Biden campaign appears to Kamala Harris to strengthen minority assist ahead of 2024

Julia Johnson

August 01, 02:16 PM August 01, 02:20 PM

President Joe Biden's 2024 reelection marketing campaign is relying on Vice President Kamala Harris to assist converse his system to black and Latino voters, who convey low enthusiasm amid economic struggles.

Harris has been deployed over the final few weeks to make many speeches to best black and Latino groups across the region. Very last thirty day period, she spoke at historically black sorority Delta Sigma Theta’s 56th national convention, to UnidosUS, a distinguished Latino civil rights group, in Chicago, Illinois, and most not long ago to the NAACP's party in Boston, Massachusetts.

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The back again-to-back again gatherings arrive as Biden's team looks to get back help among critical minority groups that ensured his victory in 2020. These usually are not necessarily the only groups that Harris is rallying assist from. The marketing campaign sees the vice president as a particularly productive coalition builder amid younger voters and females as very well, which is only supplemented by her id as a black and Indian female. Additional, though Harris is just not thought of young, she is about 20 years Biden's junior, placing her in much nearer proximity to youth voters.

The transfer is premised on the campaign's purpose of enjoying to the strengths of Biden and Harris. For example, speeches to labor unions and suppliers thus considerably have been helmed by the president.

Biden and Harris's early gatherings with these groups are component of a bigger strategy to coalesce every single component of the Democratic and unbiased electorate about the president early on right before he heads into a basic election with the Republican nominee in 2024.

Harris's purpose, significantly when it arrives to nurturing Biden's aid with minority People, continued Tuesday as she headed to Orlando, Florida, to discuss at the African Methodist Episcopal Church Quadrennial Convention. She was expected to renew criticism versus Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is presently operating for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

She recently attacked Florida's new black heritage instructing specifications, expressing "they want to replace heritage with lies, [and] center university students in Florida to be instructed that enslaved persons benefited from slavery." DeSantis pushed back again wholeheartedly in opposition to her claim, accusing the vice president of lying.

Biden's 2024 campaign requires to be certain enthusiasm amid critical minority teams in purchase to win reelection. Nonetheless, his acceptance amid black and Latino Individuals has declined due to the fact he took place of work in 2021, according to FiveThirtyEight. While he noticed a dip in acceptance between black voters, he noticed an even steeper decline with Latinos.

Furthermore, voter turnout was reasonably lessen among black voters in the 2022 midterm elections.

In Ga, which has turn out to be a key battleground point out in latest several years, Biden's battle with black Americans is obvious. According to Bloomberg, black voters in the next-most significant Black population in the state, Atlanta, Georgia, are emotion the sting of inflation.

“Right now, they are not working and jumping that he is the candidate and would favored to have observed a different voice,” said Billy Honor, arranging director at the New Georgia Undertaking.

Voters in the populous, black metropolitan region are sensation especially enable down by the state of the overall economy and even more by the disappointment of Biden's university student personal loan forgiveness plan, which was squashed by the Supreme Court docket.

The campaign, while, is assured that it can rebuild enthusiasm amid this team. In the operates is an aggressive media campaign that Biden's workforce expects to attain minority voters and address their considerations.

A person vivid spot for the marketing campaign arrived in the variety of the New York Moments/Siena Faculty poll unveiled Tuesday. Biden's acceptance among black Us citizens enhanced by 7 percentage details considering that Oct of 2022, achieving 60%. His approval from the Latino community, on the other hand, fell by 7 factors.

Trump attacks Biden above bribery allegations in 1st ad because new expenses

Emily Jacobs

July 30, 12:14 PM July 30, 12:14 PM

Former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign produced its to start with advertisement more than the weekend given that specific counsel Jack Smith unveiled a few new charges in a superseding indictment in the labeled paperwork scenario.

The more counts carry the total charges against Trump for improperly mishandling sensitive documents to 40, up from the first 37 federal counts. The former president is now accused of attempting to delete stability footage at his Mar-a-Lago property along with upkeep employee Carlos De Oliveira and his other co-defendant, Walt Nauta. Trump has slammed the expenses as politically motivated.

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Smith said in May well that the initial 37 prices ended up linked to "felony violations of our national safety rules as very well as participating in a conspiracy to hinder justice.”

The video starts with photographs of President Joe Biden along with recent media headlines, including the Washington Examiner's short article on how the Durham report disclosed that the 46th president was briefed in 2016 about an alleged program by Hillary Clinton to tie Trump to Russia to distract from her personal use of an illicit personal e mail server when secretary of state.

"What do you connect with an individual this weak? Someone caught in a bribery scandal that created them tens of millions, complicit in a federal government address-up, and takes advantage of your govt to get specific specials for his spouse and children? You call them Joe Biden," the narrator suggests in the advertisement.

"And performing just like a corrupt 3rd earth dictator, Biden has unleashed a cadre of unscrupulous govt bureaucrats he controls to act like rabid wolves and assault his best threats, launching one particular of the best witch hunts in heritage."

The previous president has maintained he would not fall out of the 2024 race regardless of his legal woes.

"It would not cease me," Trump reported Friday morning about any achievable sentencing. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, as a substitute attacking Smith as "deranged" and deriding the indictments as "election interference."

Biden set up to use third veto after Senate deals environmental agenda a blow

Emily Jacobs

May 04, 08:41 AM May 04, 08:41 AM

With Republicans holding a slim majority in the House and a number of Democrats facing tough 2024 reelection fights, President Joe Biden is nearing yet another possible veto fight.

Congressional Republicans have been able to secure enough Democratic support to pass legislation on a number of fronts in recent months, including a measure ending the COVID-19 national emergency and rescinding a Washington, D.C., crime bill, though Biden declined to veto either. Biden has only issued two vetoes thus far in his presidency, both coming in recent months. The two share a common theme, as both bills he blocked would have hindered his administration's environmental agenda.

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The Constitution requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers to overrule a presidential veto, which Congress lacked in both cases.

The Senate dealt Biden's environmental regulatory agenda a blow on Wednesday when it passed two measures blocking the president's tariff exemptions for solar panels produced with Chinese parts and endangered species protections for lesser prairie chickens. All eyes now turn to the White House to see if Biden will sign either into law.

These are the measures Biden has vetoed:

First veto

Biden issued his first veto in late March of this year when a bipartisan majority passed a resolution through both chambers undoing a Labor Department rule allowing retirement plan managers to consider environmental, social, and governance effects when making investment decisions.

Despite being a rule, the measure allows but does not require fiduciaries to weigh ESG factors when making investment decisions for retirement accounts. Still, anti-ESG sentiment has grown among lawmakers in energy-producing states over fear that the investment strategy could lead to fossil fuel companies being blacklisted.

Second veto

Biden issued his second veto in mid-April after Congress passed a measure revising his administration's definition of the "Waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act.

Opponents argued the measure, which aims to require permits for construction and mining in bodies of water in the country, was too difficult and would put landowners at risk of being subjected to penalties for performing routine activities if those acts are found to affect the waters.

Third possible veto

The Senate voted to undo Biden's emergency declaration temporarily removing tariffs on solar energy imports from Southeast Asian countries, setting up what could be his third veto.

The bill, which passed the House on Friday, made it through the Senate with a 56-41 bipartisan majority. Using his executive trade law powers, Biden declared an emergency to exempt Asian solar cell and module products from new tariffs for two years while also invoking the Defense Production Act to increase domestic manufacturing of those products, which are central components in the construction of most solar panel designs. Opponents of the move, including Democrats, argued it would hinder American manufacturing.

Biden will now be forced to decide whether to sign or veto the measure undoing the tariff exemptions. Should he decide to veto, it would be the third such act of his presidency.

Zachary Halaschak and Jeremy Beaman contributed to this report.

Could Biden's underwhelming lead against minor primary foes open door to others?

Haisten Willis

May 03, 04:00 AM May 03, 04:00 AM

President Joe Biden may yet face a tougher-than-expected primary campaign before turning attention to his Republican rivals.

Biden has to date drawn two intraparty challengers, self-help guru Marianne Williamson and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Neither is considered a serious threat, but they're drawing a surprising amount of support in early polling.

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"I'm just not tracking that," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told the Washington Examiner's Christian Datoc when asked if Biden was annoyed or frustrated that Williamson had jumped into the race.

She then politely brushed off the campaign.

"If I had a — what is it called? — a little globe here, a crystal ball, then I could tell you. A Magic 8 Ball, whatever, if I could feel her aura," Jean-Pierre continued. "But I just don't have anything to share on that."

Yet polling shows Biden faces a tougher challenge than Jean-Pierre's response indicates. An April 27 Emerson College poll found that Biden had earned 70% support, with Kennedy drawing 21% and Williamson 8%.

By historical standards, those are exceptionally high numbers.

Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton all faced only token primary challengers, none of whom received more than 5.5% of the vote, and each of those presidents got a second term.

The primary challengers to George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter all saw primary challengers drawing double-digit support, and all lost their reelection bids.

Biden should be bolstered by the fact that neither Kennedy nor Williamson has ever held elected office before, and voters may not be familiar with them.

“My guess is with Kennedy, they are reacting to the name, and I doubt they know much about him or his anti-vaccine crusade,” Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said. “They hear Robert. F. Kennedy, and all they can see is Bobby Kennedy. The more they get to know him, I predict the numbers will start to go down.”

On the flip side, if little-known figures can draw 30% support away from Biden, that could signal an opening for a big-name challenger if one is interested.

Biden's approval ratings have been stuck in the low 40s for well over a year, and the same Emerson poll found that just 37% of independents approved of the job he's doing.

The president has alluded to his polling before. He often says in speeches, including at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, "Don't compare me to the Almighty; compare me to the alternative," and for now, there is no serious alternative within the Democratic Party.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) could be the best-positioned Democrat to try and has targeted his red state counterparts on several occasions. Last year, Newsom launched a billboard campaign in red states advertising abortion in California. In a series of tweets at the time, he called out Republican Govs. Kristi Noem (SD), Greg Abbott (TX), Mike DeWine (OH), Eric Holcomb (IN), Tate Reeves (MS), Henry McMaster (SC), and Kevin Stitt (OK) for their "restrictive" abortion laws.

However, Newsom has expressed support for Biden's 2024 campaign repeatedly and offered his support to the incumbent president.

There has been some buzz about former first lady Michelle Obama running, though she so far has not answered those overtures. Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) has also seen his name mentioned and could flex plenty of financial muscle, but he, too, has repeatedly denied interest in running.

“I don’t think there’s anybody that’s serious that’s actually considering running against Joe Biden because he’s done such a good job,” Pritzker said in March.

Polls have consistently shown that most voters don't necessarily see it that way, with a recent NBC News survey finding that only 26% of respondents wanted a second Biden term, compared to 70% who do not. But in a hypothetical 2024 matchup, Biden narrowly leads former President Donald Trump 43% to 41%. The president may thus be content to sit back for now and let Republicans soak up negative headlines.

Biden also appears ready to skip out on primary debates, which is a common tactic for incumbents and something he shares in common with Trump.

Still, some are calling for a bigger challenge to Biden as the Democratic flagship in 2024.

"I think folks should try to wrap their minds around the possibility that the left could benefit from a challenge to Biden even if the challenger doesn't win the primary," former Bernie Sanders spokeswoman Briahna Joy Gray tweeted April 28. "'But they won't win' is not an argument against the value of a challenge."

Biden tries to break through as GOP primary brawl starts

Naomi Lim

April 17, 04:00 AM April 17, 04:01 AM

President Joe Biden was hoping to underscore his record with the public before announcing a highly anticipated reelection campaign.

But declared and undeclared Republican presidential candidates, including former President Donald Trump, are hogging the political spotlight as the 2024 primary enters the spring, though not always to Biden's disadvantage.

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Biden acting presidential compared to "the dumpster fire engulfing the Republican Party" is a proverbial political split-screen "I’d take any day of the week," according to former White House principal deputy press secretary Eric Schultz.

"President Biden is not going to get as much attention as his [predecessor] does for getting indicted, and that’s OK because this contrast is why Democrats have prevailed in the last three election cycles," Schultz told the Washington Examiner.

But Schultz encouraged reporters assessing a president's success by their media coverage to engage in "some self-reflection" as Biden returns from a five-day trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland.

"The journalists who ask if Biden is going to get drowned out are the same journalists breathlessly covering Donald Trump wall-to-wall," he said.

Democratic strategist Tracy Sefl contended Biden's accomplishments, such as the partisan American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, will be promoted "in a more subtle way" amid "the Trump-GOP food fights."

"What I mean by that is, for example, a voter may be inundated with news about the latest Republican outrage, but they‘ll be listening to the coverage while driving home from a doctor’s appointment in their newly affordable electric vehicle over a local bridge that’s been fully repaired," she said.

But fellow strategist Mark Mellman disputed the assumption Biden is not commanding the public's attention, despite the White House taking advantage of preplanned trips across the country to attract local news coverage while national and international outlets were focused on Trump's indictment.

"[Presidents] always have competition, apathy and disinterest most important, but President Biden will always have the opportunity to talk to the American people," he said. "On any given day, Trump’s grave legal perils may well dominate the news. But President Biden has access to the public every and any day."

At the same time, Biden's trips to Minnesota and North Carolina were overshadowed by Trump speculating about being indicted in New York before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg advised the former president he was proceeding with charges.

For Duke University Polis Center Director Mac McCorkle, Biden's trip to semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed in Durham, North Carolina, to launch his "Investing in America Tour" and discuss his economic agenda was not "buried," but he did recall MSNBC leading with Trump's potential indictment instead.

"If it's Trump in the general [election], it's still going to be a referendum on Trump in many respects, so I just don't know that there's anything that Biden can do about it," he said. "And I'm not sure he has to do anything about that."

But University of Minnesota Center for the Study of Politics and Governance Director Lawrence Jacobs pointed to Biden's 43%-52% approval-disapproval rating after his visit to the Cummins Power Generation Factory, north of Minneapolis, where the president also cited his clean energy achievements.

"Plenty of bad news now: inflation, possible decline of [the] economy, massive intel breach, etc.," he said. "Ducking coverage in 2023 [is] probably better than having headlines on bad news."

The White House has been trying to strike a balance between criticizing the Republican field without amplifying any presidential hopeful's message. But Biden aides do not seem to mind relitigating abortion access, entitlement reform, and gun control, with Democrats attributing their outperformance in last year's midterm elections to their positions on those issues.

As the Republican contenders attack one another on Social Security and Medicare, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was ready with a statement scrutinizing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) for signing a bill into law that will further restrict Florida's abortion ban from 15 to six weeks into a pregnancy.

"At every opportunity following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, from the Kansas ballot initiative in August to five abortion ballot initiatives in November to last week’s elections in Wisconsin, the message has been clear: Americans demand the freedom to make their own decisions about their own bodies without government interference," she wrote Friday.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates similarly criticized "MAGA Republicans" for attending this weekend's National Rifle Association's convention in Indianapolis. Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH), former Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and multimillionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy addressed the conference in person. DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley recorded video remarks.

"Unlike MAGA House Republicans, President Biden is acting to keep kids safe by providing communities with funding for well-trained school resource officers and appropriate school physical security improvements, among other school safety strategies that communities may choose for their schools," Bates wrote in a statement. "But we can’t stop there. We have to keep weapons of war off our streets and out of our schools, and take other commonsense steps to keep guns out of dangerous hands."

Majority of Democrats say Biden shouldn't be reelected: Poll

Cami Mondeaux

April 07, 07:38 AM April 07, 07:38 AM

Only one-third of voters say President Joe Biden deserves a second term in the White House, with a majority of his own party saying they would like to see someone else as the nominee in 2024, according to a new poll.

Roughly 32% of voters say Biden “deserves” to be reelected, which is down from the 37% who said the same in December, according to a recent CNN poll. The shift in opinion was most prevalent among young voters, with only 26% of those under 35 saying Biden should be reelected compared to 36% who said the same in December.

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The poll also found a decrease in Biden’s favorability ratings, with only 42% approving of the president’s job performance and 57% disapproving. That’s a drop from the 45% who approved of his performance in January and 55% who disapproved.

Biden’s growing unfavorability was evident across a number of personal attributes, with a majority of voters (67%) saying the president does not have the stamina or sharpness to serve effectively, according to the poll. Another 65% said Biden does not inspire confidence, 54% said he was not honest or trustworthy, and 51% said he cannot work effectively with Congress.

Although a majority of Democrats (54%) say someone else should be chosen as the party’s nominee in 2024, the numbers are an improvement from the number of voters who said the same in December when 59% said they’d prefer another candidate. Last summer, that number stood at a staggering 75%.

For those who’d like to see another candidate on the ticket, few could name specific replacements. Roughly 70% said they’d “generally” like to see someone other than Biden, with others floating names such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) or Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, among others.

The poll surveyed 1,595 voters from March 1 to 31, with the majority of responses being gathered before former President Donald Trump’s indictment that was announced last week. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

Jerry Brown cautions Biden 2024 is not a 'slam dunk'

Ryan King

April 06, 01:33 PM April 06, 01:33 PM

A prominent California Democrat doesn't think that President Joe Biden will be a shoo-in for the 2024 election.

Former Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA) said Biden was the most formidable Democratic presidential contender but cautioned that challengers to Biden could run a tight race.

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"Well, you know, it depends on what the alternatives are," Brown told Politico. "I’d say this it’s not a slam dunk any way you look at it."

“There’s no doubt Biden is the strongest,” Brown insisted, referring to the 2024 field.

Biden is widely considered the Democratic front-runner. Top Democrats have left a clear field for him, with some lower-tier challengers such as bestselling spiritual author Marianne Williamson and recently anti-vaxxer and environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. mounting a challenge against him.

The president has not yet declared his reelection bid, with rumors circulating that an announcement could come as late as the fall. Brown, 84, mused that he could handle the duties of commander in chief but lamented that age might not bode well for him politically.

“I can handle the job but I don’t think the politics can handle my age,” he continued. “We’re not like the old Soviet Union, where they had all those men in the Politburo, people want some fresher faces.”

Brown dipped his toes in presidential races unsuccessfully in 1976, 1980, and 1992. Biden, who similarly lost multiple presidential races in the past, is the oldest president at 80 and would be 82 at the start of a hypothetical second term in office and 86 by the end of it.

Given whispers of consternation about Biden's age, there has been heightened scrutiny of his partner, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I don’t think vice presidents are ever ready,” Brown said, before noting he had a "good relationship" with the fellow Californian. “People thought John Kennedy was kind of a lightweight but he rose to the occasion.”

Biden has consistently said that he intends to seek reelection. Meanwhile, Republicans are poised for an all-out primary brawl over who will be their standard bearer to face him.

Brown governed the Golden State for roughly 16 years.

Democratic malcontents eye Biden-Harris alternatives, but few names emerge

Katherine Doyle

March 26, 07:00 AM March 26, 07:00 AM

As President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris prepare for a 2024 White House run, some Democrats are eyeing the field of alternatives, wary of a reelection fight that offers new obstacles.

And while some Democratic donors privately say alternatives to a Biden-Harris ticket in 2024 exist and they have options, they are reluctant to out their purported targets.

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The dynamic hints at the scramble among some party malcontents to shore up potential alternatives in the event Biden chooses to step aside. The president is expected to run for reelection with Harris by his side, but pending a formal announcement, there remains speculation over who could step into the breach if the need arises.

“They say we need somebody new who can walk upstairs and can complete a sentence,” one campaign strategist said, referencing Biden’s occasional foibles and that the prospect of a Biden reelection bid draws sighs.

Asked how these Democratic donors feel about Harris, this person responded, “They just stare at me.”

Nor is Biden’s transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, a deft communicator whose performance in the 2020 Democratic primaries vaulted him to national attention, immune from donor skepticism.

“It won’t be him,” the strategist said. “Just wait and see.”

Still, a senior Democratic aide downplayed the chatter as “delusional.”

“It’s bracket season,” this person added, dismissing the notion that Biden would step aside.

Some Democrats nevertheless worry about 2024. The race would likely pit an octogenarian president and his low-polling vice president against a Republican field likely to include a GOP governor who notched record electoral margins in a battleground state last year, including in Democratic Miami-Dade County.

As the front-runner for his party, former President Donald Trump also maintains a unique edge: a clear lead among Republican primary voters of color, according to recent polls.

It makes certain Democrats pine for other choices.

Already the oldest sitting U.S. president, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term. The president’s traction with swing voters has collapsed. Yet reports suggest Biden is not persuaded that Harris or any other Democrat could beat Trump in a head-to-head race.

And while the two running mates are understood to have a good working relationship, sticking points remain, with one former White House official describing the struggle “as a question of consistently rising to the occasion,” according to Reuters.

“I think his running for reelection is less about her and more about him, but I do think that she and the Democratic bench [are] a factor,” this person said.

“A point of tension in their relationship is that I don’t think that the president sees her as somebody who takes anything off of his plate [due to] a fear of messing up,” another former White House official told the outlet.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) has also seized on these concerns, charging on the campaign trail last year that Harris was Biden’s “insurance” policy against being removed from office.

Democrats have also questioned Harris’s political acumen, appearing to doubt the mettle of the woman poised to succeed Biden.

Harris defenders argue that while people may not like her, she is no longer a rookie. Regardless, a vice president won’t be a determinate factor for voters come Election Day, they add.

In a March op-ed, Donna Brazile, a longtime Democratic strategist and Harris defender, said critics are holding the vice president to unreasonable standards. Brazile also spoke to the prospect of Harris as Biden’s successor, saying, “Questions have been raised about the fitness of just about every vice president to move into the Oval Office should the president die or is unable to continue serving for another reason."

Moreover, the window for alternatives is closing. During the 2020 presidential nominating contest, Democrats held their first primary debate in June 2019. And few see a scenario in which Harris would be handed a place at the top of the ticket without challengers.

It’s not just donors and party faithful who harbor reservations over a Biden-Harris reelection bid.

A focus group of Michigan swing voters who backed Biden unanimously in 2020 said they would like to see the president challenged for the Democratic nomination in 2024.

But while the focus group referenced Biden’s age and questioned his fitness for office, participants struggled to name alternatives.

Several participants voiced concerns about Harris stepping into Biden’s role if the need ever arose, even as one stressed that he “would love the idea of having a person of color be our president, especially a woman,” just not Harris. That voter groaned, then voiced agreement when asked whether Biden should choose another running mate.

Several voters said they would be more comfortable with Biden seeking reelection with another vice president in Harris’s place.

Biden’s aides have dismissed concerns over Biden’s health, with the president’s physician declaring him “healthy, vigorous,” and “fit for duty.”

Speaking to Politico, one House Democrat “demanded to know who else was out there and said Harris wasn’t an option” after instructing the reporter to turn off their phone.

In a move that appears intended to neuter any potential competitors, the White House is preparing to assemble an “advisory” cabinet of influential surrogates, many presumed to harbor their own presidential aspirations.

If Biden’s health falters, prominent Democrats may sense an opening, a Democratic operative from a rival 2020 campaign said.

“I can see no lack of enthusiasm for a Biden challenge if there are any health issues,” said a Democratic operative from a rival 2020 campaign. “No one expects a Harris coronation if Biden decides not to run again.”

Biden under fire from Democrats for moderating approach ahead of 2024 contest

Cami Mondeaux

March 17, 08:11 AM March 17, 08:12 AM

As President Joe Biden prepares to launch his reelection bid for 2024, he has begun using some familiar tactics from old playbooks: inching toward the middle to win over centrists and some Republicans he’ll need to secure the White House for another term.

Over the last few weeks, Biden has made a series of moves siding with conservatives on key matters such as crime, immigration, and oil. Although the White House has insisted those decisions are not part of a larger reelection strategy, the recent shift is not sitting well with many of his party's more liberal members.

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“I think the devil is in the details, and we will see what happens,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told Politico. “But has he made decisions that progressives disagree with? Absolutely. We will see what comes up in the next year.”

Biden first broke with Democrats earlier this month when he announced he would sign a GOP-led bill seeking to strike down the newly rewritten criminal code in Washington, D.C., which reduces the penalties for some crimes. The White House initially expressed opposition to the bill before Biden reversed course and said he would not veto the measure.

Several House Democrats were furious with Biden over the decision, accusing the president of flip-flopping on previous pledges to defend the district’s self-governance.

“This ain’t it. DC has a right to govern itself, like any other state or municipality. If the President supports DC statehood, he should govern like it,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted. “Plenty of places pass laws the President may disagree with. He should respect the people’s gov of DC just as he does elsewhere.”

Biden once again broke with his party after announcing earlier this week he would approve an $8 billion Willow Project in Alaska that plans to extract 600 million barrels of oil from federal lands. The plan breaks from pledges Biden made on the campaign trail in 2020 to halt drilling on federal lands, prompting widespread criticism from members of his party.

“Youth voter turnout was at its highest in 2020 & young folks supported him because of commitments such as ‘no more drilling on federal land,’” Rep. Maxwell Frost (R-FL), the first Gen-Z member of Congress, tweeted this week. “That commitment has been broken.”

Democrats have also grown concerned that Biden is eyeing a move to the right on key topics such as immigration, particularly after it was reported the president is considering a revival of a Trump-era immigration policy that detains migrant families who attempt to cross the border illegally. Biden lifted the detention policy shortly after taking office in 2021, but now, officials are looking at ways to reinstate some of its provisions — stoking anger from Democrats who say Biden has been mum on his plans.

“The lack of communication on immigration-related policy decisions is an insult," Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who is heavily involved with immigration reform in Congress, told Axios. "It would be like making civil rights legislative ideas and thoughts without checking with the Congressional Black Caucus.”

The White House has maintained that Biden’s recent decisions are not campaign-related strategies but coincidental timing. Aides pointed to previous instances in which Biden broke with liberals on key matters during the 2020 campaign, arguing his actions are par for the course.

Biden has not announced his reelection campaign, but the president is likely to make a decision in the coming weeks.

Biden budget reveals president's top priorities to voters ahead of 2024

Cami Mondeaux

March 09, 08:10 AM March 09, 08:10 AM

President Joe Biden is set to release his budget proposal for the next fiscal year on Thursday, targeting four key areas as he courts voters ahead of his expected reelection campaign.

Biden is expected to release the long-awaited budget around noon during a visit to Pennsylvania as he unveils some of his top campaign priorities to the critical swing state. The budget release is largely symbolic, as it’s unlikely that Congress will approve the proposal in its current form, but it serves as campaign fodder as Biden teases a reelection bid.

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Here are the four key areas Biden will target in his budget proposal:

Higher taxes for the wealthy to reduce deficit over next decade

One of Biden’s key proposals is to implement higher taxes for the wealthiest taxpayers as a way to reduce the federal deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade.

Biden will announce a 25% tax increase on households that are worth more than $100 million as a way to tax unrealized capital gains that often go overlooked, according to the New York Times. By doing that, the White House hopes to raise about $360 billion in revenue over the next 10 years.

He’ll also call for higher taxes for oil and gas companies, eliminating subsidies that have allowed the industry to benefit from so-called “special tax treatment.” Biden will also propose to reverse Trump-era tax cuts for high earners and corporations, raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.

Biden’s not expected to request much funding to go toward COVID-19, signaling the president is ready to phase out its emergency response over the coming months.

Decrease costs for families

Biden is especially expected to target families in his budget proposal, seeking to reduce costs in a number of areas. His budget proposal is expected to pour funds into child care and education, seeking to allocate $22.1 billion into early care and education programs.

Biden will also increase pressure to reduce the cost of insulin, seeking a maximum cap of $35 a month — reviving past debates and backing Republicans into a corner over the matter. That proposal builds on previous efforts by Biden to cap insulin prices for Medicare beneficiaries in his Inflation Reduction Act, seeking to extend that to all Americans.

Extend Medicare and Social Security benefits

Biden’s budget will seek to extend Medicare and Social Security protections for 25 years without cutting any of the program’s benefits or increasing costs. The president hopes to achieve those goals by “modestly” increasing tax rates for taxpayers earning an annual income of more than $400,000 from 3.8% to 5%, according to a memo sent by the White House earlier this week.

His proposal would also seek to close loopholes that allow some high-income earners to avoid paying the 3.8% Medicare tax. In doing so, Biden’s plan would extend Medicare’s benefits until 2050 without cutting benefits.

The budget proposal comes as lawmakers are considering ways to salvage Medicare and Social Security benefits amid concerns the programs will go insolvent in the next few years. Biden has repeatedly accused Republicans of seeking to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits, hoping to use the attack as fodder in the 2024 election cycle.

“The Unity Agenda”

Biden is expected to request a defense budget of more than $835 billion in Thursday’s proposal, marking one of the largest peacetime defense budgets in U.S. history.

He’ll also press lawmakers to invest in what he considers a “unity agenda,” proposing to pour money into cancer research, mental health services, and combating the opioid epidemic. Biden may also revive efforts to increase funding for community college, following through with previous proposals that have failed to make their way through Congress.

Biden launches opening salvo in debt ceiling fight against GOP with budget release

Naomi Lim

March 09, 05:45 AM March 09, 05:45 AM

President Joe Biden's budget may be an aspirational document with no chance of clearing a GOP-controlled House, but it is also a political document as he braces for what is likely to be a bitter fight with Republicans over the debt ceiling before next year's elections.

Biden hopes to use this as an opening argument against the Republicans before the debt ceiling battle begins in earnest.

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Biden, who has repeated how budgets underscore values, will announce his fiscal 2024 framework in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Thursday, an event overshadowed by the looming debt ceiling.

Biden has pledged not to negotiate with Republicans over raising the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, contending the country's credit rating is too important to risk a default. And despite the prospect of a deadline, far-reaching economic consequences, and the president's desire to be a bipartisan deal-maker, Biden should "hold firm" in that strategy, according to Democrats such as former consultant Christopher Hahn.

"The House Republicans have members who are extremely vulnerable, and if the hard-liners in the party continue to play chicken with the full faith and credit of the United States, the 18 GOP members who hold seats in districts Biden won in 2020 will surely blink," the former Chuck Schumer aide and Aggressive Progressive podcast host told the Washington Examiner. "Or at least enough to increase the debt ceiling."

Biden has Republicans "in a bind" because he "rope-a-doped the GOP into taking Social Security and Medicare off the table during the State of the Union," former Democratic operative Sandy Maisel added. Republicans shouted the president down during his address when he suggested lawmakers, including Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), hoped to reform the entitlement programs.

"[On Thursday,] he will put forth his budget proposal, which progressives will think is too accommodating," Maisel said. "Biden will challenge the GOP to come up with an alternative."

"That, I assume, will either be so vague as to be meaningless — cut the waste, which, of course, cannot be isolated — or painful to lots of voters," the Colby College visiting politics instructor and onetime candidate went on. "That will put Biden in a much better position to negotiate than he would be if he said he was ready to talk before the GOP had to put anything forward."

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has vocally disapproved of Biden's strategy, calling on his colleagues to "stop the madness and start acting reasonably and responsibly to get our government's financial house in order." Manchin sat down with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in January to discuss the debt ceiling. The president met with McCarthy a few weeks later in February at the White House.

“There's always times to have arguments and disagreements," Manchin said last week on the Senate floor. "But the looming debt crisis cannot. It cannot basically have the disruption that we have and the discourse and political toxic atmosphere that we have here. We've got to come together for the sake of our great country."

But while Biden is posturing, so too are Republicans. The House Republican Study Committee, for one, has distilled GOP priorities and identified possible presidential concessions, such as lowering fiscal 2024 discretionary spending to the fiscal 2022 level of $1.5 trillion, in addition to introducing a discretionary spending cap for up to 10 years, as well as reallocating unused American Rescue Plan Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and Inflation Reduction Act spending, before the House Budget Committee is due to respond to Biden on April 15.

Previews of Biden's budget promote how it will decrease the federal debt by $3 trillion over a decade. He has also detailed his ideas for Medicare. Specifically, the president is pitching extending Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund “by at least 25 years" by increasing the Medicare tax rate for people earning more than $400,000 from 3.8% to 5% and redirecting $200 billion in savings created by the Inflation Reduction Act's prescription drug negotiation provisions to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. He is additionally expected to ask for $835 billion in defense spending and a 5.2% pay raise for federal employees.

Bipartisan Policy Center Senior Vice President Bill Hoagland, a budget expert, praised Biden for trying to decrease deficits but asserted that was "not going to reduce the level of debt to [gross domestic product] by a significant amount."

"Just to stabilize the level of debt to GDP at where we are today, I think they need well into the $6 to $8 trillion mark," he said.

Hoagland described Biden's Medicare taxes as "pretty much dead on arrival with a Republican Congress." Instead, the veteran Senate Republican staffer advocated broader simplification of the tax code, combined with efforts to decrease Medicare's growth rate. For Hoagland, nondefense discretionary spending will have to be reduced by "a good 15% to 20%" if the president's total discretionary top line is $1.7 trillion to meet Republicans' $1.5 trillion demand.

"I'm worried about this," he added. "You do have to negotiate; you have to find some sort of a compromise. And that's why I think that setting some sort of a cap on '24 discretionary spending will certainly allow for Republicans to claim that they have saved some money and to move forward."

The White House has been pushed on Biden's emphasis of the budget, traveling to Pennsylvania, a critical presidential and Senate battleground state, to present it. Rather, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has argued that Biden prefers to outline his agenda "in a transparent way."

"The thing that makes us really speak to this even more is because they have talked about ... cutting some programs that are incredibly — two programs and more — that are incredibly important to the American people: Social Security, Medicare, ACA, Medicaid," Jean-Pierre said of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

"That's what they're saying they want to move forward with," she went on. "And the president is saying, 'You know what? I'm going to continue fighting for the American people. I'm going to continue fighting for taxpayers who have paid into these programs since they started their first job, some of them as teenagers.'"

Democrats furious with Biden over DC crime bill won't pull support for reelection bid

Cami Mondeaux

March 04, 09:30 AM March 04, 09:30 AM

House Democrats from all corners of the party are rallying behind President Joe Biden ahead of his expected reelection bid, offering him support despite rising tensions stemming from Biden’s decision not to block a GOP-led resolution overturning and overhauling Washington’s century-old criminal code.

Party members in the House have expressed support for Biden’s likely reelection campaign, with many arguing he is the best chance for Democrats to maintain control of the White House in 2024.

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“I do think he should run; I think he will win,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), the No. 3 House Democrat, said during a Punchbowl News event in Baltimore this week. “Time and time again, you know, he was able to deliver with House Democrats, with Senate Democrats, and so I think that he can and should run.”

Aguilar touted some of Biden’s accomplishments during his first two years in office, such as the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill passed in 2021, which has become a key tenet of the president’s legislative agenda. Should Biden launch a second White House bid, he would have the support of the House Democratic Caucus, Aguilar added.

Other Democrats pointed to Biden’s performance in the 2020 election, arguing the voter base he attracted would “come back even stronger in 2024.”

“In those 18 districts that are held by Biden Republicans, he’s the best in terms of his message and how he approaches this,” said Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH), according to the Hill.

It’s unclear when Biden plans to announce his reelection campaign, although it’s widely expected to happen sometime in April. However, some Democrats are pushing the president to do it sooner, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Jayapal’s support comes even after she endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the 2020 election when he ran against Biden for the nomination.

“Nobody’s surprised that Biden was not my choice in the first election for the primary,” Jayapal said during the Baltimore retreat this week. “But the [Progressive Caucus] and the president and his administration have formed an incredibly strong partnership.”

House Democrats are likely to stand firm in their support for the president even after Biden announced earlier this week he would not veto a Republican-led bill seeking to overturn Washington’s revised criminal code — a decision that blindsided and angered several party lawmakers who voted against the measure. The legislation is poised to pass the Senate next week, and without Biden’s veto, it sets the stage for Congress to override local legislation passed by the D.C. Council for the first time in 30 years.

Democrats accused Biden of walking back his previous stance on the issue, pointing to comments the White House made last month that the president opposed the resolution seeking to overturn the criminal code. Biden didn’t tell lawmakers he planned to sign the GOP-led measure until weeks after it passed the House.

“This ain’t it. DC has a right to govern itself, like any other state or municipality. If the President supports DC statehood, he should govern like it,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Plenty of places pass laws the President may disagree with. He should respect the people’s gov of DC just as he does elsewhere.”

At least two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Patty Murray of Washington, said they would vote to overturn the criminal code. That all but guarantees its passage in the upper chamber, where Democrats have temporarily lost their outright majority with the absences of Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Both are currently out of office due to health problems.

Biden enlists team of top Democrats to boost reelection bid

Cami Mondeaux

March 03, 08:12 AM March 03, 08:12 AM

President Joe Biden is enlisting a team of top Democrats to travel nationwide and boost his standing as a way to unify the party ahead of his likely reelection bid, which he is expected to announce sometime in the coming months.

Biden has recruited a team of governors, senators, and other high-profile Democrats to travel across the country and tout the White House’s accomplishments during his first term, according to the Washington Post. As part of the effort, Biden’s hand-picked team members will be tasked with giving speeches, appearing on television, and performing other duties to breathe life into Biden’s campaign before he announces a reelection bid.

BIDEN WON’T VETO GOP-LED RESOLUTION OVERRIDING DC CRIME LAW, DEALING BLOW TO DEMOCRATS

The president is actively recruiting members to join the team, which will be headquartered at the Democratic National Committee and unveiled sometime this month, the outlet reported. Biden has already enlisted 20 members, including Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), Wes Moore (D-MD), Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), Phil Murphy (D-NJ), and Josh Shapiro (D-PA).

The team will also feature prominent Democratic lawmakers such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), as well as longtime Biden allies Sens. Christopher A. Coons (D-DE) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Reps. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX), according to the outlet.

The national advisory board marks one of Biden’s earliest efforts to boost his national standing ahead of his expected reelection campaign and comes as Democrats face challenges to defend the White House and Senate in 2024. One of the main goals of the national team is to showcase unity within the party and give Democrats a chance to rally behind one candidate — an advantage they'll have over Republicans during the primary cycle.

Three Republican candidates have already thrown their hats in the ring for the GOP nomination, including former President Donald Trump, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The field is expected to grow even more crowded over the coming months, setting the stage for Republicans to split on who they throw their support behind.

Biden is not expected to face a major primary challenge for the nomination, with only author Marianne Williamson announcing a bid against him so far. Williamson previously ran against Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2020 but failed to garner much support in the crowded field of 29 major candidates.

Meanwhile, it appears that Democrats will rally behind Biden should he choose to run for a second term. As a result, party members are considering ways to tout Biden’s accomplishments — which polling suggests goes largely unnoticed by most voters.

A majority of voters (62%) say Biden has accomplished “not very much” or “little or nothing” during his first two years compared to just 36% who say he has accomplished “a great deal” or “a good amount,” according to recent polling from ABC News and the Washington Post.

It’s not clear when Biden will launch his expected reelection campaign, although it’s expected to come sometime in April. When a reporter pressed Biden on when he plans to make the announcement, he responded, “When I announce it.”

'DeSantis Democrats': Why blue voters are switching to red in Florida

Jack Birle

December 22, 06:00 AM December 22, 06:00 AM

"DeSantis Democrats" may have been central to the overwhelming reelection last month of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).

He won several Democratic-leaning areas, including Miami-Dade County.

Voters who have not considered voting Republican before flipped to DeSantis in 2022, according to a report from the Free Press.

Voters cited in the report gave various reasons for the way they voted. Many cited economic concerns, specifically inflation, as their main motivation. But a bevy of them also cited DeSantis's leadership abilities, his ideology, and how "he kept the schools open and taxes low."

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"He’s the good parts of Trump without that cockiness,” Andres Arcila told the Free Press.

Voters surveyed in the report ranged from a bartender at a Miami strip club to an information technology specialist from Jacksonville. This hints at the diversity of voters who supported DeSantis in his landslide 59.4%-40% victory over Democrat Charlie Crist.

DeSantis's burgeoning appeal is prompting comparisons with "Reagan Democrats," a historical reference that cannot but be pleasing to the Florida governor, who already leads many Republican polls of presidential contenders. Many former Democrats switched to support President Ronald Reagan, delivering a thumping Republican victory in 1980 and a 49-state landslide in 1984.

Voters were captivated by Reagan's policies and leadership at a time of high inflation and low public morale, conditions that are partially echoed today. If DeSantis can translate his success in Florida to the rest of the country, he could find his way in the White House.

DeSantis is seen as one of the top candidates in the GOP field for the 2024 presidential election, leading recent polls ahead of other top candidates, including former President Donald Trump.