Democrats

Subterms

    More stories

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      US third-party group mulls 2024 ticket – but would it merely help Trump?

      by

      On a small stage in New Hampshire this week, West Virginia senator Joe Manchin and former Republican Governor Jon Huntsman sat together extolling the virtues of bipartisanship and talking very much like running mates. They were there on behalf of the centrist political advocacy organization No Labels, which is considering fielding a third-party ticket in the 2024 presidential election, and had enlisted the two men to debut its 67-page policy manifesto.Early on in the evening, the moderator asked the question looming over the event: were Manchin and Huntsman running for president? After a smattering of applause died down, Manchin deflected, saying they were simply there to “explain to you that we need options”. But Manchin’s refusal to announce whether he will seek re-election for the US Senate next year, and his presence at the town hall, has drawn speculation that he and No Labels may combine to upend the 2024 election.No Labels has been around since 2010, largely promoting centrist policies and occasionally working to elect moderate Democrats to Congress. Its recent ambitions are far grander, as it plans to raise $70m, get on the ballot in every state across the country, and build a third-party ticket for the presidency. The group has become a specter looming over the 2024 election for Democrats, with polls showing that a centrist third-party candidate would draw votes away from Joe Biden and tilt the race toward Donald Trump.The growing prominence of No Labels and its potential to run a third-party candidate has resulted in backlash from Democrats and more centrist Republicans as a result. Democratic representatives and political organizations such as MoveOn have mobilized to oppose the group, including holding briefings for congressional staffers on the risk of a third-party ticket. Democratic and Republican strategists additionally commissioned a poll that showed how an independent centrist candidate would act as a spoiler against Biden.But efforts to show that No Labels could take a significant portion of the vote and effectively hand Trump the presidency have only emboldened the group. No Labels’ chief pollster told Axios that the recent survey – which showed a moderate independent candidate would receive around 20% of the vote and shift the election to Trump – was proof that their strategy was sound and that they had a viable chance at the presidency.“The people who are spearheading this are not doing it cynically. They have convinced themselves that this is a unique historical moment and they intend to seize it,” said William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who co-founded No Labels in 2010 before leaving it earlier this year.Galston disagreed with the group’s decision in 2022 to focus on fielding a third-party candidate, he said, and after a year of offering arguments against the shift decided to quit the organization in April of this year. Although he still supports the group, he sees its current mission as misguided and has spoken out about how it’s likely to benefit Trump’s presidential hopes.“I could not go along with the formation of an independent ticket,” Galston said. “I saw no equivalence between Donald Trump and Joe Biden and feared that this ticket would, on net, draw support away from Biden’s candidacy.”No Labels, and its potential candidate Manchin, reject the notion that they will act as spoilers. The group has claimed it will not go ahead with its plans if it appears to shift the election to one party, though has been vague on its criteria for such a decision, and Manchin on Monday told the audience in New Hampshire that “if I get in a race I’m gonna win”.Undisclosed donorsAs No Labels moves forward with its fundraising and attempts to get on nationwide ballots, it has faced increased scrutiny over who exactly is backing their efforts. The group refuses to disclose its donors, which it is not obligated to do, but a Mother Jones investigation identified dozens of wealthy contributors affiliated with No Labels.Although it includes several major Democratic donors, many of the contributors favor conservative causes and Republican candidates. A separate investigation from The New Republic found that conservative billionaire Harlan Crow, most recently known for his close ties with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, donated $130,000 to the group between 2019 and 2021.No Labels officials have cited privacy concerns as the reason that the group will not release its donors, while chief executive Nancy Jacobson told NBC News this week that there is “nothing nefarious” about its fundraising. Galston brought up to Jacobson in the early days of the group’s operations that a lack of transparency might become an issue, he said, but she told him “in no uncertain terms” that was how things would be run.Jacobson and No Labels did not respond to a request for comment on this article.It is unclear just how much of its $70m goal No Labels has raised, although previous years and Jacobson’s status as veteran fundraiser show that it is able to draw large sums. No Labels’ 2021 tax forms, the most recent year publicly available, state that it took in just over $11.3m in revenue that year. The organization’s highest paid staffer was former political commentator Mark Halperin, according to the 2021 tax form, who made around $257,000 as No Labels chief strategist. The organization hired Halperin despite allegations from multiple women of sexual harassment and assault against the once-prominent journalist. Halperin, who has previously apologized for some of the harassment allegations against him while denying other allegations including physical assault, left No Labels in March of this year. He could not be reached for comment.The tax forms also show that No Labels paid top Democrat-run consulting firms for their advocacy and communications work. It gave around $946,000 in compensation to communications firm Rational 360 in 2021. Rational 360 did not respond to a request for comment on this article.The group has faced criticism from Democrats before, including when it endorsed an anti-LGBT, anti-abortion Illinois Congressman during the 2018 midterms. A Super PAC tied to No Labels spent aabout $1m backing the campaign, according to the Intercept. But previous backlash against the group is nothing compared to what it currently faces, with growing concern among Democrats that No Labels has the potential to lose them the White House.“It’s pretty clear that a No Labels candidate would help re-elect Donald Trump,” Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen told the Hill.No Labels has given itself until Super Tuesday – when a large number of states hold primaries in early March of next year – as a deadline for announcing whether or not it will run a third party. The group’s national co-chair Pat McRory stated on Monday that if Biden and Trump are the likely match-up by then and the group sees a path to victory, it will run a candidate. More

    • 238 Shares99 Views

      in US Politics

      Kamala Harris says claiming slavery had some benefit is ‘propaganda’ being pushed on US children – as it happened

      by

      From 19m agoIn an impassioned address in Jacksonville, Florida in front of a crowd of teachers, lawyers, lawmakers and activists, vice president Kamala Harris vowed to fight against the Florida’s education board’s decision to teach students that Black people somehow benefited from slavery.Harris took aim at right-wing Republicans whom she called “extremist so-called leaders” and accused of waging a “national agenda” on attempting to rewrite American history.
      “Extremist so-called leaders for months have dared to ban books…and now they want to replace history with lies… They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not have it. We will not let it happen,” she said.
      She went to accuse them of daring to “push propaganda to our children,” citing other highly restrictive laws in Florida including the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ ban, prohibition of certain books in classrooms, as well as voting and reproductive rights.Harris called the recent decision by the state’s education board “outrageous,” saying that it is “an abject and purposeful and intentional policy to mislead our children,” as well as a broader attempt to create “unecessary debates [and] to divide our country.”She went on to urge Americans to unite the coalition of “all people who believe in our foundational and fundamental truths.”
      “Let us stand always for what we know is right. Let us fight for what is right. And when we fight, we win,” Harris said in her closing remarks.
      It is nearly 5pm in Washington DC. Here is a wrap-up of the day’s key events:
      In an impassioned address in Jacksonville, Florida, vice president Kamala Harris vowed to fight against the Florida’s education board’s decision to teach students that Black people somehow benefited from slavery. Harris took aim at right-wing Republicans whom she called “extremist so-called leaders” and accused them of waging a “national agenda” on attempting to rewrite American history.
      Advocacy groups have denounced the Florida curriculum changes for providing a sanitized version of history. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Florida Education Association, and Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education are among some of the numerous groups across the country that have condemned the new changes.
      The justice department has told Texas governor Greg Abbott that it intends to file legal action over a floating barrier wall he erected in the Rio Grande River to block migrants from entering Texas from Mexico. The letter, obtained by CNN, reads: “The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties.”
      Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr appeared on Thursday before a hearing convened by House Republicans, where he sought to portray himself as a victim of censorship by social media and members of his party. Kennedy declared he is neither an antisemite nor a racist, days after he was filmed falsely suggesting that the coronavirus could have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
      The grandson of former president John F Kennedy ridiculed Robert F Kennedy’s 2024 White House bid, joining other members of the Kennedy family in condemning the Democratic presidential hopeful’s false remarks that Covid-19 was engineered to target some ethnic groups and spare others. In a video posted to his Instagram, Jack Schlossberg endorsed Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, saying he was on the way to becoming “the greatest progressive president we’ve ever had” who “shares my grandfather’s vision for America.”
      The Biden administration has secured voluntary commitments on “responsible innovation” from the seven US companies that are driving innovation in artificial intelligence, Joe Biden said. He said AI brings “incredible opportunities” as well as risks to society and economy.
      The federal judge overseeing former president Donald Trump’s trial on his mishandling of classified documents case has set a trial date for 20 May 2024. The ruling from US district judge Aileen Cannon places Trump’s criminal trial less than six months ahead of the November 2024 presidential election.
      Florida Governor Ron DeSantis threatened the parent company of Bud Light with legal action for sponsoring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. In a letter to Florida state’s pension fund manager, CNN reported, DeSantis alleged that AB InBev had decided to associate with “radical social ideologies” and “may have breached legal duties owed to its shareholders.”
      That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we close the blog for today. Thank you for following along.In an impassioned address in Jacksonville, Florida in front of a crowd of teachers, lawyers, lawmakers and activists, vice president Kamala Harris vowed to fight against the Florida’s education board’s decision to teach students that Black people somehow benefited from slavery.Harris took aim at right-wing Republicans whom she called “extremist so-called leaders” and accused of waging a “national agenda” on attempting to rewrite American history.
      “Extremist so-called leaders for months have dared to ban books…and now they want to replace history with lies… They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not have it. We will not let it happen,” she said.
      She went to accuse them of daring to “push propaganda to our children,” citing other highly restrictive laws in Florida including the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ ban, prohibition of certain books in classrooms, as well as voting and reproductive rights.Harris called the recent decision by the state’s education board “outrageous,” saying that it is “an abject and purposeful and intentional policy to mislead our children,” as well as a broader attempt to create “unecessary debates [and] to divide our country.”She went on to urge Americans to unite the coalition of “all people who believe in our foundational and fundamental truths.”
      “Let us stand always for what we know is right. Let us fight for what is right. And when we fight, we win,” Harris said in her closing remarks.
      “Let us not be distracted by what they’re trying to do, which is to create unnecessary debates, to divide our country. Let’s not fall in that trap,” said Harris.
      “We will stand united as a country. We know our collective history. It is our shared history. We are all in this together…
      And we will not allow them to suggest anything other than what we know. The vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.
      And so let us stand always for what we know is right. Let us fight for what is right. And when we fight, we win,” Harris said in her closing remarks.
      “We fought a war to end the sin of slavery. People died by the untold numbers in that war, many of whom fought and died because of their belief that slavery was a sin against man, that it was inhumane,” said Harris.
      “So who then would dare deny this history? Who would dare then deny that these lives were lost and why they were lost in what was the cause that they were fighting for and what they were fighting against.
      They weren’t fighting and dying because they thought people were going to be okay with this thing. It’s because they knew that it had to end because it was so criminal…
      We know the history and let us not let these politicians who are trying to divide our country because you see what they are doing by creating these unnecessary debates.
      To debate whether inslaved people benefited from slavery? Are you kidding me?” Harris added.
      “History has shown us that in our darkest moments, we have the ability to unite and to come out stronger,” said Harris.
      “Our history as a nation is born out of tragedy and triumph. That’s who we are. Part of that is what gives us our grit, knowing where we came from, knowing the struggles that we have come through and being stronger in our dedication to saying no more and not again.
      It is part of what makes up the character of who we are as America so let’s reject the notion that we would deny all of this in terms of our history. Let us not be seduced into believing that somehow we will be better if we forget,” she added.
      “This is not the first time in history that we’ve come across this kind of approach. This is not the first time that there are powerful forces that have attempted to distort history for the sake of political ends,” said Harris.
      “I have done an exercise of looking to see from where we are seeing these attacks on things like voting rights, LGBTQ rights, a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body. You will not be surprised to know, a lot of them revert to the same source so let’s think about this then as an opportunity to build back up the coalition of all people who believe in our foundational and fundamental truths,” she added.
      “Teachers want to teach the truth…and so they should not be then told by politicians that they should be teaching revisionist history in order to keep their jobs,” said Harris.
      “What is going on? Teachers fear that if they teach the truth, they may lose their job. As it is, we don’t pay them enough.
      And these are the people, these extremist so-called leaders who all the while are also the ones suggesting that teachers strap on a gun in the classroom,” Harris added.
      “The myth that there was some benefit is not only misleading, it is false and it is pushing propaganda,” said Harris.
      “People who walk around and want to be praised as leaders…[are] pushing propaganda on our children…
      It is a reasonable expectation that our children will not be misled and that’s what’s so outrageous about what is happening right now – an abject and purposeful and intentional policy to mislead our children,” she added.
      “Adults know what slavery really involved. It involved rape, it involved torture, it involved taking a baby from their mother. It involved some of the worst examples of depriving people of humanity in our world,” said Harris.
      “It involves subjecting people to the requirement that they would think of themselves and be thought of as less than human. So in the context of that, how could anyone suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” said Harris, her voice rising as the crowd applauded.
      “These extremist so-called leaders should model what we know to be correct and the right approach if we really are invested in the wellbeing of our children,” said Harris.
      “Instead, they dare to push propaganda to our children. This is the United States of America. We’re not supposed to do that,” she added.
      “When I think about what is happening here in Florida, I am deeply concerned because let’s be clear. I do not believe this is not only about the state of Florida. There is a national agenda,” Harris said.
      “Extremist so-called leaders from months have dared to ban books…and now they want to replace history with lies…
      They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not have it. We will not let it happen,” she added.
      “All the folks that we would go out and send out children to go and meet around the world are clear about our history, and we…send our children now to not know what it is?” said Harris.
      “Building in a handicap for our children, that they are going to be the ones in the room who don’t know their own history when the rest of the world does?” she added.
      “The thing about being a role model is that when you’re a role model, people watch what you do to see if it matches what you say,” said Harris.
      “So understand the impact that this…has, not only for the children of Florida and our nation, but potentially people around the world.
      Because on a more specific point in that regard, we want to know that we are sending our children out as role models of democracy…”
      “I am a product of teachers and and educational system that believed in providing the children with the full expanse of information, that allowed them to then reach their own conclusions.” said Harris.
      “When I think about where we are today… I know…we share in common a deep love for our country and the responsibility we each have to then fight for its ideals,” she added.
      “You are not alone,” Kamala Harris said in her opening remarks as she addressed a crowd of educators, lawyers, politicians and activists in Jacksonville who are opposing the recent changes.
      “You’re not out here fighting by yourselves. We believe in you and we believe in the people of Florida,” she said.
      Vice-President Kamala Harris is due to speak soon in Jacksonville, Florida, about the state board of education’s curriculum updates that mean public school students will now be taught that some Black people received “personal benefit” from slavery – because it taught them useful skills.We’ll bring you the latest updates so stay tuned. More

    • 175 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      The Guardian view on Robert F Kennedy Jr: from Camelot to conspiracy-mongering | Editorial

      by

      Robert F Kennedy Jr, campaigning to be the Democratic nominee for the presidency, likes to call himself a “Kennedy Democrat”. His own siblings disagree. His uncle’s presidency, like his namesake father’s career and presidential campaign, had an aura of hope and responsibility as well as glamour. RFK Jr talks vaguely of overcoming divisions, but in reality trades upon a peculiar blend of “cynicism and credulity”, as one commentator notes. Most recently he claimed that “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” in comments reported by the New York Post.However jarring the remarks – he partially backtracked later – they sit comfortably with his long history of fomenting conspiracy theories and his nonsensical, anti-scientific views. He has falsely linked childhood immunisations to autism and wifi to cancer and “leaky brain”, claimed that HIV does not cause Aids, and suggested that chemicals in drinking water could make children transgender. One of his sisters warned that his latest comments put people’s lives in danger.So much for the Kennedy legacy. Nor does he look like much of a Democrat. He is being hyped by billionaires and rightwing broadcasters such as Sean Hannity, and has gained traction among Republicans rather than Democrats. Some see his campaign primarily as a vehicle for his ego and brand, which may be less damaging to President Biden’s chances than a possible third-party bid by Democratic senator Joe Manchin and Republican former governor Jon Huntsman’s No Labels group. A poll this month suggested that a “moderate, independent third-party candidate” could gain about 20% of the vote and result in a second term for Donald Trump. But talk up Mr Kennedy enough and he might have a marginal effect in denting President Biden. Others suspect that Mr Kennedy wants the Republican vice-presidential slot. Steve Bannon and Roger Stone have both floated the idea of a Trump-Kennedy ticket.None of this has prevented him finding up to 20% support among Democrats in polls. Camelot nostalgia and the celebrity factor have clearly played a large part in that. Mr Kennedy has never run for any public office, still less held it, but boasts that he’s “been around” politics since he was a little boy. The lack of enthusiasm for the sitting president is also potent: most Democrats do not want him to run again, although they indicate that they would vote for him over Mr Trump. Voters, including independents, are not giving Mr Biden credit for the improving the economy or other achievements. That may not be fair. But it’s a fact.Mr Kennedy’s appeal goes deeper, however. He has found a home in the world described by a new book, Conspirituality, where new age spirituality and the “wellness” industry overlap with the politics of paranoia, as well as alongside the Trumpian right. Distrust of institutions, suspicion at the marriage of state and corporate power, and fear and sadness at the despoliation of the environment are in themselves reasonable concerns. But the political ambition that feeds upon and mutates them into more poisonous beliefs is unpalatable.Mr Kennedy’s anti-vaccine conspiracy-mongering has caused enough damage. His latest remarks show how easily conspiracy theories blur into bigotry and scapegoating. It may be farcical to hear a multimillionaire from the country’s most famous political dynasty railing against “elites”, but there is nothing funny about this campaign. More

    • 163 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Robert Kennedy Jr’s racist, antisemitic and xenophobic views go back decades, report says

      by

      Robert Kennedy Jr, a long-shot Democratic candidate for US president, has a long history of racism, antisemitism and xenophobia, and should be denied a national platform, according to a damning report seen by the Guardian.Kennedy, who provoked anger last week when he was filmed falsely suggesting that the coronavirus could have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, is due to testify at the US Capitol in Washington on Thursday.The Congressional Integrity Project, a political watchdog, called for Republicans to disinvite Kennedy after releasing a report that details his meetings with and promotion of racists, antisemites and extremist conspiracy theorists.“Kennedy embraces virtually every conspiracy theory in existence,” the report states. “His horrific antisemitic and xenophobic views are simply beyond the pale, and he has frequently met with and promoted antisemitic conspiracy theorists. Kennedy’s anti-vaccine conspiracies go back decades and have had deadly real world consequences.”Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, is running against Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential primary and has drawn big and enthusiastic crowds and polled as high as 20%. But the Project’s document argues that Kennedy’s recent comments about Jewish and Chinese people, which were quickly hailed by neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers as “100% correct”, were not an aberration but fitted a long pattern.Earlier this summer Kennedy touted a meeting with Ice Cube, a rapper who issued bizarre antisemitic tweets, and publicly defended musician Roger Waters, who was embroiled in controversy after donning a costume intended to evoke Nazi attire at a concert in Germany.The report says Kennedy has also repeatedly promoted and praised fringe online broadcaster James Corbett, a Sandy Hook and 9/11 conspiracy theorist who has claimed that “Hitler and the Nazis were 100% completely and utterly set up”.Kennedy has often allied himself with the National of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, who regularly unleashed tirades about alleged Jewish control of media and government. Kennedy met Farrakhan at his Chicago home in 2015, with Farrakhan later tweeting that they discussed “a vaccine that is designed to affect Black males”.The Project details how Kennedy himself has frequently invoked Nazi Germany when pushing debunked theories about vaccines. He put out a video that showed the infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci with a moustache reminiscent of Adolf Hitler and used the word “holocaust” to describe children he believes were hurt by vaccines in 2015.Last year, at a Washington rally organized by his group Children’s Health Defense, Kennedy complained that people’s rights were being violated by public health measures that had been taken to reduce the number of people sickened and killed by Covid-19. He said: “Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland. You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did.” He later apologised.For years, the document says, Kennedy has targeted a particularly dangerous form of vaccine denial at Black people. In 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign, he released Medical Racism, a film that promoted disproven claims about the dangers of vaccines and explicitly warned communities of color to be suspicious of “sinister” vaccination campaigns.Several doctors and experts who participated in the film later denounced it and said they felt used and misled about the message of the documentary. Richard Allen Williams, founder of the Association of Black Cardiologists, called Children’s Health Defense “absolutely a racist operation” particularly dangerous to the Black community.In 2017, as a measles outbreak devastated Minnesota’s Somali-American community due to low vaccination rates, Kennedy continued to push his false claims that “science and anecdotal evidence suggest that Africans and African Americans may be particularly vulnerable to vaccine injuries including autism”.In a 2020 interview, Kennedy asserted without evidence that “People with African blood react differently to vaccines than people with Caucasian blood. They’re much more sensitive.”The following year, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Kennedy recorded a webinar encouraging Black people to be skeptical of vaccines, claiming: “There has been abundant evidence … beyond any dispute that Blacks are disproportionately harmed by vaccine injury,” adding: “Blacks react completely differently to vaccines … we now know it’s just one huge experiment on Black Americans, and they know what is happening and they are doing nothing.”The report also argues that, from the earliest days of Operation Warp Speed, Kennedy has built “an anti-vaccine juggernaut” around opposition to Covid-19 vaccinations, which he has called “the deadliest vaccine ever made”.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionHe has sought to frame Covid vaccines as an elaborate conspiracy to enrich the medical establishment and big pharmaceutical companies. In a YouTube video, Kennedy accused Bill Gates of developing an “injectable chip” to enable the tracking of human movements and attempting to “genetically modify” humanity to “the flow of global information”.Kennedy has even accused his former anti-vaccine ally, Donald Trump, of selling out to Pfizer by developing vaccines.Such anti-scientific views go way back. Kennedy has claimed that fluoridated water is “drugging” children, HIV does not cause Aids and chemicals in the water are making people gay or transgender as well as pushing nonsensical conspiracy theories about wifi and 5G cellular networks.As the son of former attorney general Robert Kennedy, and nephew of former president John F Kennedy, Kennedy has caused anguish to one of America’s most storied political dynasties with his toxic views.In 2019 three relatives wrote an opinion column for the Politico website condemning his anti-vaccine advocacy, which they held partially responsible for a measles outbreak.The Congressional Integrity Project contends that Kennedy is a “Republican stooge” who is being embraced by the far right in an attempt to damage Biden. He has become a regular guest on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News and other rightwing outlets. Far-right provocateurs Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Alex Jones and Michael Flynn have praised him.Now Republicans have invited Kennedy to Congress. On Thursday he is due to address the House of Representatives’ select subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government during a hearing to examine “the federal government’s role in censoring Americans”. The panel is chaired by the Trump loyalist Jim Jordan, who has been criticised for launching bogus investigations into Biden.Kyle Herrig, executive director of Congressional Integrity Project, said: “Giving RFK Jr a platform to spread dangerous conspiracy theories and xenophobic and antisemitic rhetoric is a new low for Jim Jordan – and that says something.“Jim Jordan should stop the charade and disinvite RFK Jr immediately. Allowing this hearing to go forward is shameless and beyond the pale. Maga Republicans’ desperation is on full display this week, proving once again that they have no credibility to conduct legitimate investigations.” More

    • 113 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Progressive Democrats protest Israeli president’s address to US Congress

      by

      Democratic divisions over Israel were on stark display on Tuesday, as lawmakers prepared to welcome Isaac “Bougie” Herzog, the president of Israel, for an address to a joint session of Congress.Several progressive House members, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, intend to boycott Herzog’s speech on Wednesday to protest against the treatment of Palestinians under the government of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.“In solidarity with the Palestinian people and all those who have been harmed by Israel’s apartheid government, I will be boycotting President Herzog’s joint address to Congress,” Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat of Michigan, said on Monday. “I urge all members of Congress who stand for human rights for all to join me.”House Democratic leaders have struck a much more conciliatory tone toward Herzog, embracing the opportunity to hear from the Israeli president.“President Bougie Herzog has been a force for good in Israeli society,” Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, said on Friday. “I look forward to welcoming him with open arms when he comes to speak before Congress.”The tension between House Democrats reached a boiling point over the weekend, after Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, described Israel as a “racist state” while speaking at a conference in Chicago.Jayapal clarified her comments on Sunday, saying: “I do not believe the idea of Israel as a nation is racist. I do, however, believe that Netanyahu’s extreme rightwing government has engaged in discriminatory and outright racist policies and that there are extreme racists driving that policy within the leadership of the current government.”House Republicans swiftly attacked Jayapal’s comments, calling on Democratic leaders to join them in rejecting the congresswoman’s criticism of Israel.“I think if the Democrats want to believe that they do not have a conference that continues to make antisemitic remarks, they need to do something about it,” the House Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy, said on Monday.Amid the backlash, more than 40 House Democrats signed on to a statement lambasting Jayapal’s “unacceptable” remarks and praising Israel as “the only vibrant, progressive, and inclusive democracy in the region”. House Democratic leaders also issued a joint statement on Sunday denouncing the characterization of Israel as a “racist state”.“As House Democratic leaders, we strongly support Israel’s right to exist as a homeland for the Jewish people,” the leaders said. “We are also firmly committed to a robust two-state solution where Israel and the Palestinian people can live side by side in peace and prosperity.”Although the joint statement did not mention Jayapal by name, progressives balked at the leaders’ rejection of one of their colleagues in an effort to quiet criticism from Republicans.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“I am proud to call [Jayapal] a colleague, a friend and our CPC Chair,” Omar said on Tuesday on Twitter. “I am also deeply concerned about the shaming – often of women of color – when they speak out about human rights violations happening in Palestine and Israel, especially when similar concern is not expressed for the lives being lost and families being torn apart.”House Republicans seized the opportunity to highlight the Democratic divisions over Israel. The House Republican majority leader, Steve Scalise, announced on Monday that the chamber would vote on Tuesday on a resolution asserting “the state of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state”.“It should be an easy vote,” Scalise said on Twitter. “Will [Democrats] stand with our ally or capitulate to the anti-Semitic radicals in their party?”As his congressional allies clashed over Herzog’s visit, Joe Biden met with the Israeli president in the Oval Office on Tuesday.“This is a friendship, I believe, that’s just simply unbreakable,” Biden told Herzog. “America’s commitment to Israel is firm, and it is ironclad.”A day before his meeting with Herzog, Biden spoke to Netanyahu over the phone, and the two leaders agreed to meet in the coming months. But a spokesperson for the national security council, John Kirby, would not specify whether that meeting will take place at the White House, as Netanyahu has repeatedly requested.“They will meet probably before the end of this year,” Kirby told reporters on Monday. “And all the details of the ‘wheres’ and the ‘whens’ are still being worked out.” More

    • 188 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      I took RFK Jr’s phone call long ago. Now I regret it | Margaret Sullivan

      by

      My assistant in the New York Times public editor’s office said Robert F Kennedy was on the phone. Did I want to take the call?This was roughly a decade ago, but I still remember being momentarily confused. Assassinated in 1968, RFK was long gone, and though we did get some unusual calls in the public editor’s office, they tended to be from the living.I quickly realized, of course, that the caller was the former New York senator’s son, an environmental attorney then in his late 50s. And, given his prominence, I took the call, only to endure an unpleasant screed from this anti-vaccine crusader. Once Kennedy had my ear, he spun out his pseudo-scientific theories, mostly about the causal relationship between childhood vaccines and autism. Though these notions had been debunked, he was relentless in wanting the New York Times to give them more credence.My job as public editor was to represent the readers of the paper and take their complaints seriously, often writing columns about them, but I didn’t do so in this case. As I recall, I just shook off the conversation and got back to work.These days, I’m certainly glad I didn’t take up his cause. RFK Jr, now 69 and running for president as a Democrat, has proven himself to be even more divorced from reality.The most recent example came just last week, and it was appalling. At a dinner on New York City’s Upper East Side, Kennedy (foolishly) thought he was talking off the record and therefore could drop his guard.So he went full conspiracy theory – suggesting that Covid could have been a bioweapon intended to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people while targeting “Caucasians and Black people”. The remarks, heard on a widely circulated video published by the New York Post, “feeds into Sinophobic and antisemitic tropes”, an Anti-Defamation League spokesperson told the Washington Post. The director of the Stop Asian Hate Project called them irresponsible and hateful.Kennedy has denied any antisemitic sentiment, or even that he intended that the “ethnic effect was deliberately engineered”. But the recording tells a different tale.It’s not as if this latest chapter is an aberration. RFK Jr has consistently spread Covid conspiracy theories and even once compared US vaccine mandates – unfavorably! – to “Hitler’s Germany”. (He later apologized for that one.)The New York Times summed him up in a news story: “Mr Kennedy has made his political career on false conspiracy theories about not just Covid-19 and Covid vaccines but disproved links between common childhood vaccines and autism, mass surveillance and 5G cellular phone technology, ill health effects from wifi, and a ‘stolen’ election in 2004 that gave the presidency back to George W Bush.”Somehow, though, his presidential campaign has gained traction; although a long shot, he does have significant support among primary voters. (And we’ve seen what can happen with a supposed long shot, as Donald Trump was considered in 2015.)The reasons are obvious. His crazy ideas – like Trump’s – are catnip for the media. They make news and generate clicks. And social media amplifies him, too. Mark Jacob, a former Chicago Tribune editor, put it bluntly: “The bots and trolls love RFK Jr. Because the bots and trolls hate a fact-based humanitarian society.”All of this adds immeasurably to his prominence at a time when Democratic voters are looking for an alternative to Joe Biden, who they think is too old to endure a long campaign and a four-year presidency.Which brings me full circle to that decade-old phone call. I wonder now why I so readily took that call and gave him a half hour that rightfully belonged to the ordinary readers of the New York Times? Not every phone call got patched through to me, any more than I personally answered every one of the 500 or so emails that the public editor’s office received each week.And I know the answer: I did it because of his famous name. When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s in the heavily Catholic steel city of Lackawanna, New York, any Kennedy was revered as something of a secular saint. And although we learned much more skepticism after Teddy Kennedy (RFK Jr’s uncle) drove a campaign worker to her watery death in 1969, the name still resonated decades later.With his ugly theories and dangerous denials of reality, RFK Jr long ago sullied the family name. And these days, I would ask my assistant to have him send us an email. We would read it with interest – just like every other complaint we got. This article was amended on 18 July 2023 to correct the spelling of Mark Jacob’s surname.
      Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture More

    • 125 Shares129 Views

      in US Politics

      Manchin appearance with third-party group fuels speculation over 2024 run

      by

      The West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, who for years has held an outsized degree of power within the Democratic party, is set to appear on Monday at an event held by a political group exploring a third-party presidential bid. Manchin’s appearance has fueled speculation that he is considering a run for the presidency, a scenario that has alarmed Democrats as it could weaken President Joe Biden’s candidacy.Manchin will appear at the group No Labels’ town hall meeting on Monday night, alongside Republican former Utah governor Jon Huntsman. They will co-headline the organization’s “commonsense” policy platform release, the first in a series of events that the group says it will hold as the 2024 presidential election takes shape.Manchin, a 75-year-old senator who is facing re-election next year, has not ruled out running for the presidency instead of seeking another term in the Senate. If he does run as part of a bipartisan and centrist ticket, polling shows that it would likely be doomed to fail while sapping voters away from Biden. Democratic groups have been working to quell attempts at running third-party spoiler candidates, warning that it could hand Trump the presidency.“It’s pretty clear that a No Labels candidate would help re-elect Donald Trump, and I hope anybody who considers it recognizes that that’s a very possible outcome,” Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen told the Hill.Manchin is in a familiar position as a potential spoiler to Biden’s ambitions. As one of the most conservative Democrats and a key swing vote in the Senate, Manchin has blocked action on climate change, repeatedly criticized Biden’s policies, and derailed the administration’s efforts to pass major legislation.No Labels sees Manchin as a potential candidate for its centrist platform, and the senator joined in at least one conference call with the group, according to Politico. Although No Labels has stated it will not field a candidate if their platform does not gain traction or if it appears it would swing the vote in favor of one party, the group has been actively fundraising and is seeking to get on ballots across the country.Manchin also praised No Labels during an interview last month on Fox News, in which the senator deflected questions about a potential third-party candidacy and said he was “not ruling anything out”.While No Labels has heavily promoted its vision of centrist governance – “America must strike a balance between protecting women’s rights to control their own reproductive health and our society’s responsibility to protect human life” is one example from its policy booklet – but it has been silent about who is funding their efforts. A Mother Jones investigation last month found dozens of wealthy contributors that included many who backed conservative and Republican causes. Another investigation from The New Republic found that Harlan Crow, the conservative billionaire and supporter of the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, donated over $130,000 to the group.Polling shows that a third-party candidate would most likely be a threat to Democrats. Several surveys over the past few months show that in a contest between Biden and Trump, the presence of a third party candidate – including Manchin or the progressive activist Cornel West – shifts vote percentages toward Republicans. A poll commissioned by Democratic and Republican strategists this month showed that the presence of a “moderate, independent third-party candidate” would gain around 20% of the vote and result in an electoral victory for Trump. More

    • 150 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      White House condemns Robert Kennedy Jr’s Covid claims as ‘vile’ – live

      by

      From 2h agoWhite House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has taken the chance to condemn remarks made by presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr after a video surfaced of him making false claims that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” to attack certain ethnic groups.Kennedy, the infamous conspiracy theorist, famous scion and rogue candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination hit the headlines at the weekend after it emerged that he said at a press event in New York City last week that the coronavirus is a genetically engineered bioweapon that may have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, the New York Post reported at the weekend.Kennedy is garnering loud and swift criticism, including from members of his own family. The White House was asked about it during the press briefing today and Jean-Pierry called Kennedy’s remarks not just “false” but also “vile”.The briefing is ongoing. Oh! It just wrapped up.Close Kennedy family members weighing in reflects the growing outrage at Democratic presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy Jr’s words, which he tried to disavow on Monday in a statement sent to the Guardian by his campaign staff.The statement reads:
      The New York Post story is mistaken. I have never, ever suggested that the Covid-19 virus was engineered to ‘spare Jews,’ and I unequivocally reject this disgusting and outlandish conspiracy theory.
      New York Post reporter Jon Levine exploited this off-the-record conversation to smear me as an antisemite. This cynical maneuver is consistent with the mainstream media playbook to discredit me as a crank – and by association, to discredit revelations of genuine corruption and collusion.
      Separate messages sent to the Guardian purportedly from Kennedy’s personal email address cite Wikipedia links to press articles about the plausibility of ethnically-targeted bioweapons.“The study is solid, and not at all controversial,” one of the messages says of a research paper by the British Medical Association, reported by the Guardian in 2004, that “rogue scientists” could develop bioweapons designed to target certain ethnic groups based on their genetic differences.An Iowa judge has temporarily blocked the state’s new abortion ban from taking effect on Monday, just days after Governor Kim Reynolds signed the measure into law.Polk County District Court Judge Joseph Seidlin ruled that a lawsuit by abortion providers is likely to succeed, and the temporary injunction will remain in place for the duration of the lawsuit.The move restores access to abortion in Iowa for up to 20 weeks of pregnancy while the courts assess the new law’s constitutionality.Last week, Iowa lawmakers passed a six-week ban on abortion in a rare special legislative session, called by Governor Reynolds, who signed the bill on Friday afternoon.The law would ban almost all abortions once cardiac activity can be detected, which is usually six weeks into a pregnancy and before many women know they are pregnant. Prior to the law, abortion was legal in the state up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is speaking at an event hosted by the moderate group No Labels, fueling speculation that he could run on a third-party ticket for the presidency.Manchin has not declared whether he will run, but it’s difficult to see how his flirtation with No Labels would amount to a serious candidacy, according to a Vox report.
      It’s true that many Democrats don’t want Biden to run again, and many Republicans say the same of Trump, who is the current GOP frontrunner. But while 2024 may shape up to be the rematch no one asked for, third-party candidates don’t have a successful track record in the US, and there’s no indication a third-party candidate would be able to launch a credible challenge to either party’s nominee this time. If Manchin or another third-party candidate runs, they would probably lose badly.
      They might, however, get enough support among moderates to derail Biden in states that he narrowly won in 2020, despite No Labels co-chair Joe Lieberman’s assurances that his group is not looking to get in the race for a “spoiler.”
      The White House’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, described Robert F Kennedy’s comments that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people as false” and “vile”.“The claims made on that tape is false,” she said during a press briefing earlier this afternoon.
      It is vile, and they put our fellow Americans in danger.
      She declined to discuss Kennedy directly, citing the legal constraints on the administration’s ability to address campaign matters. But she warned that the presidential candidate’s remarks amounted to encouraging racist theories around the virus.
      If you think about the racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories that come out of saying those type of things, it’s an attack on our fellow citizens.
      And so it’s important that we essentially speak out when we hear those claims more broadly.
      She also cited a statement from the American Jewish Committee that called Kennedy’s claims “deeply offensive” and reflective of “some of the most abhorrent antisemitic conspiracy theories throughout history.” Jean-Pierre added:
      This is something that this president, and this whole administration, is going to stand against.
      Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who is due to speak at this evening’s No Labels event in New Hampshire, has insisted it is “not a campaign”.Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds dodged a question about whether she would be Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s running mate if he won the Republican presidential primary.DeSantis, at a fundraising event on Saturday, told reporters that he would consider Reynolds as a pick for vice president if he won the GOP nomination.Asked about DeSantis’s comments, Reynolds told Fox’s Ainsley Earhardt:
      I appreciate the comments. But look, I’m so focused. We are implementing a boldest universal school choice plan in the country. I just called a special session last week. This last week we passed the fetal heartbeat bill, and I actually cut state government and I cut 21 agencies from my Cabinet and we’re implementing our alignment bill.
      She added:
      So I’m busy working on being governor of the great state of Iowa and I’m already working on cutting taxes again next year. So that’s my focus right now.
      Donald Trump last week expressed his frustration with Reynolds for declining to endorse a candidate early in the race. In a post to Truth Social, Trump wrote:
      I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!
      DeSantis, speaking on Saturday, also dismissed Trump’s criticism of Reynolds, saying:
      I thought the attacks on her were totally, totally out of hand and totally unnecessary.
      Joe Kennedy III, a former congressman from Massachusetts and nephew of Robert F Kennedy Jr, has publicly distanced himself from his uncle’s latest comments.Robert F Kennedy’s sister, Kerry Kennedy, has also sharply criticised his remarks about Covid.A leading environmental group has hit out at US climate envoy John Kerry over comments he made rejecting calls for the US to pay climate reparations to developing countries affected by climate-change fueled disasters.On Friday, at a congressional hearing on the state department’s climate agenda, Kerry said that “under no circumstances” would the US meet reparations demands. However, the US has previously committed to contributing to a “loss and damages” fund for developing countries that does not involve statements of liability.“We are disappointed and angered by this news, but not surprised, because John Kerry’s words are just the latest example of Kerry and the US refusing to back up their vague claims for US support in global climate progress with real, substantive action,” said Jeff Ordower, North America director of the climate advocacy group 350.0rg.Ordower added that Kerry and president Biden “have tried to walk a tightrope of limited culpability: they talk a big game about “interconnected nations” and “the need for a fossil fuel phasedown,” but shied away “when it comes to “put their words into practice.”The criticism comes as Kerry met with Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in Beijing to urge joint action to cut methane emissions and coal-fired power.“In the next three days we hope we can begin taking some big steps that will send a signal to the world about the serious purpose of China and the United States to address a common risk, threat, challenge to all of humanity created by humans themselves,” Kerry said, according to Reuters.“It is toxic for both Chinese and for Americans and for people in every country on the planet.”The US climate envoy’s comments came as temperature records in the US, Europe and China are coming close to being broken this week, alongside intense rain and flooding in other areas that are collectively pushing climate change issue to the top of the global political agenda.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has taken the chance to condemn remarks made by presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr after a video surfaced of him making false claims that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” to attack certain ethnic groups.Kennedy, the infamous conspiracy theorist, famous scion and rogue candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination hit the headlines at the weekend after it emerged that he said at a press event in New York City last week that the coronavirus is a genetically engineered bioweapon that may have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people, the New York Post reported at the weekend.Kennedy is garnering loud and swift criticism, including from members of his own family. The White House was asked about it during the press briefing today and Jean-Pierry called Kennedy’s remarks not just “false” but also “vile”.The briefing is ongoing. Oh! It just wrapped up.The US is not in a position to attribute the overnight attack that damaged the road bridge linking Crimea to southern Russia, the White House has stated on Monday.The White House daily media briefing is still underway and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is taking questions now. But a little earlier, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was at the podium and his part of the briefing mainly focused on foreign policy and overseas news.Kirby was not prepared to commit to naming the perpetrator of the attack on the bridge. We’ve been covering this topic in our Ukraine war live blog, but that is closing now. It will be back on Tuesday.Russian president Vladimir Putin has attributed the overnight attack to Ukraine and said that his forces are preparing a response.You can read the Guardian’s full report on this topic here.Robert F Kennedy’s sister is among those who have sharply criticised his remarks about Covid.Kerry Kennedy wrote on Twitter: “I strongly condemn my brother’s deplorable and untruthful remarks last week about Covid being engineered for ethnic targeting.”Democrats were quick to distance themselves from presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr after a video surfaced of him making false claims that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” to attack certain ethnic groups.Kennedy’s comments included “reprehensible anti-semitic and anti-Asian comments aimed at perpetuating harmful and debunked racist tropes, the Democratic congressional campaign committee said in a statement. The Democratic presidential candidate’s attempt to repurpose fringe-right conspiracy theories is not new for his candidacy, the Washington Post reported. The paper compares Kennedy’s remarks to how Donald Trump offered a conspiratorial right-wing worldview to Republican primary voters in 2015.
      It’s not surprising that the party’s institutions and leaders would take this tack; the Democratic Party is keenly attuned to racist stereotypes and antisemitism. But it is also not much of a burden. Kennedy’s support in the primary is not particularly robust relative to the incumbent president, and his long-standing conspiratorial rhetoric has not been effective at building a constituency. The party is certainly eager that it doesn’t.
      Compare the response here with the Republican Party’s response to Donald Trump in 2015. The chairman of the party then, Reince Priebus, didn’t excoriate Trump’s repeated rhetoric about criminal immigrants on social media. The party doesn’t appear to have done so either […] For the GOP, Trump’s controversial comments were already accepted by a large segment of its base, which is why his candidacy quickly gained traction.
      There is an interesting question inherent to the Kennedy situation for the Democratic Party: How accountable is it for the espoused views of one of its candidates for the presidential nomination? What is it about Kennedy that demands a response at all? Is it his name? Because he’s getting more than zero percent in polls? Is it simply that Kennedy affords Democrats an opportunity to reinforce who they are relative to what he presents?
      West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who is set to headline the No Labels event in New Hampshire later today, is arguably the most conservative Democratic senator.Manchin has not declared yet whether he will run for reelection to his Senate seat. He has told reporters that he will wait until late this year before announcing whether he will run.Should Manchin seek another term, he would face a serious challenge from Governor Jim Justice, who is seeking the Republican nomination in the Senate race. West Virginia has been leaning heavily Republican, having overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.Manchin has at times complicated legislative initiatives being pushed by his party leaders, Reuters reported. But Democratic leaders have treaded softly as Manchin also has been key to the party holding on to its Senate majority.Democratic presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr faced widespread criticism over the weekend after a video surfaced of him making false claims that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” to attack certain ethnic groups while sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.The New York Post on Saturday originally published a clip of Kennedy’s conspiracy theory comments, made during a recent dinner in New York City. In the recording, Kennedy can be heard making a series of false and misleading claims, including saying:
      Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.
      Kennedy is also heard saying:
      We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted or not but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact.
      Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said Kennedy’s comments are “deeply offensive and incredibly dangerous” in a tweet on Saturday.The Anti-Defamation League told multiple outlets that Kennedy’s comment “feeds into sinophobic and antisemitic conspiracy theories about Covid-19 that we have seen evolve over the last three years.”Democratic national committee chair Jaime Harrison condemned Kennedy’s remarks and said they do not reflect the views of the party.Joe Biden has invited Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to Washington for an official visit, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.The two leaders shared a “long and warm” conversation where they discussed curbing threats from Iran and its proxies and strengthening the alliance between the two countries, the Israeli statement said.The invitation comes more than seven months after Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister. The delay was viewed as a major snub from Biden, as most Israeli prime ministers had already received an invitation to the White House this far into their terms.The phone call between the two leaders took place as Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, is traveling to Washington for meetings with Biden and to address a joint address to Congress.Ohio secretary of state Frank LaRose formally announced his candidacy for US Senate today, becoming the third prominent Republican hoping to challenge Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in 2024.“It’s official: I’m running,” LaRose said on Twitter.
      I’m on a mission to give back to the state that has given me so much. To continue to serve the country I love and fight to protect the values we share. That’s why I’m running to serve as your next United States senator.
      LaRose, Ohio’s secretary of state since 2019, is the third major candidate to jump into the primary to take on Brown. He follows Bernie Moreno, a businessman running with Donald Trump’s encouragement, and state senator Matt Dolan, whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians baseball team.Ohio’s Senate race looks to be one of the most competitive in the country next year, alongside races in Arizona, Montana and West Virginia. The state backed Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections.New York mayor Eric Adams has appointed Edward Caban as the first Hispanic officer to lead the city’s police department in its 178-year history.Adams announced the appointment of Caban, 55, in a morning news conference outside the 40th Precinct in the South Bronx, where Caban began his career as an officer in 1991.Caban had been instrumental to the NYPD’s efforts to decrease crime after the Covid-19 pandemic, Mayor Adams said, noting that major crimes are down across the city this summer. He added:
      Commissioner Caban is truly one of New York’s finest, a leader who understands the importance of both safety and justice.
      Caban stepped in as acting police chief after the surprise resignation of Keechant Sewell, the first woman to lead the department, last month.Florida governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has reduced campaign staff as his campaign has struggled to meet fundraising goals.Fewer than 10 staffers were laid off, according to an anonymous staffer, reported Politico. The staffers were involved in event planning and may be picked up by the pro-DeSantis super Pac Never Back Down. Two senior campaign advisers, Dave Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, left the campaign this past week to assist a pro-DeSantis nonprofit group.Sources within the campaign reported an internal assessment that the campaign hired too many staffers too early.“They never should have brought so many people on; the burn rate was way too high,” said one Republican source familiar with the campaign’s thought process to NBC News. “People warned the campaign manager but she wanted to hear none of it.”More shake-ups within the campaign are expected in the coming weeks after two months on the presidential campaign, with DeSantis still lagging substantially in second place behind former president Donald Trump.Even in DeSantis’s home state of Florida, Trump still has a 20-point lead over the governor, according to a recent Florida Atlantic University poll. More