that Jeffries did not offer Biden his endorsement, though it was unclear if the president asked for it. Later in the day, Biden called in to a meeting with the Congressional Hispanic caucus, which reportedly did not go very well. Some lawmakers were not allowed to ask questions, while one who did told Biden he should step aside. Despite all that, his campaign says they remain on track, and that donations “exploded” during his press conference last night.
Here’s what else happened today:
James Clyburn, a House Democrat close to the president, reiterated his support for Biden, but noted that the party has until the start of their convention next month to make decisions about replacing him.
A new poll may undercut arguments that Biden has lost significant public support following his debate, after it found him in a statistical tie with Donald Trump.
Speaking of Trump, the former president wants congressional Republicans to insist on the passage of a law, opposed by the White House, to require people to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote, raising the possibility that a government spending fight could break out just weeks before the 5 November election.
The former president also said that he would take a cognitive test if Biden took one, and that all future presidential candidates should follow suit.
Melania Trump, who has generally been absent from the campaign trail, will reportedly make an appearance at the Republican national convention next week.
In a briefing to reporters as Joe Biden flies to Michigan for a campaign event in Detroit, Biden-Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler said they had seen a surge in donations during the president’s press conference last night.
“Since last night, we’re seeing strong support across our coalition, but most importantly, we’re seeing it with our grassroots base. We have close to 40,000 donations last night alone. Donations exploded during the president’s press conference. In fact, we hit seven times our average during the press conference,” Tyler said.
He also said the campaign believes polls are in his favor.
“Polling continues to show the same race we’ve been seeing, right, one that is close and unaffected by the debate. President Biden has enduring strength with high propensity voters, while Donald Trump demonstrates a low ceiling, unable to expand his support,” Tyler said.
Biden yesterday told reporters he remained confident in his ability to win, and spoke at length about foreign policy topics, but made a few blunders in the closing hours of the Nato summit, including by accidentally introducing “president Putin”, when he meant Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Tyler downplayed those moments, saying, “Joe Biden has been making gaffes for 40 years. He made a couple last night. He’ll probably continue to do so. Our opponent is somebody who, every single day out on the stump, is calling for a bloodbath if he loses, is pledging to rule as a dictator on day one, and is pledging to ban abortion nationwide, across the country,.”
Here is a look back at press conference:
Donald Trump has more harsh words for George Clooney, over the actor and director’s New York Times column in which he called for Joe Biden to stand aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, given concerns about the 81-year-old’s fitness for office.
“I thought George Clooney was very disloyal,” Trump, 78 and the presumptive Republican nominee, told The Clay and Buck Sexton show on Friday.
“Because whether you like Biden or not, you know, he’s been nice to Clooney. I thought it was very disloyal, backstabber, third-rate movie actor.
“He was a television actor and never made really a good movie. So he’s sort of third-rate as a movie actor. Clark Gable, he’s not. I thought it was a great act of disloyalty.”
The Times column was headlined “George Clooney: I Love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.”
Clooney wrote: “It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump in Atlanta last month fueled a crisis for Democrats, with members of Congress and reportedly donors calling for the president to quit.
Trump had already attacked Clooney, writing on social media after the Times column: “He’s turned on Crooked Joe like the rats they both are. What does Clooney know about anything?
“Clooney should get out of politics and go back to television.”
Trump famously got out of television and went into politics, having made his name as a cartoon version of himself on The Apprentice for NBC.Clooney has not commented.
As the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports, Trump and his aides are keen to see Biden stay in the race.
A conference call between Joe Biden and lawmakers in the Congressional Hispanic caucus left many with a bad taste in their mouth, Notus reports, as the call’s organizers prevented some members from speaking and one congressman told the president that he should drop out.
Only two members of the Democratic group were initially allowed to ask questions, but after Biden opened the floor to more questions, California’s Mike Levin told the president he thought he should make way for another candidate.
Notus said the president responded to Levin, though they did not report what he said. Then, the call’s host, Representative Linda T Sánchez, ended the call, and Levin later went public with his belief that Democrats would be better with another candidate. Here’s what he had to say:
Like so many of you, I was naturally concerned about President Biden’s performance in the recent debate.
Since then, I’ve made my opinions known in the appropriate manner with House Democratic leadership and my colleagues. And I called upon all Americans to give the president a window to make an expeditious decision about his candidacy.
In the two weeks since the debate, I’ve had a chance to connect with so many of you, our constituents and supporters. The response from literally several hundred of you has been overwhelming, and I’m very grateful for your candor.
First, let me say that President Biden has been an outstanding leader, not only of our nation, but of the entire free world. Making this statement is not easy. I have deep respect for President Biden’s five-plus decades of public service and incredible appreciation for the work we’ve done together these last three and a half years. But I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch.
In a string of posts on Truth Social spent insulting Joe Biden over his debate performance, Donald Trump said that he will take a cognitive test if the president undergoes one, and that such exams should be mandatory for all presidential candidates:
Joe should immediately take a Cognitive Test, and I will go with him, and take one also. For the first time we’ll be a team, and do it for the good of the Country….And from now on, all Presidential candidates should be mandated to take a Cognitive Test and Aptitude Test, regardless of their age!!!
Nikki Haley, Trump’s former United Nations ambassador who made a quixotic bid for the Republican presidential nomination, had campaigned on making such tests mandatory for politicians over the age of 75. Both Trump and Biden would meet that criteria.
Republican senator Lindsey Graham took up the call following the first debate, in which the president struggled to counter attacks from Trump, who attracted criticisms of his own for repeatedly lying:
Melania Trump, the wife of former president Donald Trump, will make a rare appearance at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee next week, CNN first reported.
Melania’s appearance at the RNC was confirmed by two sources familiar with the former first lady’s plans.
Melania has been mostly absent from the Trump campaign trail. It is unclear if she will give remarks at the convention or participate in any significant way.
As Biden works to rebuild trust among Democratic lawmakers and voters, the president will be speaking at the same high school in Michigan where he campaigned with high-ranking Democrats in 2020.
According to CNN:
Biden will speak at same site in Michigan where he promised to be a “bridge” to next generation in 2020, in their ‘live’ piece: The president is set to speak at the same high school in Detroit where he stood hand-in-hand with then-Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as he cast himself as a link to the future.“Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,” Biden said on March 9, 2020 during the Democratic event. “There’s an entire generation of leaders you saw stand behind me. They are the future of this country.”
Over the weekend, Biden also will be meeting with the Congressional Progressive Caucus in a virtual meeting, Punchbowl News reported.
Biden has already received support from key progressive lawmakers following his widely criticized debate performance, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders.
Biden will also meet with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) on Friday as well, several outlets have reported.
CNN and Punchbowl News have said that Biden will meet with CAPAC as he continues to assuage fears among lawmakers concerning his ability to be the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.
The meeting will take place virtually.
Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries announced that he had met with Joe Biden following his closely watched press conference yesterday, and conveyed “conclusions about the path forward” he heard from lawmakers. CNN later reported that Jeffries did not offer Biden his endorsement, though it was unclear if the president asked for it. Later today, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, whose leaders say they support Biden, will reportedly meet with the president, while one more House Democrat has announced that they think Biden should “pass the torch”. We will see if any others join her, and are also keeping an eye on the president’s campaign visit to swing state Michigan this evening.
Here’s what else has happened today so far:
James Clyburn, a House Democrat close to the president, reiterated his support for Biden, but noted that the party has until the start of their convention next month to make decisions about replacing him.
A new poll may undercut arguments that Biden has lost major support following his debate, after it found him in a statistical tie with Donald Trump.
Speaking of Trump, the former president wants congressional Republicans to insist on the passage of a law, opposed by the White House, to require people present proof of citizenship when registering to vote, in a sign that a government spending fight could break out just weeks before the 5 November election.
Teamsters president Sean O’Brien nearly threw hands with a Republican senator during a hearing on Capitol Hill last year, but that apparently has not discouraged the union leader from planning to address the Republican national convention. The Guardian’s Michael Sainato reports that is not sitting well with senior members of the union:
The Teamsters International president, Sean O’Brien, has been accused by senior members of the union of disgracing it by agreeing to an unprecedented appearance at next week’s Republican national convention.
O’Brien’s decision was branded “unconscionable” by John Palmer, vice-president at large at the Teamsters, who accused him of lending support to the “most anti-union party and president” in a generation.
In a letter seen by the Guardian, Palmer urged members of the union to demand that O’Brien cancel his planned appearance. The Teamsters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Teamsters is one of the largest labor unions in the US, with 1.3 million members. While other large labor unions and the largest coalition of labor unions, the AFL-CIO, have already endorsed Joe Biden, the Teamsters has yet to make an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election.
CNN reports that Democratic House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries did not offer Joe Biden his endorsement when they met following the president’s press conference yesterday.
Jeffries “bluntly” shared the views of his caucus in the meeting, though CNN notes it is unclear if Biden asked for his support.
Semafor reports that members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus plan to meet with the president today:
Earlier this week, the all-Democratic caucus’s chair Nanette Barragán and deputy chair Adriano Espaillat reaffirmed their support for Joe Biden, saying in a joint statement:
We stand with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
