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Defiant Biden throws down gauntlet to Democrats

Madison: President of the United States Joe Biden gestures to the crowd as he delivers remarks at a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School

The 81-year-old dared Democratic critics to either challenge him at next month’s party convention in Chicago or back him against Donald Trump in November’s vote….reports Asian Lite News

President Joe Biden insisted again Monday he would not quit the US election race, as the White House denied he had Parkinson’s disease following a disastrous debate performance.

The 81-year-old dared Democratic critics to either challenge him at next month’s party convention in Chicago or back him against Donald Trump in November’s vote.

The president lashed out in both a letter to Congress and a rare call to a television program, at the start of a critical week that includes a NATO summit in Washington where he will face fresh scrutiny.

“I am firmly committed to staying in the race,” Biden wrote in the letter. “It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party and defeat Donald Trump,” he said. “It’s time for it to end.”

The embattled president followed up by phoning into MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” television program to say he was “getting so frustrated by the elites” in the party. “Any of these guys that don’t think I should run — run against me. Announce for president, challenge me at the convention,” he added.

Trump has been uncharacteristically quiet since the debate but he did speak out Monday on Fox News to say he thinks Biden will resist the pressure and stay in the race. “He’s got an ego and he doesn’t want to quit,” Trump said in an interview with Sean Hannity.

But even as he doubled down, the pressure mounted on the oldest president in US history. Congressman Adam Smith, the senior Democrat on the US House Armed Services Committee, became the sixth Democratic lawmaker to publicly say Biden should step aside.

“I think it’s become clear he’s not the best person to carry the Democratic message,” he told CNN. Other senior Democrats voiced support for Biden, however.

“I made clear that day after the debate publicly that I support President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket. My position has not changed,” House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN.

Biden’s blitz was a clear attempt to lay to rest the spiraling concerns over his health following the June 27 debate against Republican Trump, whom he trails in the polls.

During the debate, Biden repeatedly lost his train of thought, stared blankly and spoke at times incoherently and with a raspy voice. Biden has blamed jetlag and a cold. The White House has also felt the pressure, with tense exchanges at a press briefing on Monday. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called for “respect” while journalists challenged her refusal to confirm reports that a Parkinson’s specialist visited the White House eight times.

The visits by Kevin Cannard, a neurologist from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where Biden receives his medicals, were recorded in publicly available visitor logs. “Has the President been treated for Parkinson’s? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No, he’s not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No,” Jean-Pierre said.

On Monday night the White House went so far as to release a letter from Biden’s personal doctor, Kevin O’Connor, insisting that the president had not seen a neurologist outside his three annual medicals.

The White House also denied reports that NATO allies attending this week’s 75th-anniversary summit in Washington had shown concerns about Biden.

“We’re not picking up any signs of that from our allies at all,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. But NATO leaders have been seeking reassurance in any case amid polls forecasting a November victory for Trump.

The former president has long criticized the defense alliance, voiced admiration for Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, and insisted he could bring about a quick end to the war in Ukraine.

The NATO summit begins on Tuesday, the same day that Democrats, returning to Capitol Hill from a brief recess, hold a caucus meeting where Biden’s fate will be discussed. The Democrat lags behind Trump in most polls even though his rival was recently convicted of a felony in a porn star hush money case.

Trump says he thinks Biden will stay in White House race

Donald Trump said in an interview Monday night that he thinks President Joe Biden will stay in the race for the White House despite calls for him to drop out over concerns about his mental fitness.

“I think he, you know, might very well stay in,” Trump told Sean Hannity on Fox News, in his first interview since Biden’s dismal performance in their presidential debate late last month.

“He’s got an ego and he doesn’t want to quit,” Trump said.

The Republican ex-president also gave his first detailed account of the CNN-hosted debate in Atlanta, during which Biden often lost his train of thought and at times spoke incoherently, looking dazed.

“I will tell you. It was a strange debate, because within a couple of minutes, the answers given by him were, they didn’t, they didn’t make a lot of sense,” Trump said.

Trump said he intentionally did not look much at Biden as he spoke.

“I did take a couple of peeks when he was in the midst of giving some really bad answers,” Trump said.

“They weren’t even answers. They were just words put together that had no meaning or sense.”

ALSO READ: As Biden falters, Europeans look to safeguard NATO

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As Biden falters, Europeans look to safeguard NATO

The possibility of a less dependable US partner under Trump is generating discussions about Europeans playing a bigger role in NATO’s nuclear deterrence…reports Asian Lite News

Growing skepticism about President Joe Biden’s reelection chances has European leaders heading to the NATO summit in Washington confronting the prospect that the military alliance’s most prominent critic, Donald Trump, may return to power over its mightiest military.

NATO — made up of 32 European and North American allies committed to defending one another from armed attack — will stress strength through solidarity as it celebrates its 75th anniversary during the summit starting Tuesday. Event host Biden, who pulled allies into a global network to help Ukraine fight off Russia’s invasion, has called the alliance the most unified it has ever been.

But behind the scenes, a dominant topic will be preparing for possible division, as the power of far-right forces unfriendly to NATO grows in the U.S. and other countries, including France, raising concerns about how strong support will stay for the alliance and the military aid that its members send to Ukraine.

At the presidential debate, Biden asked Trump: “You’re going to stay in NATO or you’re going to pull out of NATO?” Trump tilted his head in a shrug.

Biden’s poor debate performance set off a frenzy about whether the 81-year-old president is fit for office or should step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate.

Even before the debate, European governments were deep in consultations on what they could do to ensure that NATO, Western support for Ukraine and the security of individual NATO countries will endure should Trump win back the presidency in November and temper U.S. contributions.

Some Americans and Europeans call it “Trump-proofing” NATO — or “future-proofing” it when the political advances of far-right political blocs in Europe are factored in.

This week’s summit, held in the city where the mutual-defense alliance was founded in 1949, was once expected to be a celebration of NATO’s endurance. Now, a European official said, it looks “gloomy.”

There are two reasons for the gloom: Russian advances on the battlefield in the months that Trump-allied congressional Republicans delayed U.S. arms and funding to Ukraine. And the possibility of far-right governments unfriendly to NATO coming to power.

The official spoke to reporters last week on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations among governments.

Rachel Rizzo, a senior fellow on NATO with the nonpartisan think tank the Atlantic Council, says she has a blunt message for Europeans: “Freaking out about a second Trump term helps no one.”

For allies at the summit, she said, the key will be resisting the temptation to dwell on the details of unprecedented events in U.S. politics and put their heads down on readying Western military aid for Ukraine and preparing for any lessening of U.S. support.

Trump, who before and after his presidency has spoken admiringly of Russian President Vladimir Putin and harshly of NATO, often focuses his complaints on the U.S. share of the alliance’s costs. Biden himself, as a U.S. senator in 1997, warned that if there were any sense other NATO allies were “taking the United States for suckers, the future of the alliance in the next century will be very much in doubt.”

One of Trump’s former national security advisers, John Bolton, says Trump in a second term would work to get the U.S. out of NATO. Congress passed legislation last year making that harder, but a president could simply stop collaborating in some or all of NATO’s missions.

Elections in France saw a NATO-adverse far-right party under Marine Le Pen greatly increase the number of seats it holds in parliament. Far-right forces also are gaining in Germany.

In part in response to the United States’ political upheaval, Europeans say they want to “institutionalize” support for Ukraine within NATO, lessening the dependence on the U.S.

European allies also failed to get enough weapons to Ukraine during the delay in a U.S. foreign aid package, outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged in a visit to Washington last month.

That’s “one of the reasons why I believe that we should have a stronger NATO role — is that role in providing the support,” Stoltenberg told reporters.

As for NATO security overall, besides European allies upping defense spending, they’re huddling on defense strategies that don’t rely as much on the U.S. There’s also growing emphasis on ensuring each country is capable of fielding armies and fighting wars, the European official said.

The possibility of a less dependable U.S. partner under Trump is generating discussions about Europeans playing a bigger role in NATO’s nuclear deterrence, according to the Poland-based Centre for Eastern Studies, a security think tank. The U.S. now plays the determinative role in the nuclear weapons stationed in Europe.

But European countries and Canada, with their smaller military budgets and economies, are years from being able to fill any U.S.-sized hole in NATO.

“If an American president comes into office and says, ‘We’re done with that,’ there is definitely will in Europe to backfill the American role,” said John Deni, a senior fellow on security at the Atlantic Council. “The Brits would jump on it.”

But “even they will acknowledge they do not have the capacity or the capability, and they can’t do it at the speed and the scale that we can,” Deni said. “This notion that we are somehow Trump-proofing or future-proofing the American commitment — either to Ukraine or to NATO — I think that mostly is fantasy.”

ALSO READ: None more qualified than me to be President, says Biden

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None more qualified than me to be President, says Biden

Biden called Trump a “congenital liar” and added that he lied over 20 times during the debate with him….reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden has said that he is more qualified to become US President or win the race than anyone else. He also called former US President Donald Trump a “pathological liar,” ABC News reported.

Speaking to ABC News, Biden called Trump a “congenital liar” and added that he lied over 20 times during the debate with him.

Asked about the close contest in the electoral college, Biden responded, “By 7 million votes.”

When asked about being behind in the popular vote now, the US President stated, “I don’t buy that.” He further said, “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be President or win this race than me.”

Dismissing any suggestion that he’s not the most qualified candidate to beat Trump, Biden said, “Oh, come on. Well, I don’t think those critics know what they’re talking about.”

On being asked whether the critics are wrong, the US President said, “They’re just wrong. Look, Trump is a pathological liar. Trump is, you ever seen anything Trump did that benefited somebody else and not him? You can’t answer, I know.”

He criticised Trump for his policies in the economy and healthcare sectors. Biden said that Trump asked the people of the US to put bleach in their arms to deal with COVID-19.

“Oh, I know you have. I’m not being critical. I’m not being critical, but look, I mean, the man is a congenital liar. As I said, they pointed out in that debate, he lied 27– 28 times– times, whatever number, over 20 times. Talk about how good his economy was, how he brought down inflation, how this is a guy who unlike only other President other than him is Hoover who lost more jobs than he created,” Biden told ABC News.

“This is a guy who told us to put bleach in our arms to deal with COVID, with a million– over a million people died. This is a guy who talks about wanting to get rid of the healthcare provision we put in place. This is a guy who wants to give the power back to big pharma to be able to charge exorbitant prices for drugs. This is a guy who wants to undo every single thing I’ve done, every single thing,” he added.

During the interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, Biden reiterated that he is the most qualified person to beat Trump. He said, “I convinced myself of two things. I’m the most qualified person to beat him, and I know how to get things done.”

Reflecting on how he will feel if he loses to Trump, Biden said, “I’ll feel as long as I gave it my all and I did the goodest job as I know I can do, that’s what this is about.”

Biden said that the US and the world are at an “inflection point” when the things that happen in the next several years will determine what the next 60-70 years will be like.

He further said, “And who’s gonna be able to hold NATO together like me? Who’s gonna be able to be in a position where I’m able to keep the Pacific Basin in a position where we’re– we’re at least checkmating China now? Who’s gonna, who’s gonna do that? Who has that reach? Who has– who knows all these pe? We’re gonna have, I guess a good way to judge me, is you’re gonna have now the NATO conference here in the United States next week. Come listen. See what they say.”

Joe Biden candidly addressed his performance during the debate with Trump, describing it as a “bad episode” and taking full responsibility for what transpired. It was Biden’s first television interview since the CNN debate with Donald Trump. (ANI)

‘93% Republicans back Trump’

As clouds of uncertainty continue to gloom over US President Joe Biden’s campaign, a new Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report has stated that the incumbent leader has failed to consolidate support within his party as compared to his rival.

The report stated that unifying the party is the most important job for any presidential candidate, but Biden is “bleeding Democratic support” in the latest poll, conducted after his “rough debate” with Trump.

Biden has the votes of 86 per cent of Democrats on a test ballot against Trump, the new poll found, lower than his 9 per cent share in February and well below the 93 per cent of Republicans who say they would back Trump.

It added that the incumbent has allowed the race to become “referendum on his leadership” rather than a choice between him and an “unpopular challenger.”

Meanwhile, in his first television interview since the CNN debate with Donald Trump, President Joe Biden described candidly addressed his performance, describing it as a “bad episode” and taking full responsibility for what transpired.

“It was a bad episode,” Biden clarified. “No indication of any serious condition. I was exhausted. I didn’t listen to my instincts in terms of preparing and — and a bad night.”

Biden also claimed that he is more qualified to win the race than anyone else.

Speaking to ABC News, Biden called Trump a “congenital liar” and added that he lied over 20 times during the debate with him.

Earlier, White House too unequivocally denied any consideration of President Joe Biden stepping down, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stating “absolutely not” when asked about the possibility.

Concerns are mounting about Biden’s viability as a candidate following the first presidential debate broadcasted on CNN, which has been described as a “devastating performance” in Atlanta, according to a New York Times (NYT) report.

The age disparity between the 81-year-old incumbent US president and his 78-year-old challenger was starkly apparent throughout the evening, with Biden notably hoarse and exhibiting limited vocal range, struggling at times to articulate clear differences from Trump.

Earlier, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed that several prominent Democrat leaders have suggested that US President Biden is “brain-damaged” and it is only a matter of time before they remove him from running for the post again.

After the debate, former US President Barack Obama voiced his support for Biden, acknowledging that “bad debate nights happen”. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Giuliani disbarred from NY for Trump’s false election claims

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Biden: No One More Qualified Than Me For President

Joe Biden has called Donald Trump a “congenital liar” and added that he lied over 20 times during the debate with him.

US President Joe Biden has said that he is more qualified to become US President or win the race than anyone else. He also called former US President Donald Trump a “pathological liar,” ABC News reported.

Speaking to ABC News, Biden called Trump a “congenital liar” and added that he lied over 20 times during the debate with him.

Asked about the close contest in the electoral college, Biden responded, “By 7 million votes.”

When asked about being behind in the popular vote now, the US President stated, “I don’t buy that.” He further said, “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be President or win this race than me.”

Dismissing any suggestion that he’s not the most qualified candidate to beat Trump, Biden said, “Oh, come on. Well, I don’t think those critics know what they’re talking about.”

On being asked whether the critics are wrong, the US President said, “They’re just wrong. Look, Trump is a pathological liar. Trump is, you ever seen anything Trump did that benefited somebody else and not him? You can’t answer, I know.”

He criticised Trump for his policies in the economy and healthcare sectors. Biden said that Trump asked the people of the US to put bleach in their arms to deal with COVID-19.

“Oh, I know you have. I’m not being critical. I’m not being critical, but look, I mean, the man is a congenital liar. As I said, they pointed out in that debate, he lied 27– 28 times– times, whatever number, over 20 times. Talk about how good his economy was, how he brought down inflation, how this is a guy who unlike only other President other than him is Hoover who lost more jobs than he created,” Biden told ABC News.

“This is a guy who told us to put bleach in our arms to deal with COVID, with a million– over a million people died. This is a guy who talks about wanting to get rid of the healthcare provision we put in place. This is a guy who wants to give the power back to big pharma to be able to charge exorbitant prices for drugs. This is a guy who wants to undo every single thing I’ve done, every single thing,” he added.

During the interview with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, Biden reiterated that he is the most qualified person to beat Trump. He said, “I convinced myself of two things. I’m the most qualified person to beat him, and I know how to get things done.”

Reflecting on how he will feel if he loses to Trump, Biden said, “I’ll feel as long as I gave it my all and I did the goodest job as I know I can do, that’s what this is about.”

Biden said that the US and the world are at an “inflection point” when the things that happen in the next several years will determine what the next 60-70 years will be like.

He further said, “And who’s gonna be able to hold NATO together like me? Who’s gonna be able to be in a position where I’m able to keep the Pacific Basin in a position where we’re– we’re at least checkmating China now? Who’s gonna, who’s gonna do that? Who has that reach? Who has– who knows all these pe? We’re gonna have, I guess a good way to judge me, is you’re gonna have now the NATO conference here in the United States next week. Come listen. See what they say.”

Joe Biden candidly addressed his performance during the debate with Trump, describing it as a “bad episode” and taking full responsibility for what transpired. It was Biden’s first television interview since the CNN debate with Donald Trump. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Biden heads into critical stretch of campaign

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Democratic governors stand behind Biden  

The governors, including Tim Walz of Minnesota, Wes Moore of Maryland, Gavin Newsom of California and Kathy Hochul of New York, held a closed-door meeting with Biden in Washington…reports Asian Lite News

A group of leading Democratic governors offered words of support for Joe Biden on Wednesday as pressure mounted on the president to leave the race.

The governors, including Tim Walz of Minnesota, Wes Moore of Maryland, Gavin Newsom of California and Kathy Hochul of New York, held a closed-door meeting with Biden in Washington as he sought to reassure his party – and the public – that he is up to the job after a shaky debate performance.

Biden met for more than an hour at the White House in person and virtually with more than 20 governors from his party. The governors told reporters afterward that the conversation was “candid” and said they expressed concerns about Biden’s debate performance last week. They reiterated that defeating Donald Trump in November was the priority, but said they were still standing behind Biden and did not join other Democrats who have been urging him to withdraw his candidacy.

“We, like many Americans, are worried,” Walz of Minnesota said. “We are all looking for the path to win – all the governors agree with that. President Biden agrees with that. He has had our backs through Covid … the governors have his back. We’re working together just to make very, very clear that a path to victory in November is the No 1 priority and that’s the No 1 priority of the president … The feedback was good. The conversation was honest.”

“The president is our nominee. The president is our party leader,” added Moore of Maryland. He said Biden “was very clear that he’s in this to win it”.

“We were honest about the feedback we’re getting … and the concerns we’re hearing from people,” Moore said. “We’re going to have his back … the results we’ve been able to see under this administration have been undeniable.”

The meeting capped a tumultuous day for Biden as members of his own party, and a major democratic donor, urged him to step aside amid questions over his fitness for office. Two Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to exit the race, and a third Congressman said he had “grave concerns” about Biden’s ability to beat Trump. The White House, meanwhile, was forced to deny reports that Biden is weighing whether his candidacy is still viable.

Biden, for his part, has forcefully insisted that he is staying in the race.

“Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can, as simply and straightforward as I can: I am running … no one’s pushing me out,” Biden said on a call with staffers from his re-election campaign. “I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.”

Kamala Harris has also stood by his side, despite some insiders reportedly rallying around her as a possible replacement. “We will not back down. We will follow our president’s lead,” the vice-president reportedly told staffers on Wednesday.

Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer also threw her support behind Biden. “He is in it to win it and I support him,” she said on Twitter/X after the meeting.

Whitmer is one of several Democratic governors who have been cited as possible replacements if Biden were to withdraw his candidacy. Gavin Newsom, whose name has also been floated, flew in for the governors’ meeting on Wednesday, saying afterwards: “I heard three words from the president tonight – he’s all in. And so am I.”

Newsom has been a top surrogate for Biden’s re-election campaign, but has also garnered increasing buzz as a potential replacement if Biden were to withdraw. He was swarmed by reporters after the debate ended last week, some asking him if he’d replace Biden.

A Siena College/New York Times poll released Wednesday suggested Trump’s lead had increased since the debate, with him winning 49% of likely voters compared to 43% for Biden. Only 48% of Democrats in the poll said Biden should remain the nominee. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Tuesday said that former first lady Michelle Obama is the only hypothetical candidate to definitively defeat Trump, but she has previously said she’s not running. That poll had Biden and Trump tied.

Meanwhile, in response to recent speculations, the White House has unequivocally denied any consideration of President Joe Biden stepping down, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stating “absolutely not” when asked about the possibility.

Concerns are mounting about Biden’s viability as a candidate following what has been described as a devastating performance in Atlanta, according to a New York Times (NYT) report.

Jean-Pierre on Wednesday highlighted President Biden’s recent engagements with supporters, acknowledging that while he has had challenging moments, his overall record and accomplishments should not be overshadowed.

“He had an opportunity to talk to supporters. He has done it a couple of times at this point and laid out what happened on that night, talked about how he understands, and it was not his best night. He understands that it is fair for people to ask that question,” she told reporters at the White House.

ALSO READ: Biden restored global confidence in America: Blinken

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Biden allies reject calls for him dropping out of 2024 race

With Democratic leaders rallying around him, it will be up to Biden to decide whether he wants to end his re-election bid…reports Asian Lite News

Top Democrats on Sunday ruled out the possibility of replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee after a feeble debate performance and called on party members to focus instead on the consequences of a second Donald Trump presidency.

After days of hand-wringing about Biden’s poor night on stage debating Trump, Democratic leaders firmly rejected calls for their party to choose a younger presidential candidate for the Nov. 5 election.

Biden, 81, meanwhile, was huddling with family members at the Camp David presidential retreat on Sunday.

The New York Times cited people close to the situation as saying that Biden’s family were urging him to stay in the race and keep fighting. The paper said some members of his clan privately expressed exasperation at how his staff prepared him for Thursday night’s event.

A drumbeat of calls for Biden to step aside has continued since Thursday and a post-debate CBS poll showed a 10-point jump in the number of Democrats who believe Biden should not be running for president, to 46 percent from 36 percent in February.

“The unfortunate truth is that Biden should withdraw from the race, for the good of the nation he has served so admirably for half a century,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said in an editorial on Sunday. “The shade of retirement is now necessary for President Biden.”

Democratic leaders rejected this.

“Absolutely not,” responded Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, one of several Democrats seen as a possible replacement for Biden.

“Bad debates happen,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press program. “The question is, ‘Who has Donald Trump ever shown up for other than himself and people like himself?’ I’m with Joe Biden, and it’s our assignment to make sure that he gets over the finish line come November.”

House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who could become speaker next year if his party can take control of the House in November, acknowledged that Biden had suffered a setback, but this was “nothing more than a setup for a comeback.”

“So the moment that we’re in right now is a comeback moment,” he told MSNBC.

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a leading Biden surrogate, told ABC’s This Week program Biden needed to stay in the race to ensure Trump’s defeat.

“I think he’s the only Democrat who can beat Donald Trump,” Coons said.

With Democratic leaders rallying around him, it will be up to Biden to decide whether he wants to end his re-election bid. But other Democrats held open the possibility of choosing a different presidential candidate.

Representative Jamie Raskin, a prominent Democrat in Congress, told MSNBC that “very honest and serious and rigorous conversations” were taking place within the party.

“Whether he’s the candidate or someone else is the candidate, he’s going to be the keynote speaker at our convention. He will be the figure that we rally around to move forward,” Raskin said.

During the debate, a hoarse-sounding Biden delivered a shaky, halting performance in which he stumbled over his words on several occasions. Some Democrats later said privately that the showing could prove to be a disqualifying factor.

Washington Nov. 14 (Xinhua) — Combo photo shows U.S. Democrat Joe Biden (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump attending their respective events on different occasions. (Xinhua/IANS)

Blame game begins

President Joe Biden’s train-wreck debate with Republican opponent Donald Trump followed a series of decisions by his most senior advisers that critics now point to as wrong-headed, interviews with Democratic allies, donors and former and current aides show.

Trump, 78, repeated a series of well-worn, glaring falsehoods during the 90-minute debate on Thursday, including claims that he actually won the 2020 election.

Biden, 81, failed to refute them and his fumbling, halting performance has sparked calls from Democrats for him to end his quest for a second term and for “soul-searching” or resignations among top aides.

“My only request was make sure he’s rested before the debate, but he was exhausted. He was unwell,” said one person who said they appealed to Biden’s top aides in the days before, to no avail. “What a bad decision to send him out looking sick and exhausted.”

Others were even more pointed.

“It is my belief that he was over-coached, over-practiced. And I believe [senior aide] Anita Dunn… put him in a venue that was conducive for Trump and not for him,” said John Morgan, a Florida-based attorney and major Biden fundraiser.

Morgan suggested Dunn and other aides “be fired forever and never let back anywhere near the campaign.”

Biden’s debate strategy was signed off on by campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon, who helped him win in 2020 and was appointed in January to boost an uneven reelection campaign. Dunn, a longtime Biden aide and former Barack Obama campaign strategist, backed that strategy.

Confidence going into the event was high. Trump was convicted of falsifying documents by a jury in New York on May 31, while Biden held back-to-back visits in Europe.

To the surprise of some Biden aides, his stubbornly low poll numbers began to inch up nationally in the weeks that followed.

Advisers set up a rigorous debate prep calendar, with Biden sequestered at Camp David for six days.

ALSO READ: ‘UAE committed to BRICS collaboration on food and trade’

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Republicans file contempt charges against Biden’s ghostwriter

Indian-American in House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries' team.

The contempt proceedings are the latest Republican legal salvo against Biden and his family…reports Asian Lite News

House Republicans advanced a resolution Thursday that would hold President Joe Biden’s ghostwriter in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over records related to the special counsel investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.

The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to recommend contempt charges against Mark Zwonitzer, who worked with Biden on his two memoirs and through him was exposed to material that was deemed classified. The committee action paves the way for a possible floor vote by the House to refer Zwonitzer for criminal contempt.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, the chair of the Judiciary committee, issued a subpoena to Zwonitzer in March after he had refused to voluntarily turn over documents, including audio, video and transcripts of his interviews with Biden for the 2007 book “Promises to Keep” and 2017’s “Promise Me, Dad.”

“Zwonitzer continues to withhold all documents and materials in his possession that are responsive to the subpoena from the Committee,” the resolution states. “The materials requested from Zwonitzer are crucial for the Committee’s understanding of the manner and extent of President Biden’s mishandling and unlawful disclosure of classified materials, as well as Zwonitzer’s use, storage and deletion of classified materials on his computer.”

The contempt proceedings are the latest Republican legal salvo against Biden and his family. Earlier this month, Republicans voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for his refusal to turn over audio from the special counsel interview with Biden. The White House had blocked the release of the audio weeks earlier by invoking executive privilege. It said Republicans in Congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes.

In a letter to Jordan on Tuesday, White House counsel Ed Siskel accused Republicans of not engaging with officials to accommodate their request before targeting Zwonitzer publicly.

“The Committee’s actions are an obvious example of the very weaponization of government for political purposes that you claim to decry,” Siskel said in the letter obtained by The Associated Press. “Putting a private citizen in your political crosshairs and threatening him with criminal prosecution, simply because you refuse to engage with the Executive Branch, is out of bounds.”

Republicans opened their investigation into Biden after the February report by special counsel Robert Hur said that Biden was sloppy in his handling of classified material found at his home and former office. Hur said Biden shared classified information with Zwonitzer while the two were working on Biden’s second book.

Hur’s report concluded that no criminal charges were warranted against Biden. Prosecutors did consider charging Zwonitzer with obstruction of justice because the ghostwriter destroyed recordings of interviews he conducted with Biden while they worked on his second memoir together once he learned of the documents investigation.

But Hur said Zwonitzer offered “plausible, innocent reasons” for having erased the recordings and cooperated with investigators, meaning the evidence against him was likely “insufficient to obtain a conviction.” Investigators were also able to recover most of the deleted recordings from Zwonitzer’s laptop.

But Republicans maintain that further review of Zwonitzer’s access to classified materials is warranted to determine if legislative reforms need to be put in place for the storage, handling and disclosure of sensitive documents by members of the Executive Branch. Prolonging the investigation also keeps attention on parts of Hur’s report that were politically damaging to Biden as he seeks re-election against former President Donald Trump in November.

Beyond the bitingly critical assessment of Biden’s handling of sensitive government records, Hur offered unflattering characterizations of the president’s memory in his report, sparking fresh questions about his competency and age that cut at voters’ most deep-seated concerns about Biden seeking a second term.

ALSO READ: US, Russian embassies warn against Lebanon travel

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Biden’s shaky start in debate rattles Democrats

With his voice hoarse from a cold, Biden hurried through some of his talking points on the debate stage, stumbled over some answers and trailed off during others…reports Asian Lite News

President Joe Biden’s supporters had hoped Thursday night’s debate would erase worries that the 81-year-old was too old to serve another term, but his hoarse voice and at times tentative performance against Republican rival Donald Trump did the opposite.

Biden and Trump, 78, both have faced concerns about their age and fitness in the run-up to the Nov. 5 election, but they have weighed more heavily on Biden.

On Thursday, with his voice hoarse from a cold, Biden hurried through some of his talking points on the debate stage, stumbled over some answers and trailed off during others.

About halfway through the debate, a Democratic strategist who worked on Biden’s 2020 campaign called it a “disaster.”

Trump unleashed a barrage of criticisms including well-worn falsehoods like migrants carrying out a crime wave and that Democrats support infanticide.

Early in the debate, Biden paused as he was making a point about Medicare and tax reform and seemed to lose his train of thought.

Tax reform would create money to help “strengthen our health care system, making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I was able to do with the, with the COVID, excuse me, with dealing with everything we had to do with,” Biden said, pausing. “We finally beat Medicare.”

Trump jabbed Biden for being incoherent, saying at one point: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said.”

“Biden’s not talking in a measured way, and looks like he’s searching for words,” said Ray La Raja, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Ahead of the debate, Biden confined himself to nearly a week of “debate camp” with top advisers at the Camp David presidential retreat in the mountains of western Maryland, an indication of how important his campaign considered Thursday night. It didn’t reflect on his performance, critics said.

“Biden sounds old. And lost. And that’s going to matter more than anything. So far, this is an absolute nightmare for Biden,” Joe Walsh, a former 2020 Republican presidential candidate who has been critical of Trump, said on X.

‘Inflation killing our country’

Donald Trump accused Joe Biden on Thursday of doing a “poor job” on the US economy and of presiding over a disastrous rise in inflation — reflecting how rising prices and the cost of living have become key issues ahead of November’s presidential election.

“He has not done a good job. He’s done a poor job,” Trump said during CNN’s head-to-head debate with Biden in Atlanta, Georgia. “And inflation is killing our country. It is absolutely killing us.

“I gave him a country with essentially no inflation. It was perfect. It was so good, all he had to do is leave it alone.” he added. “He destroyed it“

In response to Trump’s attacks on his record, Biden said Trump had “absolutely decimated” the US economy when he was president.

“There was no inflation when I became president. You know why? The economy was flat on its back,” he said, adding that his administration had helped create “millions” of new jobs, including in minority communities.

Americans have named inflation or the cost of living as “the most important financial problem facing their family,” in each of the last three years, according to a recent poll from the Washington-based firm Gallup.

Perhaps more worryingly for Biden, 46 percent of adults in the United States said they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in Trump to do or recommend the right thing for the economy, while just 38 percent said the same thing about the current president, according to another Gallup poll.

While it is true that US consumer inflation jumped sharply after Biden took office, hitting a multi-decade high in 2022, the rise was largely fueled by a post-pandemic supply crunch and by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.\

‘Terrorists entering US’

During the debate Biden claimed that his policy has reduced the number of immigrants arriving by 40 per cent. He attacked Trump alleging that during his tenure, migrant families were separated from each other.

“We significantly increased the number of asylum office. The border patrol endorsed my position. When he (Trump) was President, he was separating babies from their mothers, putting them into cages, making sure they’re the families were separated. That’s not right way to go,” Biden said at the first debate hosted by CNN.

Donald Trump hit back at Biden claiming the US borders were the “safest” in history during his tenure, while further alleging that today, the “largest number of terrorists” are entering the country.

“We had the safest border in the history. All he (Biden) had to do is to leave it. He decided to open up our border, open up our country to people who are coming from prison, mental institutions. We have the largest number of terrorists coming into our country, all over the world,” Trump said.

“They are killing our people in New York and California and every state in the union because we don’t have borders anymore,” he added.

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-Top News Politics USA

Trump, Biden gird for historic presidential debate

The televised showdown will raise the campaigning to boiling point, with tens of millions expected to tune in and both camps escalating their increasingly personal attacks…reports Asian Lite News

Joe Biden and Donald Trump made final preparations Wednesday for the biggest moment so far in the US election — the first of two high-stakes debates that could upend the race.

Thursday’s televised showdown will raise the campaigning to boiling point, with tens of millions expected to tune in and both camps escalating their increasingly personal attacks.

“I think I have been preparing for it for my whole life… We’ll do very well,” Trump told right-wing network Newsmax in an interview on his debate preparation.

Trump enjoys a slight advantage in the all-important swing states but the overall polling looks extremely close in an election likely to be decided by a few photo finishes in a handful of battlegrounds.

The latest Quinnipiac University poll conducted Sunday shows Trump edging ahead of Biden nationally, 49 percent to 45 percent.

The rivals both step onstage for the 90-minute clash, hosted by CNN in the southern city of Atlanta, Georgia, seeking to allay fears about serious political liabilities.

Biden, 81, faces the most concern about his mental sharpness, with voters much more likely to bring up his age than Trump’s, despite the Republican being just three years younger.

Ahead of the first ever debate between two candidates who have already served in the Oval Office, both Trump and Biden have had missteps that have raised questions over their age, occasionally stumbling over words or appearing muddled.

Trump is also engulfed in controversy over his inflammatory rhetoric and a glut of criminal cases he faces, as well as fears that he would weaponize the presidency to settle personal scores.

Biden has spent the week off the radar at the mountainside retreat of Camp David near Washington, fine-tuning his attack lines in a series of mock debates under real TV studio lighting.

Trump’s preparation has been more relaxed, eschewing dress rehearsals in favor of informal policy roundtables and workshopping debate strategy with rally crowds.

Aides have encouraged him to focus on his perceived strength on the economy and crime, while Biden will seek to paint Trump as unhinged and unfit for office.

“Come November, Georgians will head to the polls remembering that President Biden looks out for them, while white-collar crook Donald Trump will only look out for himself,” said Democratic National Committee spokesperson Jackie Bush.

The Trump campaign has repeatedly characterized Biden as feeble and incompetent, but changed tack in recent days following warnings that setting low expectations for the Democratic president would only help him.

“We know that Joe Biden, that after taking an entire week off, will be ready for this,” senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said in a briefing to reporters.

Trump and his team have also been pushing the baseless theory that Biden will be hyped up on performance-enhancing drugs and have made repeated insinuations of bias from CNN.

Miller said Trump would emerge as the clear choice if “allowed” to set out his vision for America “without the blatant interference of CNN or the two moderators” of the debate.

One of Biden’s biggest vulnerabilities is border security, with Trump promising to combat an influx of undocumented migrants from Mexico with mass deportations and repeatedly bringing up killings by migrants.

The Biden administration said Wednesday there has been a 40 percent drop in illegal crossings from Mexico since the president’s new executive action last month cracking down on the border.

Two-thirds of registered voters said in a new YouGov poll they would probably or definitely watch the debate, with Biden and Trump supporters equally likely to tune in.

More Americans expect a Trump debate win than a Biden victory — 40 percent to 30 percent — but just one in 10 thought it even somewhat likely that the debate would change their vote.

Former lawmaker Adam Kinzinger joined a small group of fellow Republican Trump critics at the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta to rally support for Biden ahead of the debate.

“If you had told me, Adam Kinzinger of three years ago, that ‘you’re going to be endorsing a Democrat for president in three years,’ I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” he said.

“But I’ve got to tell you the stakes of the moment are way too high.”

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Categories
-Top News Politics USA

Trump, Biden to clash in first presidential debate

The showdown fires the starting gun on what promises to be a bruising summer on the campaign trail, in a deeply polarized and tense US…reports Asian Lite News

Joe Biden and Donald Trump square off for a historic US presidential debate this week, with the stage set for what could be a pivotal moment in the 2024 race as millions of potential voters tune in.

The showdown fires the starting gun on what promises to be a bruising summer on the campaign trail, in a deeply polarized and tense United States still convulsed over the chaos and violence that accompanied the 2020 election.

With only two debates this cycle, Thursday’s high-stakes clash takes on heightened significance, and both candidates have stepped up their personal attacks, with national polls showing the pair neck and neck.

“The debate is important because it’s an opportunity for two well-known candidates to ‘reintroduce’ themselves to a public that knows them well but hasn’t been paying attention,” said Donald Nieman, a political analyst and history professor at Binghamton University in New York state.

“The big question is how much of the public — beyond political aficionados — will pay attention to such an early debate.”

For Trump, the 90-minute clash is a chance to drive home worries about 81-year-old Biden’s mental alertness — although the Republican, 78, has faced age concerns of his own.

For Biden, the first ever debate between a sitting and former president will be an opportunity to underline the legal challenges engulfing Trump and to paint him as unfit for office.

The president will also be desperate to avoid any major gaffes — which, on this stage, could lose him the November election.

The debate comes in the wake of a criminal trial that has consumed Trump’s attention for months — with his sentencing on 34 convictions for falsifying business records scheduled for July 11.

Both candidates shunned the bipartisan commission that has run debates since 1988, deciding instead to go with CNN for a first showdown unusually early in the year, and another on ABC on September 10.

Abortion, the state of US democracy and foreign conflicts are all issues of concern to voters, although inflation and border security are likely to loom largest.

The last debates between the two men in 2020 were fraught, with Biden at one point snapping “will you shut up, man?” as Trump repeatedly interrupted him.

This time, moderators have more tools than usual to maintain decorum, with the microphones muted except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak.

“Trump is notoriously undisciplined and is likely to chafe at not being able to dominate the event by talking over his opponent and drawing out time with his long-winded, insult-laden tirades,” said political scientist Nicholas Creel, of Georgia College and State University.

“Biden is also counting on this debate reminding Americans of the chaos that was the Trump presidency, so Trump being unable to abide by the rules and performing poorly as a result is a very striking possibility.”

But debates are about soundbites on social media as much as policy arguments, and both candidates will look for explosive viral moments.

“I’ll be looking for whether former president Trump tries to become more ‘presidential’ in any respect, though the campaign trail would suggest the answer to that is no,” said Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University.

The Biden campaign released an ad last week hitting Trump over his criminal convictions as the president headed to his mountainside retreat at Camp David to fine-tune attack lines and rebuttals.

Trump — who struggles in granular discussions of policy — huddled with aides and vice presidential hopefuls at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the emphasis was more on tone and broad substance than detail.

Trump would benefit by sticking to a script, highlighting Biden’s weaknesses on inflation and immigration and dialing down the bombast, said Nieman, the Binghamton analyst.

“It would disappoint his base, but it would go far to make inroads with suburban, college-educated women,” he said.

The candidates agreed to meet at a CNN studio in Atlanta with no audience. Each candidate’s microphone will be muted, except when it’s his turn to speak. No props or prewritten notes will be allowed onstage. The candidates will be given only a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water.

There will be no opening statements. A coin flip determined Biden would stand at the podium to the viewer’s right, while Trump would deliver the final closing statement.

The next debate won’t be until September. Any stumbles June 27 will be hard to erase or replace quickly.

Biden arrived at Camp David on Thursday night and is expected to hunker down with senior campaign aides until the debate. While traveling to the mountainside retreat, he gave a thumbs up to reporters when asked how debate prep was going.

The president’s aides have been reluctant to share details about his preparations, run by former chief of staff Ron Klain. But they’ve signaled he’s preparing to be aggressive and wouldn’t shy away from using the term “convicted felon” to describe his opponent.

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