Presidential Election of 2024

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      Biden the President Wants to Curb TikTok. Biden the Candidate Embraces Its Stars.

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      At a party for social media influencers at the White House this week, President Biden’s political concerns collided with his national security concerns.The White House is so concerned about the security risks of TikTok that federal workers are not allowed to use the app on their government phones. Top Biden administration officials have even helped craft legislation that could ban TikTok in the United States.But those concerns were pushed aside on Thursday, the night of President Biden’s State of the Union address, when dozens of social media influencers — many of them TikTok stars — were invited to the White House for a watch party.The crowd took selfies in the State Dining Room, drank bubbly with the first lady and waved to Mr. Biden from the White House balcony as he left to deliver his speech to Congress.“Don’t jump, I need you!” Mr. Biden shouted to the young influencers filming from above, in a scene that was captured — naturally — in a TikTok video, which was beamed out to hundreds of thousands of people.Thursday’s party at the White House was an example of Mr. Biden’s political concerns colliding head-on with his national security concerns. Despite growing fears that ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, could infringe on the personal data of Americans or manipulate what they see, the president’s campaign is relying on the app to energize a frustrated bloc of young voters ahead of the 2024 election.“From a national security perspective, the campaign joining TikTok was definitely not a good look — it was condoning the use of a platform that the administration and everyone in D.C. recognizes is a national problem,” said Lindsay Gorman, head of technology and geopolitics at the German Marshall Fund and a former tech adviser for the Biden administration.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      How Did Biden Do at the State of the Union? Readers Weigh In.

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      We asked 10 Times columnists and contributors to watch the State of the Union address on Thursday and rate President Biden’s performance. (A rating of one meant that the night was a disaster, 10 that it was a triumph.) Most were impressed. Some were a bit surprised. “Where has this Joe Biden been hiding these past three years?” Bret Stephens asked. Michelle Goldberg wrote, “What an unexpectedly rousing speech!”We also wanted to know what our readers thought, so we asked you to rate the speech and share what you thought were the best and worst moments. More than 1,000 of you wrote back. Here are a selection of your responses, edited for length and clarity:Rating Biden’s speech10: I found myself clapping alone in my living room and thinking, “Give ’em hell, Joe.” The Republicans needed a smack down. And his staring down the Supreme Court justices while quoting Samuel Alito? Women will show up and vote in record numbers. — Marguerite Dee, 72, Tampa, Fla.6: Was it feisty or angry? While I support most of President Biden’s positions, the delivery came across as an old man yelling at kids to get off his lawn. I wanted more calm and confidence to reinforce he is still up to the job. — Mike Wade, 67, Berlin, Md.10: Biden was spot on. With our reproductive and voting rights at stake, health care and the middle class being threatened with dissolution, what a comfort to see our president at his pugilistic best defending the very essence of America, and leaning forward to consolingly whisper, “I won’t let them.” — Brandi Lynn Ryder, 51, Sonora, Calif.2: He’s out of touch with younger voters like me. We don’t want the A.C.A., we want universal health care. He talks about walls of the past — what about walls he supports today? He kept repeating “history is watching.” He’s not wrong. — Daphna Thier, 36, BrooklynWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      America’s Reaganesque Mom: How to Praise Katie Britt, Even Before She Speaks

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      Talking points from the Alabama senator’s team, helpfully sent out before the State of the Union address, suggested how to extol her delivery of the Republican response.Senator Katie Britt’s team hopes viewers see her response to President Biden’s State of the Union as Reaganesque — but also, very maternal.Before President Biden even arrived at the Capitol on Thursday night, a close ally of the Alabama Republican sent a document of talking points to conservative influencers suggesting words of praise they could offer after Ms. Britt’s speech.“She came off like America’s mom — she gets it,” the document helpfully suggests. “She’s one of us. That’ll be families’ takeaway watching this.”But Ms. Britt also came across like Ronald Reagan, it declared. “The conclusion of her border section was a real ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,’ moment,” another talking point said, referring to Reagan’s historic speech in Berlin.Ms. Britt, who at 42 is the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the Senate, is on Donald J. Trump’s short list of potential running mates, according two people with direct knowledge of the list.The talking points compared her State of the Union response to some of the most famous oratory in American history, calling it “reminiscent of Reagan’s message of that Shining City on a Hill.”Comparing Ms. Britt to Mr. Biden, the document suggested saying that “it wasn’t just the massive age gap/contrast between the two” but that Ms. Britt “exposed a relatability gap — a truly generational schism.”Mr. Biden is 81. Mr. Trump is 77.A spokesman for Ms. Britt did not immediately respond to a request for comment.“His speech was tone deaf,” the talking points declared, before either Mr. Biden or Ms. Britt had uttered a word. “Hers was the perfect pitch.” More

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      La campaña de Biden cambia su estrategia para abordar el tema de la edad

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      Parte del nuevo plan de la Casa Blanca consiste en destacar más los viajes del presidente fuera de Washington y los encuentros individuales con votantes en las redes sociales.Lleva lentes oscuros de aviador y gorras de béisbol. Visita heladerías y asadores y pide reunirse con influentes que puedan difundir imágenes suyas en TikTok e Instagram. Habla más a menudo con los periodistas y responde a preguntas sobre Medio Oriente, los republicanos y, por supuesto, su edad.Nada de esto es una coincidencia. Mientras el presidente Joe Biden se enfrenta a lo que las encuestas muestran como una preocupación significativa por sus 81 años y a unas elecciones muy reñidas contra su virtual oponente, Donald Trump, la estrategia de la Casa Blanca es que salga de su burbuja protectora y afronte directamente las preocupaciones de los votantes.El tema se sobrecargó el mes pasado cuando Biden se defendió airadamente de un informe del fiscal especial que lo describió como un “hombre bienintencionado de edad avanzada con mala memoria”. El presidente se convirtió con rapidez en el chiste favorito de los presentadores de los programas nocturnos de entrevistas, lo que enfureció a sus aliados, quienes reconocen que aunque Biden no puede volver atrás en el tiempo, al menos puede intentar reajustar la imagen que los votantes tienen de él.“Llevo varios meses diciéndole a la campaña: ‘Por favor, déjenlo ser Joe Biden’, y lo mismo han dicho muchos otros”, comentó en una entrevista el senador demócrata por Delaware Chris Coons, aliado cercano del presidente. “No solo es bueno para la campaña. Es bueno para él y es bueno para el país que Joe Biden tenga la oportunidad de bajarse del podio y ser menos el presidente Joe Biden y más Joe”.Con ese fin, se espera que Biden plantee la cuestión de la edad en su beneficio al destacar sus logros legislativos en su discurso sobre el Estado de la Unión del jueves por la noche. El argumento que esgrimirá, según sus ayudantes, es que sus logros como presidente podrían haber pasado desapercibidos para políticos con menos experiencia.Biden bromeó sobre memes en una aparición en el programa de televisión nocturno de Seth Meyers en febrero.Bonnie Cash para The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Should Either of These People Have Sole Authority on Nuclear Weapons?

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      A large majority of Americans say they don’t trust a government run by the opposition party. So we must ask ourselves: Is it moral, just and wise to vest the ability to end other nations in the hands of one person?“As president, I carried no wallet, no money, no driver’s license, no keys in my pockets — only secret codes that were capable of bringing about the annihilation of much of the world as we knew it,” Ronald Reagan wrote in his autobiography.That’s right. President Biden this very minute could unilaterally decide to launch a devastating nuclear strike anywhere in the world in minutes — without a requirement to consult Congress or the courts. The missiles would be in flight before even the most plugged-in Americans knew they’d been launched.This is an enormous amount of power to grant any single person. That’s doubly true in undemocratic nations, several of which have nuclear arsenals of their own.It is time to explore what alternatives to the president’s sole nuclear authority could be, and that’s what my colleague W.J. Hennigan does in the latest installment of our series “At the Brink,” published this morning.Last year, Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Representative Ted Lieu of California introduced legislation that would prevent any American president from launching a first nuclear strike without congressional approval. Passing this bill or one like it is an obvious step.Yet the American public is owed a bigger plan on how countries around the globe can work together to reduce nuclear threats. Today nuclear weapons loom over international politics in ways not seen since the Cold War — a dynamic Times Opinion explored in the first installment of the series earlier this week.The phrase “serious debate” is often tossed around in campaign season. It’s a way to insist on talking about something, even if in a nebulous way. Fortunately, there are chances for a substantive public discussion of nuclear weapons, and we invite the country and the world to join in the conversation. Americans might be surprised to hear what those in other nations think.Times Opinion has invited President Biden and President Trump to explain in our pages what their next administrations would do to reduce these risks. We hope they will do so. We also hope this will be a subject in the upcoming presidential debates. Reporters covering the president and his competitor should press them on their policies and thinking around sole authority and other nuclear policies.Though Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden “will have to confront questions from voters about their mental acuity, competence and stamina to take on another four-year term,” as Hennigan writes today, “regardless of who wins this election or the next one, the American president’s nuclear sole authority is a product of another era, and must be revisited in our new nuclear age.”That should be something that most Americans can agree on. More

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      New Trump Super PAC Ad Attacks Biden Over His Age

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      The ad, which aired on MSNBC on Thursday morning, asks, “Can Biden even survive until 2029?” The super PAC supporting Donald J. Trump for president is airing a blistering television ad before the State of the Union address, mocking President Biden’s halting response to questions about his memory and even questioning his life span, in a preview of the tenor of the general election ahead. The ad, titled “Jugular,” aired on MSNBC on Thursday morning during one of Mr. Biden’s favorite shows, “Morning Joe” in the 6 a.m. hour. It will air nationally through the day and Friday morning on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and Newsmax, according to the super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc. The size of the two-day ad buy was not immediately clear. The spot appeared designed to try to get under Mr. Biden’s skin at a pivotal moment, as he prepares to give the State of the Union and faces low job approval ratings against his predecessor, Mr. Trump. The ad focuses on a topic that Mr. Biden and his allies have shown frustration about — questions over his age. At the age of 81, Mr. Biden is America’s oldest president. Mr. Trump is 77.A Biden campaign spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A report by the special counsel, Robert Hur, who was investigating Mr. Biden’s possession of classified documents at his home after he served as vice president, infuriated the president’s allies with what they called gratuitous descriptions of his difficulty recalling certain events and details. Among them, according to Mr. Hur, was when Mr. Biden’s eldest son, Beau, passed away, a statement Mr. Biden’s allies pushed back on. The ad uses footage of Mr. Biden responding to that report at a White House news conference, during which he at times seemed visibly angry and flustered. The ad says that people understand Mr. Biden’s “weakness” and adds, “Can Biden even survive until 2029?” It then asks, over footage of Vice President Kamala Harris laughing and Mr. Biden falling on the stairs while boarding Air Force One, “Can we?” The tactic of airing ads in order to be seen by a president was used to reach Mr. Trump, particularly when opponents were hoping to force him to react. Among those who used the tactic was the Lincoln Project, the group of anti-Trump Republicans. And Trump has had his own verbal stumbles, including confusing the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with Nikki Haley, his erstwhile primary rival, and calling Mr. Biden “Obama” in recent speeches. But this particular spot focuses on what has been raised by Democrats, some of Mr. Biden’s allies and a number of voters as a concern, as Mr. Trump seeks to set the terms of the general election for voters as one of “strength” versus “weakness.” “Biden is weak, and America is suffering because of it,” said Taylor Budowich, the chief executive of MAGA Inc. “Tonight’s State of the Union will not silence those waiting in the wings from laughing every time Joe Biden stumbles or bumbles.” More

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      Trump domina el Partido Republicano, y eso afecta a todos los estadounidenses

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      Con las victorias de Donald Trump el martes, está cerca de conseguir los 1215 delegados necesarios para ganar la nominación presidencial del Partido Republicano. Lo que queda es una formalidad. El partido se ha convertido en un instrumento para las ambiciones de Trump y, con la salida de Nikki Haley, es casi seguro que será su abanderado por tercera vez.Es una tragedia para el Partido Republicano y para el país al que pretende servir.En una democracia sana, los partidos políticos son organizaciones consagradas a elegir políticos que comparten un conjunto de valores y aspiraciones legislativas. Funcionan como parte de la maquinaria de la política, trabajan con los funcionarios electos y las autoridades para que se celebren las elecciones. Sus integrantes externan sus diferencias al interior del partido para reforzar y afinar sus posturas. En la democracia bipartidista estadounidense, republicanos y demócratas se han alternado periódicamente la Casa Blanca y han compartido el poder en el Congreso, un sistema que se ha mantenido estable por más de un siglo.El Partido Republicano está renunciando a todas esas responsabilidades y, en su lugar, se ha convertido en una organización cuyo objetivo es la elección de una persona a expensas de cualquier otra cosa, incluida la integridad, los principios, la política y el patriotismo. Como individuo, Trump ha demostrado un desdén por la Constitución y el Estado de derecho que hace que no sea apto para ocupar la presidencia. Pero cuando todo un partido político, en particular uno de los dos principales partidos de un país tan poderoso como Estados Unidos, se convierte en una herramienta de esa persona y de sus ideas más peligrosas, el daño afecta a todos.La capacidad de Trump para consolidar el control del Partido Republicano y derrotar con rapidez a sus contrincantes para la nominación se debe en parte al fervor de una base de partidarios que le han dado victorias sustanciales en casi todas las primarias celebradas hasta ahora. Sin embargo, su ventaja más importante tal vez sea que quedan pocos líderes en el Partido Republicano que parezcan dispuestos a defender una visión alternativa del futuro del partido. Quienes siguen oponiéndose a Trump de manera abierta son, en su mayoría, aquellos que han dejado sus cargos. Algunas de esas personas han dicho que temían hablar porque se enfrentaban a amenazas de violencia y represalias.En unas primarias presidenciales tradicionales, la victoria indica un mandato democrático: el el ganador disfruta de la legitimidad popular, conferida por los electores del partido, pero también admite que los rivales derrotados y sus opiniones encontradas tengan espacio en el partido. Trump ya no lo tiene, pues ha utilizado las primarias como una herramienta para purgar la disidencia del partido. Los aspirantes republicanos que salieron de la contienda han tenido que demostrar su lealtad a él o arriesgarse a ser marginados. Su última rival republicana, Haley, es una dirigente con una trayectoria conservadora de décadas y quien formó parte del gabinete de Trump en su primer mandato. Ahora la ha aislado. “Esencialmente es una demócrata”, dijo el expresidente el día antes de su derrota en Carolina del Sur. “Creo que probablemente debería cambiar de partido”.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Fact-Checking Donald Trump’s Super Tuesday Speech

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      After racking up a series of wins that cleared the field, former President Donald J. Trump moved to a general election message. Here’s a fact check.Former President Donald J. Trump moved another step closer to becoming the 2024 Republican nominee for president Tuesday, sweeping up delegates and prompting his last remaining rival, Nikki Haley, to suspend her campaign. The results all but guarantee a November rematch against President Biden.But in his 20-minute victory remarks, which offered a grim view of the United States under his successor, Mr. Trump resorted to a string of false and misleading claims — on immigration, economics, energy and more — some of which were variations on familiar assertions.Here’s a fact check.WHAT WAS SAID“They flew 325,000 migrants — flew ’em in, over the borders, into our country. So that really tells you where they’re coming from, they want open borders.”This is misleading. Mr. Trump appeared to be referring to reports about documents obtained by a group that pushes for restricting immigration. The group reported that the documents showed some 320,000 migrants were flown into the United States in 2023 by receiving authorization by using a mobile app started by Customs and Border Protection.But this is not a secretive effort, contrary to Mr. Trump’s characterization, and the migrants came through programs that authorize their arrival and require them to arrange for their travel on commercial flights.The app in question, CBP One, was introduced last year to require migrants to secure an appointment at a port of entry in order to submit an asylum application. However, the app is also used to support the processing of migrants seeking to enter the United States through other programs, said Michelle Mittelstadt, a spokeswoman for the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More