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Trump Vows To Unite Nation Against Common Enemy Of Other Americans

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Addressing supporters at his latest rally, former President Donald Trump vowed over the weekend to unite the nation against the common enemy of other Americans. “We must come together to defeat the scourge that is our fellow Americans,” said the Republican presidential nominee, who reportedly spoke…

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WASHINGTON-Providing long-awaited insight into the attempted assassin's mental state, a report released Monday found that gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks googled "How to be an enigma" before trying to kill former President Donald Trump. "After reviewing the shooter's browser history, we have discovered several searches for phrases such as 'cultivating mystery' and 'tips for becoming and remaining unknowable,'" said federal investigator Terrance Jepson, noting that Crooks also appeared to have bookmarked WikiHow pages like "10 Steps To Transform Yourself Into An Inscrutable Paradox." "It seems the perpetrator became obsessed with the idea of being a secret to all and took part in discussions on Discord in which he inquired about other people's experiences being a riddle with no solution. Several of his classmates have even come forward to suggest that he appeared to be both someone and no one at all during the time they knew him." Sources went on to confirm that Crooks clearly never found any satisfactory answers to his search queries, as there was hardly anything mysterious about being yet another American who sought instant notoriety and had access to an assault rifle.

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Report: Trump Gunman Googled 'How To Be An Enigma'

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WASHINGTON-Providing long-awaited insight into the attempted assassin's mental state, a report released Monday found that gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks googled "How to be an enigma" before trying to kill former President Donald Trump. "After reviewing the shooter's browser history, we have discovered several searches...

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CAMBRIDGE, MA-In a Harvard CAPS / Harris poll conducted in the wake of the first presidential debate, new data revealed that any alternative Democratic candidate was likely to lose to former President Donald Trump, regardless of whether President Joe Biden was replaced as the nominee with Joe Biden, Joe Biden, or Joe Biden. "In every hypothetical matchup, Trump comes out almost four points ahead of Biden's potential replacements, including current favorite Biden, the rising star Biden, and even a dark horse candidate, like Biden," pollster Jen Gresham said Tuesday, adding that with just a few weeks left before the Democratic National Convention, the party would have to decide soon whether it wanted to stay the course with Joe Biden or risk choosing one of five potential Joe Bidens to replace him. "So far, neither Biden, Biden, nor Biden has publicly stepped up and said he'd be willing to replace Joe Biden. But even if one of them did, and got the full support of Biden, it still wouldn't be enough. At this point, every potential Biden's association with Biden is simply too damaging." Gresham added that given the narrow odds of beating Trump this November, Biden should instead put his energy into finding another Biden to win back the presidency in 2028.

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Poll: Democrats Trail Trump Whether They Replace Biden With Biden, Biden, Or Biden

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CAMBRIDGE, MA-In a Harvard CAPS / Harris poll conducted in the wake of the first presidential debate, new data revealed that any alternative Democratic candidate was likely to lose to former President Donald Trump, regardless of whether President Joe Biden was replaced as the nominee with Joe Biden, Joe Biden, or Joe...

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Week 15: July 23, 2024: Biden Exists Race

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Week 15: July 23, 2024: Biden Exists Race

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What a semester!

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WASHINGTON-In what was widely regarded as a misfire by the 81-year-old as he formally bowed out of the 2024 election, President Joe Biden repeatedly flubbed his exit speech today, saying he would "rule the country with an iron fist for one thousand years." "Tonight, I, Joseph R. Biden, vow to take back my rightful throne atop the nation and continue my violent reign of terror until the end of time," said a visibly shaky Biden, who, despite his best efforts to string together a coherent resignation, let out bloodcurdling screams, held up a human skull, and threatened to swiftly vanquish any American foolish enough to oppose him. "Though I may no longer be the Democratic nominee, I shall instead be the Supreme Leader of the United States of America, and all 340 million Americans will address me as such. Otherwise, I shall burn our nation's cities to the ground and bathe in the ashes. I shall drink the blood of my enemies. And all shall cower before the divine will of Joe Biden! You fools. Ha ha!" At press time, worried-looking aides were shuffling Biden off-camera and telling the press corps that his repeated order to 'Bow down to the Almighty Biden or be doomed to perish' was the result of his struggle with a lifelong stutter.

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'I Will Rule The Country With An Iron Fist For One Thousand Years,' Says President

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RNC, July 18, 2024

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Trump On Accepting Nomination: 'This Is Boring, I'm So Bored'

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The Onion brings you all of the latest news, stories, photos, videos and more from America's finest news source.

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End of RNC, July 18, 2024

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communication of the trump administration during the covid-19 pandemic

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Trump: 'You All Look Really Stupid With Those Things On Your Head'

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The Onion brings you all of the latest news, stories, photos, videos and more from America's finest news source.

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Biden’s 41-year evolution on Supreme Court reform | CNN Politics

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President Joe Biden’s 40-plus year evolution on reforming the Supreme Court appears to be complete.

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MILWAUKEE-Following the chaotic events of the past 48 hours, former President Donald Trump reportedly rewrote his Republican National Convention acceptance speech Monday to remove all mentions of never having been shot in the ear. "My track record of never having gotten shot in the ear was very good, and was unfortunately the centerpiece of my speech for Thursday night," said Trump, who expressed frustration to reporters after admitting he had been forced to completely overhaul his keynote address. "I tried to cut all the mentions of how I've gone my whole life without a bullet making contact with either of my ears, but it didn't really flow after that. Plus, it was too short. About 50% too short. It's a real shame, because it was one of the most brilliant speeches ever about having intact ears." At press time, Trump hinted that the crux of the speech was now about how he thanked God that he turned his head to check out a hot attendee's rack.

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Trump Rewrites RNC Speech To Remove All Mentions Of Never Getting Shot In Ear

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MILWAUKEE-Following the chaotic events of the past 48 hours, former President Donald Trump reportedly rewrote his Republican National Convention acceptance speech Monday to remove all mentions of never having been shot in the ear. "My track record of never having gotten shot in the ear was very good, and was...

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Former President Donald Trump has yet to announce his running mate for the 2024 election and is reportedly still considering several different candidates. The Onion breaks down exactly what Trump is expecting from his next vice president.

At least one credible accusation of sexual misconduct: Trump needs to know his VP is the type of guy who won't take no for an answer.

Severe food allergy: Easier to control a vice president when they know you can kill them by slipping in a few ground peanuts.

Betroth their youngest daughter to Barron: The bloodline must be secured, and a rich dowry must be procured to replenish the family coffers.

Be buried alive with Trump if he dies: By contract, anyone who works for Trump must be entombed with him and all his possessions in order to serve him in the afterlife.

Experience denying things at the statewide level or higher: Ideally five years or more denying and covering up as a governor or senator.

Proficient in hand-to-hand combat and the katana: Trump's enemies are everywhere, and they will stop at nothing to take him down.

Not Eric: First words out of Trump's mouth just in case one of his aides gets any ideas.

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Former President Donald Trump has yet to announce his running mate for the 2024 election and is reportedly still considering several different candidates. The Onion breaks down exactly what Trump is expecting from his next vice president.

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Defiant Trump Calls Shooter A ‘Horse-Faced Slut’

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MILWAUKEE—In fiery remarks made aboard his private jet as he traveled to Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention, a defiant Donald Trump ridiculed his would-be assassin Monday, calling the individual a “horse-faced slut.” “Let me be clear, the shooter was a total fuggo who no one would fuck with a 10-foot…

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WASHINGTON-In response to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend, Congress moved quickly to pass legislation Monday that bans the civilian use of roofs. "As our country continues to reel from this horrific event, we in Congress have taken action by enacting a nationwide ban on all roofs, roof terraces, and balconies," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, explaining that the would-be assassin, who shot at and nearly killed Trump from atop a building 430 feet away, highlighted just how lax U.S. laws had been in addressing the threat of widespread roof access. "As we saw on Saturday, the risks of Americans having roofs is far too great to continue allowing our homes, schools, and other buildings to be covered in any way. In terms of public policy, this would seem to be the best option available to us." Critics of the bill argued that its effectiveness may be limited due to a loophole that would still allow future assassins to fire out of a building's windows.

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WASHINGTON-In response to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend, Congress moved quickly to pass legislation Monday that bans the civilian use of roofs. "As our country continues to reel from this horrific event, we in Congress have taken action by...

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After his disastrous debate performance, President Joe Biden continues to flounder in the polls and faces a growing contingent of Democratic donors and elected officials calling for him to step down. The Onion explores several possible things Biden can do to reinvigorate his struggling campaign.

Only be photographed near much older people: He'll look vigorous when surrounded by shrunken 103-year-olds who barely look human.
Activate the AARP: There are millions of seniors standing by, awaiting word from Biden.
Read monster smut at rallies: If fantasy romance books can save the publishing industry, they can save his campaign.
​Launch all the nukes: You technically can't lose an election if there's no civilization left to hold one.
Win the 200-meter butterfly at the Paris Olympics: Nothing provides a boost in the polls quite like coming home with Olympic gold.
Pardon Hunter: Won't actually help, but he needs to get it done before Inauguration Day.
Form strategic alliances through intermarriage: It worked for the Habsburgs, didn't it?
End his campaign: This would provide him with such a huge surge in his approval rating that he would have no choice but to immediately restart his campaign.

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Things Biden Can Do To Reinvigorate His Campaign

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After his disastrous debate performance, President Joe Biden continues to flounder in the polls and faces a growing contingent of Democratic donors and elected officials calling for him to step down. The Onion explores several possible things Biden can do to reinvigorate his struggling campaign.

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Week 13: And here we thought the Dems had a problem

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Week 13: And here we thought the Dems had a problem

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July 13, 2024, Butler, PA

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73

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Former President Donald Trump was injured and rushed off stage by the U.S. Secret Service on Saturday evening in Butler, Pennsylvania, after shots were fired and may have hit him.

Follow along here on Breitbart News for live breaking updates.
UPDATE 7:14 p.m. ET:

JUST NOW: Gun shots fired at Trump rally in PA. Screams can be heard. People taking cover. Terrifying.

- Meridith McGraw (@meridithmcgraw) July 13, 2024

It appears as though someone is dead. It is unclear if it is the shooter or someone else:

🚨#BREAKING: County prosecutor has confirmed that one person has been killed in a shooting at Trump rally, the former president is safe at a undisclosed location pic.twitter.com/F8ulLdxBzz

- R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 13, 2024

It is unclear if the shooter is dead, but at least one report suggests the shooter might be:
UPDATE 7:12 p.m. ET:

From a source in Pennsylvania law enforcement: The shooter who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been killed by Pennsylvania State Police.

- Mike Crispi (@MikeCrispiNJ) July 13, 2024

UPDATE 7:10 p.m. ET:
U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick, who was in the front row, said it appears as though other people were shot:
UPDATE 7:00 p.m. ET:
We are starting to get a clearer picture of what happened. A closer review of the video-Breitbart News is working on cutting it up clearly and will post here when it's ready-shows that as the sound of gunshots are fired Trump had just turned his head. Then, he grabs his ear before he drops below the podium and Secret Service agents rushed the stage to his side. The Secret Service agents then say "shooter is down" seconds later before they stand Trump up to walk him out. Trump is heard saying something about getting his shoes, and as blood is streaming down his face from his ear Trump can be seen pumping his fist in the air before he is escorted off the stage.
UPDATE 6:49 p.m. ET:
The New York Times reports, "There is blood visible on the left hand bleachers. It appears that a rallygoer might have been hit by a ricocheting bullet."

More from the Trump campaign statement here:

"He is fine." Trump
Campaign statement reassuring he is ok:

"President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act. He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow."

- Lisa Desjardins (@LisaDNews) July 13, 2024

Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. said his father will never stop fighting to save the country:
UPDATE 6:47 p.m. ET:
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, just endorsed Trump and said he's praying for his recovery:

Per the Associated Press, Trump has released a statement saying he is "fine":

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) - Trump says he is 'fine' in statement and says he is being checked at a medical facility

- Meg Kinnard (@MegKinnardAP) July 13, 2024

Trump is apparently being examined at a medical facility.

Also, the U.S. Secret Service issued a statement on the shooting:

An incident occurred the evening of July 13 at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service has implemented protective measures and the former President is safe. This is now an active Secret Service investigation and further information will be released when available.

- Anthony Guglielmi (@SecretSvcSpox) July 13, 2024

UPDATE 6:44 p.m. ET:
A Pennsylvania congressman in the front row says he heard eight to 10 shots, and other people may have been hit:
UPDATE 6:42 p.m. ET:

From Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) who was in the front row at the rally near Trump with Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Pennsylvania GOP Senate Candidate Dave McCormick at the rally.

Meuser says he heard 8-10 shots. Says it appears mulitple people in the crowd may have been hit and were...

- Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 13, 2024

Images and videos of the harrowing scene are streaming in, showing what appears to be blood on Trump's face:

It's unclear if Trump was shot, or if the apparent injuries he suffered happened in some other way. Details at this stage are scant. Trump's current condition is also unclear.

It's also unclear who was doing the shooting and whether they were alone or in a group. There are millions of questions forming right now in this dark moment.

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*** Livewire *** Secret Service Rushes Trump out of Pennsylvania Rally After Shots Fired

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Former President Donald Trump was injured and rushed off stage by the U.S. Secret Service on Saturday evening in Butler, Pennsylvania, after shots were fired and may have hit him. | Politics

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Breaking News: Even Hillary Clinton has more support?

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For Joe Biden, the next few days will be a make or break moment for his campaign. After a bad debate performance, many high-ranking officials and Democratic donors have called for him to bow out, and for another candidate, perhaps Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, or Gavin Newsom, to step up.

But one name being floated around may surprise you. According to a recent survey, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is polling ahead of President Biden, and-

Yoo-hoo! Oh, hello there. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I couldn't help but overhear someone saying the name "Hillary Clinton," and since I'm the one and only Hillary Clinton, I figured I'd pop in and see what all the fuss was about!

So, what's going on? Anything fun? Anything cool? Tell me, what can ol' Hillary Clinton do for you today?

Don't be shy. You see, I love meeting regular, everyday Americans! I was just on my way to a Goldman Sachs conference when I decided to put my ear to this wall and listen to your conversation for five minutes straight. So, what can I do you for, stranger?

Do you want a photo? Do you want to thank me for all I've done for women across the world and to lavish me with praise? Or do you want to tell me I should run for president?

Wait, who said anything about running for president? Certainly not me. Unless you did? Did you? Did you say I should run for president?

Did you say I should run for president? Did you say I should run for president?

Seriously, don't let me interrupt. You were just in the middle of what must have been a very important conversation. Especially if it involved you and the American people finally honoring my God-given right to ascend to the highest office in the United States of America and rule this nation with an iron fist.
This is my fight song (hey)
Take back my life song (hey)
Prove I'm all right song (hey, ha)
My power's turned on (hey)
Starting right now, I'll be strong (hey)
I'll play my fight song (hey)
And I don't really care if nobody else believes (ha)
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me
Anywho! I've got to get going. But if anyone asks, I'm 76 years old, I remember all my grandchildren's names, and I'm totally free for the next four years. If you need me, just close your eyes, say my name three times, and I will appear.

Now, let's Pokémon get me to the White House!

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hillary clinton 2008 presidential primary campaign

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Point/Counterpoint: Hillary Clinton Is Polling Ahead Of Joe Biden vs. Did Somebody Say Hillary Clinton?

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For Joe Biden, the next few days will be a make or break moment for his campaign. After a bad debate performance, many high-ranking officials and Democratic donors have called for him to bow out, and for another candidate, perhaps Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, or Gavin Newsom, to step up.

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Analysis: Biden's political position is rapidly deteriorating as critical news conference looms | CNN Politics

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A staggering 24 hours that cracked the political foundation of Joe Biden's reelection bid leave him facing the most high-pressure presidential news conference in modern history on Thursday.

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Other: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-project-2025-truth-social-rcna160774

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A few weeks ago I received a letter from President Joe Biden that distilled one of the key - and under-discussed - reasons that I believe he's at serious risk of losing in November.

To be clear, this was no personal missive. It was a fundraising pitch signed by Biden and sent out by his presidential campaign, presumably to people who might vote for Democrats in November. In this letter Biden laid out his case to voters for supporting his re-election bid. In paragraph after paragraph over the course of two pages, he sounded the alarms about former President Donald Trump. He warned of Trump's campaign of revenge. He detailed the threats that Trump poses to democracy and the rights and social services that Americans currently enjoy. He called for help in debunking "MAGA lies."

Biden's case against Trump was sound. But something was missing: Joe Biden's case for himself. He allocated just one sentence at the bottom of the first page to discussing his legislative accomplishments. As for his future aims, buried on the second page were three bullet points explaining a handful of things he planned to do if he wins a second term: ban assault weapons; cap insulin costs; and increase taxes on billionaires. The rest of the note returned to talking about the fight against Trump and the importance of mobilizing for November.

Banking on dread of Trump isn't working as an election strategy.

Biden's fundraising letter typifies a broader trend. His campaign relentlessly issues warnings about Trump - and there is much to warn about - but it's thin on what he would do with his own time in office. His inaugural re-election campaign video opened with footage of Jan. 6 and focused overwhelmingly on the menace of Trumpism. His campaign's leading social media account on X is laser focused on dunking on Trump or talking about how dangerous he is. A central theme of his and Vice President Kamala Harris' public commentary is protecting abortion rights from further erosion under Trump. Even though Biden announced his re-election bid over a year ago, up until a few weeks ago, his campaign website didn't even have a policy section ( unlike Trump's). The site's headline argument was the need to support Biden "to keep Trump out of the Oval Office." In recent weeks, Biden's website has added an "issues" section, but it remains anemic. (More on that later.)

Again, preventing another Trump presidency is an essential part of the case for Biden's re-election. But framing the case almost purely in those terms neglects an essential task of any political candidate: clearly communicating an agenda and building a mandate for that agenda. What should Americans expect - and get excited about - when casting their ballot for Biden other than "this guy is not Trump"?

Banking on dread of Trump isn't working as an election strategy. The president has trailed Trump in national polls and in polls of swing states since last year, after Trump promised to be "dictator for a day," after his Hitlerian rhetoric about immigrants and even after he was convicted of 34 felony counts. Polling indicates that for less politically engaged voters, who outnumber highly engaged voters and who lean toward Trump, economic concerns outweigh concerns about democracy.

Since the 2020 Democratic primaries, Biden's central value proposition has been that he serves as the most practical bulwark against Trump and an American slide toward autocracy. But the president's evidence for that premise has become far less clear since he has taken a huge hit in his approval ratings over the course of his tenure. And even before his disastrous debate performance, a majority of voters felt he was too old for the office. If Biden is not a reliable defender against Trump, then what exactly is it that will get voters to see the point of sticking with him?

Just as Biden is out of touch with voters' widespread doubts about his ability to serve another term, he is also out of touch with how to renew their faith in him as someone who can deliver a better future.

This is all the more frustrating because Biden has many accomplishments as president to be proud of and which should, theoretically, shape the public's understanding of him. His first term was surprisingly productive given the narrowness of Democrats' congressional majorities. His aggressive intervention in the economy with the American Rescue Plan was bold and successful, and he passed major bills securing, among other things, badly needed infrastructure, advanced manufacturing jobs at home, major clean energy investment, and lower prescription drug prices for seniors.

But voters have famously short memories. Polling shows that huge swaths of Americans are unaware of Biden's signature policy achievements, and some even credit Trump for passing Biden's infrastructure policy. A New York Times / Siena College poll taken earlier this year showed that more than twice as many voters think Trump's policies helped them personally compared with Biden's. Dispiriting as this may be, it means that Biden cannot rest on his laurels - he needs to set up more big swings and give people positive reasons to vote for him that speaks to their current concerns.

While Biden's execution of his agenda was remarkable, a lot of his motivation to take it on in the first place was due to circumstances that don't exist anymore. Biden's 2020 policy vision was beefed up by that year's primaries, which generated Democrats' most progressive policy debate in decades. Biden presented himself as among the most centrist of the candidates in the race, but after the primaries he adopted more progressive policies in a coordinated show of party unity with former rival Sen. Bernie Sanders. This year the primaries were mostly a formality and Biden was not challenged to show policy ambition. Additionally, Biden took office during the pandemic, and his advisers counseled him to spend aggressively to avoid the mistakes of former President Barack Obama's response to the 2008 financial crisis. He not only had a political imperative to go after big policies, but an economic one - neither of which he had coming into this campaign.

Biden will from time to time discuss policies he favors, but they generally take the form of vague and technocratic incrementalism, rather than a discernible and coherent vision. Americans can intuit that there are threats to their freedom beyond Trump, embedded in the way our political and economic systems operate. Given how badly inflation battered how ordinary Americans experienced and perceived the economy during his term, it is political malpractice not to propose headline-generating and coalition-building policies that will help Americans' feel optimistic about the economy. What happened to Biden's support for a public option, which has the potential to set in motion a revolution in reforming our barbaric and exorbitant health care system? Better yet, why not shoot straight for Medicare for All? What about aggressively lobbying for a higher minimum wage? What universal policy ideas does Biden have on issues like the cost of housing and higher education that can speak to the electorate's desire for sweeping change? If Biden wants to do the right thing, excite progressives and show bold foreign policy vision, he should chart an independent course from Israel and stop subsidizing its brutal military operation in Gaza. What about tapping into widespread disenchantment with an increasingly radical Supreme Court by promising Supreme Court reform?

Biden's struggles in communicating clearly are only exacerbating his agenda problem. At the debate, Biden brought up a great policy - an enhanced child tax credit - multiple times. But he spoke in rushed, incomplete sentences and was often barely audible. He did not explain how it works in simple, clear and attractive language. He did not sell this idea as part of a package of exciting proposals tied to economic freedom, but instead jammed it into a rushed list of policies that are hard for nonpolicy wonks to follow as he scrambled to play defense against Trump.

One can't help but feel that the Biden campaign is sleepwalking. Just as Biden is out of touch with voters' widespread doubts about his ability to serve another term, he is also out of touch with how to renew their faith in him as someone who can deliver a better future. A future worth organizing for, funding and mobilizing to make into a reality. If Biden does not step aside - and he's adamant that he won't - then becoming assertive and ambitious on policy is maybe the only thing he can do to re-engage with a public that's dangerously cool on him. It may not be enough to save him. But Americans deserve a better campaign than, "Hey, at least I'm not a fascist."

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Opinion | I received a letter from the president that sums up why he's at risk of losing

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Joe Biden's age problem is in the news, but it's exacerbated by another huge problem: he has no clear 2024 policy vision to compete with Trump's.

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calls to drop out

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By Derek Hawkins, Hayden Godfrey, Kati Perry, Hannah Dormido, Eric Lau, Mariana Alfaro and Nick Mourtoupalas

Updated July 9, 2024 at 5:03 p.m. |Published July 3, 2024 at 1:13 p.m.

President Biden is confronting doubts from within the Democratic Party about whether he should continue to run for reelection following his faltering performance in the first presidential debate.

Several House Democrats have publicly called for him to exit the race. At least four other Democratic lawmakers said during an off-the-record call Sunday with House leadership that they believe Biden should step aside, according to people familiar with the discussion. One of the four, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), went public with his views on Monday. The Washington Post is tracking which congressional Democrats call on Biden to drop out as the party weighs whether he belongs at the top of the ticket.

Many Democrats have rallied behind Biden, however, even as others have raised concerns about hisfitness as a candidate or ability to defeat Donald Trump. The Post is no longer updating this page with comments from Democrats who have been critical of Biden, focusing instead on those who have explicitly said Biden should not be the nominee.

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Biden has said he has every intention of staying in the race. "The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it's time for it to end," Biden told congressional Democrats in a letter on Monday.

Where congressional Democrats stand

Competitive race in 2024, per Cook Political Report

"For the good of our country, for my two young kids, I'm asking Joe Biden to step aside in the upcoming election and deliver on the promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders," Ryan told the New York Times.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill N.J. 11th

"[B]ecause I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country, I am asking that he declare that he won't run for reelection and will help lead us through a process toward a new nominee."

Rep. Joseph Morelle N.Y. 25th

Four House Democrats said during a leadership call Sunday that President Biden should drop his reelection bid, three people on the call told The Washington Post's Capitol Hill team. Morelle was one of the four Democrats.

Rep. Jerry Nadler N.Y. 12th

Four House Democrats said during a leadership call Sunday that President Biden should drop his reelection bid, three people on the call told The Washington Post's Capitol Hill team. Nadler was one of the four Democrats.

"I think he should step aside. I think it's become clear he's not the best person to carry the Democratic message." Smith went public with his call for Biden to drop out after he and three other Democratic lawmakers told Democratic House leaders in a closed-door meeting that they wanted Biden to step aside.

Rep. Mark Takano Calif. 39th

Four House Democrats said during a leadership call Sunday that President Biden should drop his reelection bid, three people on the call told The Washington Post's Capitol Hill team. A person familiar with the call said Takano was one of the Democrats.

"There is simply too much at stake to risk a second Donald Trump presidency. That's why I respectfully call on President Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee."

Rep. Mike Quigley Ill. 5th

"Mr. President, your legacy is set... The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this."

Rep. Seth Moulton Mass. 6th

"President Biden has done enormous service to our country, but now is the time for him to follow in one of our founding father, George Washington's footsteps and step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump."

Rep. Raúl Grijalva Ariz. 7th

"What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat - and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race," Grijalva told the New York Times. A Grijalva aide confirmed the congressman's view.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett Tex. 37th

"I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so."

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The Democrats calling on Biden to drop out of the 2024 election

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A handful of Democrats have started calling for President Biden to step aside as the party's presidential candidate.

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Trump Challenges Biden to Debate, Golf Match

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Former President Donald Trump challenged President Joe Biden to take part in a debate this week, along with a golf match.

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CAMBRIDGE, MA-In a Harvard CAPS / Harris poll conducted in the wake of the first presidential debate, new data revealed that any alternative Democratic candidate was likely to lose to former President Donald Trump, regardless of whether President Joe Biden was replaced as the nominee with Joe Biden, Joe Biden, or Joe Biden. "In every hypothetical matchup, Trump comes out almost four points ahead of Biden's potential replacements, including current favorite Biden, the rising star Biden, and even a dark horse candidate, like Biden," pollster Jen Gresham said Tuesday, adding that with just a few weeks left before the Democratic National Convention, the party would have to decide soon whether it wanted to stay the course with Joe Biden or risk choosing one of five potential Joe Bidens to replace him. "So far, neither Biden, Biden, nor Biden has publicly stepped up and said he'd be willing to replace Joe Biden. But even if one of them did, and got the full support of Biden, it still wouldn't be enough. At this point, every potential Biden's association with Biden is simply too damaging." Gresham added that given the narrow odds of beating Trump this November, Biden should instead put his energy into finding another Biden to win back the presidency in 2028.

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Poll: Democrats Trail Trump Whether They Replace Biden With Biden, Biden, Or Biden

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CAMBRIDGE, MA-In a Harvard CAPS / Harris poll conducted in the wake of the first presidential debate, new data revealed that any alternative Democratic candidate was likely to lose to former President Donald Trump, regardless of whether President Joe Biden was replaced as the nominee with Joe Biden, Joe Biden, or Joe...

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Guest Host Kathryn Hahn on Calls for Biden to Exit Presidential Race & Her One Woman Star Wars Show

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From the news traffic: Biden is in trouble.

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Biden Team Holds Rapid-Fire Series Of Public Events Featuring President Waving From Very Far Away

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WASHINGTON—In an effort to combat escalating concerns about the commander-in-chief’s fitness for office, the Biden campaign kicked off a rapid-fire series of events Tuesday that featured the president waving from very far away. “President Biden wants to show voters he’s fired up and committed to this fight for the…

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Date: 07/08

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Trump Caught Lying About Project 2025, Biden Insists He's Staying in Race: A Closer Look

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On project 2025:

Replace 30,000 federal employees with Eric Trump: He’ll run the Departments of Energy, Interior, and Labor while the Defense and the Joint Chiefs will be replaced by Tiffany.

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Highlights From The Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project 2025’

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Several high-ranking members of Donald Trump’s former administration recently released a stunning, highly detailed document outlining how they would overhaul the federal government should he be reelected president. The following are the biggest takeaways from the Heritage Foundation’s 922-page political playbook…

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How Biden’s Inner Circle Worked to Keep Signs of Aging Under Wraps - Aides kept a tight rein on the president’s travel plans, news conferences, public appearances and meetings with donors while Biden’s stumbles became increasingly obvious

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The Worst Debate Of All Time | Biden: "Challenge Me At The Convention" | Two Competing Virtues

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Former President Trump's approval rating has surpassed 50%, as the presumptive Republican nominee leads President Biden on voters' top two issues, according to a new poll.

The poll by USA TODAY/Suffolk University was conducted on a sample of 1,000 registered voters between June 28 and 30, after Biden's stalled and stumbling debate performance against Trump sent shock waves through the Democratic Party. It shows 51% of respondents said they approve of Trump's job performance as president from 2017 to 2021, compared to 41% who said they approve of Biden's current job performance.

Regarding two of the top issues of the 2024 campaign, the economy and immigration, more registered voters said they believed Trump would do a better job than Biden.

The poll found 53% of registered voters trust Trump to handle immigration compared to 40% who said the same for Biden.
BIDEN NOTES 'WORLD'S LOOKING TO AMERICA' AS HE FACES SCRUTINY BEFORE HOSTING NATO SUMMIT

Respondents also viewed Trump as more capable than Biden of handling national security, 52% to 42%, and on dealing with China, 51% to 41%.

Biden scored higher than Trump on just two of the six key issues the poll asked about: race relations and healthcare. The poll found 51% of registered voters believed Biden is the better candidate to handle race relations, compared to 41% who said the same for Trump. On healthcare, Biden scored better than Trump, 50% to 40%.

RUBIO POINTS OUT PROBLEM WITH POTENTIAL HARRIS-NEWSOM TICKET AS BIDEN REELS

Trump is leading Biden overall 41% to 38%, a three point jump for the Republican since USA TODAY's previous poll in May, though that's within the bounds of the poll's 3.1% margin of error.

The poll found almost 60% of those who responded believe Trump can "who can get things done," while just 44% said the same about Biden.

The economy/inflation is the most important issue for 35% of registered voters, the poll found. The second most important, at 21%, is threats to democracy. Immigration ranked third at 19%.

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Trump approval rating tops 50% as he leads Biden on voters' top two issues: poll

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A poll found former President Trump's approval rating is above 50%, leading President Biden on economy and immigration, two top issues of the 2024 race.

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Hours after the White House told reporters that President Biden had not had any recent medical exams, the president reportedly contradicted his press secretary by telling governors that he had a recent medical checkup.

When pressed about the president's health during a press briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explicitly told reporters that Biden has not had any medical exams since his last annual physical.

"Has the president had any medical exams since his last annual physical in February?" CNN's Min Jung "MJ" Lee asked.

"And got - and we were able to talk to the - to his doctor about that, and that is a no," Jean-Pierre said.
NEWSOM DOUBLES DOWN ON SUPPORT FOR BIDEN IN MICHIGAN: 'I BELIEVE IN HIS CHARACTER'
Jean-Pierre reiterated that the 81-year-old president had not received any kind of medical exam.

"He hasn't had any kind of medical exam?" Jung said.

"No," Jean-Pierre replied.

Jean-Pierre's comments came just hours before Biden met with Democrat governors at the White House on Wednesday night.

According to the New York Times, told governors that had seen the White House physician to check on the cold his campaign said that he had during the presidential debate against Trump.
FEAR SPREADS AMONG CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS PRIVATELY CALLING FOR BIDEN'S SUCCESSION
Biden also reportedly told governors that he would no longer schedule events after 8 p.m. so he could "get more sleep," the outlet reported.

When questioned about the seemingly contradictory comments, the White House sent the following statement to Fox News Digital:

"Several days later, the President was seen to check on his cold and was recovering well," the White House press office clarified.

The comments come as Biden's closest allies, politicians and the media have raised concerns about the president's age and mental acuity.

With a raspy voice and rambling answers, Biden struggled during portions of last week's presidential debate.

Following the debate, Democrats and liberal media figures appeared to be in a "panic" after Biden's performance.

The optics led to a full-on meltdown in Democrat-friendly media, with journalists at various outlets reporting on dozens of Democratic Party officials who said Biden should consider refusing his party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

Some strategists have suggested the Democratic Party must act quickly to replace Biden before his nomination is made official.

Vice President Harris has been largely ruled out as a potential replacement due to her unpopularity with voters. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have each previously been floated as a potential last-minute replacement.

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Biden seemingly contradicts WH after press secretary says president did not have medical exam after debate

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Biden reportedly told a group of Democrat governors on Wednesday that he saw a medical doctor after last week's debate, contradicting a statement made by the White House.

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Amid growing calls from some Democrats and liberals for President Biden to step aside after his disastrous debate performance last week, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been touted as a possible replacement, raising questions about how she would handle the border crisis.

Whitmer, as a governor of a swing state, has been named as someone who could step into the role of the 2024 presidential nominee for Democrats if Biden were to step down. Previous polling has suggested she would fare the best out of a number of candidates against former President Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Should she receive the nomination and win in November, she would step into a federal leadership role at a time when immigration policy and the ongoing crisis at the southern border are top issues for voters and for the country.
DO THESE POTENTIAL BIDEN REPLACEMENTS HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BEAT TRUMP?

Whitmer has been largely supportive of what President Biden has done in terms of immigration policy. When Biden announced additional restrictions on asylum last month, she issued a glowing statement approving of the move and saying that he is "delivering."

"President Biden's executive action will help secure our country's border by making it easier for immigration officers to remove those who are here unlawfully, reducing the burden on our Border Patrol agents. Today's announcement builds on the president's work to deploy a record number of border agents and officers to the southern border," she said. "The American people want real solutions, and President Biden is delivering today."

Like other Democrats, she also backed Biden's broader calls for a comprehensive immigration bill to fix what the administration has called a "broken" immigration system.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
That plan included sweeping reforms, additional visa pathways, extra funding and a pathway to U.S. citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. It was rejected by Republicans in part due to the inclusion of an amnesty. Whitmer wants it passed.

"President Biden sent Congress a comprehensive immigration reform plan on day 1 and repeatedly requested more border resources from Congress, only to be blocked by Republicans," she said last month. "They should stop playing political games and work with the administration on a coordinated, bipartisan federal solution to fix our broken system."

Like Biden, she has also been deeply critical of former President Trump' s attitudes toward the border. She previously noted that she sent the National Guard to the border during Trump's term in office, and she has blamed him for killing a separate bipartisan Senate deal to provide funding for the border.
HOW WOULD A PRESIDENT NEWSOM HANDLE BORDER, IMMIGRATION POLICY?
"He told the Republicans to walk away, and they did," she said in April.

In the state itself, she has given some indications that she may take a harder line on illegal immigration, certainly tougher than some activists would want.

She has provided multiple National Guard deployments to the border, both during the Trump administration and the Biden administration in support of Texas.

According to her office, she sent 175 personnel between 2020 and 2021, and 37 have been stationed since 2020. She also visited Michigan soldiers at the border in 2022.
BIDEN VOWS TO KEEP WHITE HOUSE, UNDETERRED BY DEMOCRAT PANIC AFTER DEBATE DISASTER
Unlike other potential Democrats, like Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom, she has taken a hard line against illegal immigrants receiving state benefits. In California, illegal immigrants are eligible for state Medicaid. But Whitmer has shown no sign of echoing that approach.

"If you are here illegally, I do not believe that you should have access," Whitmer said in April, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Whitmer has come under fire from some Republicans for a Newcomer Rental Subsidy program, which provides some immigrants up to $500 in rental assistance. However, it is aimed to help asylees, refugees and others who have valid immigration status in the U.S. and explicitly states that those in the country illegally are not eligible for the program.

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How would a President Whitmer handle immigration, border crisis?

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been touted as a possible replacement for President Biden, but what would her policy outlook be at the southern border?

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Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is preparingto force a House vote to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 a day for not complying with a congressional subpoena to turn over audio tapes on President Biden's handling of classified documents.

The move to invoke the rarely-used inherent contempt power could impose a fine for every day Garland does not hand over tapes of Biden's interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur, instead of taking him into custody.

"What I will say is that for a lot of people, this is something that's definitely going to hurt. I don't think that Garland wants to take one for the team, if you will, in regards to continuing to fight, even though he knows that Biden is not cognitively there, so I think that it'll serve two purposes.
ANNA PAULINA LUNA CALLS FOR $10,000 PER DAY FINE ON GARLAND FOR BIDEN-HUR AUDIO TAPE

"One, obviously, there shouldn't be a double standard of justice in this country. We have people in jail for doing what he did, but also two, I do believe that it will force him to produce either the tapes or to step down," the Florida congresswoman told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.

Luna said she plans to bring the issue to a vote on Wednesday and, with Speaker Mike Johnson's support, she expects it to pass.

Bartiromo, following up on Luna's remarks, asked what the tapes contain that could prove to be crucial information for Republicans.

Luna replied, "I think that it's very possible that Biden either forgot who he was or is so bad in the interview that he would have reason for his own Cabinet to basically invoke the 25th Amendment.
DOJ WON'T PROSECUTE AG GARLAND FOR CONTEMPT FOR REFUSAL TO TURN OVER AUDIO FROM BIDEN, HUR INTERVIEW

"What's scary is that there have been people like Garland who have been willing to break the law in trying to protect him [Biden]. So what I would say is for the American people, even Democrats that are concerned about Biden being the nominee, what is on these tapes that they would go to such great lengths to essentially basically protect him?" she continued.

"It is our job, a constitutional obligation that we have to ensure that the American people are being protected. We need to hear the tapes. They're interfering with a congressional investigation."
EX-REP. CHARLIE RANGEL, 94, QUESTIONS WHETHER BIDEN BELONGS IN NURSING HOME, NOT WHITE HOUSE
Luna is expected to declare the measure "privileged" when the House is back in session on Monday. Doing so would force the House to take it up within two legislative days.

House Republicans voted last month to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for his refusal to turn over audio tapes of Hur's interview with Biden on his handling of classified documents. The Justice Department, meanwhile, has refused to prosecute, citing Biden's decision to call executive privilege over the tapes.
Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

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Rep. Luna planning to force vote to hold Garland in inherent contempt for refusal to hand over Biden-Hur tapes

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is preparing to force a House floor vote to invoke the rarely-used inherent contempt power to fine Garland $10,000 for each day he does not hand over the tapes.

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On the SCOTUS decision on presidential immunity. Sad.

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The Supreme Court recently made it more difficult to prosecute Donald Trump in his election interference case, ruling 6-3 along ideological lines to grant him partial immunity from criminal charges. The Onion explores the pros and cons of bolstering Trump's presidential power by making any "core" constitutional act while in office legal.

PRO: Can finally stop pretending we live in a democracy.

CON: Nothing we can print out of fear of retribution.

PRO: Saves a ton on prosecution costs.

CON: One more jaywalker.

PRO: Nice to finally have it in writing.

CON: Encourages him to put personal crimes on company card.

PRO: Country won't last long enough for him to use it very often.

CON: Being president will probably get boring after the fourth or fifth time.

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Pros And Cons Of Granting Trump Presidential Immunity

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The Supreme Court recently made it more difficult to prosecute Donald Trump in his election interference case, ruling 6-3 along ideological lines to grant him partial immunity from criminal charges. The Onion explores the pros and cons of bolstering Trump's presidential power by making any "core" constitutional act...

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Fox News host Sean Hannity calls out the disastrous debate for President Biden on "."

SEAN HANNITY: Democrats, they are in complete panic mode. The media mob, they're pretty hysterical and talk of mutiny inside the Democratic Party is now widespread.

CLOSE BIDEN FRIEND AT NEW YORK TIMES SAYS PRESIDENT MUST DROP OUT, DEBATE MADE HIM 'WEEP'

We are one day removed from the first 2024 presidential debate. It did not go well for Joe Biden. It went very well for Donald Trump. In fact, many analysts, including myself, believe that for Joe Biden, this was the single worst debate performance in American televised presidential debate history.

Now, here's a Politico headline, "Democrats really have no way to spin Biden's disastrous debate" and another quote: "WTF panicked Dems start looking for alternatives to Biden."

...
Tonight, we can officially say the Democrats are in disarray and with just a few weeks until the DNC, well, prepare for some fireworks, but here's one other thing you need to know. It doesn't really matter which Democrat they pick and I'll tell you why. It's because they all think alike for the most part. They're all radicalized.

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SEAN HANNITY: Democrats are in panic mode

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Fox News host Sean Hannity takes a hit at President Biden's CNN Presidential Debate performance on "Hannity."

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Week 12: Biden’s own category “The Biden Coverup”

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Week 12: Biden’s own category “The Biden Coverup”

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PHOENIX-Following this week's landmark Supreme Court ruling granting presidents broad immunity against criminal prosecution for official acts, Donald Trump's campaign released an ad Wednesday that consists solely of a montage of people he will have killed if elected in November. The largely silent ad, which will reportedly air in battleground states across the country, features a sequence of headshots depicting politicians, former Trump White House officials, journalists, and seemingly random average Americans with big red X's over their faces and the caption "These People Will Be Dead The Moment I Take Power." With its images of hundreds of people-including current President Joe Biden, former Attorney General William Barr, former Rep. Liz Cheney, Kim Kardashian, Dale and Linda McPherson of Logansport, IN, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg-the video was being viewed as a political masterstroke that highlights the former president's vision for retributive bloodshed starting on Day 1 of his second term. At press time, Trump's campaign announced that any critics of the ad would be featured in subsequent versions of the television spot.

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New Trump Ad Shows Montage Of People He'll Kill If Elected

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PHOENIX-Following this week's landmark Supreme Court ruling granting presidents broad immunity against criminal prosecution for official acts, Donald Trump's campaign released an ad Wednesday that consists solely of a montage of people he will have killed if elected in November. The largely silent ad, which will...

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Date: 06/21/24

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Biden Takes Lead in Fox News Poll; Trump & Fox Claim Biden Will Be on Drugs at Debate: A Closer Look

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Source: nbc.com

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By

There's been an understandably apocalyptic reaction to Monday's ruling from the Supreme Court. People are, rightly, horrified by the idea the president of the United States can now act with near-total criminal impunity if their behavior can be described as an "official act." It's a notion that cuts against the very fundamental values of this country's history.

But there's something we need to keep in mind as the fight to preserve American democracy takes another dark turn: Those of us who believe in the core tenets of liberal democracy and the American experiment can't prematurely surrender to the worst impulses and machinations of those who want to destroy it. And that means not surrendering to the idea that if Donald Trump is re-elected, it will automatically be the end of democracy as we know it.

Those of us who believe in the core tenets of liberal democracy and the American experiment can't prematurely surrender.

I know that the stakes are extremely high. I have zero illusions about what Tr ump, the right, and the entire Republican Party would do to our democracy given the opportunity. But I also refuse to concede in advance to that worst-case scenario. We are still a constitutional republic. We, the people, still get a say in what we will and will not accept. It is up to us to say what this society looks like and what democracy looks like.

Six zealots on the Supreme Court may say that the president can act with near immunity for any number of corrupt acts, but there is still a rule of law in this country. And we, as Americans, still know right from wrong even in the worst-case scenario.

To invoke the frequently cited example, this decision may very well mean that Trump would have prosecutorial immunity if he ordered SEAL Team Six to assassinate someone - the court's liberals said as much in their dissents. And this conservative majority might agree that's the case, but that does not make such an order legal and certainly does not make it right.

Nearly 150 years ago, The Posse Comitatus Act made it illegal for the president to unilaterally weaponize federal troops to intervene in issues of civilian affairs. The court's ruling doesn't erase that law.

Everyone understands that having SEAL Team Six assassinate a political rival for personal reasons would be murder. We all get that; it would be an illegal order. And we have reason to hope in that situation, the guardrails stay in place.

In 2022, Trump's Secretary of Defense Mark Esper spoke to CBS's "60 Minutes" about how, two years earlier, the then-president wanted to turn the military loose on protesters:

"He's gonna finally give a direct order to deploy paratroopers into the streets of Washington, D.C., and I'm thinking with weapons and bayonets and this would be horrible," Esper said. "He says 'Can't you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something?' And he's suggesting that's what we should do, that we should bring in the troops and shoot the protesters."

We need to reinforce the notion that we answer to the Constitution, not the president.

That didn't happen - not because of any understanding about Trump's potential criminal exposure - but because everyone around him, including Esper, knew it was unlawful and wrong.

When it comes to the many horrifying implications of the Supreme Court's immunity decision, we must work to ensure that Constitutional culture in this country is strong enough to reign in the worst impulses of a potential second Trump a dministration. I know that may sound naive and I know there are many folks out there who will disagree with me. But if Trump wins another term, we need the Mark Espers of the world to refuse to carry out his worst impulses. We need to reinforce the notion that we answer to the Constitution, not the president.

But conceding, in advance, that Trump is now free to end American democracy as a whole is a lot like giving him permission to do it. And I for one refuse to give him that.
This is an adapted excerpt from the July 2 episode of "All in with Chris Hayes"

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Chris Hayes: For the sake of our democracy, we can't prematurely surrender to Donald Trump

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Those of us who believe in the American experiment can't prematurely surrender to the worst impulses of those who want to destroy it.

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Monologue: Biden's Blunder | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

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Guest Host Martin Short on Trump and Biden Debate & Jiminy Glick Interviews Sean Hayes

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Opinion | Who Should Lead the Democratic Ticket? Six Columnists Weigh In.

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Gretchen Whitmer, Kamala Harris, President Biden — who is best positioned to beat Donald Trump in November?

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A Fumbling Performance, and a Panicking Party

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President Biden’s shaky, halting debate performance has Democrats talking about replacing him on the ticket.

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Former President Donald Trump at Manhattan criminal court before his conviction in May for falsifying business records related to a hush money payment. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
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Former presidents are immune from prosecution for official actions taken while in the White House, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday, but do not have immunity for unofficial acts - abroad new definition of presidential power that may stand for generations and will likely mean more months of delay for Donald Trump's pending election-interference trial.

The 6-3 decision along ideological lines appears to rule out one set of allegations in Trump's federal election-interference trial, involving his conversations with Justice Department officials after Joe Biden's 2020 election victory,and signals other parts of the case against him may proceed only after additional lower court rulings.

It seems highly unlikely that the 45th president will go to trial on charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election before voters cast ballots in this year's presidential contest, in which Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said, a president "may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled, at a minimum, to a presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts."
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But Roberts added, the president "enjoys no immunity for his unofficial acts, and not everything the President does is official. The President is not above the law."

The court's three liberal justices forcefully dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor saying the conservative majority "gives former President Trump all the immunity he asked for and more."

The majority "reshapes the institution of the presidency" and "makes a mockery of the principle" that "no man is above the law," wrote Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. "With fear for our democracy, I dissent."

The majority left it up to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine which crimes alleged in the indictment were unofficial acts by the then-president - a formula that seems likely to further narrow the scope of the charges Trump faces and add significant time and further appeals to the case.

Monday's decision "creates more heat than light," said former federal prosecutor Robert Mintz. "Rather than finding either clear immunity or no immunity for alleged criminal conduct, this new standard will unquestionably lead to protracted hearings and further appeals as the lower courts have to now grapple with the question of which allegations in the indictment constitute official acts."

Trump became the first former U.S. president to be convicted of a crime in an unrelated New York case in May. He has tried to push his three remaining criminal trials until after the November election, raising the prospect that if he is reelected, he could press the Justice Department to drop the federal charges against him once he takes office.

The justices' decision to hear Trump's unprecedented immunity claims in the D.C. case - rather than let stand a unanimous appeals court decision that had denied immunity and greenlighted Trump's prosecution - effectively halted all preparations for the federal trial, which originally was set to start March 4.

The justices held oral argument for the case in late April, making it likely that a decision would not come before the final days of the term. The timing was assailed by Trump's critics, who say the American public deserves to know the outcome of the D.C. trial before voting for the next president.

Special counsel Jack Smith has charged Trump with four felonies connected to his alleged plan to stay in power after Biden's 2020 victory: conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct the formal certification of Biden's win in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, obstructing a congressional proceeding, and conspiracy against rights - in this case, the right to vote.

Trump challenged the D.C. indictment, saying former presidents are immune from criminal prosecution, at least for actions related to their official duties, unless first impeached and convicted by Congress.

During oral argument, Trump's lawyer, D. John Sauer, acknowledged that the former president could be prosecuted for private acts while in office - though he argued most of Trump's alleged conduct, including interactions with the Republican National Committee, constituted official acts.

Trump is accused of using false claims of massive voter fraud to pressure state officials, the Justice Department and former vice president Mike Pence to change the election results; scheming with others to submit to Congress slates of phony electors from swing states and to get lawmakers to toss out lawful ballots; and encouraging supporters to gather at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, where a violent mob stopped the certification of Biden's victory for many hours.

The Supreme Court's decision on Monday was emphatic that Trump's discussions with Justice Department officials after the 2020 election, trying to convince them to aggressively pursue his unfounded claims of election fraud, were shielded by presidential immunity.

"Trump is absolutely immune from prosecution for the alleged conduct involving his discussions with Justice Department officials," the court ruled, adding that presidents are allowed to discuss investigations and prosecutions with Justice Department officials.

The high court found the line was less clear when it came to his conversations with then-Vice President Mike Pence, and to what Trump's said publicly in the run-up to the Jan. 6 riot.

Most of a president's public statements "are likely to fall comfortably within the outer perimeter of his official responsibilities," though there may be situations in which the President speaks unofficially, "perhaps as a candidate for office or party leader."
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The opinion also suggested that the indictment may have mischaracterized the overall tenor of Trump's statements before the riot, saying it includes "includes only select Tweets and brief snippets of the speech Trump delivered on the morning of Jan. 6, omitting its full text or context."

Knowing what else the then-president said, or who was involved in posting those statements and organizing the rally, "could be relevant to the classification of each communication," the majority wrote.

There were not many cases from history for the justices to turn to for guidance to resolve the competing claims in Trump v. United States. Forty years ago, in a case involving President Richard M. Nixon, the Supreme Court said the Constitution shields presidents from private civil lawsuits for actions taken as part of their official duties - even those at the "outer perimeter" of their responsibilities.

That decision aimed to ensure the threat of civil litigation did not distract from a president's duties. But it did not address criminal liability.

After the D.C. Circuit ruling, written jointly by judges nominated by presidents of both parties, it took almost two weeks for the Supreme Court to announce in late February that it would review the immunity case. The justices scheduled oral argument for late April, making it unlikely that a decision would come before the final days of the term. The decision to hear the case, and the timing of how the justices did it, was assailed by Trump's critics, who say the American public should know the outcome of the D.C. trial before casting ballots for the next president in November.

When they decided to take the case, the justices rephrased the question they would consider to address "whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office."

At oral argument, many justices seemed interested in how to distinguish between a president's actions that are private and those that are part of official duties - and therefore may be protected by some level of immunity.

More on the Trump Jan. 6 case

The latest: On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that former presidents are immune from prosecution for their official actions taken while in the White House. After the Supreme Court's immunity ruling, here's what happens next in Donald Trump's case with special counsel Jack Smith.

The trial: The Supreme Court's decision likely means that Donald Trump's federal trial can eventually proceed in D.C., but only after additional delay. The March 4 trial date was taken off the calendar andjury selection was postponed indefinitely.

The charges: Trump pleaded not guilty to charges that he plotted to overturn the 2020 election in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Here's a breakdown of the charges against Trump and what they mean, and things that stand out from the Trump indictment.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
The case: The special counsel's office has been investigating whether Trump or those close to him violated the law by interfering with the lawful transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election or with Congress's confirmation of the results on Jan. 6, 2021. It is one of several ongoing investigations involving Trump.

Can Trump still run for president? While it has never been attempted by a candidate from a major party before, Trump is allowed to run for president after being indicted in four criminal cases and following a conviction in one of them. The three other cases are pending.

Live updates: Supreme Court says presidents have 'absolute' immunity for clearly official acts but no immunity for unofficial acts

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Live updates: Supreme Court says presidents have 'absolute' immunity for clearly official acts but no immunity for unofficial acts

Just now

Justices give presidents immunity for official acts, further delaying Trump's trial

25 minutes ago

Justices give presidents immunity for official acts, further delaying Trump's trial

25 minutes ago

Read the full text of Supreme Court's decision on Trump's immunity

1 hour ago

Read the full text of Supreme Court's decision on Trump's immunity

1 hour ago

View 3 more stories

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Justices give presidents immunity for official acts, further delaying Trump's trial

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The justices said unofficial acts have no immunity, sending Donald Trump's Jan. 6 case back to the D.C. judge to decide which alleged acts are official.

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The Supreme Court ruled Monday in Trump v. United States that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office, but not for unofficial acts.

The Court sent the matter back down to a lower court, as the justices did not apply the ruling to whether or not former President Trump is immune from prosecution regarding actions related to efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

SCOTUS WEIGHS MONUMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL FIGHT OVER TRUMP IMMUNITY CLAIM
The question stemmed from Special Counsel Jack Smith's federal election interference case in which he charged former President Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

Those charges stem from Smith's months-long investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and argued he should be immune from prosecution from official acts done as president of the U.S.

JUSTICE ALITO QUESTIONS WHETHER PRESIDENTS WILL HAVE TO FEAR 'BITTER POLITICAL OPPONENT' THROWING THEM IN JAIL
Smith's case against the former president and its trial have been pending amid the high court's consideration of the issue.

The justices heard arguments from Trump attorney John Sauer and Michael Dreeben, a Justice Department attorney representing Special Counsel Jack Smith, on April 25 on whether presidents should have "absolute immunity."

During those arguments, both liberal and conservative justices focused on the broader implications of the question for future presidents but raised sharply different concerns.

Justice Samuel Alito questioned the repercussions of charging a former president.

"Now if an incumbent who loses a very close, hotly contested election knows that a real possible nullity after leaving office is not that the president is going to be able to go off into a peaceful retirement, but that the president may be criminally prosecuted by a bitter political opponent," Alito asked.

"Will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy? And we can look around the world and find countries where we have seen this process, where the loser gets thrown in jail," he said.

Meanwhile, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed by President Biden, asked if the "potential for criminal liability is taken off the table, wouldn't there be a significant risk that future presidents would be emboldened to commit crimes with abandon while they're in office?"
TRUMP ATTORNEY, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLASH ON WHETHER A PRESIDENT WHO 'ORDERED' A 'COUP' COULD BE PROSECUTED
" If someone with those kinds of powers, the most powerful person in the world with the greatest amount of authority, could go into office knowing that there would be no potential full penalty for committing crimes. I'm trying to understand what the disincentive is from turning the Oval Office into, you know, the seat of criminal activity in this country," she said.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh summed up the stakes for the court's decision: "This will have huge implications for the presidency."
TRUMP WARNS THAT IF HE LOSES PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY, SO WILL 'CROOKED' JOE BIDEN
"I'm not talking about the present, so I'm talking about the future," Kavanaugh said.

And Justice Neil Gorsuch stressed during questioning: "We're writing a rule for, yes, for the ages."

As for Alito's question, the former president has repeatedly claimed that he is being prosecuted by his political opponents, warning Americans and voters that all cases against him, in all jurisdictions, are being brought by his opponent - President Biden - and being done in coordination with the White House.

Meanwhile, the ruling comes after a New York jury found Trump guilty on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation.

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Trump immunity case: Supreme Court rules ex-presidents have substantial protection from prosecution

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The Supreme Court weighed in on whether a former president has immunity from prosecution for conduct allegedly involving official acts.

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Having trouble? Click here.

The Biden campaign sent out an email to supporters detailing how they can respond to their friends who are critical of President Biden's debate performance.

"If you're like me, you're getting lots of texts or calls from folks about the state of the race after Thursday," reads the email. "Maybe it was your panicked aunt, your MAGA uncle, or some self-important podcasters. It's a tough position to be in, so I thought it might be helpful to send you a few responses."

The email comes after last week's first presidential debate between Biden and former President Trump, which resulted in widespread criticism of the president's performance.
BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO 'THE VIEW' CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

"This was a game-changing debate in the sense that right now, as we speak, there is a deep, a wide and a very aggressive panic in the Democratic Party. It started minutes into the debate and it continues right now," CNN's John King said shortly after the debate was over. "It involves party strategists, it involves elected officials, it involves fundraisers. And they're having conversations about the president's performance, which they think was dismal, which they think will hurt other people down the party in the ticket, and they're having conversations about what they should do about it."

In the aftermath of Biden's performance, calls for the president to step aside and allow for a different nominee have continued to intensify, including from within his own party.

While the campaign email acknowledges that "the debate started rough," it argued that the real takeaway was that "voters saw what a threat Donald Trump is to the country."

BIDEN'S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING 'EMBARRASSING' DEBATE PERFORMANCE
The email encourages supporters to forcefully push back against those calling on the president to drop out of the race, accusing such critics of being part of the "bedwetting brigade."

"That is the best possible way for Donald Trump to win and us to lose," the email argues. "Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee, period. End of story. Voters voted. He won overwhelmingly."

The email goes on to argue that Biden dropping out "would lead to weeks of chaos," which would include "internal foodfighting" and "a bunch of candidates who limp into a brutal floor fight at the convention."

"All while Donald Trump has time to speak to American voters uncontested," the email continued. "All of that would be in service of a nominee who would go into a general election in the weakest possible position with zero dollars in their bank account. You want a highway to losing? It's that."

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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After Biden's disastrous debate, campaign emails supporters on how to defend him: 'Bedwetting brigade'

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The Biden campaign sent out an email giving supporters tips on how to support President Biden to those who have been critical of last week's debate performance.

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AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Mockery erupted online Monday night after President Joe Biden delivered a primetime address in which his skin appeared orange from a possible spray tan.

The tan likely would have been applied in response to criticism of his poor performance at Thursday's debate, which sparked concerns about his age and cognitive ability.

The president delivered a five-minute speech off a teleprompter in response to the Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity on Monday and refused questions from the press as he left the podium. Commentators interpreted the remarks as little more than performative theater to alleviate concerns about his abilities; his orange appearance, which echoes former President Donald Trump, spurred the most mockery.

Yea they're going to have to drop the "orange man" attack after tonight!

Wow! That's more spray tan than SEC sorority girls during rush week! pic.twitter.com/x0u8xeuXXJ

- Brilyn Hollyhand (@BrilynHollyhand) July 1, 2024

They gave Biden the worst spray tan I've ever seen to try and get us to pretend he doesn't have one foot in the grave.

- kathleen (@kathleenboggs) July 1, 2024

Biden looked terrible and pasty at the debate, so he's CAKED in bronzer tonight.

Who's the orange man now?

- Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) July 1, 2024

😂😂😂

They gave Joe Biden a spray tan to make him look less decrepit for his 5 minute speech! ☀️ pic.twitter.com/QcwUmeFRBh

- Lori Love (@thereallorilove) July 2, 2024

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, , which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on or . "Better than Killers of the Flower Moon," wrote Mark Judge. "You haven't seen a story like this before," wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.

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Joe Biden Mocked for Orange Appearance in Primetime Address

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Mockery erupted online Monday night after President Joe Biden delivered a primetime address in which his skin appeared orange.

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After Biden’s Poor Performance, Could Democrats Replace Him as Nominee? - President’s shaky debate performance prompts concerns about what would happen if he steps aside as the Democrats’ pick

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Former President Donald Trump and current President Biden squared off for the first presidential debate of 2024 on CNN. The Onion 's fact checkers diligently combed through 90 minutes of pure slop to categorize the candidate's statements as true or false.

Trump: "They're killing our citizens at a rate we've never seen before."
FALSE: We do pretty well ourselves, thank you very much.
Trump: "Biden is a very bad Palestinian."
TRUE: Biden is far too old to be Palestinian.
Biden And Trump, In Tandem: "Somewhere in the Plains, the lawless one is born tonight."
FALSE: The Antichrist isn't scheduled to be born until the second presidential debate Sept. 10, 2024.
Trump To Biden: "You ought to be ashamed of yourself."
FALSE: Mental health experts agree that shame is a counterproductive emotion.
Biden: "If I'm elected, I will restore Roe v. Wade."
TRUE: That's why he diligently oversaw its repeal.
Trump: "We have a system that is rigged and disgusting."
TRUE: You're seeing it on full display.
Biden: "Putin is a war criminal."
UNCLEAR: The Onion's fact-checking algorithm has been overrun by Russian propaganda.
Trump: "Joe could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office."
FALSE: President Biden will not live past Dec. 2024.

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Fact Checking The Trump-Biden Debate On CNN

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Former President Donald Trump and current President Biden squared off for the first presidential debate of 2024 on CNN. The Onion's fact checkers diligently combed through 90 minutes of pure slop to categorize the candidate's statements as true or false.

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Week 11 Update: B/T ratio: 12:10. Worse yet.

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Week 11 Update: B/T ratio: 12:10. Worse yet.

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Analysts: Biden Can Negate Debate Performance By Pulling Train With Chain Clenched Between Teeth

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WASHINGTON—In the aftermath of a disastrous night that left Democrats reeling over their candidate for the 2024 election, political analysts confirmed Friday that President Joe Biden could negate his debate performance by pulling a train with a chain clenched between his teeth. “Our post-debate polling indicates that…

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Week 11 Update: B/T ratio: 11:10, but not for a good reason.

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Week 11 Update: B/T ratio: 11:10, but not for a good reason.

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Eye Contact-Avoiding Biden Administration Still Hasn’t Said Word To Each Other Since Last Night

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WASHINGTON—In the wake of what was widely viewed as a disastrous debate performance, eye contact-avoiding members of the Biden administration still haven’t said a word to each other since last night, sources confirmed Friday. According to sources, White House aides and advisors were seen averting their gaze as they…

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Week 11, June 27 - still before the debate

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Week 11, June 27 - still before the debate

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WASHINGTON-With the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle airing tonight, Americans across the country told reporters Thursday that they couldn't believe they were saying this, but they don't want to watch TV. "I know it sounds crazy, but I have absolutely zero urge to turn on my TV tonight," said Ohio resident Tim Putnam, 46, echoing the sentiment of 335 million Americans who acknowledged their sudden revulsion to TV, emphasizing that if it were literally any two other people on screen, they would watch in a heartbeat. "I love TV, don't get me wrong, but the thought of sitting in front of it tonight makes me physically ill. I can't bring myself to do it. Like, I still want to eat, but I don't want to eat and watch TV. This really isn't like me at all. I'm not even sure what I'll do if I'm not watching TV. Maybe I'll read a book? Do I even have one of those?" At press time, the nation realized they could just watch a movie instead.

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Nation Can't Believe That It's Saying This, But It Doesn't Want To Watch TV

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WASHINGTON-With the first presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle airing tonight, Americans across the country told reporters Thursday that they couldn't believe they were saying this, but they don't want to watch TV. "I know it sounds crazy, but I have absolutely zero urge to turn on my TV tonight," said Ohio...

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The First 2024 Presidential Debate By The Numbers

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President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set to face off for the first presidential debate of 2024 in Atlanta, GA. The Onion breaks down the most critical facts and figures of the highly anticipated CNN debate, hosted by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

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Analysis: Biden's disastrous debate pitches his reelection bid into crisis | CNN Politics

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If Joe Biden loses November's election, history will record that it took just 10 minutes to destroy a presidency.

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Democrats called Biden’s performance ‘disaster,’ ‘trainwreck.’ Hear his VP react | CNN Politics

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CNN’s Anderson Cooper talks to Vice President Kamala Harris about President Biden’s performance in CNN’s presidential debate – and how other democrats are reacting.

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Eric Bradner, Daniel Strauss, Steve Contorno, Arit John, Gregory Krieg

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Takeaways from CNN's presidential debate with Biden and Trump | CNN Politics

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Takeaways from CNN's presidential debate with Biden and Trump

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Top 5 moments during Trump-Biden debate showdown: ‘I didn’t have sex with a porn star’

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There were a number of heated moments during the presidential debate on Thursday evening as Biden and Trump took the stage for a rematch.

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Week 11; June 28 - right after the debate (B/T ratio: 8:8)

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Week 11; June 28 - right after the debate (B/T ratio: 8:8)

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Relieved Trump, Biden End Debate After Realizing Neither Of Them Really Wants To Be President

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ATLANTA—Stressing that they wished they had talked about this months ago instead of waiting until now, a relieved Donald Trump and Joe Biden ended the first presidential debate of 2024 Thursday after realizing neither of them really wanted to be president. The two candidates, who had been bitter enemies along the…

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Week 11, June 27 - still before the debate (Biden/Trump ratio: 7:7)

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Week 11, June 27 - still before the debate (Biden/Trump ratio: 7:7)

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No candidate may climb the chain link enclosure for any purpose.

Each candidate can ask moderators for up to three hints to get them through some of the really hard questions.

Pull the trigger once, then pass the revolver.

Tank top straps must be at least three fingers wide.

Any out-of-turn speaking will result a 10-yard penalty and their podium being pushed further offstage.

Do not let RFK Jr. inside no matter how much he swears he just “wants to watch.”

Candidates are permitted up to 30 seconds of continuous blank staring before forfeiting their turn to speak.

Five-slur maximum.

No coherent sentences.

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Before the first presidential debate of 2024, CNN has released a list of rules and regulations that both candidates must follow. The following are the guidelines that President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump must adhere to during their 90 minutes on stage.

No candidate may climb the chain link enclosure for any purpose.

Each candidate can ask moderators for up to three hints to get them through some of the really hard questions.

Pull the trigger once, then pass the revolver.

Tank top straps must be at least three fingers wide.

Any out-of-turn speaking will result a 10-yard penalty and their podium being pushed further offstage.

Do not let RFK Jr. inside no matter how much he swears he just "wants to watch."

Candidates are permitted up to 30 seconds of continuous blank staring before forfeiting their turn to speak.

Five-slur maximum.

No coherent sentences.

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right-wing populism in the united states

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Rules Trump, Biden Must Follow During The First Presidential Debate

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Before the first presidential debate of 2024, CNN has released a list of rules and regulations that both candidates must follow. The following are the guidelines that President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump must adhere to during their 90 minutes on stage.

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Other:

Trump's plans for a second term: Raise prices on everything https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-inflation-higher-prices-proposals-rcna151264

Senate Democrats’ rare edge is also a warning sign to Joe Biden

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/senate-democrats-rare-edge-is-also-a-warning-sign-to-joe-biden-rcna158145

Less engaged voters are leaning toward Trump. That could spell disaster in swing states. https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/biden-trump-polls-swing-voters-2024-rcna157799

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Opinion | Don’t overlook the substance of Thursday’s debate

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It doesn’t matter who wins the debate. It does matter who wins the election.

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Week 11 (June 27-July 3): Post-Debate Week! 

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Week 11 (June 27-July 3): Post-Debate Week! 

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CNN Presidential Debate: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump

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Biden and Trump seek to hold together fraying coalitions in battleground Georgia | CNN Politics

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The headwinds facing President Joe Biden's reelection bid are as apparent in Georgia as any battleground. So, too, are the questions of whether Donald Trump can capitalize on them.

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New Rule: What's the Matter with Grandma? | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

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source: nbc.com

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Donald Trump and Joe Biden debate in 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
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President Biden and his presumptive opponent Donald Trump each amplified the case of a particular undocumented immigrant last week, using vastly divergent language in a preview of the sharp contrast they plan to draw on immigration during their debate Thursday.

At a June 18 rally in Racine, Wis., Trump railed against a man from El Salvador accused of murdering a Maryland mother of five, calling him an "animal." About an hour earlier at the White House, Biden praised "angels" like Javier Quiroz Castro, a nurse who served patients suffering from covid-19 at the height of the pandemic.

"Thank you for what you did to help us get through the pandemic, pal, and for all you're doing for our country," Biden said while announcing a program to make it easier for Castro and other undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens to apply for legal residency.

The dueling speeches reflect the competing approaches the two candidates are taking as they confront a contentious issue that polls show has become increasingly salient for voters. Those strategies are likely to be on display Thursday, as Trump seizes on a subject that was central to his political rise while Biden argues that Trump is torpedoing actual solutions to preserve a political issue.

As Trump repeatedly cites instances of what he has branded "Biden migrant crime," Biden is aiming to train Americans' focus away from the surge of migration at the southern border during his presidency. After issuing new asylum restrictions this month that could shut down much of the border, Biden's latest move seeks to highlight a more sympathetic group - undocumented residents who have been in the country for years, working and becoming part of their communities.

Both men are planning to go on the attack on the issue during Thursday's debate, aides say. With immigration emerging as one of Biden's biggest political liabilities, according to polls, his ability to parry Trump's expected onslaught and make a case for his policies could prove especially challenging.

"Trump and Republicans obviously are not worrying about walking any fine lines on immigration. They have put all their chips on the table in favor of attacking immigrants as criminals, terrorists and economic threats," said Dan Tichenor, a professor at the University of Oregon who has written about the politics of immigration. "The debate is almost certain to highlight a familiar contrast - Trump assailing immigrant threats and border chaos, and Biden asserting that his opponents are making a false choice between border security and welcoming immigrants."

The debate could also offer Trump an opportunity to clarify his position on legal immigration after saying last week he supported giving green cards to every foreign student who graduates from a U.S. college. The remark, made during an interview with the "All-In" podcast, drew criticism from some Trump supporters who saw it as a major departure from his broader anti-immigration platform.

Still, the shift in Americans' views on the border during Biden's presidency suggests he may have the harder task in convincing voters that his approach is sound. While Trump's tenure was marked by traumatic scenes of migrant families being separated and pitched political battles over his proposed border wall, recent polls suggest Americans have come to see his restrictive approach to immigration more favorably.

A YouGov poll conducted for the Economist earlier this month, for example, found that 62 percent of Americans disapproved of Biden's handling of immigration, with only 29 percent approving.

Voters prefer Trump to Biden on handling immigration by a 2-to-1 margin (52 percent to 26 percent), according to a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll of voters in six swing states. That poll also found 58 percent of voters saying undocumented immigrations in the United States should be offered a chance to apply for legal status while 42 percent said they should be deported to the countries they came from.

Biden, after recent movements that courted - and angered - each side, is bracing for tough questions at the debate, according to aides and advisers, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the event.

This is not a new challenge for the president. Biden took office promising a more humane approach after Trump's harsh policies, but a record surge of migrants at the border has provided fodder for Trump to attack his rival on a matter that has long been central to the former president's "Make America Great Again" pitch.

Of late, Biden has sought to take a tougher line on border security, saying that the "goodwill of the American people is wearing thin right now." He backed a bipartisan bill several months ago that would have effectively shut down the border if illegal crossings surpassed 5,000 a day.

But Republicans, encouraged by Trump, blocked that bill, some saying they wanted to prevent Biden from neutralizing the volatile political issue. In response, Biden recently issued an executive order to block migrants' access to the U.S. asylum system when illegal border crossings exceed 2,500 a day.

"We must face a simple truth: To protect America as a land that welcomes immigrants, we must first secure the border and secure it now," Biden said on June 4 as he announced the new restrictions.

While liberals and immigration advocates slammed the order as caving to Trump's anti-immigrant approach, the president's aides said he had little choice but to address an issue that is causing increasing anxiety among voters.

Aides suggest Biden will go into the debate ready to aggressively spar with Trump on immigration. He has accused the former president of playing politics on the issue, seeking to exploit the divisive problem rather than solve it. At the same time, Biden has cast other White House actions - including the move last week to protect more than 500,000 undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens - as pragmatic, effective and humane.

"There's a huge opportunity here to take control of the immigration narrative," said Matt A. Barreto, a pollster for the Biden campaign focusing on Latinos. "Biden can now say, 'You have done nothing except say crazy things. I'm the one taking action. I've secured the border, decreased migrant crossings, and now I'm providing relief so we can keep families together.'"

Specifically, Biden plans to draw a contrast between his recent executive action and Trump's policy of separating migrant children from their parents, according to advisers.

Republicans predict such arguments are unlikely to sway voters, who trust Trump far more on immigration, and even many Democrats say the most Biden can hope for is to modestly blunt his opponent's advantage. Even as migrant crossings have declined in recent weeks, Trump has increased his focus on the issue, zeroing in on specific cases of violent crimes allegedly committed by men who crossed the border during Biden's presidency.

At rallies and in social media posts, Trump has telegraphed the kind of attacks he plans to launch Thursday.

"We have a new Biden Migrant Killing - It's only going to get worse, and it's all Crooked Joe Biden's fault," Trump wrote last week on his Truth Social website, posting a news report about two Venezuelan migrants charged with killing a 12-year-old girl in Houston. "I look forward to seeing him at the Fake Debate on Thursday. Let him explain why he has allowed MILLIONS of people to come into our Country illegally!"

Trump's focus on such individual cases comes at a time when violent crime overall has been declining, and Biden has pointed to data showing immigrants are less likely to break the law than native-born citizens. But those statistics have not shielded the president from voter angst over his immigration policies, something Trump aides say the former president will seize on when the two men share a stage.

"In every poll, Americans trust President Trump over Joe Biden on immigration, and the majority of Americans support President Trump's plans for mass deportations," Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that also blasted Biden for the national security risks and economic costs ostensibly associated with record border crossings.

"Americans are tired of being put last - and President Trump will put our citizens first again by taking day one action to shut down the southern border and deport Biden's illegal aliens," she said.

Aides to Biden say Trump's rhetoric on immigration often veers into extremism and that Thursday's debate will allow Americans to see firsthand the former president's embrace of racist ideas, turning off Latinos and moderates. Biden has used his platform lately to quote Trump's most incendiary comments about foreigners.

Trump has claimed immigrants are " poisoning the blood" of America, falsely accused Biden of facilitating a "holocaust" of missing migrant children and tarred broad groups of immigrants with dehumanizing language.

During a speech to Christian conservatives on Saturday, Trump suggested that "a migrant league of fighters" could be created in which immigrants would be pitted against each other for entertainment.

Biden should not shy away from confronting Trump about such language, said Maria Cardona, a Democraticstrategist. "There is a huge, huge pitfall for Trump in going full-bore xenophobia on this," she said.

Biden's allies also hope Thursday's format will highlight Trump's positions on immigration and repel moderate voters.

There will be no studio audience at the debate, and microphones for each candidate will be shut off when they do not have the floor. Without the vocal response of an applauding crowd or the ability to interrupt his rival, Trump could have a difficult time selling his arguments about migrant crime and mass deportations, said Barreto.

"Trump is going to have to convince Americans that the immigrants they know are murderers and killers and rapists," he said. "And outside of maybe a quarter of his base, the rest of the American public does not believe that."
Emily Guskin contributed to this report.

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'Angels' and an 'animal': Biden, Trump spar on immigration ahead of debate

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The presidential candidates prepare to attack each other Thursday over what has emerged as a powerful issue for voters.

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Fox News Poll Puts Biden Ahead | The Meme Debate Looms | RFK Jr. Is A Bird Guy

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Trump and Biden Gear Up to Debate, Louisiana Puts Ten Commandments in Schools & Santos on OnlyFans

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The vastly different approaches taken by President Biden and former President Trump in prepping for Thursday's presidential debate have continued to diverge, with the former hoping he can "trigger" the latter in the heat of the moment, and the latter relying heavily on his campaign experience, multiple reports show.

Biden has spent the last five days at Camp David in rural Maryland huddling with at least 16 current and former aides, according to The New York Times, while Trump, who spoke with Fox News over the weekend, has held "policy discussions" with allies to prep for what is expected to be an epic clash on the debate stage in CNN's Atlanta studios.

An old movie theater and airplane hangar have been outfitted as a mock debate stage, where Biden, despite having varying hours and a non-rigid schedule, is preparing to go on the offensive against Trump on issues like immigration and abortion, as well as push back on claims - appearing to be supported by various videos - that he is confused and frail," The Times reported.
HOW TO WATCH THE CNN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE SIMULCAST ON THE FOX NEWS CHANNEL

Biden's mock debates have included his personal attorney, Bob Bauer, playing the role of Trump, the report said, while the team helping prepare him is being led by former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, and includes National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, current White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, White House counselor Steve Richetti, as well as campaign officials Anita Dunn, Mike Donilon, Ben LaBolt, Jen O'Malley Dillon, Cedric Richmond, Julie Chavez Rodriquez, Quentin Fulks, Michael Tyler and Rob Flaherty.

Former White House official Brian Deese is also expected to assist, according to the report.

Three sources familiar with the debate prep told NBC News that Biden advisors are studying the former president's recent comments to see what topics might get under his skin most - all an effort to throw off what appears to be a more disciplined Trump as of late.
INSIDERS REVEAL HOW BIDEN, TRUMP ARE PREPPING FOR THE 1ST 2024 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

One source told the outlet the goal is to get "rally Trump" to come out, with another specifically pointing to Biden possibly attacking the former president's 2020 election loss and subsequent actions that led to the Jan. 6 protest as a way to anger him by making him feel he's being called a "loser."

Those sources told NBC they believe attacking Trump's post-2020 election actions could help boost Biden with independent voters who might be turned off by continued claims he actually won the election.

One Biden campaign official told the outlet the president has to walk a "fine line" because they want him to be seen as the "adult in the room." The official also said Biden didn't need to "goad" Trump into anything because the two men's contrasting visions for the country would be clear enough without that.
FAITH VOTERS WILL 'DECIDE THIS ELECTION,' ACCORDING TO PROMINENT GOP MEMBERS

Trump hit the campaign trail for a rally at Temple University in Philadelphia and the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority conference in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. Fox spoke with him during his Philadelphia stop, where he described the "best strategy" as being around people who scream questions at him.

Trump jokingly asked the crowd during his rally what his approach should be on the debate stage.

"How should I handle him? Should I be tough and nasty, and just say, 'you're the worst president in history.' Or should I be nice and calm and let him speak?" he asked.

Trump later told Fox he isn't worried about Biden's debate preparations and feels confident in his own ability.

"Well, I think if he prepares, he'll be fine. Then he will forget it within about an hour after preparing. So, we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens," Trump said.

The Fox News Channel will be airing the CNN Presidential Debate Simulcast at 9:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 27.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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Biden debate prep focused on ways to 'trigger' Trump as former president relies on campaigning: reports

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President Biden's debate prep is focusing on ways he can "trigger" former President Trump during the first presidential debate, while the latter is leaning on his campaign experience.

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Opinion | Hillary Clinton: I’ve Debated Trump and Biden. Here’s What I’m Watching For.

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Going head-to-head with the former president is like juggling nonsense, blather and bluster.

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From March 2024

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Secret Service Finds Biden Attempting To Dig Own Grave On White House Lawn

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The Onion brings you all of the latest news, stories, photos, videos and more from America’s finest news source.

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Debate Week

Biden Campaign Launches Media Blitz While Joe Hides Out at Camp David

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Drew ANGERER / AFP via Getty

Get ready to see and hear more about President Joe Biden in the countdown to the first presidential debate of 2024 on Thursday. Much, much more.

The octogenarian and his Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump, will meet in the 90-minute showdown and the Biden-Harris camp sent out a memo Sunday detailing events and mass advertising voters can expect from the campaign in the days ahead, the Hill reports.

"Now, with the debate just days away, Team Biden-Harris is putting a magnifying glass on the choice this week as Democrats in Atlanta and across the country organize around this moment," Michael Tyler, communications director for the campaign, said in the memo.

To that end, the campaign is reportedly planning more than 1,600 events, including community gatherings, trainings and canvassing, across battleground states this week, according to the memo.

Democrats will also host more than 300 debate watch parties Thursday night.

That's when Joe's at his best-angry and yelling. https://t.co/yjPmRUpay6

- Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 22, 2024

Team Biden-Harris is now in the process of rolling out new television, digital and radio advertisements leading up to the debate. The ads are "focusing on the threat that Trump poses to reproductive care, to an economy that works for the middle class, and to our democracy," according to the memo as seen by the Hill.

The Biden team attempt to go on the front foot with prepackaged advertising and media promotions stands in stark contrast to the man himself as he seeks a return to the White House.

By Thursday Biden will have spent an entire week locked away at Camp David in Maryland as his team seeks to prepare him to face Trump, as Breitbart News reported.

The debate will be hosted by CNN in Atlanta, and moderated by the network's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.

It will start at 9 p.m. and will be 90 minutes long. There will be no live audience present for the duration.

Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com

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Biden Campaign Launches Media Blitz Ahead of Trump Debate

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Get ready to see and hear more about President Joe Biden in the countdown to the first presidential debate of 2024 on Thursday. Much, much more.

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We Rewatched the 2020 Trump-Biden Debates. Here’s What We Learned. - The candidates might have the same habits as they did in their earlier matchups, though some of the issues have changed significantly

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CNN debate stage set with Trump and Biden going head-to-head | CNN Politics

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President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set for a historic showdown, with the stage now set for CNN's June 27 presidential debate.

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New Trump Tell-All Details Unhinged Behavior & Fox News Making Excuses in Case Biden Wins Debate

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Other:

This anti-immigrant ballot measure would likely deliver Arizona to Joe Biden

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/arizona-gop-keeps-pushing-latino-voters-biden-rcna152656

Trump went to Washington Thursday. He met with a bunch of cowards.

https://msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-returns-washington-capitol-hill-rcna157050

Trump must be counting on 'cool' to win out over credibility with endorsements like Jake and Logan Paul's

https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-jake-paul-logan-paul-endorsement-rcna157023

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A recent CBS/YouGov poll on how well Republican voters understand the stakes of Donald Trump's campaign for the White House included an interesting, albeit alarming, statistic. Only 35% of Republicans polled, as noted by The Washington Post's Aaron Blake, say they know that Trump has been indicted for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Almost the same number - 34% - don't think he's been indicted for his attempts to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

As readers here undoubtedly know, special counsel Jack Smith has, in fact, charged Trump with multiple counts of conspiring to defraud the government and hold onto power. "The purpose of the conspiracy was to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election by using knowingly false claims of election fraud to obstruct the government function by which those results are collected, counted and certified," the indictment charges.

Those charges are on hold pending a Supreme Court decision on Trump's claims of presidential immunity. But for a majority of Republican voters, those charges simply do not exist.

Welcome, once again to Trump's fact-free alternate reality universe, in which Trump is relying on disinformation, ignorance, and voter amnesia to propel himself back to the Oval Office.

On the stump Trump freely rewrites history, peddles bizarre conspiracy theories, and aggressively memory-holes the darker parts of his record.

Thus far, it has been working for him.

Last year, nearly 70% of GOP voters thought Biden's 2020 win was illegitimate, according to a CNN poll - despite voluminous evidence to the contrary.

A recent poll from Marquette Law School found that half of Republicans don't believe Trump had any classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, despite photographic evidence of their presence. Without evidence, Trump has also convinced an overwhelming majority of his supporters - 80% - that the charges in the New York hush money case came at the direction of the Biden administration, rather than solely by New York prosecutors. There is, of course, no basis in fact for that claim. Even one of Trump's high-profile former attorneys, Joe Tacopina, has dismissed the allegation as nonsense.

"Joe Biden or anyone from his Justice Department has absolutely zero to do with the Manhattan district attorney office," Tacopina told MSNBC. "We know that's not the case, and even Trump's lawyers know that's not the case," he said. "People who say that - it's scary that they really don't know the law or what they're talking about."

But, as Tacopina surely knows, this is precisely the message that Trump is pushing. And it is working, fueling Republican calls for retribution and payback ifTrump returns to power.

Trump is also relying on GOP voters believing his revisionist history of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. At a recent Nevada rally, he called rioters who attacked the Capitol "warriors" who had been treated "horrifically." Trump has repeatedly suggested he would issue sweeping pardons for the attackers. Increasingly, he has embraced conspiracy theories suggesting that government agents may have incited rioters to enter the Capitol building that day.

"All they were doing is protesting a rigged election," Trump told supporters in Nevada. "That's what they were doing. And then the police say: Go in! Go in! Go in!"

Trump also referred to several other conspiracy theories that have flourished in the right-wing fever swamps.

"How about scaffold Joe, the guy on the scaffold?" Trump asked at one point. "Or how about the big FBI guy or wherever he comes from: 'Go on in, everybody! Go on in! What a set up that was! What a horrible, horrible thing!"

All of those rumors, theories, and allegations have been repeatedly debunked, but that has made no difference to Trump or, apparently, to the MAGA base. Last December, a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll f ound Republicans more sympathetic to the rioters than ever. Only 18% of Republicans say the Jan. 6 protesters were "mostly violent," while 72% of Republicans polled said that "too much is being made of the storming" of the Capitol. Only 24% thought it was an "attack on democracy that should never be forgotten."

Those numbers are consistent with Trump's success in convincing Republicans of the big lie. Polls consistently show that most Republican voters do not believe that Biden was legitimately elected in 2020. Last year, nearly 70% of GOP voters thought Biden's 2020 win was illegitimate, according to a CNN poll - despite voluminous evidence to the contrary.

Trump has especially benefitted from this widespread amnesia about his actual record when it comes to younger voters. A recent poll of voters ages 18-30 found that many of them simply don't know what Trump has said or done in the past.

A poll by the Democratic-aligned public opinion research group Blueprint found that less than half of registered voters under 30 had even heard of Trump's call for a Muslim ban, his "very fine people on both sides" comments relating to neo-Nazis in Charlottesville in 2017, or his insistence that John McCain "is not a war hero" because he was a prisoner of war. Similarly, most young voters have never heard of Trump's more egregious comments about women, minorities or his denigration of immigrant communities.

"It might shock those of us who eat, sleep, and breathe politics, but young voters really don't remember the daily controversies of the Trump years and grew up understanding this kind of rhetoric as politics as usual," Blueprint pollster Evan Roth Smith said.

In one sense, this voter ignorance is a kind of superpower for Trump. But it is also a potential weakness, especially because he is relying heavily on "disengaged voters" for his current political strength. A recent New York Times analysis found thatTrump's narrow polling lead "is built on gains among voters who aren't paying close attention to politics, who don't follow traditional news and who don't regularly vote."

But what happens when the disengaged voters become engaged or when tuned-out voters start to pay attention? What happens when younger voters are told that Trump once said that two non-white congresswomen should "go back" to the "totally broken in crime infested places from which they came"? Or that in 2017, he said Haitian immigrants to the United States "all have AIDS" and that Nigerians would never "go back to their huts" after seeing the United States. The Blueprint poll found that huge majorities of young voters are actually bothered by the comments when they learned of them.

And what happens when voters get more details about Trump's crimes, or are reminded of what and who he is? What happens when the memory holes are filled?

This is a potential opportunity not just for the Biden campaign, but also for the media. If Biden's camp plays its cards right, Trump may find out that a campaign that relies on ignorance and amnesia is far more fragile than it looks now.

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Opinion | Trump's reliance on his base's collective amnesia could go awry

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At campaign rallies, Trump relies on GOP voters believing his revisionist history of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. It's fueling Republican calls for retribution and payback if Trump returns to power.

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The First Presidential Debate: June 27, 2024

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24 Things You Don't Know About Hunter Biden | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

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Fox News host Sean Hannity reacts to President Biden's DACA address on "."

SEAN HANNITY: Joe has handedly decided to give more than 500,000 illegal immigrants amnesty. They broke our laws. They didn't respect our borders or our sovereignty. They cut in line and now Biden is giving them a fast track to citizenship.

...

JOY BEHAR WORRIES TRUMP COULD GET 'THE VIEW' AND RACHEL MADDOW'S MSNBC SHOW TAKEN OFF THE AIR

Now, despite the chaos and the violence in the polls, Joe Biden refuses to secure our borders. He doesn't even try. Early this morning, our very own Bill Melugin witnessed yet another mass crossing of people from all over the world, including our top geopolitical foe, China.

Melugin reporting that he hasn't seen the National Guard at California's border with Mexico in months. Now, thanks to Biden, our borders have basically dissolved. The country is now in a free-for-all.

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SEAN HANNITY: Thanks to Biden, our borders have basically dissolved

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Fox News host Sean Hannity says the United States is now in a free-for-all due to President Biden's open borders.

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17.06.2024

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A Birthday To Ignore | Donald vs. Milwaukee | CEOs Worry About Trump's Brain

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Date: 6/17/2024

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Trump Glitches, Gets Ronny Jackson’s Name Wrong While Bragging About Cognitive Test: A Closer Look

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Border

President Biden is set to announce new rules that would protect the migrant spouses of U.S. citizens from deportation.

The president is set to announce Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security will implement a new policy to allow some migrants to apply for lawful permanent resident status, including the non-citizen spouses and children of lawful U.S. permanent residents or citizens, Fox News Digital has learned.

The White House expects the policy to offer protection to about half a million American families, which would include roughly 50,000 under the age of 21 who are married to or children of a U.S. citizen.
FBI DIRECTOR WRAY WARNED OF TERROR THREAT POSED BY OPEN BORDER DAYS BEFORE 8 ISIS SUSPECTS ARRESTED ACROSS US

A White House fact sheet provided to Fox News Digital on the plan lays out the eligibility requirements for the new rules, including that spouses of Americans must have resided in the U.S. for 10 years or more and be legally married to a U.S. citizen while satisfying other immigration requirements. Those who are approved under the program will be able to apply for permanent U.S. residency after a three-year period while also being eligible for work authorization in the U.S. for up to three years.

The president's new rules will also ease the visa process for U.S. college graduates, including recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), to stay in the U.S. if they received a degree from a U.S. educational institution and have an offer of employment from a U.S.-based company.

FORMER ASSISTANT FBI DIRECTOR WARNS AGAINST 'HUGE VULNERABILITY' ASSOCIATED WITH BORDER SURGE
Asked if the new polices apply to those who have entered the U.S. illegally, a White House spokesperson said the rules apply to "individuals who are, eligible under existing U.S law to, be able to adjust their status.

"What we are announcing are essentially streamlined processes," the spokesperson said, adding that the administration was attempting to create a "streamlined processes" that would "ensure some predictability" for those that are eligible for permanent resident status.

Biden will also continue to respond to the current crisis at the border, where the administration plans to "surge resources" and work with international partners to reduce the flow of arrivals into the United States, the White House said.

The White House also made clear that migrants who pose a threat to national security or public safety will not be eligible for protection under the new rules, noting that DHS will remove such individuals or refer them to other agencies for further vetting.

"President Biden believes that securing the border is essential," a White House spokesperson said of the pending announcement. "He also belies in expanding lawful pathways and keeping families together, and that immigrants who have been in the United States for decades, paying taxes and contributing to their communities, are part of the social fabric of our country."

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Biden to announce sweeping protections for migrant spouses of US citizens

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President Biden is set to announce sweeping new rules that will protect the immigration status of hundreds of thousands of family members of current U.S. citizens.

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Week 9 : On RNC's announcement of "Checking" the Elections for Illegal Votes

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Week 9 : On RNC's announcement of "Checking" the Elections for Illegal Votes

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WASHINGTON-Following pressure for transparency around what or who could be behind there, U.S. Curtain Master General George Weintraub warned Friday of the increasing number of creeps behind drapes. "We recommend you protect yourself and your family by being on the lookout for vaguely human-shaped silhouettes or lumps that were not there before, and by bending down to check for shoes peeping out at the bottom that the curtains weren't quite long enough to conceal," said Weintraub, who urged the public to report any strangers they discovered lurking behind their window hangings online at CurtainMaster.gov or in-person at any Department of the Sitting Room office. "They could be perverts, they could be freaks, they could be deranged madmen waiting for you to fall asleep so they can then strangle you. Regardless, I am using my power as Curtain Master General to inform you that they don't belong there." At press time, Weintraub added that anyone who encountered suspicious lumps behind their drapery should whip back the curtains and yell, "Ah-ha!"

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U.S. Curtain Master General Warns Of Increasing Number Of Creeps Behind Drapes

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WASHINGTON-Following pressure for transparency around what or who could be behind there, U.S. Curtain Master General George Weintraub warned Friday of the increasing number of creeps behind drapes. "We recommend you protect yourself and your family by being on the lookout for vaguely human-shaped silhouettes or lumps...

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President Biden arrives onstage with former president Barack Obama during a campaign fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
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The Biden campaign released a new ad Monday that directly attacks former president Donald Trump for his 34 felony convictions in New York and earlier verdicts by civil juries that found he committed sexual assault and business fraud.

"In the courtroom we see Donald Trump for who he is," the voice-over in the ad begins, before recounting Trump's recent legal setbacks over a series of black-and-white photos. The ad then displays Trump's Georgia mug shot taken following his indictment for alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

"This election is between a convicted criminal who is only out for himself and a president who is fighting for your family," the ad concludes, after describing efforts by Biden to lower health care costs and taking on corporate power.

Biden's campaign also announced plans Monday to spend $50 million on advertising in June, including more than $1 million targeting non-White voters. Those include spots targeting Asian American voters on health care issues, an ad that seeks to demonstrate Biden's empathy for voters struggling with higher prices and a radio ad targeting Black voters with descriptions of Biden's accomplishments. The Trump campaign has yet to run a general election ad on television, as it seeks to catch up in fundraising.

Trump was convicted last month of 34 felonies related to an effort to conceal payments to an adult-film star to cover up an alleged extramarital affair. A New York jury found in 2023 that Trump had sexually abused and defamed a woman who said he assaulted her in a department store in the mid-1990s. A New York judge fined Trump in February after finding in a second civil trial that he engaged in business fraud to borrow money at lower rates.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in all of those cases, and still faces trials in three other criminal cases related to his handling of classified records and his efforts to disrupt the transfer of power after the 2020 election.

The latest ad, called " Character Matters," builds upon an argument that the Biden campaign began making in May. The president and his campaign have argued that Trump has changed since he first won the nomination in 2016 and was more focused on serving himself than the American people. "Something snapped" Biden has begun saying at campaign events, arguing that Trump's refusal to accept the 2020 election results triggered the shift.

Biden's aides see the argument as a way of combating polling that shows Americans have more positive feelings for Trump's presidency than they do for Biden's time in office, an alarming fact to many Democrats. They hope that an argument based on the idea that Trump has changed will focus voters on how his personal behavior since leaving office could affect a second term in office.

Polling and focus groups by both the campaign and independent groups supporting Biden have found that arguments about Trump's personal aggrievement and determination to get revenge are among the most persuasive ones they can make to voters.

The Biden campaign's communications director, Michael Tyler, described Trump on Monday as someone "who will do anything and harm anyone if it means more power and vengeance for Donald Trump."

"That's why he was convicted, that's why he encouraged a violent mob to storm the Capitol on January 6, and it's why his entire campaign is an exercise in revenge and retribution," Tyler said in a statement.

The Biden campaign has already spent nearly $67 million on advertising through June 16, including $53 million this year, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact. The scale of advertising spending has been accelerating in recent weeks, rising from about $2.2 million in spending in the week that began April 30 to $5.3 million in the week that began June 4.

Biden and Trump plan to hold the first of two scheduled debates in Atlanta on June 27 to be broadcast on CNN. Unlike recent presidential candidate meetings, there will be no studio audience for the debate and microphones will muted throughout the debate, except when it is time for an individual candidate to speak. Those conditions were requested by the Biden campaign, and agreed to by the Trump campaign.

Monday's announcement indicates that the pace of spending will continue to accelerate through the end of June. AdImpact records indicate that only $12.4 million has been spent through June 16, well short of the $50 million target for the month that the Biden campaign announced Monday.

What we know about how the CNN presidential debate will work

June 15, 2024

What we know about how the CNN presidential debate will work

June 15, 2024

Biden, Obama warn of Trump dangers in star-studded L.A. fundraiser

June 16, 2024

Biden, Obama warn of Trump dangers in star-studded L.A. fundraiser

June 16, 2024

Trump unites fractious Capitol Hill GOP behind him as November looms

June 13, 2024

Trump unites fractious Capitol Hill GOP behind him as November looms

June 13, 2024

View 3 more stories

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Biden campaign launches advertising attack on 'convicted criminal' Trump

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The latest television ad signals Biden's attempt to make Trump's civil and criminal judgements a major contrast in the fall campaign

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Having trouble? Click here.

Former President Donald Trump's trial in Manhattan was a "modern day Salem witch trial" that has opened the floodgates to district attorneys across the nation prosecuting former presidents, experts told Fox News Digital.

"No matter how you twist and warp the traditional role of the prosecutor, it's always going to have a bad outcome. It's bad for the legal system. And you now see two DAs - both of whom are Soros, rogue prosecutors - using their office to go after somebody who, if his name had not been Trump, no DA would have even blinked an eye his way. [They are using] the law in a perverted way for purely political reasons," Heritage Foundation legal fellow Charles "Cully" Stimson told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.

"It doesn't even pass the laugh test," he added.
WHO HAS THE 'KEYS TO THE WHITE HOUSE'? HISTORIAN WITH ACE RECORD CALLING ELECTIONS WEIGHS IN ON TRUMP VERDICT
Bragg charged former Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree last year, with Trump pleading not guilty and slamming the case as a "scam." He was found guilty on May 30 by a Manhattan jury.

Trump has maintained his innocence since the verdict, and he has launched an appeal in the case.

Prosecutors needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified 34 business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former pornography actor Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 election to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.

The House Judiciary, which is chaired by Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, held a hearing Thursday regarding Trump's prosecution, hearing from four experts on the matter, including Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission Trey Trainor. The committee will hold another hearing next month, one day after Trump is sentenced, when it will host Bragg himself, as well as prosecutor and former DOJ official Matthew Colangelo.

"With his unprecedented politicized indictment of President Trump, Manhattan District Attorney Bragg has opened the door for politically motivated prosecutions of federal officials by state and local prosecutors. Other ambitious state prosecutors have already followed Bragg's lead and pursued politically motivated indictments of President Trump," committee Republicans said of the hearing Thursday.

"On April 4, 2023, after campaigning on his experience in investigating President Trump and in response to intense pressure from left-wing activists, Bragg charged President Trump with 34 felony counts for falsifying business records. Falsifying business records is ordinarily a misdemeanor subject to a two-year statute of limitations, which would have expired long ago. While Bragg is systematically downgrading most felonies in Manhattan to misdemeanors, he used a novel and untested legal theory-previously declined by federal prosecutors-to upgrade the charges against President Trump to felonies. Bragg's case against President Trump has beset by due process and procedural irregularities," they added.

Fox News Digital spoke to the authors of "Rogue Prosecutors: How Radical Soros Lawyers Are Destroying America's Communities," Stimson and fellow Heritage senior fellow Zack Smith, who explained that the role of the district attorney is to prosecute cases and keep the community safe. The pair both agreed in separate interviews that the case was one that weaponized the legal system.
TRUMP GETS WARM RECEPTION AND PILES OF CAMPAIGN CASH DURING SUNNY BLUE STATE SWING
"This clearly is essentially a weaponization of the legal system. And I think if we zoom out and look at the 40,000-foot perspective, I think it quickly becomes clear, that if the defendant wasn't named Donald Trump, this case never would have been brought. And that's particularly apparent if you look at the other policies and actions Alvin Bragg has taken since he's been elected District Attorney," Smith said.

Smith pointed to Bragg's "day one memo," back when he took the office in 2022, which detailed that he would not prosecute those charged with low-level misdemeanors and felonies.
TRUMP RILES UP FIERY SWING STATE CROWD IN FIRST RALLY SINCE NEW YORK CONVICTION
He pledged "not to prosecute most other misdemeanors there in Manhattan, pledging not to prosecute many low-level felonies, even many serious felony offenses. Or if he did prosecute them, not to seek a sentence of incarceration by default, and often to seek very lenient sentences for individuals accused of even very serious crimes," Smith said.

"So, I think any reasonable observer would look at this and say, that unless this was Donald Trump being prosecuted, this case wouldn't have been brought."

Smith explained that while Bragg pursued the lengthy case against Trump, New York City likely suffered as other violent crime continue to play out on the Big Apple's streets.
TRUMP PROSECUTOR QUIT TOP DOJ POST FOR LOWLY NY JOB IN LIKELY BID TO 'GET' FORMER PRESIDENT, EXPERT SAYS
"I don't think it will come as a shock that there's no shortage of violent crime in New York City today - watch the news, look at the stories that are out there. You'll see often very violent criminals committing acts and being released back into the community again," he said.

Stimson penned an op-ed with legal scholar John Yoo this month outlining that the NY v. Trump case effectively declared "open season" for America's more than 2,300 elected district attorneys to pursue cases against former presidents.

"President Trump's enemies have been so busy celebrating his conviction in New York last week that they don't seem to realize what a double-edged sword they've unsheathed. Regardless of Trump's fate on appeal, one or more of the 2,300 elected district attorneys across the country may now feel liberated. They can now pursue former presidents, including President Biden, regardless of the merits of the case, purely for political gain or retribution," the pair wrote in the op-ed.
TRUMP VERDICT HAS STARTED 'WAR OF WEAPONIZATION OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM,' LEGAL EXPERTS WARN
Stimson and Yoo pointed specifically to Bragg and Fulton County, Georgia, DA Fani Willis for opening the flood gates to DAs prosecutors pursuing cases against other former presidents. Willis brought forth the election inference case against Trump, charging him and 18 co-defendants with racketeering over allegations that they had tried to overthrow the 2020 election.

"We are not suggesting that any county prosecutor must retaliate against Biden simply because Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and Fulton County DA Fani Willis prosecuted Donald Trump-though it is hard to see what else would stop rogue progressive prosecutors from continuing to charge Republican presidents. Rather, we are suggesting that the likelihood of other county prosecutors charging former presidents has gone from zero to some undetermined percentage," they highlighted.
ANTI-TRUMP DA BAILED ON DEBATE TO 'SCHMOOZE' WITH CELEBS, IS CHALLENGED TO A REMATCH
DAs, they speculated, could open an investigation into the Biden family regarding whether Hunter and James Biden "were taking money from foreign governments and companies to influence U.S. government decisions," which would thus involve President Biden. They noted: "A DA would already have the paper trail set out by congressional investigators and IRS whistleblowers."

Or a "creative county prosecutor in Texas" could pursue a case against President Biden for "any number of crimes for his immigration policies on the border," they added.

"Trump's foes can cheer all they want, but the short-term political gain Bragg and those who support him may reap from this flawed and unorthodox prosecution will potentially be dwarfed by the long-term damage to stability of the Office of the President," they added.

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Trump's 'modern day Salem witch trial' verdict signals 'open season' on former presidents: experts

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Former President Donald Trump faced a "modern day Salem witch trial" when he sat in a Manhattan courtroom for more than six weeks over falsifying business records, experts say.

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Joe Frezzes on Stage, supported by Obama

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Biden freezes before Obama grabs his arm and leads him off stage. Yikes! 😳 pic.twitter.com/nCgAGitoQ6
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 16, 2024

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Why Democrats Keep Losing the Battle for Small-Town America - Voters in rural North Carolina reflect the mounting challenges facing President Biden in swing states, voicing discontent with the economy, illegal immigration and inflation

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Former President Trump gave a wide-ranging speech to House Republicans on Thursday, lashing out at his political enemies and praising his allies.

Trump in particular criticized the prosecutions against him, calling the Department of Justice (DOJ) "dirty, no good bastards," according to two sources in the room.

One GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital that Trump touted the fundraising and popularity boost he got from his various state and federal criminal charges.

"He said, 'They had a saying that we're going to indict this guy into the White House,'" the GOP lawmaker said.
TRUMP RILES UP FIERY SWING STATE CROWD IN FIRST RALLY SINCE NEW YORK CONVICTION

The GOP lawmaker said Trump also called President Biden the "worst president in history."

Sources also told Fox News that Trump referred to Biden as a "dope."

Multiple House Republicans said the meeting went well, and that Trump touched on many topics, including military, trade, and abortion policies.

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital that Trump blamed Biden for the presence of Russian warships in Cuba.
WATCH: TRUMP RALLYGOERS REVEAL WHO THEY WANT AS VICE PRESIDENT

"What was really on his mind today is the fact that Russia has submarines right off the coast of the United States, and he's just he's really upset...and he should be. I'm concerned. We all should be concerned that we've got a president that is, that's so weak that he's allowed for [this]," Burlison said.

Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., said Trump hit Biden for the White House's threat to veto this year's defense policy bill, which includes a pay raise for members of the military.
BIDEN CAMP JABS AT TRUMP'S 'FAILED' BUSINESS RECORD AS FORMER PRESIDENT LOOKS TO SWAY NATION'S TOP CEOS
"That's a winning issue from a presidential race perspective," Garcia said. "The fact that Biden has now tripled down on this veto threat...President Trump should just be banging Biden over the head every day on the fact that you are not willing to give our troops a pay raise."

Two additional sources who spoke with Fox News Digital said Trump also urged Republicans to hone an effective message on abortion, warning that it had "cost" the GOP in previous elections.

He said the issue was "too important to ignore" and accused Democrats of having "radical" positions on late-term abortion, the sources said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News' Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report

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Trump rips DOJ as 'no good bastards,' calls Biden 'dope' in closed-door House GOP meeting

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Former President Trump spoke with House Republicans for roughly an hour on Thursday morning.

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At the G7, Biden Can’t Escape the Shadow of the Gaza War

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The president was miffed when, expecting to talk about a security pact with Ukraine, he was asked for updates on the Gaza cease-fire plan.

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AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

President Joe Biden reportedly believes Hunter Biden is a victim of the weaponization of justice following his gun conviction on Tuesday.

A Delaware jury found Hunter guilty of all three gun charges. He faces up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines.

The octogenarian pledged last week in France he would not pardon Hunter. He has not, however, spoken about whether he would deliver a commutation.

The president feels guilty over Hunter's legal predicament, two people not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations about Hunter told Politico. They also told the outlet Joe Biden believes he contributed to Hunter's plight.

"If I weren't running for reelection, he would have gotten the plea deal," Biden told a confidant earlier this month, a person familiar with the conversation told Politico.

Hunter refused to accept a gun-related plea deal from the government in 2023. The offer of the gun plea deal came after his "sweetheart" plea deal blew up under judicial scrutiny, which the judge characterized as "atypical" and "not straightforward."

pic.twitter.com/4uu2YINr03
- Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 11, 2024

Legal experts suggest the government's proposal was a show of favoritism towards the president's son.

The "sweetheart" deal came with a special agreement that gave Hunter immunity from all potential future charges, including a provision to potentially wipe a felony gun violation from his record.

The deal gave Hunter the option to plead guilty to not paying taxes on more than $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018, receiving probation rather than jail time.

Following the "sweetheart" plea deal debacle, the government offered Hunter a second plea deal related to gun charges that he rejected, opting to go to trial in Delaware. In turn, the government later indicted Hunter in 2023 with tax violations in California.

The tax trial is set for September 2024.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality . Follow Wendell on @WendellHusebø or on @WendellHusebo.

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Report: Joe Biden Says Hunter Is Victim of Weaponized System of Justice

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President Joe Biden reportedly believes Hunter Biden is a victim of the weaponization of justice following his gun conviction on Tuesday.

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New Rule: Capitalism Cells | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

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Week 8: A Splitscreen Look at the Presidential Candidates

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Week 8: A Splitscreen Look at the Presidential Candidates

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Other:

The surprising results of a focus group of swing voters ought to keep Biden humble

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-guilty-swing-voters-2024-election-biden-rcna155519

Data on Biden-era crime rates shreds Republican talking points

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/data-biden-era-crime-rates-shreds-republican-talking-points-rcna156717

Somebody needs to call for Trump to withdraw from the 2024 race

https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/-somebody-needs-to-call-for-trump-to-step-out-of-the-2024-race-eugene-robinson-212208709881

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If you needed further proof of the stakes of this election, Thursday provided a stark contrast.

In the morning, President Joe Biden commemorated the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy, France, in which Allied troops fought to free Europe from the Nazis.

"Here we proved that the ideals of our democracy are stronger than any army or combination of armies in the entire world," Biden said during his address in Normandy, warning of "the price of unchecked tyranny."

Hours later, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump took the stage at a rally in Phoenix and called the trial that led to his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records "fake" and railed against Biden's recent immigration order.

"I won't say it because I don't like using the word bulls--- in front of these beautiful children," Trump said, leading the crowd to begin chanting the word.

The contrast between the leaders of our nation's two major political parties is startling.

You could call it the return of the split-screen presidency. The current president, on the left side of your television screen, used the stirring rhetoric of his predecessors to talk about one of America's finest moments. The former president, on the right side of your screen, railed against the judicial system and encouraged foul-mouthed chants.

The contrast between the leaders of our nation's two major political parties is startling. Biden has rallied the world to build the strongest international alliance against tyranny since the 1940s to help Ukraine as he works to provide domestic relief on everything from student debt to high prescription drug costs. Meanwhile, Trump spends his time sharing vindictive memes, ranting about his conviction and suggesting that he might seek to jail his political opponents if he wins re-election.

One candidate works to strengthen democracies around the globe, while the other seeks to undermine it right here at home.

This is not hyperbole. Trump has already told us that he is ready to be a dictator "on Day One." Republicans might argue that he's just joking, but he's not a comedian. He's a former president who wants to regain power in order to punish those who opposed him. We should take his words seriously.

Many Americans don't believe Trump will go as rogue as his inflammatory rhetoric suggests, but the guardrails that kept him in check during his first term are long gone. There is now a 6-3 conservative supermajority on the U.S. Supreme Court. In a possible second term, Trump would fill his Cabinet and his administration with even more "Yes men." And the few in Congress who previously dared to stand up to him have either left or capitulated.

Republicans in the House also mirror Trump's isolationist views. In April, Speaker Mike Johnson relied on the votes of Democrats to push through $60.8 billion in aid as 112 Republicans voted against helping Ukraine in its war against Russia. Trump did not endorse the aid package and sought to place the responsibility for fighting Russian aggression solely on the shoulders of our European allies.

On the campaign trail, Trump leans into his "America First" worldview to fire up his base. At a rally in February, he suggested he would encourage Russia "to do whatever the hell they want" if President Vladimir Putin attacked a NATO nation that didn't spend enough of its own money to cover the alliance's defense costs.

We should take him at his word.

Dangerous remarks like that are far more than just fiery campaign rhetoric. These remarks could further embolden autocrats in a moment in world history where authoritarianism is on the rise, even as Biden draws attention to this threat to Americans and those across the world during his trip to France.

As more Americans start tuning into the 2024 presidential race, they'll see the sharp contrast between Biden and Trump expand well beyond foreign policy.

Biden is fighting to ease the burden of student loans. Trump wants to "cut the Department of Education." The Biden-Harris administration made historic investments in climate action. Trump suggested he would gut environmental agencies. Biden wants women to make their own choices when it comes to their bodies. Trump will allow states to continue to police the bodies of women in even more drastic ways.

To put it simply: Biden is focused on leadership and governing. Donald Trump is focused on destruction and distractions.

To put it simply: Biden is focused on leadership and governing. Trump is focused on destruction and distractions.

This week, Biden took new executive action to address an influx of people arriving at the southern border. He signed the executive order as an alternative to a bill that Trump helped torpedo in February so that he could campaign on the issue instead. After Biden took action to address the complexities of global migration, Trump uploaded a xenophobic, rambling rant on social media. Generating likes and views on social media to score points with the Republican base doesn't solve problems.

The choice before voters in 2024 is far from normal. Presidential elections are supposed to be a robust exchange of ideas where candidates tout their records and vision for the future. Biden's future is about the possibilities of America. Trump's future is about retribution for him. All this being said, this election will be close.

And looking away won't change the fact Donald Trump has a real chance at winning back the presidency.

Elections are about choices. Just like the Allied troops on D-Day had a choice to make, so do we. On Thursday, Biden ended his remarks by saying "let us be the generation that when history is written about our time ... 80 years from now - it will be said: When the moment came, we met the moment. We stood strong. Our alliances were made stronger. And we saved democracy in our time as well."

That is the choice.
For more thought-provoking insights from Symone Sanders-Townsend, Michael Steele and Alicia Menendez, watch "The Weekend" every Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. ET on MSNBC.

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Opinion | Biden's D-Day speech marks a contrast with Trump's authoritarianism

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President Joe Biden's commemoration of D-Day in Normandy showed a marked contrast with Donald Trump's self-obsessed whining this week.

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SEAN HANNITY: The government confirmed Hunter Biden’s laptop is real

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Fox News host Sean Hannity says Americans were lied to about the Hunter Biden laptop on Tuesday’s “Hannity.”

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Analysis: Biden leads new drive to cement the West's Ukraine war effort against Putin - and Trump | CNN Politics

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President Joe Biden is leading the world's richest democracies in sending a beefed-up message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the West will not forsake Ukraine despite political shocks casting doubts over its commitment.