Tag: 2024 US Presidential Elections

  • Harris Says No to Trump’s Suggestion

    Harris Says No to Trump’s Suggestion

    The Harris campaign offered an affirmation of their stand to adhere to the ABC News debate plan….reports Asian Lite News

    Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has declined Donald Trump’s suggestion to move the presidential debate to Fox News, media reports said.

    Trump, 78, and President Joe Biden had agreed in May to two presidential debates. The first which was with CNN took place in June while a second one slated for September 10 was planned to be hosted by ABC News.

    But Biden dropped out in the previous month and therefore, Vice-President Harris is the declared presidential candidate for 2024 in the Democratic Party.

    The assessment was published before Saturday, when Trump said he had agreed to an offer by Fox News to debate Harris on September 4, in what would be a departure from the planned format if reported by CBS News.

    Trump said, “I have decided with Fox News to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4. The previous debate that was supposed to be conducted with sleepy Joe Biden on the ABC channel is no longer possible Bianchi is no longer a participant in a legal battle against the ABC Network and George Slopadopoulos, thus there is a conflict of interest.”

    Consequently, Harris countered using platform X declined Trump’s debate invitation on Fox News.

    “It’s interesting how “any time, any place” becomes “one specific time, one specific safe space”. I’ll be there on September 10, like he agreed to. I hope to see him there,” Harris said.

    The Harris campaign also offered an affirmation of their stand to adhere to the ABC News debate plan. They claimed that Trump was ‘running scared’ and required Fox News’ help to avoid the scheduled debate with ABC News.

    “He needs to stop playing games and show up to the debate he already committed to on Sept. 10,” the report quoted Michael Tyler, the Harris campaign communication director, as saying.

    “The Vice President will be there one way or the other to take the opportunity to speak to a prime-time national audience,” Tyler said, adding that the campaign is open to discussing further debates but only after the one both campaigns have already agreed to takes place.

    ALSO READ: Is Kamala Harris Indian or Black? Trump Asks

  • US Presidential candidate Stein calls for aid suspension to Israel

    US Presidential candidate Stein calls for aid suspension to Israel

    Stein is a candidate for the Green Party, which advocates on a range of issues, including environmental action and the constitutional rights “of all Americans…reports Asian Lite News

    Jill Stein, who is campaigning to stand as a third-party candidate in the US presidential election in November, said that if elected she would immediately halt military support for Israel’s “apartheid government,” and push Israelis and Palestinians to embrace a “genuine peace.”

    She told Arab News that American policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict is driven by lobbyists, and that anyone who challenges the Israeli government over its responsibility for ethnic cleansing in Palestine is denied their constitutional rights.

    Stein is a candidate for the Green Party, which advocates on a range of issues, including environmental action and the constitutional rights “of all Americans.” She said she would halt the “police oppression” of students who stage campus protests demanding an end to what many consider a genocide in Gaza, stop the flow of weapons to Israel’s government, and preserve the rights of Arab and Muslim Americans who “continue to be the victims of racism, violence and Islamophobia.”

    She added: “Arab and Muslims have been taken for granted in America. They are victims of racial profiling, Islamophobia and the violence against Arabs in this country. There is an absolute violation of our constitutional rights, by the government, to shut down our dialogue. People are trying to grapple with this genocide we are seeing in live and real time on our iPhones and on our computer screens. We need to talk about it but both the Democrats and the Republicans want to label this discussion as insurrection, as a betrayal and to try to criminalize it,” Stein, a Jewish American physician who grew up during the Vietnam War, said in reference to the police response to the wave of protests by students on hundreds of campuses around the country against the war in Gaza. They send in the riot police and bash the heads of protesters who are simply saying what the highest courts in the land are saying, the international Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court: this is a genocide that is taking place in Gaza, this is against the law and it must be stopped. It is even against US law to send weapons to Israel, which is violating humanitarian rights, which is interfering in the delivery of humanitarian aid. On all counts, it is actually illegal to provide Israel with military support and weapons right now. The people who are standing up to assert our legal values and our human values are being criminalized and being charged with crimes.”

    Stein approached 34-year-old Lebanese American Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn in Michigan, to be her vice presidential running mate, before it was pointed out that candidates must be at least 35 years old when they take office, and he would be three months short of meeting this Constitutional requirement.

    “The Arab American community is being dealt an incredible injustice,” Stein said, adding that she believes they deserve a stronger political voice and protections from abuse. We need to stand up as Americans on behalf of all of us to assert our rights to a foreign policy that reflects our values. In fact, we need a foreign policy based on international law, human rights and diplomacy. That is what Americans are calling for. But we have a system led by political and economic elites who are used to, basically, fighting their way into domination. We have a foreign policy based on the exercise of raw military power.”

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  • Pence Won’t Endorse Trump For President

    Pence Won’t Endorse Trump For President

    Mike Pence’s statement marks a significant departure from his previous alignment with his former running mate and the president he served alongside.

    Former Vice President Mike Pence made a surprising declaration on Friday (local time), stating that he “cannot in good conscience,” endorse presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, CNN reported.

    This statement marks a significant departure from his previous alignment with his former running mate and the president he served alongside.

    “Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. That’s why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign,” Pence said on Fox News.

    Pence articulated his stance during an appearance on Fox News, expressing concern over the disparity between Trump’s current agenda and the conservative principles they upheld during their four years in office.

    Although Pence refrained from endorsing any candidate in the 2024 Republican primary following the end of his own presidential bid in October, he had previously committed to supporting the eventual GOP nominee. Trump had urged Pence to endorse him after the former vice president withdrew from the race, emphasising his role in elevating Pence to the vice presidency.

    “I chose him, made him vice president. But … people in politics can be very disloyal,” Trump had said.

    While Pence expressed pride in the accomplishments of the Trump-Pence administration, he highlighted areas where he believes Trump has deviated from conservative principles. He cited Trump’s positions on abortion, the national debt, and the recent reversal on TikTok as examples of this departure.

    “During my presidential campaign, I made it clear there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues. And not just our difference on my constitutional duties that I exercised January 6th,” Pence said on ‘The Story with Martha MacCallum’.

    “As I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life. And this last week, his reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our administration’s efforts to force a sale of ByteDance’s TikTok,” he added, as reported by CNN.

    Addressing his own voting intentions in the 2024 general election, Pence opted to keep his choice private, stating, “I’ll keep my vote to myself.” He affirmed that he would not support President Joe Biden and indicated a reluctance to endorse a third-party candidate.

    Pence’s break with Trump extends beyond policy differences. Notably, Pence declined to overturn the 2020 election results while presiding over Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory on January 6, 2021. He later criticised Trump for his role in inciting the violence that unfolded at the Capitol that day, asserting that Trump’s “reckless words” endangered lives.

    Throughout his own presidential campaign, Pence cautioned against the allure of populism embodied by Trump and his followers. Recently, Pence’s advocacy group, Advancing American Freedom, announced a USD 20 million initiative aimed at promoting conservative policies, CNN reported. (ANI)

  • Trump Rules Out Haley As Running Mate

    Trump Rules Out Haley As Running Mate

    Polls show Nikki Haley is much closer to Trump in New Hampshire, where she is expected to benefit from a more moderate Republican primary electorate — with undeclared voters participating in the January 23 contest, reports Asian Lite News

    Keeping his Vice Presidential choice tightly under wraps, Republican frontrunner and former US President Donald Trump has ruled out Indian-American rival Nikki Haley as his running mate for 2024.

    Addressing a rally on Friday at Concord, in the run-up to the New Hampshire nominating contest, Trump said that the former South Carolina Governor, who finished third in Iowa, “is OK, but she is not presidential timber”.

    “And when I say that, that probably means she is not going to be chosen as the vice president,” Trump, fresh out of his landslide caucus victory by claiming 50 per cent of the vote, told his supporters, The Hill reported.

    “When you say certain things, it sort of takes them out of play, right?” he added.

    “I can’t say, ‘She’s not of the timber to be the vice president’ and then say, ‘Ladies and gentleman, I’m proud to announce that I’ve picked’.”

    According to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Haley would be a good pick to balance out Trump’s weaknesses as a candidate.

    But Haley, who remains confident about her election as the next US President, has said she is not keen on playing Trump’s second-in command.

    “I don’t play for a second. I’ve never played for a second. I’m not going to start now. I’m not interested in being Vice President. I’m running to be President and I’m running to win and we will,” she said in a CBS News interview.

    Polls show she is much closer to Trump in New Hampshire, where she is expected to benefit from a more moderate Republican primary electorate — with undeclared voters participating in the January 23 contest.

    A recent CBS/YouGov poll had revealed that it is Haley who right now holds a bigger lead over President Joe Biden than either Trump or Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in potential head-to-head match-ups.

    With the New Hampshire primary scheduled for January 23, and South Carolina on February 3, the former UN Ambassador said that the Republican presidential race will be a contest between her and Trump.

    In recent weeks, Trump has stepped up attacks against Haley, saying she needs Biden’s supporters to “infiltrate” the party primary to perform well in New Hampshire.

    Early this week, he reposted a report from the right-wing website The Gateway Pundit that said Haley was not a US citizen because her immigrant parents were not citizens at the time of her birth.

    The former President also used the Concord rally to take potshots at New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who is endorsing Haley, and fellow presidential rival DeSantis.

    Trump said Sununu was backing a candidate who wasn’t “capable” of doing the job, adding that Haley wasn’t “tough enough,” “smart enough” or “respected enough” to win the Republican party nomination.

    He dubbed Florida Governor DeSantis one of the greatest “self-destructions I think I’ve ever witnessed” and claimed that Sununu “didn’t have the guts’ to run for President”.

    An average of New Hampshire surveys compiled by Decision Desk HQ and The Hill shows Trump ahead 11 points over Haley at roughly 46 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.

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